COMMENT More than just the culmination of the hopes and dreams of ardent Real Time Strategy (RTS) computer gaming fans, the movie Warcraft: The Beginning, can also serve as a valuable lesson in statecraft, for Malaysia's ruling political party BN and the fledgling Pakatan Harapan opposition coalition that opposes it.

Like other RTS genre titans; Red Alert, Command and Conquer and Starcraft, the Warcraft brand is an iconic name in computer gaming circles, especially for 'mature' gamers like the writer, who had played the game in its earliest incarnation.

Thus, when the gaming title joined the latest slew of games to have made the transition to the silver screen, it was a cause for much joy and jubilation.

But the tear-streaked cries of gamer ecstasy aside, as they see Lothar, Medivh, Llane, Khadgar and Garona on-screen, as well as the dire-wolves, armoured steeds and fighting gyphons thus made flesh, there resounds more serious lessons for those discerning enough to get beyond the origin story, of one of the all-time greatest gaming hits.

Responsibility of leadership

For the BN, the best lesson that this movie tells, is on the responsibility of leadership and how privilege is not its right, but is something that must be earned by truly safeguarding the public trust, that props up their seat of rule.

Embodied in the actions of King Llane is the lesson that a leader must always think of the hardships and sufferings of the rakyat, and do everything in his or her power to resolve any calamity that had befallen the country, be it economic troubles, or the inter-dimensional invasion of not so jolly axe-wielding green giants.

More than just spew rhetoric and mouth non-committal political wish-wash, a leader must put himself or herself at the forefront of the fighting, not hide behind a bevy of less than capable ministers in an expanding cabinet, who dispense sweet nothings to the leader and reverse discharges of intestinal high temperature gasses out of their mouths to others.

Another lesson that the BN fellows should pay heed to, is that the armed forces of the land, should be used to combat the enemies of the kingdom like the invading orcish horde, not to oppress and terrorise the rakyat they should be protecting. The same applies to the laws of the land.

Bur perhaps the greatest lesson for the higher ups in BN is King Llane's ultimate sacrifice, risking his own life in the final battle to free his people from captivity, and in the end sacrificing himself to save Garona's life, and to lay the foundation of what hopefully will be future peace.

Leadership is not about being in control, but about giving yourself up for the betterment of all the people and the land. Something that needs to percolate up to the BN leadership structure to the man at the top, who seems to be doing all he can to save himself at the expense of all of us.

Stop the back-stabbing

As for the Harapan opposition pact, their lesson is one of unity and to avoid in-fighting, where its party leadership spends so much time to stab each other in the back, or are so mired in endless bickering, that they cannot present an effective front.

Thus was the bickering between factions mired the kingdom's initial defensive moves as the elves, dwarves and the other human factions bickered at the council table, as the orcs rampaged through the land. A fate similar perhaps to that being faced by the less than united Harapan.

Without unity, there is no hope for Harapan, and with leaders inside the party who betray their own, then it will face the same fate as the orc rebel Durotan, whose noble desire to fight against the greater evil of the death-bringing Fel, was waylaid by the betrayal of his own second in command.

One wonders if the Harapan parties are also going to fail like Durotan and see their party destroyed or scattered to the winds like Duratan's clan, the Frostwolves. All for the betrayal and self-ambition of one man.

But the most important lesson for both sides, is perhaps how power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. A lesson that is told by the corruption of the orcish Shaman Gul'dan, led down the dark warlock path by his thirst for power, a corruption that even overtook the land and the very soil as he dealt his life-fueled death magic.

The same dangers too exist for those given wide powers to protect all that is good. As shown by the similar corruption of the Guardian Medivh, who was supposed to protect the land with his power, but ended up betraying the very people he was sworn to protect, after he was seduced by the corrupting influence of the Fel.

Thus are the lessons for our leaders and would-be leaders, on how those entrusted with power should properly act, and how only in unity can we persevere together in peace.

We can only hope that as we are entertained by the movie, so would its lessons seep into our hearts as well as that of those who lead us, or those who presume, or seek to.

If not, we are as doomed to sufferings as the disunited kingdoms of Azeroth was, as those who presume to lord over us are as doomed as the orcs, whose self-destructive quest for more land and power will led to but destruction and dust.

HAZLAN ZAKARIA is a member of the Malaysiakini team.