Dr M wrong about traits of strong leadership
YoursayPublished: Jul 13, 2014 3:00 AM | Updated: Jul 13, 2014 7:56 AM
YOURSAY ‘If Najib is a strong leader, he should tell Mahathir to shut up.’
Dr M schools Najib on what makes strong leader
Casey: Former PM Dr Mahathir Mohamad had used the term 'strong leadership' with a lot of subjectivity. But I shall, for now, confined my opinion to Mahathir's own leadership traits, which may, in a nutshell, be summed up as autocratic, narcissistic and toxic.
An autocratic leader, as in that of a dictator, will centralises all decision-making powers in his own hands to the exclusion of his deputies. He'll go the distance to undermine anyone who stand in his way.
Narcissistic leadership, on the other hand, is a leadership style where the leader is only interested in himself and that of his cronies, at the expense of the people. A narcissistic leader is driven by unyielding arrogance, self-absorption, and an egoistic need for power and admiration.
A toxic leader is someone who abuses the leader-follower relationship by leaving the people and the country in a worse-off condition than when he took over the helm.
Does Mahathir wonder how such a state of affairs had come about? The Pareto principle, also known as the 80-20 rule or the law of the vital few, may sometimes be misused to state that a solution to a problem "fits the 80-20 rule" just because it fits 80 percent of the cases.
But when you callously and persistently practice the policy that all positions in the public sector and government-link companies, must be filled with only one class of people - to the total exclusion of some resemblance of meritocracy - then you'll be hard pressed to find all the right leaders and managers to fill up the places.
I've no doubt that there are honest, capable and competent Malays, but the distribution of highly competent and productive populace, and hence the wealth and resources they in turn control, in every society all over the world seems to suggest that this so-called 'champagne glass' effect holds true.
Now, starting with Mahathir's indiscriminate and overzealous implementation of the long archaic and obsolete economic policy, the nation has been deprived of the service of the good and the competent. The dismal state of affairs is reveling.
Pemerhati: Mahathir said, “In the first place, why is it (TPPA) done in secret if it is not to cheat people?”
Now we know why all the mega projects costing billions, like the North South Highway, which were carried out by Mahathir, were done in secret and were classified under the OSA (Official Secrets Act).
Abasir: Mahathir has indirectly revealed that all the tolled highway deals done under the cover of the OSA was to cheat the people, just like the TPPA (Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement).
I'm Malaysian: I agree with you, Mahathir. A strong leader will also prevent his wife from stealing the limelight with stupid remarks. A strong leader can engage with any rakyat openly.
A strong leader will curb and curtail any form of extremism anywhere. A strong leader is also one who can bring direct improvement to the economic livelihood of every private citizen.
Also he is not afraid of criticism even by academicians; and instead chides all those who apple-polish him. A strong PM also does not need too many ministers in his own department; and he also weed out non-performing ministers.
Most importantly, he also listens to the opposition.
Vincylim: Our PM is doing the right thing by temporarily rejecting the implementation of TPPA in our country.
He has told United States President Barack Obama that TPPA could not be implemented in Malaysia to protect the local people interest.
If at any time our government decided to launch the TPPA, I believe our PM will include additional requirements to avoid negative impact on the local people.
Little Sparrow: If Najib is a strong leader he should tell Mahathir to shut up as he is not the PM and his views are not always right.
Everyone has his own opinion and views on certain matters and if Najib thinks his view is correct and beneficial to the country, then there is no reason for Najib to reject TPPA and listen to Mahathir.
Mahathir should just let Najib do his job, just like what he expected when he was PM.
J Ng: Ability and willing to stand up against foreign pressure and protect the country’s interest are not the only qualifications of a strong leader.
A good leader must have the ability to choose qualified teammates. A good leader must respond immediately when chaos arise and offer solutions.
A good leader must uphold his integrity and reliability without negative public perception. A good leader must be able to reprimand or even remove teammates who are acting irresponsibly.
Last but not least, a good leader must act and be seen to be protecting all Malaysians. It will be great to have a survey to find out how many current Malaysian leaders qualify as such.
Axolotl: It's high time we stop using words like "weak" or "strong" to describe leadership. How about "honest" and "criminal" instead?
The above is a selection of comments posted by Malaysiakini subscribers. Only paying subscribers can post comments. Over the past one year, Malaysiakinians have posted over 100,000 comments. Join the Malaysiakini community and help set the news agenda. Subscribe now.
