Young, not necessary the best....
While I agree that fresh faces have to be injected into the political landscape in Malaysia, instead of the tainted politicians, it is not always the best decision.
Allow me to elaborate. As I was doing my assignment in partial fulfilment of the requirement for my doctoral degree, I had to read up about the Ancient Chinese history. There are many lessons one can learn from 2,500 of Chinese history.
Bad Advisors
The collapse of the Sui Dynasty was attributed to the “deceit practiced on each other by both high and low officials, the emperor’s own arrogance and complacency, the fawning attitude of his advisers and their failure, in terms of loyalty, to criticize the emperor’s mistakes.” (p50)
Subsequently, the Tang Dynasty attempted to keep the balance between the scholars (Ru) and the non-scholars (Li).
Keeping the Balance of Ru and Li
From as early as the Han Dynasty, tension had existed between Ru and Li.
With the moral compass provided by Confucius' teaching, the scholars (Ru) were known for their corruption-free reputation, but their bureaucratic efficiency could not be matched by the non-scholars (Li) who were, unfortunately, also more easily corrupted.
The biggest challenge for any emperor was to know who to appoint to occupy senior positions in the administration. It was important to keep the correct balance, and being able to capitalise on the strengths of both class of administrators yet maintaining the harmony of both groups.
Emperor Gaozu of the Tang Dynasty attempted to introduce the checks-and-balances by trying to “exploit their (both military and civilian officials) respective talents and so errors can be corrected.” His attempt was, however, unsuccessful due to a deep seated distrust between the two groups.
The Song Dynasty (AD 960-1279) experimented with a new criterion in the selection of its administrators.
Young Administrators Not Necessary the Best
During the Song Dynasty, the biggest mistake made was to appoint the younger Imperial scholars who were less competent due to a lack of practical experience in governance. This resulted in incompetence in the government and a resentment of the non-scholarly administrators.
When the Yuan Dynasty (AD1279-1368) took over, a remedy was sought, which gave rise to the power of the non-scholarly staff and bodyguards. This caused further tension between the Ru and Li to reach its peak; as a result, the imperial kingdom started to disintegrate.
There is a saying, “…the Song (Dynasty) fell because of scholarly officials, while the Yuan (Dynasty) collapsed because of non-scholarly staff.” (p164).
Meritocracy Did Not Solve the Issue of Corruption Either
The Chinese, especially during the Ming and Qing dynasty had a very good system of recruitment that ensured that only the Imperial scholars (minimum qualification) were selected to join the administration.
As early as Ming dynasty, they had a few stages in the recruitment process, from internship (these interns were known as Jin Shi) to finally becoming the 'recommended' people (Ju Ren), who form the pool of people who qualify for more senior positions.
By the time of the Qing dynasty, the selection of the best administrators was done using the casting of lots so that the invigilators had no opportunity to be bribed.
However, this system never solved the problem of corruption. The Imperial scholars who were supposed to be morally upright, having memorised the Confucius Classics, were no longer the same breed as those who initially followed the teaching of Confucius during the early Han Dynasty.
For example, Gao Shiqi’s jewellery and other gifts purportedly came “from ten thousand countries." Xu Qianxue’s wealth was said to have “piled up to the sky." A common saying during the Qing Dynasty was, "“being three years a Qing government official is of equal worth to 100,000 taels of silver.” (p411)
In fact, these Imperial Scholars became the sore points that brought about the Taiping Rebellion in 1850 and the high level of corruption caused the eventual downfall of the Qing Dynasty.
Some Observations
In modern days, we see the elites and the grassroots in almost every political party. Some politicians from the educated class fail miserably when it comes to their relationship with the grassroots.
It is not easy to have people who are both educated `elites' yet altruistic and down to earth like Dr Tan Chee Khoon. Operating a clinic in Jinjang, Dr Tan from Pekemas was known to be very close to the grassroots.
In my recent scrutiny of DAP, I see this in the likes of politicians such as Ng Sze Han, Tony Pua and his gang who have lost touch with the grassroots. As a result, both Pua and his ADUN, Jamaliah Jamaluddin lost in the state DAP election.
The grassroots are in the likes of Ronnie Liu and Charles Santiago. Both have very strong grassroots support, compared to Pua and Sze Han. When politicians become too elated with their own popularity (syok sendiri), they have a tendency to forget about the rakyat.
The conflict in DAP exists because of the tussle between the so-called 'puffed up elite' leaders and the 'down-to-earth grassroots' leaders. It appears to me that the senior leaders in DAP are unable to keep both sides working together.
The tendency that I see now is that DAP will gradually become another elite group like UMNO Baru after its 1987 split between Team A and B, if DAP continues on its slippery slope by removing those who belong to the older generation.
Even DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang admitted that Pua lost the Selangor DAP election because he had lost touch with the grassroots.
Quoting Terence Gomez Edmund, Barry Wain in his book, "Malaysian Maverick: Mahathir Mohamad in Turbulent Times" wrote about UMNO after 1987:
“Elected party posts became passports to wealth and status for which candidates and their supporting networks were prepared to pay on a scale according to potential returns. Businessmen who once shunned politics sought key posts in the UMNO hierarchy. By 1995, the teachers and farmers who once dominated UMNO rank had long given way to civil servants, technocrats and opportunists; almost 20 percent of UMNO’s 165 divisional chairmen were millionaire businessmen-cum-politicians.”
The relationship between money politics and UMNO party election was first confirmed by scholars such as Terence Gomez Edmund, Jomo Kwame Sundaram and Khoo Boo Teik in 1993. The rest is history. We have an Umno Baru that has forgotten its original struggles.
The Biggest Challenge
The challenge is for the leaders of political parties to keep Team A and Team B -- the elites and the grassroots -- to work together.
The easy way out is to kick out those who oppose the current leadership, leading to the tyranny of the majority, to the point that political parties like Umno Baru has become what it is today -- beyond redemption.
Unless of course, if fresh faces are introduced, but one must ask how much can the young ones do in a party that is entrenched in a culture that is corrupt? In the case DAP, the new faces appear to share the same values as the 'elitists'.
The experience of the Song Dynasty is, therefore, something to learn from. History has many other examples, where the young ones lacking in wisdom and experience continue to make a mess of the society they are supposed to lead.
The disaster of Rehobam was that he "ignored the advice of the elders which they had given him, and consulted with the young men who had grown up with him and served him."
Unlike Kepong MP, Lim Lip Eng, these younger leaders and the 'elites' would not be able to understand the sufferings of the ordinary people on the street. Their tendency is to neglect the grassroots, the B40 and the marginalised. They would not even look at the drains to see how smelly these drains are.
After a year plus of dealing with Maszlee Malik when he was Minister of Education, such is the danger when an inexperienced young man or woman is picked as Prime Minister in this nation. How much experience did Maszlee have running a corporation, what's more an archaic ministry like the Ministry of Education.
For that reason, I feel it is wiser to have a more experienced man like Anwar Ibrahim as Prime Minister. He can then mentor and groom young potential leaders like Rafizi Ramli, Nurul Izzah Anwar and Syed Saddiq Abdul Rahman.
Patience is the acid test of quality leadership. If they can continue under the tutelage of Anwar himself, they will benefit from his wide range of experience and his insights in running the country. All three have the potential to become good prime ministers, but they must be patient.
And, if these young people want to lead Malaysia to the next level, they will have to keep themselves free from corruption. Or else, they will end up like Najib Abdul Razak in jail.
(This is a blog post. Do not expect perfection)
Most of the quotes are from Zhang, Qizhi. An Introduction to to Chinese History and Culture. New York, NY: Springer Heidelberg, 2015.
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