By CLARA CHOOI The STAR.
IPOH: The Regent of Perak Raja Dr Nazrin Shah has urged leaders to learn from the failures of empires and nations, and even monarchs and leaders.
He said historical evidence showed that many people were given the opportunity to become leaders but only a handful rose to be successful leaders who created history and built civilisations.
“This happened because many of those given the chance to lead allowed the joy and passion of having power to lead them astray. Some among them became complacent, some went astray, some were ill advised, some adopted wrong decisions and some made miscalculations. "
Service award: Raja Dr Nazrin Shah presenting the Outstanding Mosque Officer award to Radhi Kamarul Hailan as Mentri Besar Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin looks on during the state-level Maulidur Rasul celebration at the State Secretariat in Ipoh on Thursday.“Such are the historical accounts of leaders and leadership which the ummah (people) of today should learn from so as not to repeat the mistakes,” he said at the state-level Maulidur Rasul celebration and presentation of prizes for memorisation of the Quran at the State Secretariat here yesterday.
He said the failures were mostly due to leaders who lost their way in their eagerness to seize more power.
He said a good leader was one who realised he was no different from the subjects he led and possessed the qualities of humility, discipline, commitment, honesty and willingness to sacrifice. “The act of leading is a responsibility that should be fulfilled with trust,” Raja Dr Nazrin said.
He said Muslim leaders should use the Quran and Hadis as their sources of reference for guidance in discharging their role as leaders.
“He who leads must know that he is always under God’s watchful eye and is always being weighed and measured by his people,” he said.
Raja Dr Nazrin said a responsible leader should identify the road ahead for his followers.
“Leading is a responsibility that should be accomplished by trust,” he said.
“The leadership of giving prominence to the ummah practised by Prophet Muhammad garnered the people’s support for Him, and also for the teachings laid down by Him. As a result, Islam underwent rapid expansion in a short time, cutting across cultural, geographical and political boundaries.
“Islam was universally accepted and was no longer restricted to being the religion of the Arabs in the Arab land. The leadership of Prophet Muhammad was also accepted and recognised worldwide, even long after He had passed away,” he said.
Raja Dr Nazrin said he did not want celebrations such as Maulidur Rasul to be treated as mere “routine” and “ritualistic” functions.
“Each celebration involves time, money and much effort. Therefore, each event should bear its purpose and be productive in nature,” he said.
He said historical evidence showed that many people were given the opportunity to become leaders but only a handful rose to be successful leaders who created history and built civilisations.
“This happened because many of those given the chance to lead allowed the joy and passion of having power to lead them astray. Some among them became complacent, some went astray, some were ill advised, some adopted wrong decisions and some made miscalculations. "
Service award: Raja Dr Nazrin Shah presenting the Outstanding Mosque Officer award to Radhi Kamarul Hailan as Mentri Besar Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin looks on during the state-level Maulidur Rasul celebration at the State Secretariat in Ipoh on Thursday.“Such are the historical accounts of leaders and leadership which the ummah (people) of today should learn from so as not to repeat the mistakes,” he said at the state-level Maulidur Rasul celebration and presentation of prizes for memorisation of the Quran at the State Secretariat here yesterday.
He said the failures were mostly due to leaders who lost their way in their eagerness to seize more power.
He said a good leader was one who realised he was no different from the subjects he led and possessed the qualities of humility, discipline, commitment, honesty and willingness to sacrifice. “The act of leading is a responsibility that should be fulfilled with trust,” Raja Dr Nazrin said.
He said Muslim leaders should use the Quran and Hadis as their sources of reference for guidance in discharging their role as leaders.
“He who leads must know that he is always under God’s watchful eye and is always being weighed and measured by his people,” he said.
Raja Dr Nazrin said a responsible leader should identify the road ahead for his followers.
“Leading is a responsibility that should be accomplished by trust,” he said.
“The leadership of giving prominence to the ummah practised by Prophet Muhammad garnered the people’s support for Him, and also for the teachings laid down by Him. As a result, Islam underwent rapid expansion in a short time, cutting across cultural, geographical and political boundaries.
“Islam was universally accepted and was no longer restricted to being the religion of the Arabs in the Arab land. The leadership of Prophet Muhammad was also accepted and recognised worldwide, even long after He had passed away,” he said.
Raja Dr Nazrin said he did not want celebrations such as Maulidur Rasul to be treated as mere “routine” and “ritualistic” functions.
“Each celebration involves time, money and much effort. Therefore, each event should bear its purpose and be productive in nature,” he said.
