We can all learn a very important lesson from the just-concluded Malaysian General Elections: When you have been in leadership for a very long time and think you are very strong and invincible because of the kind of support backing you, unexpectedly, the carpet will be pulled quickly from under you, and you will fall -- and it will be an undignified fall!
See what has happened to the seemingly unsinkable Barisan Nasional. Overnight, the support that kept them in power for 50 years since independence vanished -- gone, kapputz! They are still reeling from the shock of realising that the support they assumed actually wasn't there.
Some people refer to it as the Hand of God. If it indeed is, He has definitely showed His displeasure and changed the status quo in one fell swoop! Woe on those who resisted! Look how many of them have fallen!
But, I don't think that this wind of change that is blowing through the country is as sudden as people make it out to be. The rumblings of dissent -- sure signs that things are not quite right -- have been there for a while. But, they were ignored, preempted and/or suppressed. And, that was the problem.
Leaders lost touch with the grassroots. They failed -- mainly because they distanced themselves from the people -- to read the signs correctly and early enough to correct themselves and change. They resisted, dug in their heels and entrenched themselves -- some, shamelessly, in the Name of God.
Well, it looks like God has spoken and it would be advisable for incumbent leadership -- especially the long-staying ones -- to take note of what has happened and act swiftly so that the same fate doesn't fall on them.
Recognise and welcome dissent because it offers a chance for change and rejuvenation. Instead of digging in your heels, step back, let go and surrender -- and embrace the changes. You will be showing magnanimity in leadership, something sorely missing in the leadership of today.
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1 comment:
I am surprised that this piece has yet to receive a comment! This is too good a piece to go by without sharing my two cents!;)
To me, this piece sheds more to us than just the simple lesson of falling hard from a long-term serve of leadership. The lesson you had brought to life in this brilliant write-up is most applicable to life itself! If I may be so bold as to share my personal experiences, the hardest falls I've had were also the falls I had learnt and benefited the most from! As it is in these difficult times and painful cries, that we are often able to humble ourselves to listen to what God has to say to us, and also to the precious advice from our elders & friends alike.
And so ~ the lesson above all lessons which I've learned thus far, is to never hold yourself too high, and be too arrogant-sure of what lies ahead of us in any given circumstance, for just as God gives all blessings unto us, He can also take it away from us. Humility, therefore, ensures us from experiencing too sharp a fall, if at all, we fall.
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