Showing leadership

 A great leader sits on the floor. 

Lowering his or her status. Lowering his or her shield. 

And then others follow suit. 

A great leader takes all arrows before they are shot. 

Accepting all responsibility, accepting all failure. 

And the results are counterintuitive. 

And in a twist of irony, as the leader sits low, her status is raised. 

And in a twist of irony, as the leader takes on the arrows of the group…

He is saved from any harm

Malaysia is probably still the best country in the world

Robert Kennedy said: 

What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence and lawlessness, but is love, and wisdom, and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country, whether they be white or whether they be black. ... let us dedicate ourselves to what the Greeks wrote so many years ago: to tame the savageness of man and make gentle the life of this world. Let us dedicate ourselves to that, and say a prayer for our country and for our people.”

This is a good saying for Malaysia.

I still know that it is the greatest country in the world.

There iss no question in my mind.

That’s the beauty of the Malaysia I know.  Even in our darkest times, we find a way to see the light, no matter how distant it may be.

We believe that Malaysia will always find a way to be better because for nearly 50 years, even with horrible injustices, tragedies, and scandals, the arc of this country has moved upward. Don’t get me wrong: we have gone backwards, over and over again, but we’ve always found a way to get moving forward again. We are never perfect, but we always have a reason to be optimistic. We always find a way to move toward the light.

Today, too many of our fellow Malaysians have given in to darkness.  I see people choosing pessimism and hate every day.

We can blame the social media companies that created algorithms to amplify negativity. We can blame the foreign governments who make every effort to divide us.

But that’s the easy way out. I always tell you that the path to progress requires discomfort.

We need to look in the mirror.

This search needs to happen in our own hearts and minds.

The big social media companies and our adversaries can only drive wedges between us because we’ve chosen to see each other as enemies, instead of as fellow Malaysians who have different ideas about the best policies to move the country forward.

This is our choice. We hold the power. We will be the ones who cast the die.

Today, I want all of you to reflect on the Bobby Kennedy quote I shared.

Sit with it. Think about whether you’ve lived up to it. If you haven’t, commit to rejecting that savageness that is inside every single one of us and choosing the path of love, wisdom, and compassion for your fellow men and women.

That is the choice each of us has to make. We can choose to turn toward the light once again.

This is up to all of us. This is our choice. We have the power to choose the better angels of our nature. Don’t wait for anyone else to make the first move. Be better, today.