The Hazard of Succeeding a Great Leader

One of the most fortunate things to have happened to Dato' Seri Najib Razak is that he was not chosen to be the Deputy Prime Minister, after Anwar Ibrahim.

Instead, former Prime Minister, Tun Mahathir Mohamad, chose Dato' Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. I'm sure he had his own reasons for doing so and perhaps, I'm guessing one of Tun's greatest plans was to stop the great split of the Malays, (mainly caused by the rift between PAS and UMNO) by having a successor with strong Islamic credentials.

(And it worked too - the Opposition seems to be less displeased with and less effective against Pak Lah - than some of the people in his own party are)


Anwar Ibrahim might have fit the mould better, if history did not go down the way it did. And if he played it like Pak Lah did - patiently waiting for his turn.

He was a charismatic moderate Islamist, urbane in appearance and seemed larger than life to many in the younger generation.

Although he was nowhere near the pragmatic intellectual giant that Mahathir is - he had his own following from his generation - the generation that was greatly inspired by his student activism and his involvement of the Muslim da'wah movement in Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia (ABIM).

But the Anwar Ibrahim of today is a mere pale shadow of the the rising star that he once was. Perhaps, the trauma and battling of the last few years, between 1998 and 2004, has broken his spirit. He seems to have lost his gusto and seems content playing on the fringe of Malaysian politics - content, in not being forgotten.

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But let's get back to the main issue of why I think Dato' Seri Najib is lucky to have been passed over, despite being the most popular of the 3 UMNO vice-presidents.

The reason is this: It is the toughest thing in the world, to come after a leader that is perceived by many, to be a great leader.


Especially, when one's leadership style, ability and mannerism differs greatly from the previous leader's.

It's punishing for any UMNO leader to succeed Dr. Mahathir.

He's been there for 22 years - he's governed during the greatest economic boom era that Malaysia has seen, (in between 1987 - 1996), he's seen Malaysians through 2 rounds of economic crisis (one of regional proportion which left some of our neighbouring countries in tatters, economically) and several rounds of political crisis, including the scarring Reformasi era.

He's responsible for many symbols of Malaysian achievement like Amanah Saham Nasional, Proton, Petronas Twin Towers, the Formula 1 track in Sepang, the KL International Airport, KL Tower, Islamic finance, Putrajaya, the Light Rail Transit System, the Multimedia Super Corridor, Malaysia as a manufacturing hub, the creation of Bumiputra millionaires and professional class, etc.

He spoke out on the international front, without fear or favour. And he had many open and quiet supporters in all parts of the world, nodding in agreement with his views. No matter how controversial it was - no matter how big the country he was annoying - Mahathir never backed down. He was the voice of the developing world - one of the louder ones.


And for most in my generation, he's been the only Prime Minister we've ever known. He's our economic security blanket - for as long as Mahathir is around, the economy will prevail and we'll survive through any political crisis. Love him or hate him, but you can't help but begrudgingly respect him.

Deep inside, I know this belief is ingrained within most of the people of my generation. Such is the respect and veneration for Dr. Mahathir.

It reminds me of what Dr. Mahathir used to write of Dato' Onn at one time:

"It is characteristic of the Malays that having once placed their trust and respect in a person, they are loath to revise their opinions, even under altered circumstances. Thus it is no longer their own convictions that count, but those of Dato' Onn".



I think it suffices to say that the above, is now not only a Malay characteristic now.

As far as my generation's regard of Dr. Mahathir is concerned, it has become a Malaysian characteristic.

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It is tough to succeed great leaders.

Pak Lah is not the only unfortunate successor, to have gone through this phenomenon.


The mild-mannered John Major took over from "Iron Lady" Margaret Thatcher and this was followed by a disastrous defeat in the next (*Correction: the one in 1997 not 1992 - thanks to Anon 2 for the correction) general election for the Conservatives, in Britain. A defeat which the Tories have never recovered from, up till today, in Labour-dominated Britain.


Goh Chok Tong took over from the iconic Lee Kuan Yew in Singapore and even though he came to stamp his own personal mark eventually, on Singapore - but all throughout his tenure, he was never quite free from the perception that he was subject to Lee's occasional intervention as Senior Minister on many issues and acted as a "seat warmer" for his successor, Lee Hsien Loong - the son of the Senior Minister.


Harry S. Truman took over from the wheel-chaired but influential and legendary Franklin D. Roosevelt, as the 33rd American President in 1944 and was responsible for many crucial decisions which led to the end of World War 2 - like the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Amongst the significant events during his tenure was the setting up of the United Nations, the Marshall Plan to revive the economies of European countries, the fight against racial discrimination in the civil service, the Korean War and at the same time, achieving a fairly strong economic growth for America.

And although he was by far, a fairer, more principled and ethical man and leader - but he was believed to have been "pressured" into retirement in 1953 over policy disagreements with those within his own party and administration. He decided not to contest in the next election, despite being (barely) re-elected in 1948.

He wasn't remembered as a great or popular American President (not in the same way that Americans remember Franklin Roosevelt) but "Mr Citizen" Truman played a significant role in the course of American and world history.

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When you succeed a great leader - 2 things could happen.

You could do a bad (or even a moderately good) job and be totally reviled for it. Or you could do a great job and still not be quite remembered for it.

And if you haven't got a sparkling personality, striking intellect, a combative stance or the aura of a visionary - your constituents will send you to the dogs.

Electorates are big on people selling them a vision - it'll cloud them so far, that they won't even notice that there's anything wrong. Voters would rather that you lie to them and hide things from them - as long as the perception of rock solid growth and stability remains.

But if you're a leader that just intends to do a good job, be a fair and consultative leader, not sell them a vision but reality, to build democratic institutions, to engender strong national competitive foundations and you're trying to get your constituents to grow as a people - you're in for a tough time. Only divinely guided prophets could survive such a thing.

And if you don't keep your promises and you're not walking your talk - you're likely to be doomed.

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Mere mortals who come after the great leaders, are destined to be ripped apart or unfairly measured, by history. Unless they change and play to a new tune. The tune that the electorates are accustomed to - strong, bright, confrontational and seemingly fearless leaders.

When Dato' Seri Najib Razak takes over as Prime Minister one day, he should count his blessings that the public benchmark for him to beat, is Pak Lah - and not Tun Mahathir. History will have been kind to him.