Even the Boss Gets Moody: A Morning Chat About Being Your Own Boss

One morning an old friend called me. Simple question, where do I usually stay when I go for a holiday in Port Dickson. I gave the usual answer, just a standard hotel with its own beach. But since his family is big, I suggested an apartment instead, more comfortable and more worth it.

This friend of mine owns a western food restaurant in Kemaman. Not working for someone else anymore, he took the step to run his own business quite some time ago. So I teased him a bit, "What's there to worry about, you're the CEO now, go and enjoy yourself. You have plenty of staff, let them handle it."

He laughed, then said something that made me pause for a moment.

"I'm not running Megah Holding. I can't just hop on a flight with a driver sending me to the airport. This is a small business. I still have to monitor my staff, still have to supervise this and that."

From there, we started a long chat about something many people think is easy, but is actually never easy. Which is being the boss.

Once Scared of the Boss, Now He's the Boss

He told me, back when he worked under someone, life was always filled with fear. Scared of getting scolded, scared of not meeting the boss's expectations. He still remembers his old boss's face, sometimes moody, stressed, like carrying the whole world on his shoulders.

Now he's the boss himself. No one above him to mess up his head with orders. "My only boss now is the customer," he said. But funny thing is, he still has his moody days too.

And that's when he finally understood something. Even with no one above you, managing the people below you is a pressure that is just as heavy.

This is actually something many people miss. When we work for a salary, we feel the pressure comes from above. But when we become the boss, the pressure comes from below, from the side, from every direction at once. In HR, there's a term for this load, it's called emotional labour, the work of managing emotions. A small business owner doesn't just think about profit and loss, he has to manage the staff's emotions, the customers' emotions, and his own emotions all at the same time. All three at once, every single day.

Free, But Freedom That Comes With a Price

"It really is nice being the boss," he admitted. You can wear what you like, come in when you like. No one to question you.

But then he added one line that I think was the most mature thing he said the whole conversation. "That freedom has a price. Because now I'm the one who has to answer for everything. And I become the example for my staff."

This is true. In management, there's a concept called tone at the top. It means the attitude and discipline of the person at the very top will spread downwards. If the boss is always late, the staff start to feel being late is normal. If the boss cuts corners, the staff follow. So a boss's freedom isn't really freedom, it's a responsibility wearing the mask of freedom.

The Real Challenge, Managing People

When we got to the topic of staff, the real stories came out.

"Workers now are not like before," he said. Even the generation factor is something a boss has to think about. Many of them are Gen Z. Once he scolded a worker for playing with his phone in front of a customer and gaming during work hours. That same evening, the kid just didn't show up for work anymore. Gone, just like that.

I think a lot of small business owners can relate to this story. But to be fair, this isn't entirely the generation's fault. HR studies show that Gen Z don't actually hate work, they just respond differently to how they're corrected. They look for more meaning in their work, they're more sensitive to how they're treated, and they pull back faster if they feel unappreciated. So the old way, scolding hard in front of others, often backfires. The correction itself isn't wrong, but the way the message is delivered needs to change.

Two Types of Workers a Boss Must Know

After running the business for a while, my friend has gotten good at reading the types of staff he deals with.

The first type, the workers who do a great job, usually come from among the students. They work part time during semester breaks. Their minds are proactive, they understand instructions, they keep time, and they have good work manners. These ones have ambition, they have dreams. The problem is, because they have bigger dreams elsewhere, a job like this is only temporary for them. So this group is limited, and hard to find.

The second type, the ones who are plenty and who want to work long term, are usually the ordinary kids. Some dropped out of school, some are the motorbike gang, the vape boys. Their way of thinking is a little different, and they're honestly not as easy to handle as the first group.

But this is where I saw an opportunity my friend himself might not have noticed. In HR, this second group is actually a long term asset if managed properly. The first group is good, but they're a flight risk, they will surely fly off. The second group, if the boss is willing to invest a little, give some training, give some trust, give them a reason to feel valued, they're the ones who will become the backbone of the business. Many business owners fail because they only look for workers who are already good, when the real skill of a boss is shaping an ordinary worker into an extraordinary one.

Closing, Running Away Isn't Always Easier

At the end of our chat, he admitted he hasn't gone on a holiday in a very long time. Probably because he's been too busy running the business that he forgot to rest.

And that's when I started to realise something. Back when we worked for a salary, we always complained. Tired of working under someone, tired of following orders, tired of getting scolded. We imagined working for ourselves as some kind of beautiful freedom.

But when you really become the CEO, even the CEO of a small shop, the pressure doesn't go away. It just changes shape. Before, we worried about losing our job. Now we worry about losing staff, losing customers, losing profit.

Maybe the lesson isn't about which is easier, working for yourself or working for someone. It's about accepting the fact that every choice carries its own weight. The point isn't to run away from pressure, but to choose the pressure you're truly willing to carry, for something you truly believe in.

And sometimes, even the CEO of a small shop needs to stop for a while, bring his family to Port Dickson, and remember why he started all this in the first place.

Have you ever been in a similar situation and experienced being your own boss?  Drop your thoughts below. 

Shamyl Shalyzad, PhD, is a freelance writer, HR advisor, and social science researcher. He resides in Seremban, Negeri Sembilan

Boss Pun Boleh Moody: Sembang Pagi Pasal Cabaran Kerja Sendiri

Satu pagi seorang sahabat lama telefon. Soalannya ringkas, kalau bercuti di Port Dickson, biasa stay kat mana. Saya jawab biasa-biasa saja, hotel standard yang ada pantai sendiri. Tapi sebab keluarga dia ramai, saya cadangkan apartment, lagi selesa, lagi berbaloi.

Kawan saya ni pemilik sebuah restoran western food di Kemaman. Bukan kerja makan gaji lagi, dah lama dia ambil langkah berniaga sendiri. Jadi saya pun usik dia, "Apa nak risau, awak CEO sekarang, pergi la jalan-jalan. Staf ramai, biar mereka uruskan."

Dia ketawa, kemudian jawab sesuatu yang buat saya terdiam sekejap.

"Aku bukan urus Megah Holding. Bukan boleh senang-senang naik flight, ada driver hantar ke airport. Ini bisnes kecil. Aku tetap kena monitor staf, kena supervise itu ini."

Dari situ, mula la kami berborak panjang pasal sesuatu yang ramai orang ingat senang, tapi sebenarnya tak pernah senang. Iaitu jadi bos.

Dulu Takut Bos, Sekarang Dia Pula Jadi Bos

Dia cerita, dulu masa kerja bawah orang, hidup selalu dalam ketakutan. Takut kena marah, takut tak capai expectation bos. Dia masih ingat lagi muka bos dia yang kadang-kadang moody, stres, macam memikul satu dunia atas bahu.

Sekarang dia sendiri jadi bos. Tak ada lagi orang atas nak serabutkan kepala dia dengan arahan itu ini. "Bos aku sekarang cuma customer," dia kata. Tapi yang peliknya, dia pun ada hari-hari moody.

Dan di situlah dia baru faham satu benda. Walaupun tak ada sesiapa di atas, mengawal selia orang bawah pun satu tekanan yang tak kurang hebatnya.

