Thinking Allowed on Bakri Musa's Essay

desiderata-ylchong from the start seeks your indulgence as this Post can be longish, and it's best you come back at leisure -- lunch or tea break maybe -- so that you won't add to your blood pressure. I'm on AtenoLOL and I don't wish that you join the Club, as the good doctor Bakri Musa cannot entertain you medically.


When Desi checked the responses to Bakri Musa's article this morning at about 5.00AM, he felt slightly disappointed there were so few Comments; but elated with Maverick SM's critical questioning.

It deserves frontpage treatment -- taxing the US-based author with lots of questions.

"Bakri is a great writer. However, his suggestions, of what he called the 4-Carinal Points of his Diamond of Development, that is - establishing effective leadership; enhancing the
quality of human capital; strengthening our culture and institutions; and harnessing our geographic attributes - he gave no suggestions of solutions. What then is effective leadership in an empirical sense? How is it that human capital can be enhanced when the system of UMNOputeraism connocts a type of playing field that dictates a single race composition, that our universities are packed with students based on mediocrity, and far worse, the tutors/lecturers are manned by political pundits, not academicians of high standings.

The question of strengthening our culture and institutions and harnessing our geographic attributes sounds far-fetched. What is our culture? Is Keris wielding a Malaysian Culture or UMNO culture? Is Lion Dance a Malaysian Culture? Is Islam Hadhari a Malaysian Culture? Is the prerogative of indicting someone for corruption by the AG which requires the assent of the PM a Malaysian Culture? Worse off, what kind of geographical attributes is Bakri suggesting? Could we emulate S'Pore or do we emulate Indonesia or Thailand? Would Malaysia have Human Rights Act analogous of the British Act? What about Judicial Reviews of delegated legislatures that are kleptocratic? What about the Parlimentary Caucus, Ombudsmenship and Parliamentary Committees that investigate Parliamentarian and Ministers delinquencies? What about the Close-one-eye thing? What about the rights and protection of minorities?

Could you ask Bakri to provide some insights on these?

By Maverick SM, at 12:54 AM"


I won't adopt Mave's line of eliciting further answers, but do a supplementary sort of "thinking allowed" -- systematically going through the paces. It will be as long as the ORIGINAL, but I assure my ER (EsteemedReaders) I won't indulge in any DDC (Da Desi Code) because it's too serious a topic to be anywhere nigh frivilous.

DESIDERATA:

I have highlighted Bakri's essay, and the non-highlights are Desi's Views, okay? Here goes:

An Open Letter to Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi

Dear YAB Perdana Menteri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi:

When Prime Minister Mahathir selected you back in early 1999 to be his
Deputy, and thus his successor, you described the event as a promotion.

That reflected your humble and understated style. I hope that in
your heart you did not consider the exercise to be just another step up
the civil service rung, rather a rare and privileged opportunity to
lead Malaysia to greater heights. Malaysians certainly thought so, for
they subsequently gave you an overwhelming mandate.

In the few years as Deputy Prime Minister, you remained the
dutiful number two, respectfully keeping yourself in the background. I
do not know whether that was an expression of your personality or that
you were shrewdly mindful of the sorry fate of your three predecessors.
Besides, it would have been tough to shine in the shadow of such a
towering personality (if I can borrow your phrase) as Dr. Mahathir.

As leader, you intimated early the direction you wish to take the
nation. You spoke bravely of the “New Malay Dilemma,” of weaning our
people off the special privilege crutches. You exhorted us to be
competitive. With your Islam Hadhari, you aspired that our great faith
should emancipate, not entrap us. Malaysians also bought into your
“Excellence, Glory and Distinction” election rally. You pleaded with
them to “Work with me, not for me.”

When you in quick succession set up the Royal Commission on the
Police, scrapped the exorbitantly expensive double track railroad
project, and arrested a cabinet minister and a prominent corporate
figure on charges of corruption, the nation cheered. Malaysians,
yearning for a change, saw in your early moves the promise of even
greater changes to come..

Desi: The "New Malay Dilemma", Mr PM? I ask that your primary starting premise was already wrong by restricting yourself to meeting the challenge posed by the "Malays" You have neglected the focus on the other ethnic groups, who comprise some 50% to 60%, depending how reliable the sources of the statistics.

