LEADERS: BE RESPONSIBLE AND ACCOUNTABLE, PLEASE ...

領袖們, 請慎言!!!

This morning, as usual, I went to the traditional coffee shop not far away from my house to take my breakfast. Today, I ordered a cup of ‘thick’ and fragrant Hainanese coffee (only RM 1.00) and a bowl of delicious laksa (only RM 2.50). Well, I have a very bad habit that I ought to read newspapers when I am taking breakfast especially during the week ends.

Week ends are supposed to be my days to relax and have a peaceful mind. Every one wants to have, at times, serene and unruffled moments especially when we are enjoying our delicious food and have a nice time to read some newspapers. Occasionally, the coffee shop will be quite crowded but the owner and customers there will not disturb you even if you were to take hours to read the newspapers. The owner of the shop is so kind that he provides daily newspapers comprising 3 major types of Chinese newspapers and the Star.

Out of blue, I was stricken by a flurry! I saw in an inner section of a Chinese newspaper such an annoying and agonizing statement: “Don’t believe in what So & So and I said,” told a political leader. It’s the first time I got my feet wet on this type of irresponsible and irritating utterance from a leader. Oh my Buddha, is this truly a sentence uttered from the mouth of a Malaysian leader? Unbelievable, unreasonable, absurd, ridiculous, incredulous, irresponsible, unaccountable, preposterous ... what else can you think of to describe such a shocking act of this type of leaders? This is one of the greatest mockeries one has ever heard of recently!

These leaders can be very incongruous in making claims contradicting to what they had said previously. They can twist and turn around to say something entirely different after the concrete evidences had been put forth to them. Aren’t they feeling ashamed of what they have alleged on unfounded claims or the ‘stories’ cooked up by them? Why can’t they compete in a just way and behave more like gentlemen?

It has been a large number of allegations made by one of the political leaders recently without showing evidences and concrete proofs. For instance when some of the Sabah Division chairmen made press statement to confirm that Dr. Chua SL had been belittled maliciously with an ill intention to dismay and damage his dignity by using some maleficent but unfounded comments, he could quickly turn around. He blamed others having very poor grasp of Chinese Language and had twisted his meanings. He denied that he had been constantly using disparaging sentences against some one. Secondly, he alleged Dr. Chua SL had formed a party known as ‘Parti Cinta Malaysia’. After the party’s founders put up press statements to clarify that the party has nothing to do with MCA or Dr, Chua or Tiong, he twisted his words again.

We can apply a simple logic in this case. From the sentence “don’t believe in what So & So and I said”, one can immediately jump to an inferring insinuation that the person who articulated this sentence cannot be trusted. However, there exists an innuendo that the So & So can be trusted! This is simply because what was said by the articulator is inevitably false now. As such, what he asks us to believe, we cannot believe; what he asks us not to believe, we have to believe! Isn’t it a clear logical implication that So & So had spoken the truth? Don’t they realise that they have derogated themselves and their party? The tactics used by them are all ‘below the belt’. We hope that people will see the truth nature of a person. After all, a leopard cannot change its spots and a spade is still a spade.

I feel that some thing has definitely gone wrong some where in the present so-called affluent societies. Apparently, many people are so daring and fearless to lie. Who are the ones to be blamed? Isn’t ‘Belief in God’ the First Principle in Rukun Negara which is the doctrine of all Malaysian? Moreover, the Fifth Principle governs our conduct and behaviour! Why are these liars so sceptical? Don’t they believe in Gods? Are they not scared to be punished, if not now, later by telling lies?

The Chinese community wants to be unflustered from emotional agitation in particular and the Rakyat at large wants to have an unperturbed society and nation in general!

I personally urge the Malaysian government to form a school like the Eton College in England, whose graduates are all gentlemen, to have serious and ‘vigorous’ training for the local politicians. Most of our politicians need to learn how to articulate in the public and learn to respects others!!! Teach them to be responsible and accountable for what they have said and what they have done! Let them know that if leaders cannot be trusted, who else can we trust? How can leaders ask us NOT to trust them? This is the greatest irony in the world!

Last but not least, I sincerely hope that the present MCA leaders can learn from their sifu like Tun Ling and Lim AL who were the real gentlemen by NOT belittling the rivals during the party’s tremor and crisis at their time. The former Deputy President of MCA, Lee KS, in his days of unhappiness with Tun Ling, was never so arrogant and haughty! Even their present ousted leaders like Tan Seri Ong KT, Datuk Dr. Fong CO and Datuk Ong KC are examples of leaders who are polite and worth respecting!