by Wan Hamidi Hamid
A simple Google search will show that indecisiveness means “kiss of death for leaders”, “mark of poor leadership” and even “oxymoron”.
Perhaps when one thinks of indecisiveness, the picture of Abdullah Ahmad Badawi comes into mind. He was known then as the flip-flop prime minister, failing to deliver his promises. He made political history when the opposition won five states and denied Barisan Nasional’s two-thirds Parliamentary majority in the 2008 general election.
Therefore, when Najib Razak took over from him in April 2009 – almost four years ago today – Malaysians, in particular leaders, members and supporters of BN, were hoping for something different, expecting a more decisive leader.
Unfortunately, despite his stylish sense of dressing and correct pronunciation of English, i.e. the upper class look, Najib has failed miserably. Perhaps even worse than that of Pak Lah’s administration.
The group Political Studies for Change (KPRU) in its report early this year summed up everything in the title: “Najib as the most indecisive Prime Minister of Malaysia”. KPRU provides some example of the Najib administration’s flip-flops including the handling of the Lynas issue, the MAS-AirAsia shares swap, the misnomer Peaceful Assembly Act, the kid-glove treatment of racist group Perkasa, the new salary scheme for civil servants, and the profits-for-crony Automated Enforcement System (AES).
The worst achievement for Najib is of course his feat of being the one and only Prime Minister of Malaysia who has yet to call for general elections after FIVE years. At the time of this writing, he is STILL mulling over the date.
Yet another simple Google search found a quote from George Canning, a British statesman of the early 19thcentury, who said, “Indecision and delays are the parents of failure.” -The Rocket
