LEADERS must demonstrate a high level of capability so that their integrity is not easily challenged, said Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

“If a leader is able to show the way, the proper way to do things, then a group’s efforts will be more successful. We see this in the military, especially. The military will not succeed without leaders with higher integrity, efficiency and intelligence than their subordinates,” he said in his keynote address at the Malaysia Future Leaders School (MFLS) Tier 3 programme in Kuala Lumpur last night.

Present was Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman.

Dr Mahathir said leaders should not put their own interests over their followers’.

He stressed that leaders who continuously attend to issues affecting their followers will be held in high regard.

He added that if there are too many leaders in a community, they will end up competing with one another and lose focus on their primary responsibilities.

“When leaders spend all their time and energy competing with each other, they will lose the ability to lead.”

To a participant’s question during the dialogue session, Dr Mahathir said it is the people’s responsibility to bring down leaders who execute policies that do not benefit the public.

In a democracy, he said, the people have the power to retain or reject leaders, depending on the latter’s performance.

On whether the MFLS programme will be continued, he said there is no guarantee that good policies will be maintained if the government changes.

The programme is aimed at moulding youth to take on leading roles at the national and global levels. – Bernama, February 20, 2020.