Perhaps perceptions of some Malay politicans and partisan regarding leadership concept is worth considered, as narrated in the following example. Shortly after the UMNO split in 1987, the general sentiment of some Malays partisan – as reported by mainstream newspapers – were reported to be quite critical of how idealistic their leaders attributes should be. As Milne & Mauzy (1999:4) observed, the sentiment was that,“The leader must fight for the Malay cause, should not be sombong, should have tokoh (style), and preferably, should be of aristocratic birth.”Some other desirable traits or features were also mentioned, such as tradition, harmony, and peaceful succession, while disapproval of impatience and ambition was expressed.
