ONLY CREDIBLE LEADERS WILL BE ACCEPTED ...... REALLY?

In my last article (posted just a few hours ago) related to the leadership’s call to “vote only for capable leaders” I said “what might have been reassuring to hear as well was the commitment to a step-up effort in ensuring all Coalition candidates will meet these expectations.” And since there was no assurance I simply ended up with asking, “Am I missing something here?”

Today’s The New Straits Times, 23rd January, carried an article “Abdullah: Only Credible Ones Will Be Accepted”. During a two-hour closed door meeting with aspiring UMNO leaders, the UMNO President and Prime Minister, among other things, purportedly told the delegates that “the BN candidates in the coming general election would be those who were willing to work for the people, regardless of their race, and were not self-serving and corrupt”.

This was seemingly the kind of assurance that I said was missing with the leadership’s earlier call to “vote only for capable leaders” – thus the need for this immediate chaser. What should now be determined is how credible an assurance was that report and how much it might actually allay the concern, disappointment, and sense of being let-down enumerated in my previous article. Offhand, I can make three points for deliberations.

Firstly, this report was made at a closed-door meeting and only picked up by the papers based on what was said by the delegates. It was, as such, not a first-hand report. So, why does it matter as long as the report was accurate? Why it matters is that it was basically an “internal procedural clarification” clearly designed to achieve some internal party objectives (repositioning the mind-set and managing expectations of party members most likely). It was therefore neither an assurance given to the electorate, nor a declared commitment towards ensuring the achievement of this stated new standards.

Secondly, this “new standards” was needed because “research by three organisations showed voters were more discerning about the quality of candidates fielded by a political party”. The move, as such, was primarily motivated by the need to win votes – not because of a genuine realisation of the need for it or the sincere motivation to better serve the interest of the electorate. If at all, perhaps only secondarily. A severe conclusion to arrive at perhaps, but the logic stands – why else was this move (be it just mere statement at this stage) not triggered earlier?

Thirdly, this is a statement of intent the realisation of which will be a real challenge – the challenge to ensure that all BN candidates are completely honest and sincere, ethical and capable, trustworthy and reliable, putting the interest of the Rakyat and the country above everything else always in each and every case. What a challenge this is; make no mistake. And if we are really serious, the effort will need to be grounded on, and supported by, a massive process and procedural redesign and internal policies revamp. And it will take time to develop and implement!

Anything short of a concerted effort will not even scratch the surface of what is now an ingrained culture, and the promise of bringing about the much hoped-for change will remain yet another unfulfilled promise. Given that the election is around the corner, and there is nothing to suggest any such effort to bring about this new performance culture is in place, is it realistic to even remotely assume it can come about?

Am I missing something here too?