Mediocre Followers Have Mediocre Leaders

Mediocre Followers Have Mediocre Leaders
M Bakri Musa (www.bakrimusa.com)

Prime Minister Abdullah’s inept leadership is only half the problem.Leaders do not exist in a vacuum; they are there because of theirfollowers. Mediocre followers tolerate and thus encourage mediocreleaders.The flip side to Abdullah’s incompetence is that it also reflects onthe caliber of his followers. Abdullah’s most proximate followers arehis ministers, followed by UMNO Supreme Council members, then UMNOmembers, and last, the citizens.His ministers meet Abdullah at least once a week during their regularcabinet meetings. UMNO Supreme Council members get to counsel theirPresident at least monthly. Ordinary party members get to voice theirviews through their chosen delegates once a year during their GeneralAssembly. Lastly, voters get to pass their collective judgment everyfive years during general elections.The leader-follower dynamics with Abdullah is less of “monkey see,monkey do,” more of a bunch of drunken sailors recklessly egging ontheir equally drunk bumbling skipper. When their ship ultimately plowsonto a treacherous rock and destroys everything, it matters not who isat fault.Followers’ FeedbackThe finesse, effectiveness, and consequences of the feedback vary withthe various levels of followers. The citizens’ (at least the voters)weapon is the ultimate. While it is the most effective andconsequential, it is also very crude. Their decision is simple: keepor reject. There is little subtlety or nuances, as President Bush andhis cohorts in the Republican Party found out much to their chagrinrecently.Equally effective but much less crude and therefore potentially morebeneficial would be the voices of party members. Former Prime MinisterThatcher was rudely reminded of this reality not too long ago when shewas unceremoniously booted out even though she had successfully led herparty to three successive electoral victories. Today, Labor Partymember are none too subtly reminding Prime Minister Blair that he isfast overstaying his welcome. Like Thatcher, Blair too successfullyled his party through three elections. If party members neglect or shyaway from their responsibility, rest assured that voters would be morethan willing to send the rude message a la Bush.UMNO members have at least two avenues to register their sentimentsabout their leader: through their delegates to the General Assembly,and through their Supreme Council members.The recently concluded UMNO General Assembly, like recent ones, wasnothing more than bodek sessions, undisguised orgy of adulation for theleader, funded by ill-gotten “money politics” or even the statetreasury. Gone are the days when even the most revered UMNO leaderswere routinely challenged. We yearn for the era when one braveSulaiman Palestin would consistently put his name on the ballot tochallenge the exalted party president of the day. Where have the singa(lions) that would have roared into the leaders’ ears gone? Where arethe halia (ginger) that would least give a pungent taste to theleaders’ greedy bite?If the delegates have failed, well, they can be readily excused. Afterall they are not the party’s top leaders or its cream. UMNO still hasits Majlis Tertinggi (Supreme Council), the party’s elite, men andwomen who are professionals and party veterans. These individuals havegone round the block once or twice. Surely it would be tough to passwool over their collective eyes.This particular Supreme Council was constituted since the lastleadership conference over a year ago. Meaning, they have had over adozen meetings with the party president. Surely there must have beenat least one courageous soul on at least one brave occasion who daredtell the party president that he is donning a bark loincloth and notsarong pelakat (cheap cotton wrap), much less samping sutra (silkcummerbund) as the man fancies himself wearing. Perhaps they havecollectively deluded themselves that their obviously near-naked emperoris immaculately attired.It could very well be that members of the Majlis Tertinggi, or MT, havegone the way of the membership. Or as one blogger put it, gone“empty,” to match its initials. In UMNO, instead of the cream risingto the top as in cheese making, it is the crud and debris that haverisen to the top, as with dirty laundry in a washing machine.If party members and leaders have failed to apprise Abdullah of hismediocre performance, then surely there are his ministers who meet himregularly and who could perform that necessary chore, either gently ornot so gently. After all it is the future of the nation, not that ofany individual. The stakes are high and responsibility awesome.In the best parliamentary tradition, ministers have been known toresign to express their disagreement or displeasure with the primeminister, as the late Robin Cook did to Tony Blair, and Paul O’Neill toBush. The stature of those ministers soared following their resignation.The fact that none of Abdullah’s ministers have resigned in protestmeans only one thing: they interpret Abdullah’s incompetence asotherwise. Meaning, those ministers are equally incompetent.Blindly Carrying WaterPrime Minister Abdullah has boldly declared his intention not only tocontinue but also to serve a second and probably even a third term. Such presumption! Obviously his followers, from his cabinet ministersto Supreme Council and ordinary UMNO members, have been his enablers infeeding his delusion that he has been doing a swell job.Abdullah saw fit to warn his followers “not to test him!” Obviouslythis Imam, undoubtedly encouraged by his enablers, has alsosuccessfully deluded himself into believing that he is divinelydestined to lead the nation. Do not challenge Allah’s wish, he seemsto imply!That leaves only one set of follower to pass their collective judgmenton him: the voters. If in their collective wisdom Malaysians renewAbdullah’s mandate, then the aphorism that people deserve their leaderswould have been proven true again.As the citizens’ weapon is crude and consequential, its effects couldnot be readily predictable. When British voters booted out the oldLabor Party and put in Thatcher’s Conservative government, that eventtransformed Britain, for the better.When Malaysian voters decided to teach the old Alliance government alesson in the 1969 elections, the results were devastating to thenation. Following the debacle, there were strong voices within UMNOcastigating the leadership, but that was after the debacle. Had thosebrave souls delivered their message earlier, the leaders might havebeen persuaded to change their ways and the nation would have beenspared that horrible tragedy.People have a way of expressing their sentiments, with or withoutelections. When the Iranians were fed up with their Shah, they usedtheir ultimate weapon: they got rid of him. The uppermost question ontheir mind was on getting rid of him, not on the consequences of thatdecision. Thus they paid no heed on who would succeed him or theensuing policy shifts. Today, the Iranians are still paying the price. That is what happens when you wield the ultimate weapon; you cannotalways predict the consequences.Had the Shah’s advisors, ministers, and other proximate followerscounseled him earlier when he could still mend his ways, his fate andtheirs, as well as those of the Iranian people, would have been fardifferent.Abdullah saw fit to characterize those who criticize him as engaging infitnah, a Quranic reference meaning betraying the faith. It would notbe the first or the last time for a politician to seek refuge inreligion. Abdullah should instead heed the beautiful verse in theQuran to the effect that when you see a wrong being perpetrated, youshould use your hand to stop it. Failing that, then you use yourtongue, meaning voice your disapproval. At the very least you shoulddisapprove of it in your heart, knowing fully well that Allah is leastpleased with this option.I may not convince Abdullah or his supporters through my fingers atkeyboard, at least I have done my part in registering my disapproval.There are consequences to the followers’ inaction and remaining silent,or worse, in praising a mediocre and incompetent performance. Abdullah’s ministers and those in UMNO Supreme Council may rationalizetheir support for him on grounds of “personal and party loyalty,” “notrocking the boat,” “working within the system,” or plain selfishattempts at clinging to power and position. Regardless, the effectsare the same.When you blindly carry water behind your bumbling leader, you will bewet whenever he stumbles. Worse, you may even end up drowning in yourown pail.Abdullah’s ministers, Supreme Council members, and UMNO delegates oughtto be reminded of this stark reality.