Are Our Existing Penang PKR Leaders Qualified?‏

(Adapted from Kopitiam Chat, Malaysian Insider)

In this modern world, whether you like it or not, meritocracy is a must for the development of a party and a country. Let's analyze Singapore, how this little country without natural resources like tin, oil, rubber, palm oil, development land, emerged as developed country. We need to learn from them.

Let's look at the Singapore Cabinet:

PM Lee Hsien Loong
Cambridge University - First Class Honours (1974)
Harvard University - Masters (1980)

SM Goh Chok Tong
University of Singapore - First Class Honours (1964)
Williams College , USA - Masters (1967)

MM Lee Kuan Yew
Cambridge University - First Class Honours (1949)

Minister for Law Prof. S Jayakumar
University of Singapore - Bachelor of Law Honours (1963)
Yale Univerity - Masters (1966)

Minister for Home Affairs Wong Kan Seng
University of Singapore - Bachelor of Arts & Business Admin (1977)
London Business School - Masters (1979)

Minister for Foreign Affairs BG George Yeo
Cambridge University - Double First Class Honours (1976)
Harvard Business School - MBA w/ Distinction (1985)

Minister for Trade and Industry Lim Hng Kiang
Cambridge University - First Class Honours w/ Distinction (1976)
Harvard University - Masters (1986)

Minister for Defence Teo Chee Hean
University of Manchester - First Class Honours (1976)
Imperial College, London - Masters w/ Distinction (1977)

Minister for Education Tharman Shanmugaratnam
London School of Economics - Bachelor of Arts
Cambridge University - Masters
Harvard University - Masters

The above information is for reference… but in contrast, many of our Penang state leaders are only diploma holders, Form 6 and Form 5 levels or lower, and some even can’t speak English. With the present circumstances, can we effectively manage the party and govern the state, let alone rule the country?

As a matter of fact, we do have highly qualified people in the party. But those elites would either be blocked or be eradicated by the existing leaders before they could serve the party. Party leaders with less qualification refused to let go their positions to better qualified people and younger generation due to their personal interests. They always assume they are the old-timers, no one is better than them. They would normally select less qualified people as their cohort, so that they wouldn’t look incompetent, and therefore their positions wouldn’t be threatened. They would instigate baloney issues and sentiments to wipe out someone better qualified by ganging up other leaders with equally low qualification whom represent the majority. Some may even go to the extent of taking advantage of their spouses’ rapports with the dominant force within Penang PKR to destroy their perceived better qualified rivals.

It doesn't mean that those old and long serving party leaders cannot perform any more, they must know that no one is indispensable. They must retire and give chance to younger and better qualified people to lead the party with new concept. The young professionals are deprived of the chance to perform because of the selfishness of the existing party leaders. So, is this a success or a loss to our party?

We want good, genuine and competent leaders of principles, regardless of race to keep up with the changing times. We should learn by heart the Perak state incidents – it is time for the party to filter out those unqualified “CARI MAKAN” opportunists who may lead us to catastrophe. Please bear in mind that the pro- Pakatan Rakyat tide will go one day, if people start to have the perception that there are still many bad apples in our party, and we are not better than UMNO-BN.