PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT (MGT543)

DATO’ SERI ANWAR IBRAHIM AS MY 1

IDOL

ANKNOWLEDGEMENT

First of all, I would like to give my highest gratitude to my Personal Development

(MGT 543) lecturer, Prof. Madya Dr. Rashidi Alwi for giving me guidance in order to
finish this assignment. His contribution was definitely significant for me in this
assignment making process.

Not to forget, I would also like to thank all my friends in BMB3F for giving me
moral support and share some few ideas which are required for this assignment. Without
them all, I might face many problems which will slow down my assignment making
process. Also to both of my parent in Terengganu because burdening themselves for
sending me some books that I can use as source of references for this assignment. With
their help, I was able to make this assignment without any difficulty.

Lastly, to my idol, Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim. He has giving me a lot of

inspiration since I was little child until now. I’m really looking forward to meet him
personally.

_______________________
(FARIQ BIN ABDULLAH)

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INTRODUCTION

An idol can be any person from the walks of life. The idol can be anyone, from
our own parent, teacher, superstar to politician. In the simple words, anyone can be
choose as an idol as long as he fits with certain quality that make him deserved to get the
title.
From my point of views on idol, an idol is an individual that able to influence the
behavior, thinking or act of those who idolize him. To have such kind of ‘power’, that
idol must have the high level of personal quality which is become the core value to
become an idol. Quoted from “Enhancing Personal Quality” written by Ranjit Singh
Malhi and Robert W. Reasoner, “personal quality is a the degree to which an individual
expresses positive attributes, practices good human relationships and exhibits superior
work performance”. Therefore, I personally believe that an idol can serve as a function
that can be a guideline to those who want to enhance their own personal quality.
Every one of us (including the subject matter that I will focus on in this
assignment), has the capability to enhance our level of personal quality regardless of our
age, lineage, experience or academic qualification. That is why; I would like to
strengthen my argument that, we can use our idol as a role model to be followed if we
want to get ourselves involve in personal quality enhancement’s processes.
The quality of an idol can be judged based on many criteria such as his
interpersonal characteristic, traits behavior, his contribution to the society or his
achievement in his career. We might not be able to follow exactly hundred percent of our
idol’s footsteps, but we can take some parts of the elements from our idol’s ‘success
story’ to become our guidelines for improving our own personality.
As for my assignment for Personal Development course (MGT 543), I choose the
most controversial politician in Malaysia’s political arena. Although there might some
people that are not comfortable with the idol that I will focus on, it won’t make me to
look behind because this is the person that I most idolized and respected. He is Malaysian
Opposition leader – Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

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THE LIFE OF DATO’ SERI ANWAR IBRAHIM

Born in Penang in 1947, Anwar received his early

education in his hometown before gaining
admission to the prestigious Malay College at
Kuala Kangsar. He continued his studies at the
University of Malaya which was the vantage point
from which he witnessed the tragedy of the 1969
race riots and . There he led protests against the
Vietnam War and demonstrations on domestic
social issues such as corruption, poverty and the
plight of the marginalized. In recognition of his
leadership and intellectual abilities he was
appointed as a member to the Ad hoc Advisory
Group to the Secretary General on Youth Affairs in 1973.
 
By the time he completed his university studies Anwar was already a popular
national figure actively pursuing the reform agenda. In 1971 he formed the Muslim
Youth Movement of Malaysia (ABIM) to promote and uphold the principles of moderate
Islam and to campaign for moral upliftment and social justice. A weak economy in the
early 1970s caused great hardship among some sectors of the rural population of
Malaysia. Anwar, who was at that time president of the multi-ethnic National Youth
Council, was detained without trial for 22 months for championing the cause of hard-
pressed poor farmers in a northern Malaysian state.

Anwar was invited to join the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), the
ruling party, and the government in 1982, by then Prime Minister Mahathir
Mohamad. His rise in the party and in the government was meteoric. He was elected in
1984, as Leader of UMNO Youth and in 1986, became a Vice-President of UMNO. He
served as Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports in 1983; Minister of Agriculture in 1984;

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and Minister of Education in 1986, prior to his tenure as Finance Minister and Deputy
Prime Minister in the 90s.
 
