By Toman Mamora
Good leadership constitutes an important component of the transformation process, as Sarawak moves from being a traditional society to one that is modern and progressive. In politics, popularity alone is not sufficient to guarantee a close and meaningful relationship between leaders and followers; it will not give the leader sufficient strength to cope with the rising expectations of the younger generations and demands of the development agenda of the day.
Leadership has to assume a new definition. It has to fathom new depths, explore uncharted territories, stimulate interaction, and build bridges to new horizons. Equally important, leaders today have to embrace intellectual and communication prowess to enable them lead and endear to the people. Aware of the challenges underlining the new leadership paradigm, PBB has called upon second-echelon and prospective leaders at various levels in the party’s hierarchy to equip themselves and adjust well to the new demands of the time.
The concept and role of a leader has to be viewed from a broader perspective and must take into account the interplay of such forces as IT, free enterprise, rising expectations, knowledge power and democratisation and how they shape the human landscape. As rightly pointed out by PBB president Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Haji Abdul Taib Mahmud: “ The role of PBB in the era of the new reality will have to be more sophisticated than before. The party has to involve more young people in its activities so that they will be able to gain wider exposure and realistic experience to enable them play their roles effectively as future leaders.” Indeed, they have to reach out more effectively to the younger generation so that the latter would not consider themselves as being marginalised in the face of transformation.
Taib adds: “ In the process of transformation, we need second-echelon leaders with high education and who are able to disseminate government policies effectively to the people at grassroots level.” This means that there has to be a deliberate effort on the part of leaders to fully understand government policies and the workings of the government machinery before they can actually spread the message of socioeconomic development to their respective target audiences. Ultimately, conscious efforts must be made to ensure that the people would be better informed of changes as much as the Government would be expected to be more receptive and open to criticisms and suggestions.
The communication of the development message can only be brought to bear if there is sufficient interaction on the ground. Apart from being articulate, party leaders and elected assemblymen must be willing to spend more time on the ground to interact with the people. By doing so, they will be able to explain the basic concepts of development and social adjustment. According to Taib, such a move is an integral part of the process of educating a society that is undergoing transformation.
If that is so, then there is more to the role of legislators than just airing the people’s grievances and granting projects. For indeed, they should play the role of a friend, a teacher and a communicator to the people.
In their multi-functional role, leaders are thus able to impart ideas and resolve conflicting views and in the process allow the people to make conscious effort to adapt to changing situations.
It has been said by Taib on several occasions that it is important for politicians to understand the socio-economic well-being of the people as well as their aspirations so that as leaders they can contribute more meaningfully to the formulation of policies that will benefit the people in the long term. By implication, it is the responsibility of the elected representatives to guide the constituents under their charge and help to change their mental behaviour so that they will be more receptive to new ideas.
But it is not enough for leaders to be able to interact with the people and mirror their aspirations. They, too, must stay ahead.
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