Ini sebenarnya benda yang ramai orang terlepas pandang. Bila kita kerja makan gaji, kita rasa tekanan datang dari atas. Tapi bila jadi bos, tekanan datang dari bawah, dari sisi, dari semua arah sekali. Dalam bidang HR, ada satu istilah untuk beban ni, namanya emotional labour, kerja menguruskan emosi. Bos bisnes kecil bukan saja kena fikir untung rugi, dia kena jaga emosi staf, emosi customer, dan emosi sendiri serentak. Tiga-tiga sekali gus, tiap-tiap hari.

Bebas, Tapi Bebas Yang Ada Harga

"Memang best jadi bos," dia akui. Boleh pakai apa yang suka, datang waktu yang suka. Tak ada siapa nak tanya.

Tapi dia tambah satu ayat yang saya rasa paling matang sepanjang perbualan kami. "Kebebasan tu ada harganya. Sebab sekarang aku yang kena jawab semua. Dan aku jadi contoh kepada staf bawah."

Ini betul. Dalam pengurusan, ada konsep namanya tone at the top. Maksudnya, perangai dan disiplin orang paling atas akan menular ke bawah. Kalau bos selalu lewat, staf pun rasa lewat tu biasa. Kalau bos potong jalan, staf pun ikut. Jadi kebebasan seorang bos sebenarnya bukan betul-betul bebas, ia satu tanggungjawab yang menyamar sebagai kebebasan.

Cabaran Sebenar, Menguruskan Manusia

Bila sampai bab staf, barulah keluar cerita sebenar.

"Pekerja sekarang bukan macam dulu," dia kata. Faktor generasi pun bos kena fikir. Ramai budak Gen Z. Pernah sekali dia tegur seorang staf sebab main handphone depan customer dan main game masa kerja. Petang tu juga budak tu terus tak datang kerja lagi. Hilang macam tu saja.

Saya rasa ramai peniaga kecil boleh relate dengan cerita ni. Tapi kalau kita nak adil, ini bukan sepenuhnya salah generasi. Kajian HR menunjukkan Gen Z bukan benci kerja, mereka cuma respon berbeza terhadap cara teguran. Mereka lebih cari maksud dalam kerja, lebih sensitif pada cara dilayan, dan lebih cepat undur kalau rasa tak dihargai. Jadi cara lama, iaitu tegur keras depan orang, selalunya jadi bumerang. Bukan teguran tu salah, tapi cara hantar mesej tu yang kena ubah.

Dua Jenis Pekerja Yang Bos Kena Kenal

Lepas lama berniaga, kawan saya ni dah pandai baca jenis staf yang dia hadap.

Jenis pertama, budak-budak yang kerja bagus, selalunya dari kalangan student. Kerja part time masa cuti semester. Otak mereka proaktif, faham arahan, menepati waktu, dan ada adab kerja. Mereka ni ada wawasan, ada cita-cita. Masalahnya, sebab mereka ada cita-cita lain yang lebih besar, kerja macam ni cuma sementara buat mereka. Jadi golongan ni terhad, dan susah nak cari.

Jenis kedua pula, yang ramai dan yang nak kerja lama, selalunya budak-budak biasa. Ada yang tak habis sekolah, geng motor, mat vape. Aras pemikiran mereka lain sedikit, dan memang bukan senang nak handle macam golongan pertama tadi.

Tapi di sinilah saya nampak satu peluang yang kawan saya sendiri mungkin tak perasan. Dalam HR, golongan kedua ni sebenarnya aset jangka panjang kalau diurus betul. Golongan pertama bagus, tapi mereka flight risk, memang akan terbang. Golongan kedua pula, kalau bos sanggup melabur sedikit, beri latihan, beri kepercayaan, beri sebab untuk mereka rasa dihargai, merekalah yang akan jadi tulang belakang bisnes. Ramai peniaga gagal sebab mereka cuma cari pekerja yang dah sedia bagus, sedangkan kemahiran sebenar seorang bos ialah membentuk pekerja yang biasa jadi luar biasa.

Penutup, Yang Lari Pun Tak Semestinya Lebih Senang

Hujung perbualan, dia mengaku dia dah terlalu lama tak bercuti. Mungkin sebab terlalu sibuk menguruskan bisnes sampai lupa nak berehat.

Dan di situ saya mula sedar satu benda. Dulu masa kerja makan gaji, kita selalu merungut. Penat bawah orang, penat ikut arahan, penat kena marah. Kita bayangkan kerja sendiri tu satu kebebasan yang indah.

Tapi bila betul-betul jadi CEO, walau CEO kedai kecil sekalipun, tekanan tu tak hilang. Ia cuma bertukar bentuk. Dulu kita risau hilang kerja. Sekarang kita risau staf hilang, customer hilang, untung hilang.

Mungkin pengajarannya bukan tentang mana lebih senang, kerja sendiri atau kerja bawah orang. Tapi tentang menerima hakikat bahawa setiap pilihan ada beban tersendiri. Yang penting bukan lari dari tekanan, tapi pilih tekanan yang kita betul-betul sanggup pikul, demi sesuatu yang kita betul-betul percaya.

Dan kadang-kadang, seorang CEO kedai kecil pun perlu berhenti sekejap, bawa keluarga ke Port Dickson, dan ingat semula kenapa dia mula semua ni.

When Two Men Meet to Debate and Nobody Actually Debates - What a chaotic interfaith showdown taught us about arguing, about truth, and about ourselves

There is something both fascinating and deeply uncomfortable about watching two intelligent people argue. You  hoping to witness something rare, a moment where one person says something so sharp and true that the other has no choice but to pause, reconsider, and grow. You hope for light. What you usually get instead is heat.

That is exactly what happened when Muslim Lantern and Andrew Wilson sat down to debate two of the most charged topics in interfaith discourse today,  “ The age of consent in Islam”. The moderator was a YouTuber named Sneo. The format was supposed to be open, flowing and civilised.

It lasted nearly an hour. A real debate never happened.

And yet, what actually unfolded may be more valuable than any clean, polished debate could ever be. Because what we witnessed was something deeply human. Raw, messy, and full of lessons that go far beyond religion.

Let us walk through it together.

The Setup

Andrew Wilson came armed with charts, medical documentation, and what he believed was an airtight logical trap. His argument, stripped to its core, was this: Muhammad married Aisha when she was six years old and consummated the marriage when she was nine. Modern medical science shows that a prepubescent girl's anatomy cannot accommodate an adult male without serious injury. Muslim Lantern himself had previously stated that any marriage causing harm is forbidden in Islam. Therefore, by Islam's own standard, this act was forbidden. Checkmate.

Muslim Lantern came with something different. He came with theology, with history, with the kind of arguments that take time and patience to unfold properly. He wanted to challenge the entire moral framework Wilson was standing on. He wanted to ask the harder, deeper question: who gave you the authority to decide what is right and wrong, and from where exactly does that authority come?

Two very different styles. Two very different agendas. And zero agreement on the rules of engagement. Within minutes, the debate collapsed into a furious argument about the debate itself.

The Fight Nobody Expected

Before a single real point was exchanged, the two men were already fighting about whether Muslim Lantern was allowed to bring up Christianity at all.

Wilson's position was simple. This debate is about Islam. Defend Islam. Do not point at Christians and say they did the same thing. That is a logical fallacy called whataboutism, and it changes nothing about whether the Islamic position is defensible.

Muslim Lantern's position was equally clear, and equally passionate. This is a Muslim debating a Christian. Christianity has its own history on this exact issue. Church fathers, biblical figures, centuries of practice that mirrors precisely what Wilson was condemning. To pretend that history does not exist, to demand that only Islam be placed in the dock while Christianity sits comfortably in the audience, is the very definition of hypocrisy. And he was not going to let it slide.

