To be or not to be a future Prime Minister of Malaysia

Hishamuddin, cousin of our PM Najib, UMNO vice President and the current Menteri Dalam Negeri is getting a lot of flak lately, notably from BN /UMNO friendly bloggers and from what I hear during the Hari Raya visits and open houses people are actually complaining about his performance or rather a lack of it as the Menteri in charge of Homeland  Security. Apparently there is a momentum towards calling the Menteri Dalam Negeri as Menteri Amaran Keras and it seemed that he is in danger of being stuck with the nickname long after his political career is over. 


Hisham comes from a Malay aristocrat lineage, his grandfather is the great Malaysian Patriot Dato' Onn Jaafar and his father Tun Hussein Onn was our third Prime Minister. Being a descendant of great politicians and leaders does not guarantee that you will be endowed naturally with leadership and political skills  as Hisham would find out along his political career. The good name of one's family can only get one to a certain level after that one have to earn one's keep. Hisham's mercurial rise in UMNO seemed very well planned and quite painless, he has however not gone thru' the baptism of fire like real leaders such as Tunku, Tun Hussein and Tun Dr Mahathir had to go through, his leadership of UMNO Youth is nothing to shout about either. 


His Ministerial career is mediocre at best, having been Menteri at Kementerian Sukan, Pendidikan and now Menteri Dalam Negeri which is a very senior cabinet post. His Ministership at KDN is proving to be very demanding of his mediocre skills though, as now he is placed right in the centre of the spotlight with his every move and statement dissected and scrutinised by ALL Malaysians. Whatever the NKRA or KPIs of KDN are, the ordinary people see a Minister who has yet to perform and deliver. Lately there were some trial baloons launched by Hisham's supporters on the idea that he will be PM some day after Najib, unfortunately they did not took into account the ferocious opposition to their idea by none other than pro BN/UMNO bloggers:

Blogger Another Brick in the Wall came up with this fierce article..‘Pondan’ undeserve the helm of nation leadership

This was followed by a chilli pedas article from Tuan Syed....The Next Prime Minister?


A good unsolicited advise from Blogger Bujai to Hisham......You are a Home Minister, Hisham!!!

Folks please read and think about it for some moment, do you think Hisham has got what it takes to become our PM?


I think Hisham needs a good plan and fast for a makeover of some sort, his tenure at KDN showed that his famous family name can get him only so far but the rest is really up to the him. In my mind and probably many also, his image as a Leader was badly dented when he unsheath the kris at an UMNO assembly some time ago and later forced to issue an apology for the act after BN did badly in the last GE12. For that, Hisham can forget about the PMship for a while yet as he rebuilt his image, but with the KDN complaints of inaction I think his image has turn out  for the worse in the eyes of many.


This is Hisham's baptism of fire, how he reacts to criticism will reveal whether he is a Leader fit to be a candidate for Prime Minister or just a political wannabee with aspiration of the highest office in the land.


Perhaps, a visit to see Dr Mahathir like Bujai proposed is a good thing to do, Hisham has got nothing to lose if he seeks to see the numero uno the Grand old man of Malaysian politics, who has this to say about being a good leader:

Tun Dr. Mahathir menggariskan tujuh kualiti untuk menjadi pemimpin yang baik, iaitu;

1. Seorang pemimpin yang baik tidak semestinya merendah diri tapi sekurang2nya tidak bercakap besar.
2. Beliau mesti bersedia menerima tanggungjawab tetapi tidak boleh terlalu mendesak dan berkeras dalam memimpin.
3. Beliau tidak harus menyalahkan orang lain bagi kegagalan tetapi mengakui kelemahan diri serta tidak harus menuding jari atau mencari seseorang untuk dipersalahkan.
4. Beliau harus bersikap luhur dan tidak pentingkan pujian dan kemasyhuran.
5. Beliau patut tahu bagaimana mengendalikan pengikutnya begitu juga pihak atasan serta perlu sensitif dengan sensitiviti orang lain.
6. Beliau patut bersedia melakukan apa yang diharapkan oleh orang lain untuk beliau laksanakan serta mendukung slogan kepemimpinan melalui teladan.
7. Beliau perlu bijak dan lebih pintar sekurang2nya berbanding orang yang berada di bawah pimpinannya.

Good Luck in your quest YB Hisham, you certainly need all the luck you can muster on the road to the PM's office as it is indeed long and winding and the Rakyat demands that only the Best and the Brave shall be Malaysia's Prime Minister. No "pondans" allowed.