KUALA LUMPUR: The true test of leadership is not whether a leader becomes more prominent or popular, but whether the institution they leave behind is stronger and more trusted than when they inherited it, says Chief Justice Tun Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh.
Speaking at the inaugural Tun Zaki Azmi Lecture titled Leading with Courage, Stewarding Justice, Wan Ahmad Farid said leaders must be prepared to make difficult and sometimes unpopular decisions in the long-term interests of the institutions they serve.
“I have asked myself, more times than I can count, the question that I think defines every serious leader: Am I leaving this better than I found it?
“Not more prominent, not more celebrated, certainly not more popular. Better. More trusted. More worthy of the faith placed in it by people who have nowhere else to turn.
“That question has never left me. You know what it means to hold the line when the line is being tested, the loneliness of a decision that is right but not popular, and the discipline it takes to serve the long term when the short term is pressing in from every direction,” he said in his speech yesterday.
Named in honour of Tun Zaki Azmi, Malaysia’s sixth Chief Justice, the lecture series was established to recognise his contributions to the administration of justice, institutional development and public service.
The launch also marked the commencement of the Leadership and Stewardship Initiative, aimed at promoting responsible leadership, strengthening institutional trust and preserving the lessons of distinguished leaders for future generations.
Wan Ahmad Farid said leadership was not about prestige or popularity, but about ensuring public institutions remained resilient, credible and worthy of public confidence.
“Every person in this room who carries responsibility, who has felt the weight of institutional leadership, who has asked themselves whether they are leaving things better than they found them, your work matters.
“The decisions you make in quiet rooms, under pressure, without applause, matter. The wisdom you have built through those decisions is not yours alone to keep.
“It belongs to all of us, to this community and to the next generation of leaders who will inherit what we build here and who deserve to inherit something worthy of their dedication.”
Wan Ahmad Farid also cautioned against allowing valuable institutional knowledge to disappear when experienced leaders retire.
“Leaders retire, and when they do, something goes with them, quietly and without announcement, that we can never fully recover,” he said.
Valuable lessons gained from navigating crises, managing competing interests and leading organisations under pressure could be lost without mechanisms to pass them on to future generations, he warned.