I have writen several essays in my Blog -- just about 1-1/3-years old -- stating that "national policies should NOT be race based, but needs-based" so that Malaysia can begin to start its nation-building. My contention is that since August 31, 1957, we hardly moved forawrd as "one nation", truly united with one national visit and focused on a national agenda defined above Race, Colour and Creed, and Age and Gender too.


Yet barely a couple of years later, the citizens were becoming
restless. You asked them to be patient, and sought Allah’s forgiveness
for your mistakes. You also saw fit to warn your critics not to
question your niat ikhlas (noble intentions).

With leadership, good intentions alone are not enough. The one
critic you cannot ignore or wish away – the man who appointed you, Dr.
Mahathir –is also your toughest and most persistent. Despite attempts
by those sympathetic to you in the mainstream media to ignore him, he
is getting an increasingly receptive audience.

I am on record expressing my lack of enthusiasm over Mahathir’s
choice of a successor, but I take no pleasure in pointing that out.
Like other Malaysians, I want you and the nation to succeed. I would
love to be proven wrong.

Increasingly, you are demonstrating that those early moves were
not only your best shots but also your only ones. Despite your early
commitment to reform the Police Force, you have now backtracked in the
face of opposition from senior police officers. You took that in
stride; to me, it was clearly gross insubordination, which in turn
reflects the level of discipline. Your “New Malay Dilemma” turned out
to be your own personal dilemma; you are unable to rein in the
keris-brandishing elements in UMNO who are as dependent as ever on
their NEP crutches. As for corruption and transparency, your promise of
open tenders and competitive biddings proved to be nothing more than
the typical politician’s promise before an election.

You professed not to be concerned with your critics. You should.
Those closest to you would tell you only what you want to hear. To
them, you would always be donning samping sutra (silk cummerbund) even
if you were wrapped in sarong pelakat (cotton sarong), or even a bark
loincloth. That is an easy trap for unwary leaders to fall into. In the
end, it is you who would be embarrassed. They would go on to praise the
next sultan’s new cloth.

You would have noticed that those who are most critical of
Mahathir now were once his unabashed supporters when he was in power.
Do not be taken in by these professional cheerleaders (kaki bodek).
That is nothing more than expressions of our angguk and gelek (head
shaking and nodding) culture. Your predecessor’s domineering
personality has done much to encourage that, and old habits die hard.
The cabinet and UMNO Supreme Council have degenerated into an echo
chamber for whomsoever is leader. Do not be taken in by the echoing
chorus of support.

Desi:The "keris-brandishing" incident was learnt from UMNO Youth predeccessor-leaders, including none less than tye current Deputy Prime Minister. (Note that I did not name the person, for this reason -- That that person could rise to the second-ranked position after the CEO-PM; who the person is besides the point! It's just the occupant is merely ONE HEARTBEAT away from becoming the next PM.)


I wish to highlight this particular paragraph~~
You would have noticed that those who are most critical of
Mahathir now were once his unabashed supporters when he was in power.
Do not be taken in by these professional cheerleaders (kaki bodek).
That is nothing more than expressions of our angguk and gelek (head
shaking and nodding) culture. Your predecessor’s domineering
personality has done much to encourage that, and old habits die hard.
The cabinet and UMNO Supreme Council have degenerated into an echo
chamber for whomsoever is leader. Do not be taken in by the echoing
chorus of support.

Sdr Bakri, to me these observations demonstrate the "consequences" of the ruile by a PM who was autocratic, and to my mind, "over-stayed" his welcome. Had the PREMIERSHIP been restricted to eight years (equivalent to the two terms of an US President's tenure) or with a bonus of two years for outstanding leadership; Malaysia would not have sunk so deep, and embedded and entrenched in the "bodek and angguk and gelek" culture so aptly descriptive of outr present human relations dilemma.


The Jittery Joget Girl

You are trying to achieve too much: to be the nation’s imam, lead
the Muslim world, undo the excesses of your predecessor, dispense with
the special privileges crutch, and be a “nice guy” to all. It cannot be
done.

Concentrate on a few important areas. Success creates its own
momentum and would get transferred onto other areas, creating a
critical mass effect. Jumping from one problem to another without
solving any, risks making you like a jittery joget (dance) girl,
flipping from one partner to another whenever the song changes, leaving
only her scent. You will leave no impression; there will be no legacy.

I respectfully suggest that you focus on making Malaysia and
Malaysians, in particular Malays, competitive. To this end, four areas
need emphasizing: establishing effective leadership; enhancing the
quality of human capital; strengthening our culture and institutions;
and harnessing our geographic attributes. These are the four cardinal
points of my “Diamond of Development.”

