THE last couple of weeks saw the Sultan of Johor make a series of statements that brought much-needed relief for many moderate Malaysians. His Majesty’s decrees were simple, candid and straight-to- the-point. Yet the message was clear, pronounced with authority and clarity.

They were met with unusual enthusiastic response royal decrees seldom are. Yet, these were not only celebrated, but commented upon, and followed up from, by NGOs, community leaders and government agencies. The reason? They contained very much needed leadership, in the face of an increasingly divided Malaysia suffering from a lack of it.

Leadership is what politicians are elected into legislative office for – to enact laws that determine the direction of the country socially, economically, diplomatically and so on and so forth.

Of course, the remaining government organs – the judiciary and executive – are designed to continue functioning with minimal political intervention, but they too, require policy directions to run properly.

In a multiracial, multi-religious country like ours, these policies mean taking everyone’s opinion into consideration, weighing it against the bigger needs of the different communities, various states, and the entire country as a whole, and making strong decisions that are the best for everyone.

The same principle applies whenever efforts are made to challenge these policies, or change the status quo for some reason or other. Once a decision is made, it should be strong, binding and firm in nature. This is especially true if it involves departments and ministries of the government, as they are seen as mouthpieces of the government, and a yardstick by which lesser directives are made.

A weak decision, or a weakly-implemented directive, therefore, will cause a chain reaction that risks diluting those policies to the point it no longer holds any value, and embolden interested parties within the government machinery that are against such policies to begin with.

Hard and fast rules, such as the Constitution, or the tiered ideals that guard those rules, such as the Rukunegara, should be considered sacrosanct and consistently defended by any administration.

The problem starts when politicians themselves stop practising these principles of governance that have long ensured the harmony of our country, when those entrusted to guard these themselves toy with them with mild suggestive remarks and innuendoes that these principles can be bent and broken depending on who votes for them and who doesn’t.

When their supporters, inspired by these ideas, go on to build on them and in the process, develop followings on their own, throwing their support behind these false messiah-politicians who would finally deliver what they believe is a common agenda, and these ideas grow out of control, birthing new and crazier ideas, the politician walks away, and at best, offers a half-hearted rebuke and less-than-half- hearted denouncement against their former supporters, who by now already are popular leaders in their own right.

The tables now turn and the quiet innuendoes by the politicians themselves now turn into loud demands by their once-followers, and it no longer becomes a question of prodding to win over votes, but appeasing the pitchfork-wielding masses.

We see this in many areas in our Malaysian society today, and on many new fronts.

It takes courage, political humility and leadership to initiate dialogue that will help our country heal the friction that has grown over the last decade due to conflicting ideals spun out of control and into sensationalism.

It would seem that the Royals have helped open that window. What we do with it, is up to us. – October 17, 2017.

* Emmanuel Joseph firmly believes that Klang is the best place on Earth, and that motivated people can do far more good than any leader with motive.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.