In his spare time, Pak Cik likes to give advice, solicited or not. This one is of a political nature to, well, one he considers an immature politician.
Dear Pak Cik,
I would be grateful if you could air your opinions about several issues which had been troubling me in recent weeks.
Let me introduce myself first. I am a businessman and a Datuk. I am now past 60 and well, blessed with some means as I have been involved in business for a long time. In a lot of ways, I was also lucky as friends in high places had helped me. You know in this country - no friends at the top, no kangtow lah!
I also have a very famous friend. He is near my age. I have known him for 30 years. At one point, my friend was just a heart beat away from leading this country but as fate would have it, he faltered along the way.
This friend is a nice man and a jovial character. He used to joke that he was 'Datuk Silly' as the honorific title he was bestowed with sounds like 'silly' when pronounced.
Anyway, both of us used to play tennis for a long time. He was good but I was better. I also became famous because I was his tennis buddy. No, we never won Wimbledon or the US Open but I became a household name in this country because of tennis. The truth is - I got into trouble because I was his tennis partner.
Last year, my friend invited me to join his political party which is in the opposition. Since an old friend made a request for help to strengthen the party, I willingly obliged and signed up. I also thought politics was a good avenue for me to help my own community. Then I started campaigning around the country to bring in more members for the party. All in, I believe I must have brought in 10,000 new members.
Soon, there was an opportunity for me to offer myself as a candidate for the party in a by-election. My friend indicated to me that I could be the party's choice. Well, I was happy on hearing that and was actually very prepared to go in and contest. I was also confident of winning.
But it was not to be. My friend later informed me that his party preferred someone else.
This was the first major letdown I had since joining the party. My supporters in the party were also disappointed at this turnaround by my friend but I managed to calm them by declaring that the overall interests of the party should come first.
Then I had to face another blow. The party was about to hold its own elections. I was also nominated for a key post but my friend pressured me not to contest in order not to upset the political equilibrium in the party.
It was at this point that I knew I had enough! What nonsense is this? This cannot, that also cannot ! Now I know the true character of my friend. He said I could contest the by-election but later backed down. When I wanted to vie for a key party post, he said, "better not".
Now, people cannot blame me if I felt disappointed or even angry after that. I was 'betrayed' by a friend whom I've known for three decades. That's painful.
So I made the decision to resign from the party. On the eve of the party elections, I called a media conference to announce my resignation. I said I was 'backstabbed' by a long-time friend and that I was severing ties with him.
Looking back at the past weeks, do you think I did the right thing? Let me have your views.
Yours sincerely,
Confused Datuk
Here's the reply from Pak Cik
Dear Confused Datuk,
Let me start off as frank as possible. I think you are as silly as 'Datuk Silly', your friend.
Why do I say that? Because you did exactly what an inexperienced, immature politician would have done. You were asked to do this and that by your friend and you agreed to abide by his wishes despite being very unhappy about it. You consented, albeit unwillingly, to his requests against your better judgment and after that, you whined and sulked. And finally, you declared that you had enough and quit.
This is what most greenhorn politicians do - after realising that they are left out in the cold, they get angry and lose their heads. They do not have the patience any more to be involved in their once proudly declared 'long-term political struggle' and worse, they let that be known publicly.
People will quickly conclude that such politicians are in the game for their own glory and interests and eventually, they will fade into the political wilderness.
I wish you had acted more shrewdly - buy your time in the party since you are relatively new there. If you seriously want to be in the political arena for the long haul, you should act as if all these negative episodes had little or no effect on you. You can always pretend to be loyal to the party and your friend and wait. See what your buddy has in store for you.
If you claim that you are unable to partake in political play acting, then I'm sorry for you lah . Politics ain't your cup of tea. Political shrewdness which encompasses all forms of deceit and lies is one subject in political science you must not only master but conquer. Only then will you survive in the choppy, murky waters of politics in this country, (well, as in everywhere else where democracy is taught, not born, I suppose.)