They went back and forth on this for nearly forty minutes. The actual debate topics were barely touched. Watching it is frustrating. But it is also, if you look carefully, enormously instructive.

Who Was Actually Right?

Here is where things get interesting. Because both men were partly right. And both men were partly wrong.

Wilson was correct on the mechanics of formal debate. If you have a proposition to defend, you defend it. You do not deflect by pointing elsewhere. A defendant in court who responds to every charge with "but look what the prosecutor once did" is not making a defence. They are making a distraction. In strict logical terms, exposing someone else's inconsistency does not prove your own position is correct.

But Muslim Lantern was not simply deflecting. He was doing something more specific and more legitimate. He was challenging the standing of his accuser. There is a real difference between saying "Christians did it too, therefore what we did is fine" and saying "Christians did it too, therefore you have no moral authority to stand here and prosecute us." The first is a logical fallacy. The second is a challenge to the credibility of the critic. That is a different move entirely, and it is not automatically illegitimate.

The problem was that Muslim Lantern never separated these two things clearly enough. He blended them together in a way that gave Wilson the ammunition to dismiss everything as whataboutism. Had he been more precise, his argument would have been very difficult to dismiss.

The Argument Wilson Never Really Answered

Beneath all the procedural noise, Muslim Lantern kept returning to a question that Wilson consistently ducked. It went something like this.

You are making a moral claim. You are saying this act is wrong. Fine. But on what basis? Where does your moral standard come from? If you are a Christian, then your morality comes from God through scripture. Show me where your scripture condemns this. If you cannot do that, then you are giving me your personal opinion. And your personal opinion, however strongly felt, is not an objective moral standard that I am required to accept.

This is actually a deep and serious philosophical challenge. It is the same argument that Christian apologists use constantly against secular critics of religion. Without God, they say, morality is just opinion dressed up as principle. Muslim Lantern was turning that argument around on a Christian. It was his sharpest move in the entire session.

Wilson's response was that he did not need an objective moral standard to show internal inconsistency in someone else's position. That is also logically true. But showing internal inconsistency and proving something is morally wrong are two completely different claims. He was trying to do both with the same argument, and they require different tools.

The Evidence That Was Never Fully Used

This is perhaps the most fascinating part of the whole affair. Muslim Lantern had what may have been his single strongest counter-argument sitting right there in front of him, and he never properly developed it.

The historical record on Aisha is vast. The hadith literature is extraordinarily detailed about her life. She lived to approximately sixty-five years old. She became one of the most prolific transmitters of hadith in Islamic history, with thousands of narrations to her name. She was a teacher, a scholar, a political figure. Companions travelled long distances specifically to learn from her. She was, by every account in the sources, intellectually formidable and personally confident throughout her life.

And here is the point that should have been hammered home. Across all of this enormous body of narration, there is not a single report of physical injury. Not one account of illness connected to her marriage. Not one expression of regret or trauma. Not one companion raising concern. The absence is total.

Wilson's entire medical argument was built on statistical probability. Based on average measurements, harm would likely occur. But Muslim Lantern could have responded with actual historical testimony, which is a form of evidence that outranks theoretical modelling. The record says no harm occurred. That is not a small point. That is a direct dismantling of Wilson's core framework.

Combined with the mainstream Islamic scholarly position that consummation occurred after puberty, which would render Wilson's anatomical argument entirely irrelevant anyway, Muslim Lantern had everything he needed to demolish the central claim. He touched on it briefly. He never built it into a complete case.

What This Debate Was Really About

Let us be honest about something. Real debates, the kind where minds actually change, are extraordinarily rare. What we usually call debates are something else entirely. They are performances. Each side comes with a conclusion already firmly in place. The arguments that follow are not a genuine search for truth. They are a search for better ammunition.

Wilson had already concluded, before the debate began, that Muhammad was a pedophile. Muslim Lantern had already concluded, before the debate began, that Wilson was a hypocritical Christian trying to attack Islam. Everything that followed was each man looking for ways to confirm what he already believed, while appearing to engage with what the other was saying.

Psychologists call this motivated reasoning. It is one of the most universal features of human thinking. It does not discriminate by religion, education, or intelligence. Smart people do it just as much as anyone else. They just do it more elaborately. The tell-tale sign is simple: ask yourself before any debate, what would actually change my mind? If you cannot honestly answer that question, you are not debating. You are performing certainty.

The Moderator Problem

Something also needs to be said about Sneo's role in all of this. He seemed like a decent and well-intentioned person. He genuinely tried to keep the peace. But the structural failure of this debate happened before it began, because the terms were never properly established.

No agreement on definitions. What exactly counts as a child? What does harm mean, and how do you measure it? What is the precise proposition being defended? No agreement on scope. Is this Islam versus logic, or Islam versus Christianity? No agreement on format.

A moderator's most important job is not to keep the conversation polite. It is to establish the architecture of the debate before the first word is spoken. Without that architecture, even the most intelligent participants will talk past each other indefinitely. Which is exactly what happened here.

What We Can All Take Away

This debate, for all its chaos, left behind something genuinely useful.

The first lesson is that winning a debate and being right are not the same thing. Wilson was arguably the sharper debater in terms of formal mechanics. But Muslim Lantern raised more philosophically substantive questions. The audience that cheered for their own side learned nothing from the encounter. The audience that asked "who actually had the better argument?" walked away with something real.

The second lesson is that definitions are not trivial. When Muslim Lantern challenged the use of the word "pedophile," it seemed like evasion to some viewers. It was not. It was a recognition that the entire argument depended on a definition that was never properly established. How you define your terms determines what argument you are actually making. This is true in debates, in law, in science, and in everyday conversation.

The third lesson is that exposing hypocrisy is not the same as building a defence. Muslim Lantern's instinct to highlight Christian history was understandable and not entirely without merit. But it energised his supporters far more than it persuaded anyone who was genuinely undecided. If your goal is to change minds, leading with accusations of hypocrisy almost never works.

The fourth and perhaps deepest lesson is about emotional investment. Both men cared deeply about their positions. That care is human and understandable. But the more we care about a conclusion, the harder it becomes to engage honestly with the evidence that might challenge it. This is the central tension of all serious intellectual life. The things worth arguing about are precisely the things we care most about. And caring too much makes us worse at arguing about them.

A Final Thought

There is a version of this debate that could have been genuinely extraordinary. Two intelligent, knowledgeable men, each with real substantive material to offer, engaging honestly with each other's strongest arguments rather than their weakest presentations. It would have required different terms, different formats, and perhaps most importantly, a different posture from both participants.

Not the posture of a prosecutor and a defendant. Not the posture of two champions fighting for their respective tribes. But the posture of two people who are actually curious about whether they might be wrong.

That version of the debate did not happen. But the fact that we can imagine it, and identify clearly why it did not happen, is itself a kind of progress.

The next time you find yourself in an argument, about anything, ask yourself one honest question before you open your mouth. Am I here to win, or am I here to understand? The answer to that question will determine everything that follows.