As a public servant in Malaysia Anwar was unrelenting in his campaign against
corruption and has been committed to the ideals of empowerment, justice, and equity. He
has stressed the need for internal reforms in order to reinforce civil and democratic
institutions and to expand the democratic space.
Some of these themes, articulated in his book
Menangani Perubahan (Managing Change), were
seen to be departing from the authoritarian ideals
of Mahathir Mohamad, and sowed the seeds that
eventually led to the confrontation between the two
leaders. As acting Prime Minister in 1997, for
example, he introduced the controversial but
effective Anti-Corruption Legislation which held
public officials accountable for corrupt practices
even after their departure from public service. His
emphasis on social justice, poverty eradication, education and civil society has guided his
career in government to the present.

In 1993, Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim was appointed to become Deputy Prime
Minister of Malaysia.  He also served as Minister of Finance for Malaysia from 1991-
1998. Highly respected for his principled stance against corruption and his skillful
management of the Malaysian economy during the turbulent period of its financial crisis,
Anwar is also viewed as one of the forefathers of the Asian Renaissance and a leading
proponent of greater cooperation among civilizations. He is ardent supporter of
democracy and is an authoritative voice bridging the widening gap between East and
West.

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Active on the national front, Anwar has also been highly engaged in the
international arena. He has been a strong advocate for civilizational dialogue and has
worked tirelessly towards the ideals of Convivencia, the mutual coexistence of
civilizations and the interplay of different social, cultural, and spiritual ideas. Between
1995 and 1998 he organized a series of conferences on the Asian Renaissance, aimed at
crossing geo-political barriers between societies and nations and creating political
structures to promote dialogue across cultures.
 
He has also supported inter-faith dialogue to promote inter-religious tolerance and
understanding, working with among others, the World Council of Churches, the East
Asia Christian conference, the World Federation of Buddhist Youth and the Hindu Youth
Council. In 1996 he convened a Seminar on Islam and Confucianism in Kuala Lumpur
which inspired a new field of scholarly research and analysis into the relationship
between these two world traditions.
 
During this period Anwar also co-chaired
the Pacific Dialogue. The group, comprising
leaders from various disciplines across many
nations in the Pacific Rim, addressed the many
challenges facing the Asia-Pacific region in the
21st Century and sought strategies on how it
might attain lasting peace and prosperity. These
gatherings culminated in the drafting of the
“Pacific Charter,” which proposed a bold vision
of a “feast of civilizations” characterized by interdependence, democracy, and a rising
tide of economic growth to uplift all nations.
 
In 1989 Anwar was elected as President of the UNESCO World Council and he
was also Chairman of the Development Committee of World Bank and International
Monetary Fund in 1998. During his tenure he strongly endorsed the initiatives of debt

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cancellation and reprieve for poor countries, particularly those in Africa. In March 2006
he was named the Honorary President of AccountAbility, an international think-tank
specializing in the development of innovative practices to promote accountability and
good governance in the public and private sector. Later in 2006 he was also named
Chairman of the Foundation for the Future, a grant-making foundation dedicated to
advancing the cause of freedom and democracy in the Middle East.
 
For his many contributions to humanity, in 1996, Anwar was awarded the
Presidential Medal by Georgetown University and an honorary doctorate by the Ateneo
de Manila University, in the Philippines.

During his tenure as Finance Minister, Malaysia enjoyed unprecedented

prosperity and economic growth and joined the ranks of other Asian countries as an
“Asian Tiger.” Anwar’s impact on the economy was immediate. In 1993, shortly after
becoming Finance Minister, Euromoney named him as one of the top four finance
ministers and in 1996, Asiamoney named him Finance Minister of the Year. 
 
In the midst of Asian Financial Crises of 1997, Anwar was hailed for guiding
Malaysia through this period of instability. He
backed free market principles and called for
“creative destruction”, highlighting the need to
reconsider the proximity of business and
politics in Malaysia. He advocated for greater
accountability and refused to offer government
bail-outs to companies facing bankruptcy. He
also instituted widespread spending cuts and
gut government expenditure on mega
projects. These prescriptions saved the

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Malaysian economy and earned Anwar many accolades, including the title “Asian of the
Year” by Newsweek International in 1998.
 
