Kudos to Lim Guan Eng

The Penang Chief Minister, Lim Guan Eng, must be commended for handling the recent conversion issue involving the deceased Teoh Cheng Cheng with courage and fortitude and his act of leadership must be taken as an example of how a leader should act when faced with difficult and trying situations.

The speed in which the whole problem was solved by the Lim is exemplary.

After the religious authorities in Penang snatched the body of Teoh, Lim immediately got things moving by getting the whole DAP leadership and his exco involved in solving the issue.

A legal team was set up headed by Ramkarpal Singh, the member of parliament for Bukit Gelugor and Gobind Singh Deo, the member of parliament for Puchong to look into the issue and subsequently a shariah lawyer was appointed to represent the family of the deceased to file the necessary papers in the Shariah High Court to declare the deceased a non-Muslim.

The Shariah Court then pronounced that the deceased was not a Muslim.

Once that major hurdle was crossed, the body was handed over to the family and finally a Taoist funeral was arranged and the body cremated according to Taoist rites.

The chief minister also got the exco in charge of religious affairs to apologise to the family.

The state also handed over a small sum of money to the family of the deceased for their suffering and hardship.

This is an example of a decisive and a strong leader. Now let’s compare the situation in Selangor.

A Hindu bride was snatched by the Selangor Islamic Religious Department officers in the midst of her wedding in Petaling Jaya on the grounds that she is a Muslim.

The Selangor menteri besar later instructed the religious authorities to assist the woman in her conversion bid and that was the end of it.

To date, we have not heard of any action from the religious authorities and neither was any action taken to set up a legal team to assist her in filing the necessary papers in the Shariah Court to declare her a non-Muslim. 

The problem remains unresolved without any solution in sight.

I believe that Malaysia needs more leaders like Lim Guan Eng, who has proven that what is important at the end of the day is to do the right thing without fear or favour.  

The test of a true leader, ultimately, is not about the fiery speeches he or she makes at a ceramah or about the sugar-coated statements made to the newspapers to placate the people.

A true leader is a person who walks the talk by doing the right thing consistently.

I am reminded of the words of the famous American general, Colin Powell: “Great leaders are almost always great simplifiers, who can cut through argument, debate and doubt, to offer a solution everybody can understand”.

This is a mark of a true leader and a leader who will be remembered by the people for generations. Congratulations, Lim Guan Eng. – June 24, 2014.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.