I have been following the news of the coming elections. The heat is on and I can feel it’s different from the past. And I hope there will be more new blood coming into the scene. Times have changed and we need a different set of leaders who will effectively and efficiently bring us all to the next lap of peace and prosperity in a new dimension.

I was thinking what kind of leaders we should vote in. And there are a couple that I think is fundamental. Contrary to popular belief, governing a tiny county isn’t easy especially if it is in a unique ‘waters’. We need some top leader who is brave to lead a pack of very able group of ministers. I think, at this point, we have none though there are many very capable groups of people emerging in this pre-election. And many are from the legal profession. I hope we will see more talent who could sit into the different ministries in a more direct way where the minister will have a direct tertiary training that is straightforwardly useful in his/her ministry. I think it serves the best interest of all to have a direct professional unless we can’t find any.

The problems that we have today are of a different nature compared with the problems we have in the past decades. We need to be independent and stand up for ourselves as a very young and extermely tiny country in the future era where the change of political global climate emerges. People tend to pay much more attention to nations that are huge. We can be huge in our own unique way via our courage to chop down the odds and by creating our own set of knowledge and skill sets. People tend to respect countries where her people are brave, righteous, genuine, and innovative. No one respects any country that is pompous, arrogant and throws their might over others. We have a neat social order. But we need more than that — a society that is very inventive and has a very healthy view of issues.

The leaders we need to pick have to tough. The courage to turn mountains of obstacles and be tough to beat the odds. Not someone who needs any form of say or protection from already a group of seniors. That’s not a real leader. Take problems on independently; face the music. Politics or indeed life itself is not at all a smooth sailing one. One cannot expect full protection in comfort. Life isn’t a bed of roses where its fragrance will always await you. In reality,it’s a bunch of good, evil mixed in shades of grey. Fortunately there is a room for the genuinely good and kind for the law of nature forbids evil intentions.

We need leaders who can uphold justice in the highest order; someone whom everyone, both oppostion and the ruling party, will respect. Finding fine leaders who are not lured by monetary rewards is definitely hard in times when people these days have not rarely gone through destitude and poverty. In times where pragmaticism is around with material comforts are at its highest for many successful professionals; finding the right leader who can comprehend the poor, the needy and the disadvantage is a real task.

I hope the upcoming election will show a few really good men/women who will show us the renewed light for the next 10 years. It will definitely be a different world by then. And whoever is going to be the next prime minister has to be fiercely independent and extremely intelligent. For our survival needs are very different from large countries like China and the US. We need the kind of substance where our leaders can walk down any aisle anywhere in the world with an air of respect that is like no other. — Karen Fu.