Link to Youtube : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TB7NdYfusI

Bila Institusi Yang Di Sayangi Ditegur - Renungan Seorang Bekas Anggota Tentang Isu ATM: Antara Sakit, Syukur, dan Harapan

Sejak isu skandal rasuah melibatkan pegawai kanan Angkatan Tentera Malaysia tersebar, saya tidak dapat tidur malam dengan lena. Bukan kerana saya takut, tapi kerana hati saya bercampur baur. Sebagai bekas anggota yang pernah berkhidmat dalam institusi yang saya sayangi, perasaan ini sukar nak explain. Ada marah, ada sakit hati, ada insaf, dan yang paling penting – ada syukur.

Ya, syukur. Kedengarannya pelik kan? Macam mana boleh rasa syukur bila institusi yang kita cintai kena hentam? Tapi izinkan saya kongsi perspektif saya.

Perit Nak Telan, Tapi Perlu Berlaku

Walau perit untuk kita telan, demi perubahan yang lebih baik, ini perlu berlaku dan kita perlu terima. Saya faham perasaan rakan-rakan seperjuangan yang mungkin rasa malu, marah, atau denial. Tapi sebagai manusia yang rasional, kita kena terima satu hakikat: takkan bergoyang kalau tidak ditiup angin.

Sebagai seorang Muslim, saya yakin sesautu berlaku ada hikmah dari Yang Maha Kuasa. Allah S.W.T tidak menguji kita melainkan Dia tahu kita mampu hadapi. Dan kadang-kadang, ujian yang paling perit adalah ujian yang paling kita perlukan.

Bayangkan kalau isu ni tidak terbongkar sekarang. Bayangkan kalau ia terus membiak macam barah dalam badan perkhidmatan yang kita sayangi. Diagnosis yang hampir end stage ini dapat dikesan dan dinyatakan kepada pesakit untuk rawatan susulan. Ya, memang sakit dan perit untuk pesakit menerima diagnosis kanser. Tapi bukankah lebih baik tahu sekarang dan mulakan rawatan, daripada tahu bila dah terlambat?

Teguran Allah: Membetulkan Yang Biasa

Saya selalu berfikir – adakala kita lama biasakan yang salah sehingga ia menjadi nampak betul dalam budaya dan amalan kita. Practice makes permanent, bukan perfect. Kalau practice yang salah, yang permanent pun salah.

Mungkin dalam perkhidmatan kita, dah lama berlaku perkara-perkara yang sepatutnya tidak berlaku. Tapi sebab semua orang buat, sebab 'memang macam tu dari dulu', sebab 'ini budaya kita', kita diam je. Kita normalize the abnormal. Kita biasakan yang salah.

Anggaplah ini satu ketentuan daripada Allah untuk kita kembali kepada landasan yang betul dan perbanyakkan refleksi diri. Ini bukan hukuman – ini teguran. Teguran seorang guru kepada pelajar yang tersayang. Teguran seorang bapa kepada anak yang dia harap jadi lebih baik.

Amatlah malang kalau sesuatu kesalahan itu tidak disedarkan oleh Tuhan dan kita terus melakukan perkara tersebut. Kesan yang akan ditanggung akan lebih tidak tertanggung. Bayangkan kalau perkhidmatan kita terus rosak, terus korup, sampai ke tahap di mana Allah tarik barakah dari institusi ni completely. Nauzubillah.

Kuasa, Tanggungjawab, dan Amanah

Isu ini juga jadi peringatan yang sangat kuat tentang kuasa yang diberi – ada tanggungjawab, dan kita menanggung kesan tersebut jika salah guna. Ia juga sebagai ingatan bila kita berada di atas sebagai orang yang mempunyai kuasa.

Dalam Islam, kita diajar konsep amanah. Setiap kuasa adalah amanah. Setiap jawatan adalah amanah. Dan setiap amanah akan ditanya pada Hari Kiamat. Rasulullah S.A.W bersabda yang bermaksud: 'Setiap kamu adalah pemimpin dan setiap kamu akan ditanya tentang kepimpinannya.'

Pegawai kanan yang terlibat dalam isu ni – sama ada dakwaan tu betul atau tidak – dia kena hadap soalan: Macam mana dia guna kuasa yang Allah bagi? Adakah dia amanah? Adakah dia ingat yang semua ni adalah pinjaman, dan satu hari nanti dia kena pulang?

Tapi jangan salah faham – ini bukan pasal satu individu je. Ini pasal system. Ini pasal culture. Ini pasal kita semua yang ada kuasa, sekecil mana pun kuasa tu. Adakah kita guna dengan betul?

Tentang Chegubard: Niat Hanya Allah Yang Tahu

Saya tidak mungkin tahu hasrat sebenar Chegubard – hanya Tuhan yang tahu hati manusia. Mungkin dia ada agenda politik. Mungkin dia betul-betul nak lawan rasuah. Mungkin mix of both. Wallahu a'lam.

Tapi yang pasti, apa yang berlaku adalah dengan keizinan dan kebijaksanaan Allah. Meski Chegubard ada agenda di sebalik semua ini, niat seseorang itu dia akan jawab dengan Tuhan. Bukan urusan kita nak judge niat dia. Tapi apa yang kita hadapi hasil dari tindakan dia – itu bukan semestinya perkara yang buruk. Pasti ada juga kebaikannya.

Allah boleh guna siapa saja sebagai medium untuk sampai teguran kepada kita. Kadang-kadang Allah guna orang yang kita suka. Kadang-kadang Allah guna orang yang kita tak suka. Yang penting bukan medium – tapi message.

Dalam hal ini, saya lebih cenderung kepada berfikir dan berpersepsi baik. Husn al-dhann. Fikir positif. Ada yang anggap ini plot jahat atau politik kotor, tapi saya melihat ia sebagai tanda Allah masih menegur dan membetulkan kita. Masih ada harapan. Masih belum terlambat.

Psychological Safety dan Moral Courage

Sebagai seseorang yang selalu cakap tentang 'psychological safety' dalam organisasi, isu ini buat saya reflect mendalam. Psychological safety bermaksud persekitaran di mana orang berani speak up tanpa takut kena hukum atau dikucilkan.

Tapi dalam hal Chegubard ni, dia tahu kesan yang akan dia hadapi – kena serang dari dua penjuru, kena tangkap, kena label macam-macam – tapi masih tetap ambil tindakan begini. Di sini saya nampak ada 'moral courage'. Keberanian moral untuk buat apa yang betul walaupun tahu ada harga yang kena bayar.

Ini buat saya terfikir: Mungkin dunia sekarang, dan terutamanya dalam organisasi kita, sukar untuk mencapai psychological safety yang tinggi tanpa ada moral courage. Orang kena berani untuk buat apa yang betul first, baru environment slowly berubah.

Berapa ramai dalam perkhidmatan kita yang nampak salah tapi tak berani cakap? Berapa ramai yang tahu ada penyelewengan tapi diam sebab takut career terjejas? Berapa ramai yang compromise integrity sebab 'everybody's doing it'?

Mungkin kita semua perlu sikit dari moral courage tu.

Untuk Yang Masih Berkhidmat: Jadikan Peringatan

Untuk rakan-rakan yang masih dalam perkhidmatan, jadikanlah perkara ini sebagai peringatan. Saya faham, ia berlaku dengan cara yang perit. Meremukkan ego diri. Bila perkhidmatan dihina oleh orang ramai, netizen, malah anggota sendiri pun mula ragu.