These comments are compiled to reflect the views of Malaysiakini subscribers on matters of public interest. Malaysiakini does not intend to represent these views as fact.
Dr M schools Najib on what makes strong leader
Casey: Former PM Dr Mahathir Mohamad had used the term 'strong leadership' with a lot of subjectivity. But I shall, for now, confined my opinion to Mahathir's own leadership traits, which may, in a nutshell, be summed up as autocratic, narcissistic and toxic.An autocratic leader, as in that of a dictator, will centralises all decision-making powers in his own hands to the exclusion of his deputies. He'll go the distance to undermine anyone who stand in his way.
Narcissistic leadership, on the other hand, is a leadership style where the leader is only interested in himself and that of his cronies, at the expense of the people. A narcissistic leader is driven by unyielding arrogance, self-absorption, and an egoistic need for power and admiration.
A toxic leader is someone who abuses the leader-follower relationship by leaving the people and the country in a worse-off condition than when he took over the helm.
Does Mahathir wonder how such a state of affairs had come about? The Pareto principle, also known as the 80-20 rule or the law of the vital few, may sometimes be misused to state that a solution to a problem "fits the 80-20 rule" just because it fits 80 percent of the cases.
But when you callously and persistently practice the policy that all positions in the public sector and government-link companies, must be filled with only one class of people - to the total exclusion of some resemblance of meritocracy - then you'll be hard pressed to find all the right leaders and managers to fill up the places.
I've no doubt that there are honest, capable and competent Malays, but the distribution of highly competent and productive populace, and hence the wealth and resources they in turn control, in every society all over the world seems to suggest that this so-called 'champagne glass' effect holds true.
Now, starting with Mahathir's indiscriminate and overzealous implementation of the long archaic and obsolete economic policy, the nation has been deprived of the service of the good and the competent. The dismal state of affairs is reveling.
Pemerhati: Mahathir said, “In the first place, why is it (TPPA) done in secret if it is not to cheat people?”
Now we know why all the mega projects costing billions, like the North South Highway, which were carried out by Mahathir, were done in secret and were classified under the OSA (Official Secrets Act).
Abasir: Mahathir has indirectly revealed that all the tolled highway deals done under the cover of the OSA was to cheat the people, just like the TPPA (Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement).
I'm Malaysian: I agree with you, Mahathir. A strong leader will also prevent his wife from stealing the limelight with stupid remarks. A strong leader can engage with any rakyat openly.
A strong leader will curb and curtail any form of extremism anywhere. A strong leader is also one who can bring direct improvement to the economic livelihood of every private citizen.
Also he is not afraid of criticism even by academicians; and instead chides all those who apple-polish him. A strong PM also does not need too many ministers in his own department; and he also weed out non-performing ministers.
Most importantly, he also listens to the opposition.
Vincylim: Our PM is doing the right thing by temporarily rejecting the implementation of TPPA in our country.
He has told United States President Barack Obama that TPPA could not be implemented in Malaysia to protect the local people interest.
If at any time our government decided to launch the TPPA, I believe our PM will include additional requirements to avoid negative impact on the local people.
Little Sparrow: If Najib is a strong leader he should tell Mahathir to shut up as he is not the PM and his views are not always right.
Everyone has his own opinion and views on certain matters and if Najib thinks his view is correct and beneficial to the country, then there is no reason for Najib to reject TPPA and listen to Mahathir.
Mahathir should just let Najib do his job, just like what he expected when he was PM.
J Ng: Ability and willing to stand up against foreign pressure and protect the country’s interest are not the only qualifications of a strong leader.
A good leader must have the ability to choose qualified teammates. A good leader must respond immediately when chaos arise and offer solutions.
A good leader must uphold his integrity and reliability without negative public perception. A good leader must be able to reprimand or even remove teammates who are acting irresponsibly.
Last but not least, a good leader must act and be seen to be protecting all Malaysians. It will be great to have a survey to find out how many current Malaysian leaders qualify as such.
Axolotl: It's high time we stop using words like "weak" or "strong" to describe leadership. How about "honest" and "criminal" instead?
The above is a selection of comments posted by Malaysiakini subscribers. Only paying subscribers can post comments. Over the past one year, Malaysiakinians have posted over 100,000 comments. Join the Malaysiakini community and help set the news agenda. Subscribe now.
These comments are compiled to reflect the views of Malaysiakini subscribers on matters of public interest. Malaysiakini does not intend to represent these views as fact.
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