I spent an amusing weekend watching the MCA circus and the total lack of dignity with which affairs proceeded. It was also interesting to follow the coverage of the MCA AGM by the various print media publications.

One local red-top (English-language) had such a high degree of editorialisation that I was amazed it ran reports at all. This paper has its flaws but never before have I seen this behaviour because it is run by a pukka journalist who has supported several socially-conscious causes. But I guess that’s what politics does.

One thing that did strike me though was the issue of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak not attending the AGM. The spin that resulted was truly inventive. It was said that Najib did not attend the AGM because of the boycotts that were taking place.

The official excuse was that he wanted to leave MCA to sort out its matters without interference – a reasonable excuse, I suppose. Most media missed the obvious. That unhappiness in any entity – unhappiness deep enough to cause drastic behaviour – boils down to leadership.

As a leader himself, of the country no less, are we to believe that Najib was na ï ve enough to ignore this glaring point? Ong Tee Keat should be ashamed. A leader who cannot keep his people happy is no leader at all. And he should be even more ashamed that he is remorseless about his role in the prime minister not attending the MCA’s AGM.

If he retains leadership, it will be a disaster. Because when you strip away the camouflaging language, you are left with a person who plays the victim, abdicates responsibility and yes, thinks the prime minister is fool by even trying the boycott spin.

Did he once even intimate how crushing and humiliating it was not to have the PM in attendance? As the leader (rather a misnomer) of the second-largest component party in the coalition, does he think that this embarrassing showcase is a winning strategy for the next general election?

It does not seem like he has given thought to any of this. And if he claims he has, then we have to conclude that he does not care. Do these sound like leadership qualities to anyone? If Ong needs starter guidelines, he can always check with the Boy Scouts.

Najib has behaved like a gentleman. He has shown infinite patience with the goings-on – a certain predecessor of his would have done a fair bit of verbal. Perhaps his decision was to allow free discussion. Or perhaps it was a subtle snub from a man who has great leadership in his blood.

One wonders if he thinks of the days when his father was alive when guests to AGMs, particularly the prime minster, were afforded the highest honour, not just because they deserved it but also because cooperation and care between the parties flowed with genuine abundance.