The Rise of the Young in Politics
A lot of people ask me - "are you not interested to go into politics?". I'm not quite sure why, but they think I should be there.
Yes, it's probably sexy nowadays for the young, to be in politics. Never in Malaysian politics, have the young been welcomed, so much as now. Not since the glorious days of the Tun Razak administration.
But a lot of things have led to the current rise of the young - Anwar's reformasi movement, the wake-up call from political apathy, demographic changes which makes those under the age of 40, at least 60% of the population in this country (and increasing) and the truckloads of young ladies joining Puteri UMNO, in the pink of health.
And of course, of late, the controversial Khairy Jamaluddin factor. The most powerful 29-year old in the country - or so they call him. The fact that he's Oxford-educated, Pak Lah's son-in-law and was elected unopposed as Deputy Chief of Umno Youth, after less than 6 years in UMNO, adds to the mystique.
My late father was a politician too - at one time, during the Razak and Hussein administration, one of the fastest rising sons of UMNO Kelantan. The other 2 prominent names in Kelantan back then, were Tengku Razaleigh and Tan Sri Abdullah Ahmad, both great men in Malaysian history. And they are both now in the same place -less than what they could have been.
But Ayah was politically out-maneouvered and sidelined, when he was trying to expose some corruption cases in UMNO Kelantan. Disillusioned, he left UMNO and joined Pas under Dato' Asri Muda, after PAS left UMNO. He passed away in the mid 80's and never saw PAS whitewash Kelantan in 1990 and to almost lose it, in 2004. If he had lived, I'm confident he would be at least be Deputy Chief Minister.
I've always had a fascination for local politics - at least, as an observer. It's in my blood, you could say.
Politics is the lifeblood in this country - it's responsible for much that has gone right and for a lot more that has gone wrong. It's made millionaires out of ordinary men, kings out of the ordinary citizen. And simple family doctors into a Malaysian icon and a former Deputy Prime Minister into a jailbird.
And everyone is in the game - even of you're not Malay, you'd have to be involved in some way indirectly, to "cari makan". I never underestimate the "invisible players" in the system - those who are kingmakers, but never kings. Kings come and go, but kingmakers always remain in the background.
But I'm not suited to local politics. Too much sandiwara, too much rhethoric, too many handouts to retain support. Too little merit base, too much "ampu" base. Too little patriotism, too much money-making. Too Malay and yet not Malay enough to save this country.
And this is where the young are not that much different, from the older generation they're trying to push out. Corruption is not age-specific - the lack of integrity could hit all generations, both young and old. And the recent UMNO general assembly has proven this, with the biggest outcry on money politics.
Pak Lah believes that the future is with the young - so he's trying to infuse and regenerate the party with young people. Actually, the future is with the good leaders, be they young or old. It's a demarcation that's much more complex, than age range.
How do you identify good people? How do you recognise integrity? And will the young and the old agree on the way forward, even if they're all on the same side.
Raja Y and I, spoke to Dato N the other day. She's one of the true sincere people in the system - very bright, lots of integrity, hardworking and extremely concerned over the future direction of Malaysia. She's very worried over the "Khairy factor" and how the country is being "run by children".
Her Kedahan expressions amused us, but her concerns were valid. Do the young ones like Khairy and gang, advising Pak Lah, have what it takes to be consultative and handle national policy and political issues delicately and sensitively, the way it should be handled? Or will they treat the old, like the custodian of yesterday's mindset and therefore, irrelevant?
In Harvard University, their motto says, "Wisdom cannot be taught". It is humbling that such an eminent academic organisation which has produced so many American political and business leaders, have such respect for knowledge and truth. Perhaps, there's something to be learnt here.
My late mother always said, "how you respect your elders, shows your breeding". Maybe the young ones need to be reminded, that respect and humility is just as important as knowledge and qualifications, in running a country.
Leadership is a responsibility that requires you to sacrifice your ego and self-interest, for the sake of service and nation. A generational change is only good, when the next generation is qualitatively better, than the previous one. It's all about values - the correct ones.
Otherwise, all we're doing is changing an old gold digger for a younger one. And this country will pay the price.
Yes, it's probably sexy nowadays for the young, to be in politics. Never in Malaysian politics, have the young been welcomed, so much as now. Not since the glorious days of the Tun Razak administration.
But a lot of things have led to the current rise of the young - Anwar's reformasi movement, the wake-up call from political apathy, demographic changes which makes those under the age of 40, at least 60% of the population in this country (and increasing) and the truckloads of young ladies joining Puteri UMNO, in the pink of health.
And of course, of late, the controversial Khairy Jamaluddin factor. The most powerful 29-year old in the country - or so they call him. The fact that he's Oxford-educated, Pak Lah's son-in-law and was elected unopposed as Deputy Chief of Umno Youth, after less than 6 years in UMNO, adds to the mystique.
