How to Do Better in 2021: Top 5 Lessons from Malaysian Leaders | By Jeypraba A/P Veerapan
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| Illustration by Ally. |
Disclaimer: All views, thoughts and opinions expressed in this article belong solely to the writer, and do not reflect the position of Etc. Magazine or Taylor’s University.
2020 had definitely been a turbulent year and in trying times like these, it is imperative that our country’s leaders keep a cool head and come up with measures to help Malaysians overcome the pandemic together. A few leaders did extremely well, like the Director General of Health Malaysia, Dr. Noor Hisham Abdullah who was hailed as the nation’s hero for his tremendous efforts in curbing the spread of COVID-19. However, not all Malaysian leaders share the same calibre and some failed in their roles to alleviate the rakyat’s woes. It is from these blunders that we, as a nation, could learn and grow. Current leaders and future leaders alike should take note of the things that they should and should not do based on the past actions of our leaders. The list below highlights the top five lessons that can be learnt from our Malaysian leaders' mistakes in 2020.
1. Do away with unnecessary publicity stunts
Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin drew public flak back in March 2020 when she donned a full personal protective equipment (PPE) suit during a public disinfection operation in Petaling Jaya. Her publicity stunt drew public criticism for wasting money which could be used for funding frontliners instead. Johor Bahru MP Akmal Nasrullah Nasir lambasted Zuraida’s actions by saying that now is not the time for politicians to seek cheap publicity and that the minister’s participation in the sanitation exercise contributed to the shortage of PPE suits nationwide. In 2021, it would be much appreciated if our politicians move away from such publicity stunts and focus on the welfare of the rakyat instead.
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| Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin conducting a public disinfection operation in Petaling Jaya. Source: The Straits Times |
2. Prioritize what is truly important at the moment
Deputy Women and Family Development Minister Siti Zailah Mohd Yusoff seemed to not have her priorities straight when she suggested in an interview with Sinar Harian that flight attendants should wear Shariah-compliant uniforms at a time when the flight industry was facing possible job-cuts and various other pressing issues as a result of the pandemic. The National Union of Flight Attendants slammed Siti Zailah’s comments and told her to focus on the well-being of airline staff instead, especially so when 13,000 employees under Malaysia Airlines Berhad were told to go on unpaid leave. Siti Zailah’s comments seem untimely when flight attendants might not even have a job in the coming months, let alone an opportunity to wear their uniforms. Moving forward in 2021, important matters such as bread and butter issues should be given utmost priority compared to non-essential concerns.
3. Get your facts right
In June 2020, Veveonah Mosibin, an 18-year-old Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) student uploaded a video of her spending 24 hours atop a tree to get stable wi-fi to sit for her exams. The YouTube video went viral and gained the attention of many ministers, including Deputy Minister of Communications and Multimedia Datuk Zahidi Zainul Abidin who, instead of commending Veveonah for her dedication, accused Veveonah of lying during a Dewan Negara (Senate) session in September 2020. Zahidi then revealed that it was Deputy Minister of Finance I Abdul Rahim Bakri who informed him that Veveonah did not have exams on the said day. Abdul Rahim responded by making a long Facebook post insisting that Veveonah really did not have exams and even suggested that she is an attention-seeker. The post was taken down after a few hours. Several MPs slammed the remarks by these two deputy ministers with Segambut MP Hannah Yeoh describing their actions as cyberbullying a young child. UMS board of directors chairman Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun finally clarified the issue of who is telling the truth by confirming that Veveonah indeed sat for her final semester examinations in June. Zahidi then made a formal apology to the Dewan Negara for confusing the Senate with his statement about Veveonah. There is something that all of us can learn from this fiasco - do your research before commenting. The age of the internet made it easier for us to voice our opinions to the masses but this convenience must not be abused. If you come across a sensational issue, make sure to check the facts first before commenting and voice your opinions in a respectful way.
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| From left: Datuk Zahidi Zainul Abidin, Veveonah Mosibin and Abdul Rahim Bakri. Source: The Star |
4. Stop making sexist statements
The Ministry of Women and Family Development released a bizarre series of posters back in March 2020 which encouraged women to imitate Doraemon’s voice to make their husbands help out with household chores. The posters offered unwarranted advice on how women can avoid domestic conflicts during the pandemic and obviously, the sexist guidelines received a lot of public backlash and even garnered international fame. In addition to mimicking the Japanese cartoon character (which is a male by the way), the ministry also advised women to not be sarcastic when asking men to do chores and to wear makeup while working from home. “We apologise if there were certain tips that were not appropriate and offended the sensitivities of certain groups. We will be more careful in future,” the ministry later posted on Instagram. In 2021, let us all strive to avoid making statements that put down any gender.
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| One of the posters released by the Ministry of Women and Family Development advising women to talk like Doraemon. Source: The Star |
5. Stop making insensitive remarks
During a Parliament sitting in July, Baling MP Datuk Seri Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim rudely interrupted Batu Kawan MP Kasthuri Patto by commenting that he could not see her because it’s too dark. Abdul Azeez added that he is also dark-skinned and this problem could be solved by wearing powder. He then apologised and retracted his remarks after being told to do so by the Speaker. Abdul Azeez’s comments seem to suggest that dark-skinned women need to wear makeup in order to be seen or heard. Similar to lesson number four above, one thing we can learn from this is to never negatively comment on a person’s appearance and skin colour, be it male or female.
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| Parliamentary member of Baling, Datuk Seri Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim. Source: Malay Mail |
Those who fail to learn from history are condemned to repeat it. - Winston Churchill
This article was not written with the intention to shame or chastise any individual. My sole purpose in writing such an article is so that we can all learn from past mistakes and move forward towards a better Malaysia. I am sure that every one of us could take home a few lessons from our leaders’ actions. It is often said that the first step to healing is acceptance. Let 2021 be a year of healing by acknowledging and accepting the flaws of yesteryear and aim to do better this year.
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