I refer to the Malaysiakini report 'Singh is King' mobbed, MP claims assault.

If the behaviour of the hooligans roughing up Karpal Singh is to be condemned then, then the support and backing given to them by the leaders of Umno should be called into question as well. Their action speaks volumes of the leadership void we are facing today.

Whatever the perceived provocation, such behaviour towards a wheelchair-bound older person is unacceptable. This is an accepted value of all Malaysians, whatever the racial, cultural or religious grouping.

In our homes, when our children misbehave, we discipline them and teach them the right values. Is this case any different from a situation where our child punched another kid in school just because he was called a name?

Wrong behaviour condoned would only lead to chronic long-term behavioural failure. That must surely be the case for this group of miscreants. And the leaders of Umno must clearly and unequivocally state this.

I am saddened, therefore, that instead of making a stand that violence in any form is unacceptable, the leadership of this once great party stooped to condone and justify it.

Instead of chastening them for their error in judgment and wrong behaviour, we have our Selangor Umno head, the current Umno Youth chief and deputy chief plus others opening making excuses them for the behaviour of the Umno Youth mob.

If this is a one-off, we can still be hopeful. But this is unfortunately not the case. I recall there were other occasion, a recent one, where a bunch of hooligans broke into a Bar Council forum – a meeting in the council’s own premises and acted threateningly.

Then, as it is now, the leadership of this party, including the very top leader, excused their behaviour and, in fact, blamed the organisers for daring to discuss a ‘sensitive topic’. When there is this pattern of behaviour, then all the more it reveals the true nature of the people involved.

Our inability to see the a log in front of our own eyes but the specks in front of others has reached seismic proportions. Our ex-chief ministerof Selangor is one such example, criticising a poor lady for ‘immoral’ behaviour when she was photographed without her consent and knowledge in the privacy of her own home.

He, apparently, conveniently failed to declare his ‘benefits in kind’ for the car and driver accorded to him. And would this be just the tip of the iceberg?

If we cannot be honourable in our own lives, then we have no right to criticise others. This could well apply for his fellow Umno Youth chief aspirant, Khairy Jamaluddin as well.

What sort of example are we leaving for our children and our future generations? What sort of leaders are we grooming for the future? If people like our ex-Selangor menteri besar become Umno Youth chiefs, then I wonder what kind of leadership this party could proffer for the future.