LETTER | Leadership is not charity

LETTER | The bane of wishful thinking by a political leader brings more harm to society than to himself. Such detachment from reality is heightened by the presence of those preying on insecurity.

Shafie Apdal’s ambition of becoming a prime minister has impeded the bigger cause within the opposition. His grand illusion as being the person right for the job in bringing betterment for the nation is built on a conceited belief and he wasted every opportunity to show any merit when entrusted by the people of Sabah before his state government was voted out.

Pakatan Harapan has always been supportive of Warisan as a coalition partner then, despite Shafie being considered as an Umno “reject” after getting booted out. Having carried more than 20 years of experience before forming Warisan, he devoted his time to leading an extravagant life and other alleged scandalous pursuits with women in the entertainment industry.

It is to no surprise why the people in rural Malaysia and his constituents in Semporna were never considered a priority while he held the portfolio as rural and regional development minister under Najib Abdul Razak’s administration.

After being orphaned by Umno, he was left politically vulnerable and desperate. Harapan decided to welcome Warisan in the spirit of unity against kleptocrats and reforming the law and institution in the country to fight corruption. It was a promise made by Shafie along with Muhyiddin Yassin and Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

He, however, reveals himself as a fraud through slip-ups caused by his inconsistent beliefs and practices. Today, Warisan is no longer with Harapan yet remains to lend conditional support for the opposition as a second fiddle to Mahathir’s tunes and barks when asked by its master if the subject of prime minister candidacy arises.

There is no question that the man deserving to lead reforms is not Shafie. He should instead focus on self-reflection as Upko had recently pledged full support for Harapan despite being seen as Warisan’s strong ally before. This is not the time to have pretenders or agent saboteurs in our cause for reforms and welfare.

Ideas should only be imparted and not imposed on others and from the looks of it, Shafie is Mahathir’s next plaything in the game of democracy.

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