“FRIENDS, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears; I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him. The evil that men do lives after them; The good is oft interred with their bones.”

This is the opening speech by Mark Antony in the play Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare. 

Dr Mahathir Mohamad: I do not have the luxury of meeting you in person because I am just an ordinary citizen but I am hoping that your advisers will pass on the following message to you.

Let me start with my heartfelt thanks to you for coming back and putting a stop to kleptocracy and its destructive consequences and, in the process, changing the course of history. We pride ourselves on having an election that changed the government without bloodshed. It is unprecedented. 

But the initial euphoria following the victory in the 14th general election has now subsided. Intentional or unintentional deviations, inconsistencies and polarisation seems to abound. Deviations and inconsistencies can be temporarily justified by using inexperience as an excuse but not for long. 

Malaysia Baru is fearless. They demand transparency and accountability and they want changes and they want it fast. 

If I may, please find time to gather your ministers to give them a heads-up on ministerial duties and functions. They may have advisers but it seems this group of people are also lacking in something. We need to see cohesiveness. Is it because of transparency that we are seeing deviations and U-turns? This investment in time would do good for the long-term survival of your coalition. 

Dr Mahathir: there are obvious warning signs. A recent example is the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination issue. Some of your ministers appeared to be at a loss. Was it a surprise to them when you said something at the recent United Nations General Assembly? Others took the opportunity to incite violence, threats and make hate speeches. They had a field day on social media.

It is sad that in the race to make changes, some even want to change the social contract, too. However, their own mindset, civic consciousness and habits are still stuck in the old ways.

Hardly had the ICERD issue been put to rest that incidents broke out over the Seafield Sri Maha Mariamman in Subang Jaya and was initially touted as a racial clash. It became a sensitive issue. Preliminary investigations found that it was over the acquisition of land and relocation of the temple being done “in an unpleasant manner”. The violent scuffles resulted in several arrested and injured, including a firefighter.

It does not help when a minister blames the police for making a false statement and delaying its response to the incident or being unable to control the situation. This goes back to the point of cohesiveness.
 
Another area that needs improvement is negotiation skills. Discussions are held and decisions made but later, there is either a public outcry or a turnaround. Worse still is when promises to set up a joint committee to solve an issue (eg. Taman Rimba Kiara) is made, but before the committee is even formed, solutions are being put forward without consulting interested parties.  

Recall the sad and painful day for Malaysia when we lost sovereignty over Pulau Batu Putih and other one-sided agreements of the previous regime? We need astute and canny negotiators. 

We also need many more lateral thinkers like you.

We do not expect your ministers to solve all our problems. It may help if they attend coaching sessions to attain coaching skills. They can then support the rakyat in achieving specific personal or professional goals by providing guidance.

I notice you had admitted that you did not expect to win GE14. And I understand why you had to make quick decisions to appoint your ministers. In hindsight, some do not fit the portfolio they were given. In your next cabinet reshuffle, kindly consider allocating portfolios to those who have some knowledge or association to a particular area.  

Sorry, at your age, there are many more challenges you have to face. Apart from demands for transparency, accountability and corruption, there are areas like restoration of states’ rights, economy, institutional reforms, murky issues on royalties, education, language and many more. Hence, you need support. 

May Allah SWT bless you with good health.

Mark Antony ended his speech with, “And men have lost their reason. Bear with me; My heart is in the coffin there with Caesar, And I must pause till it come back to me”.

Dr Mahathir, if you could lend me your other ear, I have more to add.

What say you… – November 28, 2018.

* Saleh Mohammed reads The Malaysian Insight.