For one who has reached such a high level of recognition, status and prestige, it takes a lot of humility, rational thinking, sense and sensibility to make an apology. Malaysiakini reported DSAI's admission and apology that he had wrongly picked some candidates to be the party's parliamentary elected representatives in the last general election in 2008.
I am sure we all know that on the other side of the divide, leaders would have been absolutely defensive about and would have stooped very low as to use cheap excuses to conceal that mistake. Leadership is a reciprocal quality in that one can only continue to remain as "leaders" because they receive the due respect from followers and are prepared to accept responsibility when they have erred either directly or indirectly. Of late, since Datuk Zahrain's resignation and other controversial PKR members' words and actions, DSAI has been on the receiving end of all kinds of brickbats. Admirably, he has shown us he possesses the courtesy and decency to respect the sentiments of his followers in the way they have expressed their outrage at the knowledge of being cheated by those whom they voted in GE12 under the flag of the PR component parties.
Honestly, I doubt people will understand and accept his apology easily. I do not think an apology itself is enough. He must tell us what action will be taken to correct the mistakes as soon as they appear - all done in the interest of the the country and the people. Let's face it - we are aware that there were flaws in the selection and elimination process of candidate of PKR for the last GE. I believe many want to know how PKR, in particular, are going to scrutinize and vet their candidates which should be selected based on their academic and work qualifications, integrity, willingness and inclination to serve the country fairly and without any form of bias or discrimination and whether these merit disclosure and to what extent as well.
Whilst it is commendable, I am not sure if being apologetic can aid in damage control. Many wonder why the situation has turned out as such because as a seasoned politician, he should have placed his trust in the right persons. If any disloyal member is detected, members should immediately grab the opportunity to take stern action against the turncoats but the painful and disappointing thing is that this was not done, especially in the case of Zulkifli Nordin.
Even if it means one might lose ground support, I believe that a leader has to be stern and form a credible team comprising of promising civic minded leaders such as Zaid Ibrahim to be given the baton of leadership to lead the others to conquer Putrajaya.
At this very challenging stage, leaders can no longer afford to pander to the wishes of the masses so we don't want any more excuses or apologies. The time has come affirmative action to be taken to purge PKR of the dirt that be lurks within. Just as we have had enough of listening to sloganeering at its peak, we also do not want to hear all kinds of shameful reports from anyone.
Yes, sorry may not seem to be the hardest word for DSAI BUT he has a bigger battle to fight in so many areas of his life. We have to go beyond apologies now to affirmative and stern action to deal with indiscipline or other problems as soon as they appear before these explode into something destructive.
Please do not let us down again! We are putting our trust in PR, PKR, DAP and PAs so please make sure you, DSAI, and your leaders will also put your trust in the right personnel. Kindly ensure your candidates for the GE13 are really leaders who have caliber, commitment, drive, motivation, strength of character, integrity and are SQUEAKY CLEAN without carrying any baggage from any other political party. Thank you!
Anonymous He should lead, not pander. Pandering is easy to do.
~wits0~