在马来西亚的政治人物中，只有少数几位敢于把他们的新闻稿、政治演说以及其他记录其政治观点与看法的资料，整理成书出版。至于许多政治人物为什么没有这样做，其实并不令人感到意外。
因为，完整地重现这些资料，将提供人民一个机会，去评估这些政治人物在面对当前具争议与热门议题时，其公开意见与立场究竟有多一致。而这，对那些进行双面说辞与舆论操弄的人来说，是既令人尴尬又具有破坏性的。
因而，我们看到用刻意或含糊不清的语言来掩盖真相，或迎合支持群体；诉诸委婉语；转移话题以避免直接回答问题；而现在，更频繁地依赖种族与宗教用语及刻板印象，来获取政治支持，或让令人不舒服的事实看起来较容易被接受。这种所谓的“双重话术”技巧，使机会主义者，尤其是带有种族主义色彩的政治人物，能够控制叙事，避免在温和立场上采取明确或具风险的态度，并维持他们所依赖以“生存”的选民群体之支持度。
因此，我们每天在新闻中所看到的，只是零零碎碎的媒体报导，各种政治人物凭著几句简短发言成为当日头条，而这些发言并不能真正衡量其领导品质与一致性。
刘天球的三本书
前雪兰莪州行政议员及双溪比力州议员刘天球的三本著作，却是个例外。
第一本书于2021年4月出版，书名为《改朝换代大逆转》，是在“喜来登行动”发生，后门政府成立后写成的。“喜来登行动”是2020年2月在马来西亚发生的一场关键政治政变，一批政治人物在八打灵再也喜来登酒店会面，导致民选的希盟政府倒台。这涉及政党跳槽，建立了一个新的国盟联盟，并引发严重的政治不稳定。
第一本书中特别值得注意的是，刘天球对马哈迪的评价，他形容马哈迪为“一位真正的马基雅维利式政治人物”，并在序言中提出最重要的警示，警告人们“永远不要再相信一只狡猾的老狐狸”。
该书提供了对当时首相威权式领导风格的个人见解，包括培养裙带关系、制造族群分裂、削弱司法机构，以及运用具有分化性的“亲马来人”政策，来摧毁马来西亚的新黎明。
刘的立场是：“人民是我的老板，而不是敦马或任何其他政治人物。”
在他的第二本书《莫忘初心砥砺前行》中，副标题为〈拨乱反正回正轨，力挽狂澜开新篇〉，焦点放在他所看到的民主行动党作为执政联盟──希盟政府成员时所面对的危机与挑战。当时行动党拥有43名国会议员、超过100名州议员，并撑控著一个州政权。他警告说，这不仅是该党“最好的时代”，同时也可能是“最坏的时代”。
他对行动党失误的评估，以及行动党要迈向更高层次所需采取的纠正措施，可成为“政治入门”的课程内容，这不仅适用于行动党，也适用于马来西亚其他政治人物。这些评估至今仍然具有现实意义，因为行动党与希盟政府在即将到来的大选中，很可能会失去政权。
“共同的愿景与共享的价值将团结一个政党，但精英主义与裙带关系将摧毁一个政党。”
在最近出版的第三本书《再战江湖》中，刘天球在离开政治与行动党三年之后，分享了他对近期影响国家的政治发展，特别是对华人社群的关切。正如他所指出，在经历了40年政治舞台上的风风雨雨之后，他本可以“退休过著悠闲生活——喝茶、笑看人生，远离政治纷争”。
然而，他在观察到这国家政治与治理方面日益严重的危机后，他选择再次挺身而出。
“不是为了打破现状，而是为这个国家开辟另一条道路——一条理性、务实且正面的道路。”
政治领导的要素
他提出了至少7个政治领导的关键要素，这是建立一个更好的马来西亚所必需的。
这些包括：
● 诚信与问责：展现诚实，维持一致的价值观，并为决策承担责任，而不是转移责任。
● 前瞻性思维：能够为选区、社群与国家清楚地阐述一项具前瞻性的计划。
● 同理心与沟通：主动倾听人民心声，以了解其需求，并透过建设性对话建立信任与团结。
● 果断与勇气：在仔细分析之后，为了更大的公共利益作出困难且往往不受欢迎的决定，而不是只对人民说他们想听的话。
● 真诚：与基层日常生活保持联系，并以真诚的方式行事。
● 韧性与适应能力：具备应对高压情况的耐力，并能从挫折与批评中学习。
● 合作与建立网络：搭建桥梁，寻找共同点，管理冲突，并与不同政治立场或族群背景的人合作以取得成果。
在政治人物于记者会或其他公开场合就新闻议题发表评论之前，有必要提醒他们这些要素。
纪录显示，刘天球政治生涯从一开始，就成了政府针对目标，而且有许多针对他的警方投报。值得注意的是，巫统与国阵政党曾试图在选民面前抹黑他并使其声誉受损。对他的批评与攻击者，也有来自行动党内部的。这三本书提醒人们，敢于发声是需付出代价。
无论刘天球政治上的新动向结果如何，他的三本以三语呈现的著作，都显示出直言不讳的政治言辞与有原则的政治，对国家前进的重要性。
林德宜《刘天球与大马政治》原文：Ronnie Liu: Politics in Malaysia
Among Malaysia’s political leaders there are only a few that have dared to put into book form a collection of their press releases, political speeches and other records of their political opinions and views. Why they have not done so is not surprising..