As Anwar amplified his calls for reform in 1998, fearing that he was losing his
grip over the country, then Prime Minister Mahathir dismissed Anwar from the
government on September 2nd and had him tried on trumped up charges. Anwar’s trial
and subsequent conviction were widely discredited by the international community.
Many world leaders called for his release from prison and Amnesty International stated
that the entire trial proceedings “. . . exposed a pattern of political manipulation of key
state institutions including the police, public prosecutor's office and the judiciary. . .”
After six years of appeal to a pliant and subservient judiciary his conviction was
overturned by the Malaysian Supreme Court and Anwar was finally released from
solitary confinement on September 2, 2004.

During this time he was a voracious reader,

reviewing an entire corpus of Eastern and Western
literature. While rereading the entire works of
Shakespeare four and a half times, he also delved
deep into the disciplines of Islamic theology,
philosophy and law. This period of forced solitude
afforded him ample time to study and to reflect on his
commitment to and passion for freedom and justice,
and to contemplate the future of his country, enlightened by the company of the great
thinkers of the world.
 
Upon his release, reunited with his wife, Dr. Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, and his six
children, Anwar quickly returned to public life. He lectured around the world on freedom,
justice, and human rights and was outspoken in his belief in the compatibility of Islam
and democracy. He has inspired audiences on college campuses around the world, and at
major international forums from Davos to Brisbane and Palo Alto to Manila.

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The global reach of his message of freedom and democracy has also resonated
inside Malaysia. Despite ongoing restrictions on his ability to speak publicly and a media
blackout on his speeches and writings, Anwar regularly draws audiences as large as fifty
or sixty thousand peoples.
Source: www.anwaribrahim.com

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Dimensions of Personal Quality

POSITIVE
PERSONAL
ATTRIBUTES

SUPERIOR GOOD
WORK HUMAN
PERFORMANCE RELATIONSHIP

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ANWAR’S POSITIVE PERSONAL

ATTRIBUTES

When a person becomes a politician, he or she will be unable to run away to run
away from having certain elements which are very important in their career. One of the
elements is having the positive personal attributes in them. Positive personal attributes is
important because it is a core that influence an individual’s performance in their life or
career.
Let us see in the case of Anwar. Even since he was still young child, he already
has the positive personal attributes within him. One of the attributes is self esteem.
Usually, people with high self-esteem are generally confident of themselves, self
directed, decisive, eager to express idea, loving and lovable. This situation can be related
to Anwar’s life. During his school life in Malay College Kuala Kangsar (MCKK), he was
the President of Persatuan Bahasa Melayu where he also active in debate and oral
speaking activities. Such activities required to have high self-esteem in order to involve
such activities. Here we can conclude that Anwar is definitely having the self-esteem’s
attribute.
Apart from having self-esteem as a positive personal attributes, a politician must
also have to maintain self-discipline. According to from “Enhancing Personal Quality”
written by Ranjit Singh Malhi and Robert W. Reasoner, self discipline is essentially
focusing one’s attention on important activities, which contribute towards the
attainment of worthwhile goals, without distraction until they are completed. Indeed,
some politician has their own ultimate goal. To achieve the goal, they need to maintain
their discipline. This include in the case of Anwar. His primary goal is to achieve the
mutual coexistence between the East and West civilization. He was working tirelessly to
bring this ideal into reality. He has organized many conferences and forums around the
world in order to spread his words about the meaning of harmonious coexistence between
two civilizations. Indeed, all these efforts requiring him to maintain his discipline.

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Lastly, one of Anwar’s greatest positive personal attributes is the desire to learn
new knowledge and skill. When Anwar in his university days, he was not really good in
academic (because he spent too much of his time in extra-curriculum activities rather that
study). But, the desire of seeking knowledge was strong within him. That is why, his
intellectual capability never deteriorate at all. Another perfect example, Anwar did not
have any formal Economy or Finance education when he was a student. However, he still
able to become a great Finance Minister because of the desire of learning in Anwar.

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ANWAR’S GOOD HUMAN RELATIONSHIP

Human relationship is a connection between two or more people. We can talk

about relations between people, groups of people, organizations and countries. Love,
understanding, communication, trust, care, politeness and good behavior are the most
important things in any relationship. As for politicians, good human relationship is
important because they need it to gain supports and votes from their supporter.

Anwar Ibrahim is a politician who always maintains his good relationship with his
current supporter. This is to make sure that his supporter will feel so close to him and feel
appreciated by him. He is also have high family value. He is a loving husband and father.
The bond between him and his family is really strong. His wife, Wan Azizah and his
eldest daughter, Nurul Izzah fight along with his in national political stage.

