The black, the white, and the grey.

I must say, the current political situation is much too confusing for a 20-something year old to digest. It seems that in the world there is no straight cut black and white picture. Who is right? Who is wrong? Who is lying and who is telling the truth? And what are the reasons and motivations for them to say or do they things that they say or do?

I'm confused, and devastated at the same time because it all seems overwhelmingly difficult to comprehend, yet I want to find out the truth. What makes a leader good or bad? Is there such a thing as a good or bad leader?

I have only known three leaders in my short life and the paradox seems to be that they are confusing characters.

The first; our fourth prime minister, who now has turned to blogging as well is perceived to be a dictator, ruling with an iron-fist, responsible for crippling the judiciary and wiping out any opposition or threats. This in my mind portrays a power-hungry man, selfish to his own intentions and ignorant to the future consequences. But on the other end of the spectrum, he is the man who brought our country to the attention of the world; building mega-structures and increasing economic growth. He was an iron-man, but we had food on the table. So the fact that he had so much control and power, is that the hallmark of a good leader or of a bad one?

The second, a direct opposite in character of the former, our 5th prime minister is perceived to be weak and has no control over his subordinates, causing them to disregard his wishes. A man with no vision and goal of where the country's direction is heading. He portrays a weak, ignorant man who is thrown into a position of great power, and now does not want to let go. But again, without this man, we would not have the bravery to voice out our discontentment and unhappiness at such a level. Sure he did not rule with the iron-fist of his predecessor, but is this his weakness or strength?

The third, is our de facto opposition leader, who has been through much ordeal over the past 10 yrs. He was flying sky-high when he hit rock bottom. This is the man who has the ability to attract and charm crowds of people, using his incomparable oratory skills to charge the atmosphere, enabling people to believe in his ability to change the country's future. We have not had a proper chance yet to discover his true leadership qualities as the country's leader, and I personally want to believe that everything he says and promises now will be what he does in the future. However, what keeps me apprehensive is that he was once part of this corrupt greedy machinery that seeks to feed on the ignorance of people and exploit the country to the fullest extent. My question would be, "why didn't you do something about it when you were high up there and fight for change then?".

But this seems rather naive, because I see many people who have joined the system with visions and dreams, and cast it all away because the attitude seems to be "if you can't beat em, join em". The key seems to be conform, conform, conform only will you succeed in this system.

So who do we blame? Human nature? Because in a way we have all conformed to the system as well. Do you admit never to have bribed a policeman, or customs officer? Or never used resources and contacts to get what we want? Have you not allowed this system of cronyism and corruption to be an everyday way of life?

But I know why you did it. You did it because food has to be put on the table, children to send to school, mouths to feed etc. etc. You did it to protect yourself and your family. Then are you a bad person for conforming to the corrupt system or a good one merely put in an uncompromising position?

And now, the situation we are in today, the future of this country hanging on a thin thread, what do we do? Almost everyone tells me their generation admits to making a mistake, and it is up to my generation to fix it. This is what I have to say; don't wait for us to fix it because it may be too late, fix it with us. Admit and own up to your mistakes, let it no more be the grey areas of what is right and wrong. We have to uphold honesty, truth and justice, at whatever the cost. Do what is right now.

As long as someone does the right things he deserves to be in power, regardless of who he is. I remember learning from a wise blogger friend I am a Malaysian who told me he believes in what is right, not who is right. Therefore, we must not believe wholly in persons and personalities, but rather we must have a believe in an idea. So, whoever conforms to that idea will be accepted by us, but once they digress, it is time to get rid of them.