Daily Lesson from Life 23 August 2008

No news headline today.

I went to Kuala Lumpur with a friend this morning by his car. I have not been back to our neighbouring country's capital for a few years now. The North-South highway is still a pleasure to be driving on. The vastness of country dawned on me again as I took in the development taking place and the changes that took place over the last few years.

In term of infrastructure, the resting pavilions and the lavatories facilities, they are good and functional with a wide varieties of foods and drinks available. In KL itself, there are still many construction activities going on. Many new gleaming modern high rises stood on land there were once barren or abandoned. There are noticeably more mainland Chinese around the area. This is understandable and expected as the Chinese seeks out greener pasture to bring fortune back to their home country and home town.

The question I pondered upon is: How come a country with such a diverse people and immense resources did not perform better than many countries around the region and the world?

The lessons I take away with input from my Malaysian friends are:

1. leadership! Leaders of a nation must have the vision of doing good for the people without any motives for personal fame and fortune. If you do the right things right, the rewards and recognition will flow. Even if you were NOT rewarded or recognized with the material things that MOST normal people expected, you have to think about WHY you become a national leader in the 1st place? - to make life better for your people without fears or favour and to achieve self-actualization. The greatest reward is you KNOW you have done the right things right!;

2. followers - followers are more educated and worldly wise. Many are skeptical about political leaders. Some used to be passionate and believe that national leaders want to do good for the good of the people and not just for personal fame and fortune. These followers need to be won over and convinced that you are different. It is NOT business as usual. Followers will follow leaders who are genuine and who can help them to see things that they did not see, reaches places that they thought they would never be able to get to by themselves;

3. doing it together - for the vision, hopefully with lots of 2-way communication and input between the leaders and the followers, to be achieved, the leaders and followers must work together. The leaders inspire the followers to become committed to working and accomplishing the COMMON vision. Along the way, the leaders have to continuously demonstrate to the followers that they are in it together with them. That the followers were not just being made use of, not a convenient tool that is used and to be discarded casually!

Ultimately, if the leaders' have personal agenda, the execution will not be smooth and not with the powerful force of a unified people. The vision will NOT have chance to succeed.

Beware leaders, you must not falter or waiver in your personal conducts!