Effective leadership begins but does not end with you. You have to
lead the way and set the pace, but you cannot do it alone; you need a
team. You have essentially the same tired and tainted crew you
inherited from Mahathir. If your intent is to dismantle the excesses of
Mahathir, your present team is the wrong choice. They enthusiastically
supported him to build the half bridge over the causeway; now they
profusely praised you for canceling it! Such are their true characters
and commitment!

You have also kept your campaign team as advisors. Managing a
country requires completely different sets of skills and talent from
those needed to run an election campaign. Your political advisors will
see everything from the political angle, which may not necessarily be
in the best interest of the nation.

One difficulty you have is that politics no longer attracts the
best and brightest Malaysians. Your long tenure in government insulated
you from this reality. You had intimations of this however, for in
searching for new leaders for GLCs, one of your stated requirements was
that they should have substantial experience in multinational
corporations.

You repeat your predecessor’s mistake in not casting your net wide
and deep in search of talent; you still pan in the same polluted puddle
of UMNO.

Desi: I reprise partially my solitary remark from yesterday pertaining to the Joget gal ~~ "Saudara Bakri, I like your METAPHOR likening Pak Lah to the JoGet Dancer."
There is some poetic irony here because under normal circumstances, it would have been so "Malaysian" and culturally unique and reminiscent of a "lucky country", except that what could be held as a "plus" pre-Merdeka Malaya, has become a "jaded beauty" in the Age of Information and Technology, also a "globalised village".

'Mr Nice Guy' could have thrived at most as a State Chief Minister (Menteri Besar), no, not as a Prime Minister, so I agree that Pak Lah has to change his dancing steps -- from Joget to Military March?
OR more specifically, as what Bakri does recommen~~

"You should emulate Pakistan’s President Mushawar Sharif. He broke
tradition and went outside of politics, and indeed the country, by
recruiting Shaukat Aziz, then a Citibank senior executive, to be
Finance Minister and later, Prime Minister. In his short tenure,
Shaukat transformed Pakistan’s economy."

You have kept the deadwood you inherited; your excuse is that you
prefer the soft approach. Others view that as timidity; you are unsure
of yourself and fear that they might revolt. You recognize this, hence
your warning Malaysians not to misinterpret your lembik (limpness).

You should liberate the Anti Corruption Agency to do its job; that
should occupy those tired and tainted ministers should they bother you
when you let them go. It would also serve as a timely reminder to your
new ministers should they too feel tempted to stray. You missed a
splendid opportunity to demonstrate your abhorrence for corruption by
not demanding the immediate resignation of your ministers Kasitah
Gaddam and Isa Samad. By letting them resign voluntarily and on their
own sweet time, you appeared to condone their actions


Desi:The inherited baggage from Dr Mahathir's era is to me Pak Lah's greatest liability. I have described the deadwood as "albatrosses around the PM's neck" -- and additionally, such a fragile one too. Not the albatross, but Pak Lah's neck.

I have indeed called on Pak Lah to show tenacity and initiative in doing "drastic surgery" -- maybe DDR Bakri can take sabattical to come back to NegaraKu to render his service. Dr Mahathir trained as a medical doctor knew what he had to do -- making bold incisions -- rightly or wrongly, at least firm actions were taken.

Pak Lah missed a "golden" opportunity to comprehensively "revamp" the Cabinet the last round -- instead he "expanded" the size to accomodate the tradition of Barisan Nasional component parties' "quota". I had urged that the PM must be initiative to "throw" away traditions that cannot work with changed and fast changing times imposed on all countries with the dawn of the third millennium. Second millennium baggage has to be sent to the National Museum. ~~ ends Desi's thinking aloud, and thank you for not yawning!

Dear EsteemedReaders: I am extending the time for another 24 for your second chance to add your views -- which will be forwarded in a "package" for Bakri's attention. Make him work harder for our sake, and NegaraKU's sake, without the "k"!
Hence you last comment must reach Desi by 10.00pm Malaysian time today as I plan to forward rthe Gift to Sdr Bakri before midnight. TOMORROW is another day of nu'e challenges. And nu'e is NOT DDC because it says what it means -- poetic form of "nude" as the Prime Minister under scrutiny has indeed shown to be quite stark. Not in glory. But in glorious wanting. You decipher the meaning/s.