Be constructive when we rip into our leaders
Indeed, as RPK suggests, it was the people who enabled the political tsunami, and not the charisma of any one man or candidate; but there would have been no tsunami to speak of if not for those who did step up, and for those who led them.
By Nathaniel Tan, The Malaysian Insider
“Drama Minggu Ini” appears to be rich in political parties apparently entering self-destruct mode. High up in the headlines are the problems besetting Pakatan Rakyat, PKR and MCA.
The endless infighting and jostling, as well as the apparent impossibility of achieving true unity even within a party or coalition, compels us to ask: why is it politicians so often seem to put their own seemingly petty interests above those of their party, or of the nation as a whole?
Raja Petra Kamarudin, a friend I’m proud to know (and who is somewhat responsible for my current hairstyle), recently wrote an article comparing Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in somewhat unfavourable light to Alexander the Great, and the last general election to the French Revolution.
I don’t know enough about either to comment extensively on the comparisons, but I think on aggregate I wish to respectfully posit a slightly different perspective.
The tone of RPK’s article is, as is typical, one of reproach and warning. He writes:
“Anwar Ibrahim and many of the opposition leaders have this false feeling of grandeur about themselves. But they are not grand, and certainly far from great. They did not make March 8, 2008 happen. The people made it happen. And what the people make the people can break.”
I have no intention here of defending Anwar or anyone else, but I think it is inaccurate to place a false feeling of grandeur at the root of Pakatan’s problems. Pakatan’s leaders suffer from a platitude of problems, but I don’t think sheer arrogance is among the top five.
In trying to get to that root, I found myself thinking back to the momentous 2008 election. I remember that almost all of my office mates where I was working in PKR at that time eventually ran for public office and, I am proud to say, won.
That’s in hindsight, of course. I remember the days before the election — how hard it was to fill the candidate roster, and how the leadership scrambled like crazy to finalise the list.
It was hard because so few wanted to step up. This was a time when Barisan still commanded its largest majority in history, and where there were serious repercussions to being associated with their enemies.
It was a time when one of the benefits of being in the opposition was that the only colleagues you had were those with real passion — there wasn’t anything in it for anyone else, no money, no power; only plenty of headaches.
I wasn’t asked to run (I suppose someone had to take care of the office), but even if I had been, I had already decided then not to accept. For my own reasons, I was like many others who requested that the bitter cup be passed from our lips.
Indeed, as RPK suggests, it was the people who enabled the political tsunami, and not the charisma of any one man or candidate; but there would have been no tsunami to speak of if not for those who did step up, and for those who led them.
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