A full reproduction provides the opportunity for the rakyat to assess how consistent their political leaders really are in their public opinions and viewpoints on the controversial and hot issues of the day. And this is embarrassing and damaging to those that engage in double talk and spin.
Thus we see deliberate or ambiguous language meant to obscure the truth or appeal to supporting audiences; the resort to euphemisms; pivoting away from direct answers or questions; and now, very frequently, the reliance on racial and religious verbiage and stereotypes to score political points or make uncomfortable facts appear palatable. This technique of "doublespeak" allows opportunistic, especially racist politicians, to control the narrative, avoid taking firm or risky stances on moderate positions, and maintain popularity among the voting constituencies they are dependent to cari makan.
Hence what appears in our daily news are bits and pieces of media reporting on various politicians making the headlines of the day with sound bites that do not provide a true measure of the quality and consistency of their leadership.
Three Books By Ronnie Liu
Three books by Ronnie Liu Tian Khiew, former Selangor state executive council member and state assemblyman for Sungei Pelak, provide an exception to the rule.
The first published in April 2021, A New Dawn Shattered - Arise A New Phoenix, was written after the Sheraton Move that gave rise to a backdoor government. The "Sheraton Move" was a pivotal February 2020 political coup in Malaysia where a faction of politicians met at the Sheraton Petaling Jaya, causing the collapse of the democratically elected Pakatan Harapan (PH) government. This manoeuvre, involving party defections, installed a new Perikatan Nasional coalition, triggering severe political instability.
What is especially noteworthy in the first book is Liu’s assessment of Dr. Mahathir Mohamad as a “true Machiavelli politician” and his lesson number one warning in his foreword to “never trust a cunning old fox again”.
The book provides personal insights into the then Prime Minister’s authoritarian leadership, the fostering of cronyism, engineering of ethnic divisions, undermining of the judiciary, and use of polarising "pro-Malay" policies to shatter Malaysia’s new dawn.
Liu's position:
“The people are my bosses. Not Tun M or any other politicians”.
In his second book, People Before Self, with the sub title, Stop the Rot, Back to Our Roots, the focus was on what he saw as the crisis and challenges that the Democratic Action Party (DAP) as a member of the ruling Pakatan Harapan (PH) government faced. With 43 Members of Parliament, over 100 State Government representatives, and control of one State government, he warned that this was not only “the best of times” for the party of which he had been a lifelong member but also possibly “the worst of times”.
His appraisal of the failings of the party and the corrective actions needed to lead the party to greater heights should be part of the course, Politics101, for not only DAP but also other politicians in Malaysia. The appraisal is still relevant today as there is a real possibility that the DAP and PH government will lose power in the coming election
“A common VISION and shared VALUES will UNITE a party but ELITISM and CRONYISM will destroy a party.”
In the recently released third book, My Second Strike, Liu, three years after leaving politics and the DAP, shares his concerns on the most recent political developments affecting the country and especially the Chinese community. As he noted, after 40 years of weathering the storms of the political arena, he could have “retired to a life of leisure - sipping tea and watching plays away from the political fray”.
However, observing the rampant crisis that he sees in the nation’s politics and governance, he has opted instead to take another step forward.
“Not to disrupt the status quo, but to carve out an additional path for this nation - one that is rational, pragmatic and positive“.
Essentials of Political Leadership
There are at least seven key components of political leadership that are necessary for a better Malaysia.
These are
●Integrity and Accountability: Demonstrating honesty, holding consistent values, and taking responsibility for decisions rather than shifting blame.
●Visionary Thinking: The ability to articulate a clear, forward-thinking plan for the constituency, community and country.
●Empathy and Communication: Actively listening to rakyat to understand their needs and engaging in constructive discourse to foster trust and solidarity.
●Decisiveness and Courage: Making difficult, often unpopular decisions for the greater good after careful analysis, rather than telling the public only what it wants to hear.
●Authenticity: Appearing in touch with everyday life of the grassroots and behaving in a way that is authentic.
●Resilience and Adaptability: Possessing the stamina to handle high-stress situations and the ability to learn from setbacks and criticism.
●Collaboration and Networking: Building bridges to find common ground, managing conflict, and working with others regardless of political leaning or racial affiliation to achieve results.
Politicians need to be reminded of these components before they stand up in their press conference and other public events to comment on the issues making the news.
The record shows that Liu has been a target of the Government with numerous police reports against him since he started his political career. Notable in the past is that the United Malay National Organisation (UMNO) and Barisan National parties have tried to discredit and bring him down in the eyes of the voter base. His critics and detractors have also come from within the DAP. The three books provide a reminder that speaking out will not come without pain.
Whatever the outcome of Liu’s latest move in politics turns out to be, his three books with their trilingual content show the importance of straight shooting rhetoric and principled politics for the nation to advance.
本文观点，不代表《东方日报》立场。
前行动党雪州行政议员。