Tapi yakinlah – ini cara yang baik dan berkesan untuk orang sekeliling kita lebih sedar dan berhati-hati. Terutamanya yang bakal memikul amanah yang sama. Mereka yang akan naik pangkat, yang akan dapat kuasa, yang akan handle budget besar, yang akan approve tender – mereka semua akan ingat apa yang berlaku hari ini.

Mereka akan fikir dua tiga kali sebelum nak buat benda yang tak betul. Bukan sebab takut kena tangkap je – tapi sebab sedar yang amanah ni berat. Yang jawatan ni bukan untuk kaya, tapi untuk khidmat. Yang pangkat ni bukan untuk power trip, tapi untuk lead dengan contoh.

Ini prevention yang paling powerful. Bukan training 'Ethics and Integrity' yang semua orang tidur dalam dewan. Bukan poster 'Say No To Corruption' yang orang scroll past dalam WhatsApp group. Ini real consequence. Ini real example. Ini real deterrent.

Belajar Dari Kesilapan

Kita belajar sesuatu dan boleh berubah bila kita mengakui kekurangan dan kesilapan diri. Ini prinsip paling asas dalam improvement – acknowledge the problem first.

Sebagai institusi, ATM perlu acknowledge – ya, kita ada masalah. Ya, system kita ada loophole. Ya, culture kita ada yang perlu diperbaiki. Bukan untuk malukan diri, tapi untuk improve.

Dalam Islam, kita diajar konsep taubat. Taubat bukan sekadar minta maaf dan move on. Taubat yang sebenar ada tiga rukun: Sedar kita buat salah, stop buat salah tu, dan azam tak nak repeat lagi. Kalau boleh, repair the damage yang dah buat.

ATM as an institution boleh apply konsep yang sama. Sedar ada masalah (acknowledgment). Stop practice yang salah (reform). Azam nak jadi better (commitment). Dan repair damage (restore public trust).

Penutup: Antara Sakit dan Harapan

Saya tak nafikan – memang sakit bila institusi yang kita sayangi kena hentam. Sakit bila orang luar kritik. Sakit bila netizen buat meme dan joke. Sakit bila kita rasa macam khidmat kita selama ni sia-sia sebab ada segelintir yang rosakkan nama.

Tapi di sebalik sakit tu, ada harapan. Harapan yang ini akan jadi turning point. Harapan yang generasi akan datang akan dapat serve dalam institusi yang lebih bersih, lebih amanah, lebih bermartabat. Harapan yang anak-anak kita kalau join ATM nanti, mereka tak perlu hadap pressure untuk compromise integrity.

Saya pilih untuk lihat ini sebagai growing pain. Ya, sakit. Tapi growth memang selalu sakit. Nak jadi better version of ourselves – whether as individual atau sebagai institusi – mesti ada sacrifice, ada discomfort, ada pain.

Kepada rakan-rakan seperjuangan yang masih berkhidmat: Jangan give up. Jangan putus asa. Jangan fikir semua orang sama. The majority are still good people trying to do good work. Yang rosak tu segelintir je. Dan segelintir tu kena weeded out supaya yang majority boleh shine.

Kepada yang akan join perkhidmatan: Join dengan niat yang betul. Serve dengan integrity. Bila dapat kuasa nanti, ingat – it's an amanah, not a privilege. Use it wisely. Use it justly. Use it for the rakyat, not for yourself.

Dan kepada kita semua: Mari kita sama-sama doa supaya Allah permudahkan jalan untuk institusi kita kembali kepada landasan yang betul. Supaya yang bersalah dapat keadilan. Supaya yang innocent tidak teraniaya. Supaya sistem kita menjadi lebih baik. Supaya amanah kita kepada rakyat dan kepada Allah ditunaikan dengan sebaik-baiknya.

Sebab akhirnya, kita semua akan kembali kepada Allah. Dan bila kita kembali nanti, soalan yang akan ditanya bukan 'berapa bintang pangkat kau?', tapi 'macam mana kau guna kuasa yang Aku bagi?'

Semoga kita semua dari kalangan yang dapat jawab soalan tu dengan penuh keyakinan.

 

Shazad

Seremban, 3 Jan 2026

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Ditulis dari hati seorang bekas anggota yang masih menyayangi perkhidmatannya, Dengan harapan untuk masa depan yang lebih baik.

Chegubard: Peluru Berpandu di Medan Politik Malaysia? - Analisis Strategi Politik Seorang Aktivis yang Berani Serang Dua Penjuru

 

Bila nama Badrul Hisham Shaharin atau lebih dikenali sebagai Chegubard disebut, ramai yang teringat kepada seorang aktivis jalanan yang lantang, kontroversial, dan sering kali berhadapan dengan undang-undang. Tapi apa yang ramai tak perasan ialah strategi politik yang tersembunyi di sebalik setiap tindakannya – satu permainan catur yang rumit dalam politik Malaysia yang penuh onak dan duri.

Bukan Sekadar Aktivis Jalanan

Jika anda fikir Chegubard hanya seorang 'keyboard warrior' atau demonstran yang suka buat bising, anda tersilap besar. Lelaki kelahiran Reformasi 1998 ini sebenarnya sedang bermain permainan yang jauh lebih licik – dia menyerang musuh politik sambil membersihkan rumah sendiri. Ya, anda baca betul. Dia kritik kerajaan Madani, tapi pada masa yang sama palu habis-habisan kepimpinan parti sendiri, BERSATU.

Kenapa dia berani buat macam ni? Sebab Chegubard faham satu perkara mudah: dalam politik Malaysia hari ini, kredibiliti adalah mata wang paling berharga. Dan dia sanggup gadaikan kedudukan sendiri dalam parti untuk dapatkan kredibiliti tu.

Konflik Dalaman BERSATU: Luka Yang Dibuka Sendiri

Baru-baru ini, Chegubard buat laporan polis mendakwa seorang pegawai kanan Angkatan Tentera Malaysia terbabit dengan skandal penyalahgunaan wang. Tapi yang lebih mengejutkan, dia terang-terangan kritik Presiden BERSATU Muhyiddin Yassin, tuntut Muhyiddin letak jawatan jika gagal arah menantunya kembali untuk disoal siasat SPRM.

Tindakan ini buat kepimpinan BERSATU Negeri Sembilan naik angin. Mereka label Chegubard sebagai 'pengkhianat' dan gesa tindakan disiplin. Tapi Chegubard tak berundur. Malah dia bagi satu jawapan yang membuatkan kita semua terfikir: dia kata dia dedahkan semua ni lebih awal untuk sabotaj perancangan Anwar Ibrahim yang nak guna skandal dalaman BERSATU sebagai peluru politik masa pilihan raya nanti.

Ini bukan tindakan impulsif. Ini strategi 'pre-emptive strike' – serang diri sendiri sebelum musuh dapat peluang serang kita. Macam dalam chess, korbankan buah untuk menang permainan.

Apa Sebenarnya Berlaku Pada Dia?

Chegubard bukan tiba-tiba jadi rebel. Dia ada sebab kukuh:

Pertama, BERSATU tak bantu bayar kos mahkamah dia walaupun dia kena tangkap sebab kritik kerajaan untuk parti. Bayangkan, kau berjuang untuk parti, tapi bila kau kena masalah, parti tinggalkan kau. Sakit hati tu memang ada.

Kedua, dia rasa ada manipulasi kuasa dalam parti. Bila Naib Ketua Sayap Bersekutu anjurkan program dengan Presiden BERSATU di Port Dickson tanpa maklum bahagian dia sendiri, Chegubad naik angin. Ini bukan pasal protokol je, ini pasal respect.

