Joseph Stalin was arguably the most powerful dictator of the 20th century. Anyone who did not agree with him was either tortured or executed. Only his decision and opinions mattered. He led the way he did for the sake of dominance.

The recent Penang state assembly showed us snippets of a dictatorial leadership. When a Barisan Nasional assemblyperson from Pulau Betong tabled a motion against land reclamation in the state assembly, a heated argument broke out between him and Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.

During the debate, Lim arrogantly warned Pakatan Harapan members that if anyone voted for the BN member, he/she would have to pay the price. It is disturbing to witness how much ego someone with limited power can have. I can’t imagine how Lim would react if he gains the federal throne.

The late Karpal Singh once said that although there are no permanent friends or enemies, there must be permanent principles. With this in mind, one DAP member voted against Lim's stand. This action has not gone down well with Lim.

The BN assemblyperson urged public hearings for feedback, opinions, and recommendations before embarking on any reclamation project. Is that something too much to ask for? Lim has made it political by saying it’s a DAP vs BN motion, when actually it is not. Shouldn’t public interest be above all? Or is that rule only applicable in BN-led states, so Pakatan can make noise in the media?

This perhaps explains why pleas of the Selangor people fell on deaf ears with PKR’s new highway development plans. Looks like it is ‘rakyatdiketepikan’.

There was huge public uproar when a recent development plan was raised on the premises of Vivekananda Ashram. Even PKR's Nurul Izzah Anwar voiced concerns. The federal government listened to the people, that included opposition members, and gazetted the ashram as a heritage site. Thank goodness Lim was not the decision maker. He would have got the ashram destroyed simply because an opposition member was fighting for it.

The government nowadays appear to be seeking opinions from the public prior to making huge decisions. We saw the prime minister asking for opinions from everyone with regards to Budget 2016. While self qualified economist who are Malaysian keyboard warriors criticised the budget, international firms applauded the initiatives.

A friend from Singapore once told me that “you Malaysians cannot even manage your own finances well, but will hit social media to advise the government how to financially manage the country”.

Some people are actually defending Lim by saying because he is a good leader, he needs to command his members to follow his orders. Well, Dr Mahathir Mohamad did that for 22 years and today we are bearing the fruits of that regime.

A good leader does not threaten his followers to obey his orders. He does not demand respect; he commands respect. He encourages discussions and expression of thoughts. He analyses, criticizes, and makes a decision together with his people, for his people.

What we see in Lim today is exactly what we saw in Mahathir. No wonder senior Lim does not mind slapping himself in order to lure Mahathir.