LETTER | Malaysia need leaders of integrity that inspire change

LETTER | Lately I had a conversation with a young and bright entrepreneur from Penang. We were discussing the current Covid -19 crisis and the way forward.

We spoke on the role of young people in bringing authentic cultural and structural changes and how the country’s governing system should be more decentralised to meet the needs of the local population. We also discussed the importance of having visionary leaders who are able to create a smart city where big data is used proactively to address issues like poverty.

In the context of this discussion, the young man told me that he had once spoken to a local government official on how they could work together to distribute aid to the poor, and the official’s answer was how can he privately gain from providing such aid.

The young entrepreneur said he was disappointed with the official and wondered whether such thinking is part of the Malaysian national administrative culture.

Today, there is an ongoing debate in the media whether Malaysia is becoming a failed state, with many having differences of opinion.

The fact is Malaysia still has the fundamental structure of governance in place. We are not like some countries in Africa and West Asia where we find dysfunctional governance, civil war, or mass starvation.

The real issue with Malaysia today is the deficit of corruption-free, competent, and visionary leaders who are from the grassroots and are able to empathise with real problems of the people, able to take on corruption by building a culture against it, build the necessary culture of

service excellence and a decentralised governing structure to execute it.

Currently, we don’t have such capable leaders in the government, or even in the opposition. What we have is the old guards of the system.

A clean visionary would kickstart a major transformation that would touch the nerve of those who have benefitted from the current system, especially the ethno-religious establishment, business elites and civil servants who have benefited from a corrupted system of privileges that has no effective check and balance.

A country like Singapore started with Lee Kuan Yew, a leader of integrity who wanted his cabinet to be free of corruption, and today’s Singapore is what it is because of such a legacy. Do we have such a great legacy?

Therefore, the young man’s grievance reflects the great revolutionary need for a corruption-free leadership, culture, effective structures, and real impartial institutions, if Malaysia is to move forward from the Covid-19 crisis and prevent it from becoming a failed state.

Young Malaysians should take charge and rebuild the nation from a corrupted culture and system that says: “What can I gain from helping somebody?”.

RONALD BENJAMIN is secretary of Association for Community and Dialogue.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.