My Own View of Leadership
When I first read the assignment given to me by Encik Shafiee bin Musa, I am surprise because I have to write down about the story of my own leadership and person that I admire in leadership. Honestly, I have been pampered by my parents since young because I am the youngest child in my family. They also have made a plan for me in the future. Other than that, my sister and brother are always there to assist me in my school homework and work chores. Because of that, I never bothered to thinks about myself. I never have a chance to be a leader to myself.
As time goes by, I have grown up and started to be independent. I have to plan for my own future and be more independent. On that point of time, I realise that I have matured and I have became a leader to myself. In my point of view, being a leader is also being a ‘khalifah’ to our own self. This is because we make a lot of decisions every day. We decide what kind of attire would we wear? We decide which way are we going to use to the class? We decide how to spend our money? All this kind of decision is part of what we decide every day. Therefore, every person in the world is a leader to themselves. But, to be a good leader to other persons required a lot of charisma.
My own experience about leadership started when I was in secondary school. I lead a few clubs in my school while I have been appointed as a secretary and a treasurer. But at that point of time, I never have a good understanding the meaning of leadership. Then, I entered university, but I still don’t get enough expose about leadership even I went to a lot of leadership talks. The stories of my leaderships started when I was in government service working as an Administrator and Diplomatic Officer (PTD). I have an ambition to become a PTD after I graduated from University Malaya. The reasons why I chose to be a PTD is because the chance to learn different kind of job scope while working as a PTD. But, I’m not aware that a PTD is also a leader or a head in unit. Once, I received the offer as a PTD, I have been placed at Prison of Department under Ministry of Home Affairs. I have no idea on how it looks like working in the Prison of Department. The first day of work, I have been introduced to my subordinates and staffs that are in charge under me. Starting from that day, I know that I have to lead the unit to make sure that the unit will always perform in the department.
Working as a PTD in the Prison of Department has taught me a lot of thing especially how to be a good leader. At first, it is very difficult but, it becomes easier after you get used to it. The best part of becoming a leader is when you are successful in your work and you share it with your subordinates and staffs. The best thing I learned is being a leader does not make you the only decision maker. But, a good leader will listen to your subordinate and staff’s input in making sure that the decision made by you is right. Therefore, I would prefer to discuss a lot with my staff rather than making a decision in hurry.
Everybody will admire someone in their life to inspire them. Admiring someone will give you strength to succeed in your career. Tun Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad is one of my favourite’s leaders. He deserves to be called as a leader because he posses charisma as a leader. Wikipedia states leadership as a process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task. While the Collins English Dictionary Year 2008 mentions that leadership is the position or function of a leader, the period during which a person occupies the position leader and the ability to lead. A journal of Leadership: An Islamic Perspective by Dr. Rafik Issa Beekun and Dr. Jamal Badawi, states that leadership in Islam is a trust (amanah). It represents a psychological contract between a leader and his follower that he will try his best to guide them, to protect them and to treat them fairly and with justice.
Tun Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad was born on 10 July 1925 at Alor Setar, Kedah. Tun Mahathir received his early and secondary education at his home town. He entered King Edward VII College of Medicine in Singapore in 1947. Upon graduation, he joined the Malaysian government service as a Medical Officer. He left the career to set up his own practice in Alor Setar. He has been appointed as a 4th Prime Minister of Malaysia on 16 July 1981 until he resigns on 31 October 2003. He has become a Prime Minister of Malaysia for 22 years. He is the Prime Minister of Malaysia with the longest service in the country. He is also a brave person who never afraid to express opinion to the world.
Dr Mahathir has been associated with the development of mega project such as Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC), Petronas Twin Towers, Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) and the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC). Other than that, he is also responsible in giving the idea to build Putrajaya. Putrajaya has become one of the Malaysia landmarks in the world. Mahathir has a vision to make sure Malaysia is known by the world. He is also known as a Father of Modernisation Malaysia because of all his contributions.