Ketiga, dan ini yang paling penting – dia persoalkan sama ada BERSATU serius nak lawan rasuah atau sekadar buat wayang. Bila parti lebih sibuk main politik dalaman daripada perkukuh mesej kepada rakyat, Chegubard rasa terpanggil untuk bersuara.

Langkah Pertama Yang Berani: Menyerang ATM

Tapi sebelum Chegubard fokus sepenuhnya kepada kerajaan Madani, dia buat satu langkah yang ramai penganalisis politik kata 'tindakan nekad' – dia serang Angkatan Tentera Malaysia. Bukan pegawai biasa, tapi pegawai yang sepatutnya dilantik sebagai Panglima Angkatan Tentera – jawatan tertinggi dalam institusi ketenteraan negara.

Pelantikan Jeneral Tan Sri Muhammad Hafizuddeain Jantan sebagai Panglima Angkatan Tentera terpaksa ditangguhkan selepas Chegubard buat laporan polis dan SPRM. Hafizuddeain diarahkan bercuti untuk beri laluan kepada siasatan. Ini bukan main-main – ini melibatkan kedudukan paling tinggi dalam pertahanan negara.

Kenapa ATM? Strategi 'High Ground Moral'

Ramai yang tertanya-tanya: kenapa Chegubard pilih untuk serang ATM dulu? Bukankah lebih mudah serang ahli politik yang memang dah terkenal dengan rasuah?

Jawapannya terletak pada satu konsep strategik: 'high ground moral'. ATM adalah institusi yang paling dihormati rakyat Malaysia. Bila Chegubard sanggup serang ATM untuk isu rasuah, dia hantar satu mesej yang kuat – dia bukan politically motivated. Dia betul-betul nak lawan rasuah everywhere, termasuk institusi yang rakyat hormati.

Logiknya mudah tapi powerful: Kalau ATM yang 'suci' pun ada rasuah, apa lagi sivil? Apa lagi politik? Ini bukan serangan terhadap ATM sebagai institusi, tapi usaha untuk lindungi ATM dari pemimpin yang korup. Malah Chegubard frame tindakannya sebagai membela anggota ATM biasa yang teraniaya oleh rasuah pegawai atasan.

Dia bahkan kata: "Saya ialah orang Port Dickson. Port Dickson merupakan bandar tentera darat dan sudah tentu kebajikan anggota, anak-anak keluarga mereka antara prihatin saya." Brilliant positioning – dia bukan musuh ATM, dia hero untuk anggota ATM bawahan.

Pelan 'Tiga Fasa' Yang Terancang

Yang lebih menarik, Chegubard kata dia dah susun 'tiga fasa' untuk pendedahan ni. Ini bukan serangan spontan – ini campaign yang dirancang rapi. Dan bila kita tengok pattern dia, mula nampak satu strategi yang lebih besar:

Fasa 1 (sedang berlaku): Dedahkan rasuah dalam ATM – mulakan dari institusi yang paling 'bersih' untuk build kredibiliti.

Fasa 2 (kemungkinan): Link rasuah ATM dengan kontraktor pertahanan, perolehan dan tender – masuk ke zon 'grey area' antara ketenteraan dan politik.

Fasa 3 (target akhir): Tunjukkan siapa yang approve tender, siapa yang dapat kickback, bagaimana wang rasuah mengalir ke mana – expose political connection.

Strategi ni macam main domino – jatuhkan satu, yang lain akan ikut jatuh. Start dengan fondasi kukuh (ATM) sebelum roboh rumah besar (political corruption).

Timing Yang Sempurna

Perhatikan juga timing Chegubard. Dia serang sebelum Hafizuddeain jadi Panglima Angkatan Tentera. Kalau tunggu sampai Hafizuddeain dah jadi PAT, lagi susah nak sentuh – lebih banyak political shield, lebih banyak rank protection, lebih susah untuk SPRM bertindak.

Dan bila Chegubard dedah dengan bukti kukuh – laporan forensik akaun peribadi, dokumen perolehan dan tender, transaksi bank berulang – SPRM terpaksa buka kertas siasatan. Kalau SPRM tak buat apa-apa, nanti kelihatan macam selective prosecution. Ini tekanan pada SPRM untuk bertindak profesional, bukan politically.

Kesannya? Pelantikan PAT ditangguh. Satu mesej yang kuat kepada rakyat: tiada siapa kebal dari undang-undang, walau setinggi mana jawatan.

Senjata Utama: DNAA Ahmad Zahid

Dengan kredibiliti yang dibina dari kes ATM, Chegubard kini ada platform yang lebih kuat untuk serang kerajaan Madani. Dan dia ada 'nuclear weapon' untuk tu: isu DNAA (Discharge Not Amounting to Acquittal) Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

Kontras tu memang 'killer'. Najib Razak – masuk penjara. Ahmad Zahid Hamidi – 47 pertuduhan rasuah digugurkan begitu saja. Pemimpin Sabah yang dirakam dalam video rasuah – masih bebas macam burung. Malah bekas Ketua SPRM Latheefa Koya pun dah cakap terang-terang: Zahid adalah sekutu utama Anwar, tanpa sokongan dia, kerajaan Madani akan tumbang.

Sekarang bila rakyat tengok pattern ni – ATM (bakal PAT) kena siasat dan pelantikan ditangguh, tapi Zahid (47 kes rasuah) dapat DNAA – double standard tu jadi crystal clear. Ini yang Chegubard nak achieve. Bukan sekadar tuduh, tapi buat comparison yang rakyat biasa pun boleh faham.

Dan timing pun sempurna – baru-baru ini dalam Disember 2025, ada peguam failkan semakan kehakiman terhadap DNAA Zahid sebab dah lebih setahun, tapi tak ada update langsung. Siasatan kata nak sambung, tapi sampai bila?

Strategi 'Death by a Thousand Cuts'

Chegubard tak guna strategi satu serangan besar je. Dia guna teknik 'death by a thousand cuts' – serangan kecil berterusan yang perlahan-lahan melemahkan kredibiliti musuh. Hari ini isu ATM, esok isu DNAA Zahid, lusa skandal Sabah, tulat lagi isu harta Anwar.

Pattern dia mudah nak faham: Tunjuk double standard kerajaan Madani. Pegawai ATM (institusi paling suci) – kena siasat, pelantikan ditangguh. Zahid (pro-Madani, 47 kes) – DNAA. Pemimpin Sabah (sekutu Madani, ada video) – tak ada tindakan. Aktivis pembangkang macam dia – kena tangkap bawah Akta Hasutan.

Rakyat biasa pun boleh faham logik ni. Dan bila rakyat dah faham, barulah pressure politik tu jadi real.

Risiko Tinggi, Balasan Tinggi

Tapi strategi Chegubard ni memang high risk, high reward. Dia kena serangan dari dua penjuru – parti sendiri kata dia pengkhianat, kerajaan pula tangkap dia bawah Akta Hasutan. Dia dah beberapa kali masuk lokap, kena 'gag order', hadap mahkamah. Hidup dia sentiasa dalam tekanan.

Malah bila dia serang ATM, ada yang kata dia sedang main api. ATM bukan institusi yang patut dipermainkan. Tapi Chegubard nampaknya yakin dengan bukti yang dia ada. Dia sanggup ambil risiko sebab dia tahu – kalau dia betul, impak dia akan besar. Kalau dia silap, career politik dia habis.

