LEADERSHIP - FIELD MARSHAL SIR GERALD TEMPLER
INTRODUCTION
There are many
leaders in this world that had tribute their contribution to the development of
a certain organization and the nation. All the leaders have their own charisma
and special characters that help them to achieve in their life. The leader that I inspire the most is the
great Field Marshal Sir Gerald Templer.
DEFINITION OF LEADERSHIP
Leadership according to Gary Yurk
(Academician) is an activity influencing task objectives and strategies,
influencing commitment and compliance in task behaviour to achieve these
objectives, influencing group maintenance and identification and influencing
the culture of an organisation[1]. In
other words leadership is a quality that a leader must have in order to perform
their duty to lead an organization. It is a responsibility for leader to perform
and influence subordinates to conduct the task properly.
BACKGROUND OF FIELD MARSHAL SIR GERALD TEMPLER
Field
Marshal Sir Gerald Walter Robert
Templer KG, GCB,
GCMG, KBE was born Chelsea, London on 11
September 1898. He was educated in Wellington College and then he furthered his
studies at Sandhurst. After his studies, he was commissioned in his father’s
unit which was the Royal Irish Fusiliers in 1916 and since then
he was involved in World War I at the age of 18. He is also a very good
sportsman whereby in year 1924 he became the member of the British Olympic
hurdles team. He was also the bayonet fighting champion of the British Army.
At the out break of World War II, he
was a Lieutenant Colonel serving the Military Intelligence Staff in British Expeditionary Force
and he was also the youngest Lieutenant Colonel in British Army at the age 44. his
abilities had lead him hold various appointments in the army such as Director
of Military Government in West Germany and Director of Military Intelligence in
War Office. Templer had stressed that the
policy of the British Government is that Malaya should be in due course become
a fully self-governing nation[2].
TEMPLER’S OBJECTIVE AND EXPERIENCE WITH THE LOCALS
Templer was appointed as the Malayan
“Supremo” in 1952 unifying roles of High Commissioner and Director of
Operations against the communist insurgency in Malaya. He was appointed for
that post because he was a dynamic and energetic commander at that moment in the
British Army. He arrived in Kuala Lumpur on 7 February 1952 replacing Sir Henry
Gurney who was killed on his way to Fraser’s Hill by communist. His Deputy High
Commissioner was Donald MacGillivary who arrived together with him.
The objectives of Templer were to
restore law and order subsequently to tackle political problems apart from
continuing Gurney’s socio-economic programme. The objective then had changed
British strategy in Malaya from defensive operation to offensive operation. He
also had named the MCP as the communist terrorist (CTs). I want to get to know people of all communities and classes so that I
may better understand their thoughts and difficulties and hopes and so be
better able to help them[3] -
Templer.
The first step in achieving his
objectives was to make tour to the whole country to assess the situation on the
ground and then he identified three main weaknesses as his priority as follows:
a.
The week police force had to be reorganised and its
role changed.
b.
A single powerful intelligence
organisation had to be established.
c.
Conduct actions to win the
hearts and minds of the local people.
Templer was a great and
multi-talented commander who had achieved his priorities within 28 months. He
had his own strategies to fight the communist terrorist and prepare the country
for independence. During the stay in Malaya Templer had experienced with a few
local officers who had written books on Templer’s character. The moment Templer
arrived in Malaya he had visited most of the badly effected areas by CTs and
one of the area which was visited by him was Tangkak. In Tangkak, he visited
the local Police Headquarters. The OCPD at that moment was J.J. Raj Jr., now
know as Dato’ J.J. Raj Jr.
Dato’ J.J. Raj Jr. had
personally experienced Templer’s character in Tangkak Police Headquarters.
Templer went to Tangkak Police Headquarters in rush after the CTs attack in a
Police Station and New Village Guard Rooms over there. He occupied the OCPD’s seat
with the feets up on the table and said you
are no bloody good, get out and kill those bastards - communist’s terrorists[4].
Another experience was during one of Templer’s
visit, a local headman of Sagil New Village, Tangkak complained to him about the
difficulty of villagers collecting water from the wells and later in the day
when Templer met the Government Heads, he said that piped water should be
supplied to the New Village[5].
Dato J.J. Raj Jr. admitted that
Templer is an extraordinary person. Even his wife had meet Templer and she had
said that Templer is a kind hearted person who often talks about ways and means
to help the people. There are scenes where Templer has gone very hot in Tangkak during his visit around the
villages. During the visit armed policemen were placed around the village for
his safety but the moment he saw them, he stopped and shouted at Deputy CPO. He
was very angry that moment because uniformed and armed police all around the
village could show that the village is not safe and demoralised the villagers.
