By Dr Tarcisius Chin                                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                                      
THE last four decades of our nation's history have been both                                                                                          
exciting and fruitful.                                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                                      
As a nation we have experienced the spirit of freedom to the                                                                                          
agony of racial strife, the heights of achievements to the                                                                                            
pain of recession, the turmoil of social reengineering and the                                                                                        
magnificent transformation that (he last 39 years have taken                                                                                          
us.  On balance we have much much more of pluses than minuses.                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                                      
How was this fulfilled?                                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                                      
Commentators will say we are blessed from the start.  We had,                                                                                         
undeniably, good resources, infrastructure systems and                                                                                                
boundless goodwill to begin with.                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                                      
But so had many newly independent nations from the Indian sub                                                                                         
continent to the lesser known African nations.                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                                      
After several decades of independence, why is it that, given                                                                                          
the same quality of heritage, only few countries have                                                                                                 
impressive growth rates, stability and security, and an                                                                                               
enviable quality of life for their citizens?                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                                      
The answer must lie with the quality of our past and present                                                                                          
leadership. Economic and social prosperity is the consequence                                                                                         
of visionary architecture and effective construction to                                                                                               
produce the society we desire.                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                                      
The prime ingredients are sustainable political and social                                                                                            
stability which the Alliance Barisan Nasional Government has                                                                                          
ingeniously crafted to blunt extremism from taking root.                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                      
Very few newly independent countries, save Singapore, can lay                                                                                         
claim to this special attribute of predictable political                                                                                              
continuity.                                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                      
If it is good leadership that makes the difference, what then                                                                                         
are the qualities that account for good leadership?                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                                      
We know what a good leader is not.  He or she is not a                                                                                                
bureaucrat tied to prescribed rules and procedures neither is                                                                                         
he or she a technical manager whose behaviour is governed by                                                                                          
authority and responsibility and whose performance is measured                                                                                        
by measurable outcomes a good leader is also very different                                                                                           
from an entrepreneur whose vision is limited and who acts on                                                                                          
quite selfish grounds.                                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                                      
Leadership has been defined in different ways.                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                                      
Western authorities focus on the leader as a person with                                                                                              
vision, with the ability to communicate this to attract a                                                                                             
following and the competence to realise fulfilment.                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                                      
Eastern philosophy looks at the leader's behaviour as he or                                                                                           
she becomes the catalyst to produce extraordinary performance                                                                                         
from quite ordinary people.                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                      
The Chinese sage, Lao Tzu, once remarked: "The leader is good                                                                                    
when he gets things done; better when people know that he                                                                                             
exists best when people exclaim we did it ourselves!"                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                                      
In my mind there are three essential phases in the job of the                                                                                         
leader. The first has to do with creating the future.  What we                                                                                        
want our country, society, organisation or interest group to                                                                                          
be in the future has to be decided now.                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                                      
Throughout history, great leaders have inspired a following to                                                                                        
a vision of greatness.                                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                                      
George Washington had the vision of a nation free from English                                                                                        
rule so too did Soekarno, Ho Chih Min and Tunku Abdul Rahman                                                                                          
who fought for independence from colonial rule.                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                                      
More recently, Deng Xiao Peng, Lee Kuan Yew and Dr Mahathir                                                                                           
Mohamad have expressed visions of economic prosperity,                                                                                                
resilience and national unity for their respective countries.                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                                      
Malaysia's Vision 2020 is a courageous attempt to create                                                                                              
within 30 years a modernised and developed nation with                                                                                                
qualities spelt out in the nine challenges.                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                      
In the business world it is virtually unthinkable to look so                                                                                          
far ahead, given the enormous powerful changes that have                                                                                              
engulfed mankind.                                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                                      
The changing ranking of Fortune's 500 companies is testimony                                                                                          
to the difficulty of remaining at the top in an environment of                                                                                        
intense global competitive pressure.                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                                      
But to look forward, even for a year, is a vital quality of a                                                                                         
leader.                                                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                                      
The second phase is to attract a following. This is the                                                                                               
process of building a shared vision.                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                                      
It works very well when the mission is common and where there                                                                                         
is very little conflict of interest.                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                                      
Winston Churchill was so effective in galvanising Britain to                                                                                          
defend its sovereignty to the last man during World War Two,                                                                                          
but was ineffectual after the war when other issues surfaced.                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                                      
It is where too many hidden agenda exist that the proposed                                                                                            
nation of Bosnia is now floundering.                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                                      
Sharing a common vision is best seen in the work of voluntary                                                                                         
organisations.                                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                                      
Members of NGOs serve to help contribute time, effort and                                                                                             
sometimes financial resources to ensure that the cause is                                                                                             
promoted and the mission is fulfilled.                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                                      
Rotary, Lions, Kiwanis and many other similar community                                                                                               
organisations operate on a common bond, viz service to the                                                                                            
community.                                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                                      
A member who joins such organisations for reasons other than                                                                                          
service will soon drop out. For those who believe in the                                                                                              
cause, their membership can be a life long commitment.                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                                      
The third phase of leadership is to ensure that action follows                                                                                        
vision. The architect's vision of an elegant structure is only                                                                                        
a creation of the mind translated into a blueprint it has no                                                                                          
value (except as a work of art) if it is not also translated                                                                                          
by the contractor into a physical creation of a building, a                                                                                           
tower or a monument.                                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                                      
Leaders, in looking at the vision of the future, will also                                                                                            
have to pay attention to the reality of the present.                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                                      
They have to oversee the construction of the many interrelated                                                                                        
bridges to create the future today.                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                                      
They need not be personally caught by the details of                                                                                                  
construction, which can be delegated to managers, but they                                                                                            
have the obligation of leading the managers towards                                                                                                   
fulfilment.                                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                      
As Malaysia moves towards very rapid economic and social                                                                                              
transformation, we need more leaders than ever before.                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                                      
When there is stability and little change we probably need                                                                                            
more functional managers, but when change and uncertainty                                                                                             
becomes our way of life we need courageous and innovative                                                                                             
people to pioneer the way forward.                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                      
The next millennium will be much tougher to operate in as                                                                                             
competition intensifies and the ways of doing business become                                                                                         
more complex.                                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                                      
There is no turning back from the relentless surge to discover                                                                                        
better means to create wealth, away from physical production                                                                                          
processes to intellectual property rights.                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                                      
Increasingly, we will need to grow leaders who are also                                                                                               
intellectually sound and comparable to the world's best in a                                                                                          
particular discipline.                                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                                      
And these leaders will need to be supported by the soft skills                                                                                        
of human relationships and anchored on personal values of high                                                                                        
service to the community if they expect to be able to create a                                                                                        
better world for the future.