The reasons why I chose him as my favourite leader is because the knowledge, the bravery and the encouragement he has in dealing with the financial crisis in Malaysia. Malaysia experienced a financial crisis in 1997 and 1998. The crisis also has a bad impact to Southeast Asia such as Thailand, Philippines and Indonesia. The depreciation of bath in Thailand is to be said as the main trigger to this problem. This also has lead to the loss of foreign investors in Malaysia. But, Tun Dr Mahathir has come out with a good solution. Malaysia is able to revive the economy without the assistance and financial debt fund International Monetary Fund (IMF) because of the action taken by him. Those are the steps:
i. Government has established the National Economic Action Council (NEAC) to solve this economic crisis.
ii. The ringgit has been pegged to the value of RM 3.80 to USD $ 1, while the Malaysian currency exchange rates of foreign currency to the value of another, depending on the ratio of U.S. dollars.
iii. Malaysian government has acted quickly to freeze-owned Ringgit foreign investors in Malaysia.
iv. Government does not receive financial assistance from the IMF funds despite the offer of U.S. $ 17 billion provided to countries in need.
All the actions taken by Tun Dr Mahathir has help Malaysia to survive and recover from the financial crisis in 1997 and 1998. From the above story, I would say that Tun Dr Mahathir is a brave person and will always confidence in what he has decided. I also believe that he knows the best to protect our country. Even on the financial crisis, most of the countries accepted the IMF assistance, but Malaysia chose to decline it. He shows that a leader should also has a good knowledge in how to manage the economy. Even though, he is a medical student, but he still knows the best in making decision on the economy and financial crisis.
Leadership is such a huge and heavy responsibility. A leader is not only about being a famous person, but it is about the ‘trust’ (amanah) that you have to lead and bring it to the right path. To be a good leader, I believe that 7 characters of a good leader by Tun Dr Mahathir should be followed by the leaders. The first character is a good leader may not be humble but at least he should not be boastful. The second character is a leader must be prepared to accept responsibilities but should not be too pushy and insistent on taking the lead. In other words, a leader should prepare for any responsibility but he must know how to delegate it to the right party. While, the third character is a leader should not seek to blame others for failures but to admit his own culpability. He should not point fingers or seek scapegoats. A leader should also take responsibility for anything happen by not blaming others. The forth character is a leader should be modest and not seek praise and glory. The fifth character is a leader should know how to handle his followers as much as his superiors. He must be sensitive to the sensitivities of others. The sixth character is a leader should be willing to do what he expects others to do. He should uphold the slogan of leadership by example. Last but not least is a leader should be learned and more intelligent at least by comparison of the people he leads.
As from my point of view, I believe that a leader should change the way of leadership. A Leader tends and prefers to answer question or giving instruction to others instead of asking question. Based on the book title Just Ask Leadership by Gary B.Cohen, the author states that a leader should change the way of leadership. Previous, leader will only give instruction to others. But nowadays, a good leader should ask question to the staff so that it will build the creative and innovative thinking among the staff. A leader should give an opportunity to the staff by listening to their input. This kind of leadership will also build up the teamwork spirit. Discussion with the staff is also will let the staff to give contribution to the decision making. But, the last decision will be decided by you as the leader. From the Islamic perspective, discussion or musyawarrah is a good method in making decisions.
In conclusion, you are the one who can decide what kind of leadership you want. A leader is not just a name, but it brings together the huge and heavy responsibility. All human being is a leader or khalifah in this world. It is depends on the person how to shape the leadership. There will always challenges in a leadership. Therefore, a leader should always be prepared mentally and physically. Timbalan Ketua Pengarah Perkhidmatan (Operasi) once said that a new young leader should always move faster. There are three steps of lane in service. The first one is by using cash, the second is using the touch n go card and the last and the fastest is by using the smart tag. It depends on you to choose the best lane in order to succeed in civil services. Before I end my story, I would like everyone to appreciate this quote,
‘A leader is one who sees more than others see, who sees farther than others see, and who sees before others see.’
Leroy Eimes
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