127 VARIA RANAH 2023 Malaysia MADANI: Way Forward From Vision to Reality Malaysia had experienced a very turbulent political landscape recently. It was the first time in the history of the country, there had been 3 Prime Ministers in the span of one election cycle (of 5 years). This seems to suggest that leadership was “weak”. Visions and policies introduced by the leaders were short-lived, only to be scrapped and replaced by new ones by the next leaders. In the government, many top civil servants and government linked entity chiefs were transferred out or in some cases “thrown out” because they were perceived to be colluding with the past leaders. Taken in its entirety, it had sent confusing signals to investors, observers, government employees and the people; The sanctity, integrity and credibility of the government is at stake. Way forward, perhaps a more rigorous, transparent, independent and competitive way of selecting leaders would path the way for the much-touted government reform, a departure from which leadership was exclusive for the chosen few. Leadership needs to be entrusted to the ones who are capable creating growth more efficiently and effectively for the institutions and its people and charting the best possible future. Leadership that breeds better (future) leadership is extremely needed in the government or (at least) perhaps the working environment/ culture (and public policies) encourages towards that end. The problem statement is to address this urgent need, without which government entities may teeter to the brink of irrelevancy and worse off dragging the national agenda off tangent. This paper will focus on suggestions for leaders in the government setting; However, equally as important leadership in society, industries and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) needs to change as well; Malaysia Madani requires the whole of nation approach, led by effective leadership from the Government. PROBLEM STATEMENT LITERATURE REVIEW A. Burning Platform Burning Platform is a metaphor that is used to describe the urgency required for change, often connoting a “life threatening situation”. It was first introduced by Daryl Conner’s Managing at the Speed of Change. The idea is based on a true story of a horrific explosion that killed 166 crew members in the North Sea off Scotland in 1988. Andy Mochan was one of the survivors and recounted his ordeal for survival. He was awakened by the loud explosion and alarms. He ran from his quarters to the platform edge and jumped fifteen stories from the platform into the icy sea. He knew he could only survive for 20 minutes in the cold water if not rescued. When asked why he took the leap, he did not hesitate that saying that it was jump or fry. He “gambled” possible death over certain death. He jumped because the “price” or consequence on staying on the platform i.e. maintaining the status quo was too high. Similarly, governments, businesses, social and political leaders find themselves in this similar situation. They have to make changes no matter how painful, uncertain and frightening they are; Or otherwise face a price too high for not doing so. Major change is always costly, but when maintaining the status quo becomes prohibitively expensive, a burning platform situation erupts. A few examples will be discussed.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTc1NDAy