Chegubard bertaruh pada satu perkara: sokongan akar umbi. Dia percaya kalau dia konsisten kritik rasuah tanpa kira siapa yang terlibat – ATM ke, BERSATU ke, kerajaan Madani ke – rakyat akan respect. Dan respect tu lebih powerful dari kedudukan dalam parti atau kebebasan dari tangkapan polis.

Apa Yang Bakal Berlaku?

Kalau kita tengok trajectory Chegubard sekarang, kemungkinan besar dia akan terus intensify serangan, terutama isu DNAA Zahid sambil tunggu development kes ATM. Timing sempurna – pilihan raya semakin dekat, rakyat dah mula resah dengan kos sara hidup, dan kredibiliti anti-rasuah kerajaan Madani dah mula tercalar.

Tiga senario mungkin berlaku:

Senario 1: Kerajaan Madani terpaksa dakwa semula Zahid untuk restore kredibiliti, atau teruskan siasatan kes ATM sampai ke pendakwaan. Tapi kedua-dua langkah ni berisiko tinggi untuk survival politik kerajaan.

Senario 2: Chegubard terus diserang dari dua penjuru, akhirnya kena tindakan disiplin dari BERSATU dan kena hukuman mahkamah. Tapi dia dah capai objective – rakyat dah sedar tentang double standard, dan kes ATM tetap jalan.

Senario 3: Chegubard jadi symbol perjuangan anti-rasuah yang bebas dari parti politik. Dia keluar atau kena buang dari BERSATU, tapi dapat sokongan lebih kuat dari civil society dan rakyat biasa yang respect konsistensi dia.

Kesimpulan: Lebih Dari Sekadar Aktivis

Chegubard bukan hero. Dia juga bukan villain. Dia pemain catur dalam permainan politik yang sangat kompleks. Taktik dia mungkin controversial, cara dia mungkin kasar, tapi satu perkara yang kita kena acknowledge – dia konsisten dan strategik.

Keberanian dia untuk serang ATM – institusi paling dihormati – menunjukkan dia bukan sekadar 'political operator' yang pilih target mudah. Dia ambil risiko besar untuk build kredibiliti yang lebih besar. Dan kredibiliti tu yang dia guna untuk serang kerajaan Madani dengan lebih berkesan.

Dalam dunia politik Malaysia yang penuh dengan 'lompat parti' dan 'U-turn', konsistensi adalah barang nadir. Chegubard sanggup korban kedudukan dalam parti, sanggup hadap mahkamah, sanggup kena label pengkhianat, sanggup serang institusi yang rakyat hormati – semua untuk satu prinsip: lawan rasuah tanpa pilih bulu.

Sama ada strategi dia akan berjaya atau tidak, itu cerita lain. Tapi satu perkara pasti – dia dah buat SPRM bertindak terhadap kes ATM, dia dah buat rakyat persoalkan isu DNAA Zahid, dan dia dah buat kerajaan Madani rasa tak selesa. Dan dalam politik, kadang-kadang itulah yang diperlukan.

Jadi next time bila anda dengar nama Chegubard dalam berita – kena tangkap ke, buat laporan polis ke, kritik pemimpin ke, dedah skandal kerajaan ke – ingat: di sebalik semua drama tu, ada satu strategi politik yang sophisticated. Strategi seorang aktivis yang berani main api di dua penjuru, yang faham timing is everything, dan yang tahu macam mana nak build kredibiliti sebelum serang target sebenar.

Dan honestly? Regardless of your political leanings, you have to respect the game. Malaysia memerlukan lebih ramai yang berani cakap benar – walaupun kena bayar harga yang mahal, walaupun kena serang dari dua penjuru, walaupun target mereka adalah institusi yang paling berkuasa dalam negara.

 

Shazad shamsuddin

2 Jan 2026

Seremban. N.S

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Nota: Artikel ini ditulis untuk tujuan analisis politik dan tidak mewakili pandangan mana-mana pihak. Semua dakwaan masih dalam siasatan dan setiap individu yang disebut dianggap tidak bersalah sehingga dibuktikan sebaliknya di mahkam

Rasa Diri Sebagai Hamba: Jalan Menuju Syurga

 Pernahkah kita merasakan dorongan nafsu untuk melakukan sesuatu? Namun, kita berjaya menghalang diri kerana mematuhi perintah Allah. Itulah sebenarnya makna Islam.

Hanya dengan cara ini kita mencapai ketenangan dan kebahagiaan hidup. Inilah maksud sebenar perkataan "salam." Para sarjana Islam juga menegaskan perkara yang sama. Mereka mendefinisikan Islam sebagai "peace acquired through submitting yourself to the will of Allah" — kedamaian yang dicapai melalui penyerahan diri kepada kehendak Allah.

Ia bermaksud kita menundukkan kehendak diri kepada apa yang telah ditentukan oleh-Nya. Inilah ciri perhambaan diri. Inilah juga cara merendahkan ego dan nafsu yang sentiasa merasakan diri hebat. Nafsu yang sering merasakan kita tidak memerlukan Maha Pencipta.

Bukankah ini kesombongan yang ditunjukkan oleh syaitan? Ketika disuruh tunduk dan menghormati penciptaan Adam, syaitan enggan kerana sombong . “ Ingatlah ketika Kami berfirman kepada para malaikat, 'Sujudlah kamu kepada Adam!' Maka mereka pun sujud, kecuali Iblis. Ia menolaknya dan menyombongkan diri, dan ia termasuk golongan kafir” (Al-Quran 2:34)

Rendah Diri di Hadapan Pencipta

Hanya dengan sifat rendah diri, kita berada di landasan yang benar. Dengan merasakan diri kecil di hadapan Pencipta, kita layak menerima rahmat dan petunjuk-Nya.

Banyak kejadian yang menimpa kita sebenarnya adalah cara Allah memberi rahmat. Ia adalah kaedah untuk mengembalikan kesedaran bahawa kita hanyalah hamba. Dengan sifat ini jugalah kita akan dibawa ke syurga — nikmat yang dijanjikan selama-lamanya.

Jangan Cinta Dunia Secara Berlebihan

Sifat hamba ini menyelamatkan kita daripada cinta dunia yang berlebihan. Ia mengajar kita untuk sentiasa berpandangan jauh. Kehidupan akhirat lebih pasti. Di sanalah kita akan menghadapi perhitungan amalan.

Teruskan Refleksi Diri

Tanamkan benih kehambaan dalam hati. Sentiasa bergantung kepada Allah. Berpegang teguh kepada tali kepatuhan. Ingatlah, kecenderungan manusia itu sendiri adalah kepada keingkaran.

Hayatilah bahawa hidup ini adalah ujian. Pasti ada jerit perih. Namun, sedarlah bahawa itulah yang membawa kita kepada sifat kehambaan. Sifat inilah yang menjamin jalan pulang yang benar sebagai makhluk bernama manusia.

Apabila kita benar-benar bergantung kepada-Nya, dan sentiasa merentangkan harapan kepada janji-janji-Nya, kita akan selamat daripada dusta kehidupan dunia.

The Ivory Tower's Silent Crisis: Why Malaysian Universities Must Learn to Learn

 

Something is quietly unravelling in Malaysia's public universities. Behind the polished facades and impressive ranking climbs, a deeper malaise festers—one rarely discussed openly yet widely known. Our ivory towers, once symbols of enlightenment, now risk becoming monuments to mediocrity and institutional silence.