But seriously, at your age, it's a bit too late to embark on a political career. Tony Blair became prime minister at 42 while Bill Clinton became the most powerful man on the planet at 45. Deng Xiao Ping and Ronald Reagan were late bloomers - they were in politics early.
As you are already in your 60s, it's wiser to let go unless you are very politically ambitious for whatever reason or objective you harbour. Then again, at your level, I have to honestly tell you that you are in the wrong camp.
However, if you insist that politics should be on your menu as you are blessed with some means and good health too (I suppose), then you have to build your own ship. Your friend is already the captain of his ship and you are just one of his many sailors. You don't have the luxury of time, neither do I think you're contended with being a mere sailor, or a passenger on his ship. You sound like someone who has to be in the driver's seat, and it's perfectly normal to aim to be a leader. The first question is: how to become a leader? The next quest is more difficult: how to remain as a leader, after you had become one?
But I can foresee (and I don't think I'm too far off the track) that had you remained in your friend's party, you would have been further disillusioned. I will give you these scenarios for you to ponder on.
If you are NOT in the inner circle of the party leadership, chances are you will only be made use of. How? For example, since you are a person with some spare cash, you will probably be 'taxed' heavily by the party. Not only that, the burden will fall heavily on your shoulders to raise funds for the party since you are also a person with some influence.
Come the general election, if you are given a seat to contest, it will probably be a difficult and 'unwinnable' one. All those considered 'safe' will be booked by the leaders themselves and those close to them.
If you observe carefully, it's very glaring that party leaders who think they are strong and popular always pick the 'easier' seats, leaving the difficult ones for their inconsequential party members. I would have thought that if I were really strong and popular, I would dare to venture and fight a more 'difficult' constituency, leaving the 'white' areas for my less-popular, weaker party colleagues. Sadly, that is not the case here and the sooner you are made aware of that, the better.
Another thing is that once these party leaders win the seats, they are never willing to let go. They can ask the prime minister, chief minister and mentri besar to limit their term of office but they themselves will stay put in their positions, till kingdom come if possible.
Then, you must also be aware that nepotism is very real in our political parties. Just take a good look at one particular opposition party and you will know what I mean. I believe that you will be very troubled by this issue.
I can go on and on listing more negatives about the opposition but this will not be fair to them. There are many good, forthright and sincere people there too but sadly, they are in the minority.
My advice to you is to serve your community via another route. The Almighty must have a good reason to let you be a successful businessman and bless you with both wealth and health.
Why don't you set up a scholarship fund in your name and support the needy and deserving students from your community? Give them the opportunity to attain the highest academically.
Then you can also initiate the building of more vocational schools to accommodate others less academically-inclined so that they can learn a skill or trade and later become useful in society. I believe this is one sure way to resolve the many social ills plaguing the community. Another is to encourage the growth of religious piety by generously supporting bona fide religious societies in our midst. The decaying societal morality must be fought and won if we are to see less sex crimes and other social problems in this country.
Also, what about sparing some thought to the work of Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus and his Grameen Bank for their efforts to create economic and social development from below.
You can easily seek help from your corporate contacts to work out a micro-credit scheme and help those in your community to break out of poverty. Development from below also serves to advance democracy and human rights.
Like the Bangladeshi, you can also show yourself to be a leader who can translate visions into practical action for the benefit of others. Loans to poor people without any financial security had appeared to be an impossible idea but Yunus has developed micro-credit into an ever more important instrument in the struggle against poverty.
This is worth a serious thought. Look at the thousands of poverty-stricken home-makers in this country. They were never given any opportunity at all. Handouts are not what they want - they just need a head-start to remain self-sufficient. Perhaps you could be their saviour.
These are some ideas for people like you who want to do something for your community. I would have done my part if I have convinced you that politics is not the only way to do something good for your community, people and country.
Yours truly,
Pak Cik
FRANCIS PAUL, now in the political wilderness, finds the air fresher and life less stressful even among wild animals than with the human species known as politicians. He can be reached at [email protected].