My late father was a politician too - at one time, during the Razak and Hussein administration, one of the fastest rising sons of UMNO Kelantan. The other 2 prominent names in Kelantan back then, were Tengku Razaleigh and Tan Sri Abdullah Ahmad, both great men in Malaysian history. And they are both now in the same place -less than what they could have been.
But Ayah was politically out-maneouvered and sidelined, when he was trying to expose some corruption cases in UMNO Kelantan. Disillusioned, he left UMNO and joined Pas under Dato' Asri Muda, after PAS left UMNO. He passed away in the mid 80's and never saw PAS whitewash Kelantan in 1990 and to almost lose it, in 2004. If he had lived, I'm confident he would be at least be Deputy Chief Minister.
I've always had a fascination for local politics - at least, as an observer. It's in my blood, you could say.
Politics is the lifeblood in this country - it's responsible for much that has gone right and for a lot more that has gone wrong. It's made millionaires out of ordinary men, kings out of the ordinary citizen. And simple family doctors into a Malaysian icon and a former Deputy Prime Minister into a jailbird.
And everyone is in the game - even of you're not Malay, you'd have to be involved in some way indirectly, to "cari makan". I never underestimate the "invisible players" in the system - those who are kingmakers, but never kings. Kings come and go, but kingmakers always remain in the background.
But I'm not suited to local politics. Too much sandiwara, too much rhethoric, too many handouts to retain support. Too little merit base, too much "ampu" base. Too little patriotism, too much money-making. Too Malay and yet not Malay enough to save this country.
And this is where the young are not that much different, from the older generation they're trying to push out. Corruption is not age-specific - the lack of integrity could hit all generations, both young and old. And the recent UMNO general assembly has proven this, with the biggest outcry on money politics.
Pak Lah believes that the future is with the young - so he's trying to infuse and regenerate the party with young people. Actually, the future is with the good leaders, be they young or old. It's a demarcation that's much more complex, than age range.
How do you identify good people? How do you recognise integrity? And will the young and the old agree on the way forward, even if they're all on the same side.
Raja Y and I, spoke to Dato N the other day. She's one of the true sincere people in the system - very bright, lots of integrity, hardworking and extremely concerned over the future direction of Malaysia. She's very worried over the "Khairy factor" and how the country is being "run by children".
Her Kedahan expressions amused us, but her concerns were valid. Do the young ones like Khairy and gang, advising Pak Lah, have what it takes to be consultative and handle national policy and political issues delicately and sensitively, the way it should be handled? Or will they treat the old, like the custodian of yesterday's mindset and therefore, irrelevant?
In Harvard University, their motto says, "Wisdom cannot be taught". It is humbling that such an eminent academic organisation which has produced so many American political and business leaders, have such respect for knowledge and truth. Perhaps, there's something to be learnt here.
My late mother always said, "how you respect your elders, shows your breeding". Maybe the young ones need to be reminded, that respect and humility is just as important as knowledge and qualifications, in running a country.
Leadership is a responsibility that requires you to sacrifice your ego and self-interest, for the sake of service and nation. A generational change is only good, when the next generation is qualitatively better, than the previous one. It's all about values - the correct ones.
Otherwise, all we're doing is changing an old gold digger for a younger one. And this country will pay the price.
posted by Stingrayz | 9:16 PM
2 Comments:
My personal view is that there is a self-selection problem: given the state of the nation's politics today, the young and the idealistic shy away because they lose faith; the young and the greedy instead make the grade. And for as long as the cycle continues, it's hard to see things moving in a different direction. Young and old: two sides, same coin.
So how do we break with tradition? What would this take, and most importantly, who will be willing to shoulder the burden? Even I dare not answer in the affirmative, effectively relegating myself to the (much -maligned) position of armchair politician.
Absolutely right, Idlan. It is a dilemma. One of the ways to solve this (IMHO)would be take out the pecuniary and patronage benefits, currently attached to Barisan politics.
If there was lesser space for personal gain, there would be less interest for the wrong sort of people to join politics. (They would look at it as a burden and not a responsibility) And more incentive for the right ones to do so - those who want to contribute.
Another space where one can contribute would be through the NGO arena - to be involved on the policy side. The battleground of tomorrow's globalized world is good policy and great implementation - not race, religion and sentiment.
This is where NGOs could play a role directly or indirectly - without being involved in partisan politics. You can keep your conscience clear and contribute, via your feedback and actions to the country.
(I've taken this path for the last 3 years - no regrets and have made so many good friends from "rakan seperjuangan")
It's a good place for the young (and relatively idealistic) to be, I feel. The country needs all the help it can get - you can choose your vehicle of contribution.
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