Learning From History
Ir. Ahmad Jais Alias
Fellow, Centre for Consultancy and Training
Institut Kefahaman Islam Malaysia (IKIM)
It is worth mentioning the advice of the Regent of Perak, His Majesty Raja Dr Nazrin Shah, in his speech during celebrations commemorating the birth of the Prophet Muhammad last month. He clearly stated that we should learn from history. He proposed that we learn from the rise and fall of nations and empires, so that we will not fall in the same traps. One of the traps is the lack of quality in leadership.
He said historical evidence showed that many people were given the opportunity to become leaders but only few rose to build civilisations and became successful leaders. Among the mistakes made by leaders were that they became complacent, were led astray, adopted wrong decisions and made miscalculations.
The aforementioned advice by the Regent is for us to ponder now that the country is opening a new chapter of history after celebrating fifty years of independence last year. Are we on the right track towards developing our own civilisation, or it is a turning point to a fully democratic society as claimed by certain quarters, especially after the 12th General Election results?
The rise and fall of empires as written in history, is closely related to the quality of leadership. If we take Emperor Septimius Severus (193 – 211 AD) of the Roman Empire for example, we may learn some good lessons.
Historian Edward Gibbon’s (1737 – 1794) description of the Roman Empire is as follows; “In the second century of the Christian era, the Empire of Rome comprehended the fairest part of the earth, and the most civilized portion of mankind.”
Septimius Severus is one of the rulers who restored stability to the Roman Empire. He improved performance and increased morale by making expansive changes in the military and praetorian guard. He restored Hadrian’s Wall and was involved in other construction projects. He reformed grain supplies for the city of Rome, and put on games for the people to keep their support. He freed his friends from debt and gave donations to the soldiers and people. He also heard lawsuits and began appointing his own men to the senate. All these measures were done in the name of developing and restoring stability to the Roman Empire.
However, in another commentary, Gibbon was quoted as coming to the following conclusion; “The contemporaries of Severus, in enjoyment of the peace and glory of his reign, forgave the cruelties by which it had been introduced. Posterity, who experienced the fatal effects of his maxims and example, justly considered him as the principal author of the decline of the Roman empire.” [Quoted from The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon]
This is one of the important lessons to ponder, that current leaders are inheriting not only the leadership and glory of the previous leaders, but also the problems and diseases left behind for them to deal with.
As Gibbon correctly concludes, while Severus was regarded as a successful leader in restoring stability and wealth to the empire, he did leave behind the effects of his cruelty and tyranny. These later on resulted in the fall of the Roman empire, when the people despised the corrupt regime of the Roman empire.
Let us take the case of Severus, and relate it to our condition today. Leaders should assume leadership responsibly, so that when they leave office, they leave behind traces of glory and success for the successor. We may also deduce that if there are weaknesses in the current leadership, the roots originate from the predecessor. It is a great challenge to one, in assuming leadership at the lower curve of its performance, and it takes great courage to accept the predicaments and start to rebuild everything again. The people’s confidence is the most difficult thing to be restored, once it is tainted.