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All politicians should know that The boast of heraldry, the pomp of power do not last, Tun M, Anwar, Muhyiddin and Zahid ought to go and leave the country to the young ones! #GE15
By Mihar Dias (C) Copyright November 2022
As one candidate after another rushes headlong into GE15 boasting of winning big come midnight November 19th, allow me to remind them of what Thomas Gray once wrote: "The boast of heraldry, the pomp of power, and all that beauty, all that wealth e’er gave, awaits alike the inevitable hour. The paths of glory lead but to the grave”. (Thomas Gray - Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard 1751)
There are 945 candidates for parliamentary seats in GE15 and almost everyone thinks of winning.
However, there are only 222 seats in the Dewan Rakyat. Obviously, 723 would have to lose. So, boast not!
Anyway, when it comes down to it, there is nothing special about being boastful when you knew full well that your chances are quite slim in a crowded field of many hopefuls.
But politicians being politicians, arrogance or overconfidence comes automatically with the territory.
Almost all politicians, like boxers, oftentimes rush into the ring ferociously as lions do and perhaps when they lose they bow out whimpering away like cats.
But for those who have been around for 5 or 6 elections, winning is everything. Losing means being out in the political wilderness with nothing to cling on to; no power, no authority, no privileges and most all no money that comes with political office.
Looking at assets declared even by rookie politicians is already mind boggling. No other occupations could generate such wealth like a brief spell in Malaysian politics.
All the rhetoric aside clinging to power by many politicians in this country is for the money and the wealth it brings.
That prompted former NST Group Editor-in-Chief, Dato Seri Kalimullah to tell people like Tun Mahathir Mohamad, 97, to pack up and leave.
Similarly, he said Anwar Ibrahim already 75 should realised that he had tried, failed and "it’s time to go now…”
Or Muhyiddin's Yassin another 75 y.o. should have said: “Our time has come and gone."
Lastly, he said Ahmad Zahid Hamidi at 70, should just say: “I will stand down and clear my name.“
Kalimullah concluded that all these characters who had dominated Malaysian politics for more than three or four decades would be "better judged by history" as great leaders had they moved on and allowed younger ones to take over.
But that would require tenacity and bravery found only among great leaders.
According to Kalimullah, "Leadership – it is said – requires the courage to make decisions that will benefit the next generation. But these septuagenarians and nonagenarians do not have that courage. [...] But the truth is that it takes much more strength to know when to let go and then do it. [...] Dr Mahathir, Anwar, Muhyiddin, Najib, Zahid – follow the footsteps of Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Hussein Onn, Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Lim Kit Siang: GO. Your time has long passed. You have done your part."
Kalimullah has great advice for young leaders too. They should get their acts together and build a better nation by putting aside their own differences.
But greed among many of our old politicians made them cling to power refusing to let go for the young to take over the leadership.
That brings me back to what Thomas Gray said in Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard, "The pomp of power, and all that beauty, all that wealth e’er gave, awaits alike the inevitable hour. The paths of glory lead but to the grave".
So, septuagenarians and nonagenarians it's time to quit.
Power and wealth are of no use in the next world.
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