Politicians should follow the true teachings of great religions. Some people say that if you are a good Buddhist, you are at the same time a good Christian, a good Muslim and a good Hindu. Or a good follower of any other good religion for that matter.

I agree with them. I may even argue that if you are a good man, you are as good as a good Buddhist, a good Muslim, a good Christian or a good Hindu.

Until I met a learned friend of mine recently, I did not understand the power of religion despite the fact that I have been reading the Bible, the Qur'an and some Buddhist literature every now and then.

But I have since begun to rethink and appreciate the real values of the great religions. And inevitably, I started to rethink politics, a subject close to my heart and soul for some 30 years now.

I dare conclude that if all political leaders are at the same time true followers of their religions, then the people would not have to suffer so much under their rule.

Some religious people argue that politics is not the answer and it certainly will not solve our problems in life. This may be true as there are not many politicians today who really care about true religious teachings.

But someone has to come forward to lead the community and the country. They have to do it through some form of political system. They cannot operate from churches, temples or mosques.

We should encourage more good people (with or without a religion) to participate actively in political leadership in order to create a cleaner political system. A system which adheres to the universal good values of the great religions of the world.

In this context, I would like to propose that all political leaders go back to the basics of their religions and try to lead the people with the good values of their religion and never resort to using tactics and measures that are against the grain their own religion.