There were incidents happened in
Sagil New Village which the local complained about the water supply to the
village and Templer immediately reacted on the complain made by the locals.
LEADERSHIP STYLES
A detail study had been made to
analyse leadership qualities on Templer who had his own style to counter CT in
Malaya. Leadership in military perspective is anyone who by virtue of assumed role or assigned responsibility inspires
and influences people to accomplish organisational goals or motivate people
both inside and outside the chain of command to pursue actions, focus thinking,
and shape decisions for the greater good of the organisation[6].
As
an army officer, Templer was a consultative leader whereby he confers with his
government officers before taking decision and in fact considers their advice
and their feelings when framing decision. Although he consults his officers,
but sometimes he doesn’t accept their advice. One of the events which clearly show
this leadership style is at the Sagil New Village when Templer didn’t accept
the advice from his officers regarding police security for him during his visit[7].
In certain events it has been seen
that Templer is an autocratic leader during the execution of his strategy.
During his commence of his plan, Templer uses words which shows that he is an
autocratic leader from his physical appearance and style. He also had punished
the villagers at Tanjung Malim for not cooperating with the government by
having curfews and food rationing[8].
TRANSACTIONAL AND TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP
Transactional leadership occurs when
a leader take the initiative in offering some form of need satisfaction in
return for something valued by employees, such as pay, promotion, improved job
satisfaction or the needs of
subordinates and selects appropriate, motivating rewards[9].
Transformational leadership is the
process of engaging the commitment of employees in the context of shared values
and a shared vision. It is particularly relevant in the context of leading
change and involves relationship of mutual trust between leaders and led[10].
In overall, Templer is a
transformational leader and the events took place during his stay in Malaya for
28 months clearly indicates his style. The four components which Templer had
achieved are as follows:
a. Idealised
Influence. The objectives and clear
vision of Templer in Malaya influences
his subordinates which could win their trust and respect from them. Once it had been achieved, he had
obtained extra affords from his government
officers and the local departments.
b. Individual
Considerations. Templer also had
strategy to pay attention for the
locals in Malaya by providing them all the basic needs and had gained support from the civilian population.
He had win the heart and minds of the people
in Malaya.
c. Intellectual
Simulation. The execution of
Templer’s strategy in Malaya shows that
he is capable of soliciting new ideas and new ways of solving problems compared to other leaders.
d. Inspiration. Templer had the idea of conducting civic
courses for the civil population to
motivate them and generate enthusiasm, setting an example and finally to share afford among the
civilians to fight against the CTs.
LEADERSHIP QUALITIES WHICH HAS IMPACT ON MY LIFE
Templer was an extraordinary man
with extraordinary mannerisms. He was also a multitalented commander, drove
himself mercilessly to achieve his objectives in Malaya[11].
His eligibility and capabilities could be derived into many leadership
qualities which could be used as an example by others. His achievement in
Malaya in 28 months was an success and the leadership qualities which he had
during the period are as follows:
a. Knowledgeable.
The experience he had during the
First World War had enhances his
knowledge on strategy to fight a war. He also had served many formations in British before
appointed as the Higher Commission and Director
of Operations in Malaya. The most important factor was the knowledge military intelligence had
supported his afford in Malaya[12].
b. Courage. The moment Templer arrived in Malaya, he had a tour around the
whole country. There were some places where he went using armoured vehicle
(Ferret Scout Car) to access the situation on the ground. He also denied any
police escorts during his visit to various places. All those events show that
Templer had the courage to serve in Malaya[13].
a. Loyalty. Templer had showed his loyalty towards the British
Government by the immediate actions taken to fight the CTs within a short
period of time. He had only focused on fighting the CT during his stay in
Malaya. In a short period of time, Templer had earned the reputation that he
always deliver the goods. He also had been an extra ordinary British High
Commissioner which indirectly indicates his loyalty to British Government[14].
b. Empathy. Templer had also studied the sensitivity issue which is the
races in Malaya and had managed to solve the racial problem in Malaya. One of
the actions taken was the implement of citizenship for all people in Malaya. In order to prepare the country for
independence, Templer had formed a multiracial military organisation which was
called the Federation Regiment. The motto of the regiment was ‘Bersatu’. The
regiment was consisting of 12 officers from various races and they were trained
in Royal Military Academy in Sandhurst[15].
c. Respect.
The administration of Templer in
Malaya had focused on human rights
and he had always respected the people around him although he seems to be rude when he communicates with
others. He had the ability to listen
to his subordinates before he makes a decision. The out come of it could be seen from the enormous respect
given to him by the Police, Armed Forces, Civil
Services and more especially from the people in villagers[16].
d. Punctual. Timing was also an important factor in Templer’s
administration in Malaya. He expects immediate action from his subordinates in
whatever orders that had been given. Complain from the Sagil villagers about
their water problem were solved as he mentioned during his visit to the village.