The most challenging part in the issue of good human relationship especially in
politics is the cultural diversity. As we all know, Malaysia is consist with wide variety of
races, ethnic group and language. Each of Malaysian has a different perception and the
way of thinking influenced by their own cultural background. In order to gain support
from other race than Malay (Chinese, Indian, Iban, Bidayuh, Kadazan etc.), Anwar has
learn their cultural background to enhance his understanding about the way they think.
This is to make sure that he able to break the cultural barrier to create good human
relationship with them.His past involvement in youth movements has enabled him to
meet and fraternize with people of diverse backgrounds, races and beliefs. This has
imbued in him not merely a strong sense of tolerance for others but a sincere and fervent
belief that all of us belong to only one community and that is the universal community of
mankind.

An organization is impossible to run away from conflicts. Even conflicts exist

within Pakatan Rakyat which led by Anwar. As a leader of the organization, he has to be

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a good negotiator or middle-man in order to solve certain conflict happen within his
organization. Here, communication is the most important tool used for solving the
conflicts. Communication is an essential ingredient of the functioning of any
organization’s management. The success probabilities of any plans conceived at the
management level depend upon how effectively the information, thoughts, ideas and
opinions are shared between various levels of the organization. If the political
organization leaders are able to avoid confusion and misunderstandings, harmony will be
established its member although its member consist with different ideologies. Hence, the
communication between the leader, organization members and supporters should be
clear, concise, and purposeful and connect generating.

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ANWAR’S SUPERIOR WORK

PERFORMANCE

Superior work performance is work that is done in an effective and efficient

manner. A politician’s superior work performance can be determined from his
communication skill, social skill and the achievement within his career.

Anwar is really good using his orator skill in order to gain influence his
supporters. There is a proverb said “words can be the most powerful weapon than
sword” and it is indeed true. Anwar has equipped this ability since he was young student
in MCKK. It is not easy to be a good orator. One need to master the uses of language and
able to use body language perfectly. Every time Anwar does his speech, he will deliver
his speech with a full energy in the front of audiences.

A politician not must only have the orator skill. He is also need to be
knowledgeable. Knowledge is important for a politician because it can be used as a
“weapon and shield” in the political arena. Many of our previous politicians were loss in
the national political arena because they lack of this crucial element. Anwar has been
prioritizing in seeking knowledge for his own benefit. That is why he reads a lot. Even
when he was in prison, he didn’t sit there doing nothing. He filled his free time in the
prison by reading a lot of books! Indeed, knowledge can be found in any condition no
matter what situation you are in.

Anwar is not only a good politician. He is also a great financial planner during his
tenure as Finance Minister. When he was in that position, Malaysia enjoyed remarkable
prosperity and economic growth and able to compete with other Asian countries such as
Singapore, Thailand, Taiwan and South Korea. Anwar’s impact on the economy was

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immediate. Because of that, Euromoney named him as “The Finance Minister of The
Year”.

Summary

As a conclusion, I dare to say that Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim is one of his kind in
the world. He is a unique politician in Malaysia’s political arena nowadays. Each of his
life chapters has inspired so many people including myself. Being a politician is not an
easy job. There was once a politician told me, “Politician becomes a politician since he
was born into this world. And if he failed in politics, meaning that he will lose
everything”. The factor that influences the perception of the voters toward politician is
the personal quality which comprise of three main ingredients: positive personal
attributes, good human relationship and superior work performance. And it is really hard
because a politician need a certain degree of level in their personal quality within them.
They must really able to maintain the positiveness in their personal quality in order to
maintain the support from their voters.

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Reference

Wray, Ralph, Luft, Roger, and Highland, Patrick. (1996). "Fundamentals of Human
Relations: Applications for Life and Work". Cincinnati, OH: Southwestern Publishing.

Ranjit Singh Malhi,Robert W. Reasoner (2000) “Enhancing Personal Quality :

Empowering Yourself to Attain Peak Performance at Work”. Kuala Lumpur :Self-Esteem
Seminars Sdn. Bhd.

Anwar Ibrahim (1996) “The Asian Renaissance”Singapore : Times Book International.

http://www.anwaribrahim.com

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