The evidence is troubling. Academic dishonesty among lecturers—not just students—has become disturbingly normalised. Citation stacking, paper mills, and the coercion of junior academics to add senior names to publications they never touched: these are not isolated incidents but systemic practices driven by relentless KPI pressures. When a system rewards quantity over quality, it inadvertently cultivates a culture of cutting corners. The pursuit of truth, which should be a university's sacred mission, gets sacrificed at the altar of metrics.

Then there is the ranking obsession. Malaysian universities have poured enormous resources into chasing global rankings—those European and American inventions that, as many Western institutions now recognise, measure prestige more than genuine educational quality. We game the system, sometimes paying for positions, while the real work of developing critical minds and advancing knowledge takes a backseat. The irony is painful: we climb ladders that may lead nowhere meaningful.

Perhaps most damaging is the pervasive culture of fear and silence. Academics who dare speak up risk being sidelined, passed over for promotion, or placed in 'cold storage.' This chilling effect is not merely anecdotal; research consistently shows that hierarchical rigidity and fear of retribution stifle innovation and learning. A recent study on Malaysian public higher education institutions found that psychological safety—the belief that one can speak candidly without punishment—remains critically underdeveloped, particularly among administrative and planning staff who shape institutional direction (Edmondson, 1999; Edmondson & Lei, 2014). Without psychological safety, organisations cannot learn, adapt, or honestly confront their failures.

Becoming a Learning Organisation: A Framework for Reform

The path forward requires a fundamental shift in how our universities conceive of themselves. Rather than institutions that merely deliver education and chase rankings, they must become learning organisations—entities that continuously acquire, create, and transfer knowledge while adapting their behaviour to reflect new insights (Marsick & Watkins, 2003). Watkins and Marsick's influential framework identifies seven dimensions essential for this transformation, each with specific implications for Malaysian higher education.

 

Creating continuous learning opportunities means moving beyond annual workshops and token professional development. Malaysian universities should establish structured learning circles where administrative staff and academicians regularly discuss challenges and solutions. Sabbatical programmes, traditionally reserved for academics, could be extended to senior administrators to explore best practices at other institutions. Cross-functional rotations would allow to understand different departmental perspectives, breaking down the silos that plague our bureaucracies.

Promoting inquiry and dialogue requires dismantling the deeply ingrained culture of sungkan (reluctance to speak up) and deference to hierarchy. Universities could institutionalise regular forums—perhaps monthly 'town halls'—where  all levels can question policies without fear. Book clubs discussing higher education challenges, as some advocacy groups have pioneered, create informal spaces for critical conversation. The key is normalising questions as signs of engagement, not insubordination.

Encouraging team learning challenges our individualistic performance systems. Instead of pitting departments against each other for resources, universities should reward collaborative projects that span faculties. Joint problem-solving teams addressing institutional challenges—student retention, graduate employability, research impact—would cultivate collective intelligence. When teams learn together, solutions emerge that no individual could devise alone.

Establishing systems to capture and share knowledge addresses the institutional amnesia plaguing our universities. When experienced staff retire or transfer, their knowledge often vanishes. Malaysian institutions need robust knowledge management systems—not just databases, but living repositories where lessons learned from failed initiatives are documented alongside successes. Exit interviews should become genuine knowledge-harvesting exercises, not administrative formalities.

Empowering staff toward a collective vision means genuine participatory planning, not token consultations where decisions are already made. Strategic planning exercises should actively seek input from frontline staff—those who interact daily with students and understand operational realities. When people help shape the vision, they own it. Currently, too many strategic plans are drafted in isolation by senior management, leaving staff to implement goals they neither understand nor believe in.

Connecting the institution to its external environment demands that universities shed their insularity. This means more than industry partnerships for funding; it requires systematic environmental scanning—understanding shifts in graduate employment markets, technological disruptions, and evolving societal expectations. Advisory boards with external stakeholders should have genuine influence, not merely ceremonial roles. Universities must become learning nodes within larger ecosystems, not fortresses guarding outdated knowledge.

Providing strategic leadership for learning is perhaps the most critical dimension. Vice-Chancellors and senior administrators must model learning behaviour themselves—publicly acknowledging mistakes, asking questions in meetings, and visibly engaging in their own professional development. Leadership development programmes should prioritise learning facilitation skills over administrative competencies. When leaders demonstrate that learning is valued, the entire institution follows.

Building Psychological Safety: The Foundation for Change

None of these dimensions can flourish without psychological safety—the shared belief that one will not be punished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns, or mistakes (Edmondson, 2018). In Malaysian higher education, where hierarchical traditions run deep and face-saving dominates organisational culture, building psychological safety requires deliberate, sustained effort.

First, leaders must frame work as learning problems rather than execution problems. When a new initiative is introduced, the message should be: 'We are experimenting; we will learn and adjust.' This reframes setbacks as data rather than failures. Malaysian university leaders often present plans as definitive, making any questioning seem like disloyalty. A learning frame invites input and acknowledges uncertainty.

Second, leaders must acknowledge their own fallibility. In cultures that venerate seniority, admitting 'I don't know' or 'I was wrong' feels deeply uncomfortable. Yet research shows that when leaders model vulnerability, it gives permission for others to do the same (Frazier et al., 2017). A Deputy Vice-Chancellor who openly discusses a strategic mistake and what was learned creates more safety than one who maintains an illusion of infallibility.

Third, institutions must actively invite input and respond constructively. It is not enough to have an 'open door policy'—staff must see that speaking up leads to genuine engagement, not retaliation. When someone raises a concern, the response should be gratitude and inquiry, not defensiveness. Universities could implement 'psychological safety audits' where staff anonymously report whether they feel safe to speak, with results driving leadership accountability.

Fourth, collective voice mechanisms should be strengthened. Rather than leaving individuals to challenge unreasonable KPIs alone—a risky proposition in hierarchical environments—entire departments should be empowered to collectively reject targets that undermine academic integrity. Academic unions and advocacy groups play vital roles here, providing solidarity that individual whistle-blowers cannot achieve. There is safety in numbers; collective dissent is harder to punish than individual complaint.

Fifth, training programmes on psychological safety should be mandatory for all leadership positions. Many universities leaders genuinely do not realise how their behaviours—interrupting, dismissing ideas, reacting defensively—undermine safety. Practical training using scenarios relevant to Malaysian academic contexts can develop awareness and alternative responses. This is not about importing Western management fads; it is about creating conditions where our own people can think, speak, and contribute fully.

 The Way Forward

Malaysian universities stand at a crossroads. We can continue down the path of performative excellence, chasing numbers while our intellectual culture atrophies. Or we can embrace the harder, more rewarding work of becoming genuine learning organisations—places where truth is pursued, mistakes are learning opportunities, and everyone can speak without fear.

The reforms outlined here are not utopian fantasies; they are evidence-based practices validated across diverse organisational contexts. What they require is leadership courage—the willingness to prioritise long-term institutional health over short-term metrics, and to trust that when people feel safe to learn, extraordinary things become possible.

The choice is ours. But the clock is ticking, and the cost of silence grows steeper by the day.

Major (Retired) Dr. Shamyl Shalyzad Shamsuddin is a freelance social science researcher and writer based in Seremban, Negeri Sembilan. He specialises in organisational learning and Human resource development.