He also had ensured that the water problem had been solved as his promise to
the villagers[17]. His
punctuality could also been seen from his visit which done according the timing
planned. It was the main Templer could execute his strategy in 28 months in Malaya.
e. Physical Stamina. Templer had a high physical stamina and it
can be seen from his ability to move around the country to solve problems
non-stop. Most of time in Malaya was spend for visiting the villagers and those
areas effected by CTs and to solve their problems and needs. He was seen in all
over the country especially after CTs major attacks[18].
f. Self-Confidence. The action taken to fight the CT by Templer
in Malaya shows his self-confidence to curb the problem. He was very sure that
he could stop CT activities in Malaya because he never gave up in planning his
strategies[19].
g. Selfless
Service. The administration and
strategy conducted in Malaya had focused
on people welfare to win their heart and minds. Most of the actions taken is to increase peoples morale and confidence on
Templer’s strategy to fight CTs. Templer had focused on winning the heart and
minds of locals rather then taking
military actions[20].
h. Honour. Templer’s action and strategy had
always followed the British code
of ethics during his fight with the CTs. He had obeyed all instruction given to him in a limited
time. He was also honoured by the Sultan of
Selangor with his excellence in Malaya by naming a park as Templer’s Park in Rawang[21].
i. Emotional
Stamina. Templer had though time facing the CTs in Malaya whereby the CTs had their strategy
to overcome the action taken by him.
There many incidents happen and a few of them had killed British Government Officers. He had the ability
to absorb all these incidents and it never
slows him from implementing his strategies.
CONCLUSION
Through the analysis it is
identified that Templer had applied the leadership techniques as such:
a.
Get the priorities right.
b.
Get the instructions right.
c.
Get the organisation right.
d.
Get the people into the organisation.
e.
Get the right spirit into the people.
f.
Leave them to get on with it.
Templer’s leadership also had
contributed in forming the Federation Regiment in 1952 and subsequently
developed the Federation Military College (FMC). The Federation Military College has been established with the object of
preparing young Malayans to take their places as Officers in the Armed Forces
of the Federation, in the higher divisions of the public service and as
leaders in the professional, commercial and industrial life of the country.
The
overpopulation in Kuala Lumpur in 1952 had encouraged Templer to plan for a new
township which was named as Petaling Jaya. Initially it was the Effingham
Estate which covers 486 hectars. Since then almost 800 houses had been built
over there.
I
have adopted the skills from Templer in order to achieve in my career by
focusing to the attributes as bellow:
a.
Capable of making decision on his own.
b.
Strong willed.
c.
Ambitious.
d.
Energetic.
e.
Motivated by power.
References
Lt Col (R)
Mohd Azzam Mohd Hanif Ghows. The Malayan Emergency Revisted 1948 - 1960. Kuala
Lumpur. AMR Holding Sdn Bhd. 2006.
Philip Sadler.
Leadership. London. Kogan Page Limited. 2003.
Dato’ J.J Raj
(Jr). The Struggle For Malaysian Indepence. Selangor. MPH Publications Sdn Bhd.
2007.
Dato’ J.J Raj (Jr). The
War Years and After. Selangor. Pelanduk Publications (M) Sdn Bhd. 2003.
KALADEVY A/P PERAMAL
SIDANG A
DPA 1/2012
[1] Leadership by Philip
Sadler. 2003. P5.
[2] The
Malayan Emergency Revisited 1948 - 1960. 2006. P 261.
[3] The
Malayan Emergency Revisited 1948 - 1960. 2006. P 263.
[4] The
War Years. 1995. P 127.
[5] Ibid.,
P 128.
[6] Kol Kamarul Fauzi bin Hj Said Lecture on Leadership. 9 Okt 09.
[7] The
War Years. 1995. P 132.
[8] The Malayan Emergency Revisted 1948 - 1960. P 286.
[9] Leadership
by Philip Sadler. 2003. P24.
[10] Ibid,.
P 24.
[11] The
War Years. 1995. P 121.
[12] The
Malayan Emergency Revisted 1948 - 1960. P 261.
[13] Ibid., P263.
[14] The Struggle For Malaysian Independence 2007. P 119.
[15] The Malayan Emergency Revisted 1948 - 1960. P 304.
[16] The
War Years. 1995. P 131.
[17] Ibid,. P 128
[18] The
War Years. 1995. P 126.
[19] The Malayan Emergency Revisted 1948 - 1960. P 267.
[20] The Malayan Emergency Revisted 1948 - 1960. P 284.
[21] The Malayan Emergency Revisted 1948 - 1960. P 306.
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