“Great leaders are not the best at everything. They find leaders who are the best at different things and get them together on the same team.” – Eileen Bistrisky, Canadian writer
DATUK Seri Rafizi Ramli has written a book titled ‘A Guide to Rebuilding Our Nation: 5 Steps to Solve 50% of our Nation’s Problems’.
According to a short preview available online, the overarching goal of the book’s publication in 2017 is to offer realistic, implementable policies that can create tangible improvements in citizens’ everyday lives, especially in terms of income, cost of living and economic fairness.
I have not read the book but I believe that the former Economy Minister would have some ideas or solutions to solving some of Malaysia’s woes. He is quite a bright and astute politician after all, from what we can hear and see from near or far.
It does not bother me whether the book is about solving 50 per cent or just 5 per cent of Malaysia’s problems. Oh yes, our nation needs problem solvers, many of them and urgently too.
Rafizi deserves our applause for his initiative in penning a problem-solving book and his sincere intention to contribute towards nation-building the way he knows best – by helping to solve our nation’s woes.
But I would have wished for Rafizi to also author a book on ‘How to fix PKR in 50 days’. Probably, that would have been more urgent and relevant with the current mess in the party today. It could also have worked in Rafizi’s favour and he would not have been sidelined in PKR today.
One may ask why Rafizi should author such a book. Well, he has already expressed frustration over PKR’s stagnation and lack of internal reform. The book would reflect his desire to restore the party’s moral authority, organisational discipline and public relevance.
I am confident that if Rafizi who is known for his analytical mind, reformist zeal and blunt honesty had written the hypothetical book titled ‘How to Fix PKR in 50 Days’, it would likely be a bold, structured and practical blueprint for internal reform within his party.
Well, Rafizi, this is my challenge to you – to write the book now that you have more time outside the government.
Aha, you need to fix the teething issues plaguing your party first; otherwise, I doubt you would have a role in the government under the current leadership.
Admittedly, I have a soft spot for Rafizi. To me personally, an anti-graft crusader scores very high and stands very tall in my book and Rafizi is one of them.
Such a person commands deep respect and admiration. It’s not about Rafizi, the man or the politician. It’s about what he does, the work he carries out, the effort he puts in and the burden and sacrifice forced upon him.
As one who also has zero tolerance for corruption myself, as it erodes the soul of any society, an anti-graft crusader stands as a rare symbol of moral clarity and courage.
They risk personal attacks, professional setbacks and sometimes even threats to their safety, to uphold honesty and justice. That alone makes them exceptional.
In a world where self-interest often takes precedence over public good, Rafizi can stand tall as his political career has been defined as much by exposés and fearless truth-telling as it has by his reform agenda and data-driven approach to policymaking.
Many of us can easily recall two of his most famous exposés – the National Feedlot Corporation (NFC) Scandal – ‘Cowgate’ (2011–2012) and the Lembaga Tabung Haji-1MDB Land Deal (2015).
‘Cowgate’ brought national attention to the misuse of public funds and eventually forced a minister to step down. The other exposé triggered outrage among Muslims and forced Tabung Haji to sell the land later under pressure.
For his many exposés, Rafizi also had to bear personal costs, including facing more than a dozen charges under the Official Secrets Act (OSA), Banking and Financial Institutions Act (BAFIA) and Peaceful Assembly Act.
In 2016, he was convicted under BAFIA for exposing banking documents related to NFC. He was also disqualified as MP for Pandan, risking his political future.
Rafizi’s legal battles drained time, money and energy. Add in the personal and political strain and a lesser man would have thrown in the towel, but not Rafizi. He soldiered on.
If I have to point out a lacklustre period of Rafizi’s political career, it would have been his tenure as Economy Minister in the Cabinet of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. Public expectations were high and Rafizi’s performance received mixed reviews.
Seriously, I do not think Rafizi has achieved anything worth shouting about during his time as a minister. I didn’t read much too into the minister’s feeble defence of his performance in the Cabinet.
I agree with those who felt that Rafizi struggled to translate idealism into pragmatic policy but there were also others who blamed the bureaucracy and slow Cabinet pace.
Moving forward, I think Rafizi should continue with what he does best – as a fearless watchdog, a courageous whistleblower and a reformist thinker.
At 47, Rafizi is still relatively young. I believe that he still has a bright political future ahead of him, with or without PKR.
● Francis Paul Siah is a veteran Sarawak editor and currently heads the Movement for Change, Sarawak (MoCS). He can be reached at sirsiah@gmail.com. The views expressed here are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of Sarawak Tribune.
