All of you would have been following the latest news on PKR's Elizabeth Wong with much interest. What surprises me (or maybe it shouldn't) is the call by Datuk Seri Khir Toyo for her to resign on 'moral grounds' and in his words '... if it’s her boyfriend as rumoured, it is morally wrong for a single woman to allow a man access to her room'.
Lest you forget, this is the same genius that wanted grocery stores such as 7-11 in Selangor to stop selling condoms as 'children might mistake them as lollipops and buy them'.
Datuk Seri, I hope you have been misquoted by the press again (as you've often said you are, despite multiple papers quoting the same words), because I still have not given up the idea of voting for BN again.
I am happy to note that my former MP, Chew Mei Fun is one of the first to condemn the circulations of the said photos. That's proof that not all Selangor BN 'leaders' are jack*ss.
God save the state from idiots and chauvinists.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Friday, February 13, 2009
Bravo Malaysia!
Through some miracle (called the Global Recession), Malaysia has retained our 21st position on the WEF World Competitiveness Ranking.
On the IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook (which competes with WEF's ranking, and in my opinion more comprehensive and representative), we've actually gone up 2 notches to 19th position. The improvement is mainly due to efforts of the Pemudah committee and an improved bureaucracy (which I think deserves a Malaysian-version of the Nobel Prize for impressing me to no ends).
But wait. Our neighbours are catching up too. Thailand, despite their tendency to change their governments, have moved up 6 ranks to the 27th. Indonesia has moved up to 51st (up 3 notches). Philippines is now 40th (from 45th).
And before you start gloating, hold it. Singapore is still at the 2nd position, right behind the US. And if the US is not careful, our neighbour down-south might just become the World's Most Competitive Economy this year.
Sadly, there's so much we can do to improve our competitiveness as a nation. And we refuse to go down that path for political expediency. They are called transparency and meritocracy.
After years of industry dialogues and 'national economic consultations', we still refuse to accept that we need to break down the clutches called 'government aid' and 'preferential treatment' that are holding us back.
My erstwhile advisor, Tan Sri Navaratnam said today that he is “surprised and embarrassed" becauseMalaysia is ranked behind countries such as Indonesia , Thailand , Pakistan , Bangladesh and Sri Lanka
Bravo Malaysia, for getting more competitive. But I am not celebrating, because I know we could have done so much better.
On the IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook (which competes with WEF's ranking, and in my opinion more comprehensive and representative), we've actually gone up 2 notches to 19th position. The improvement is mainly due to efforts of the Pemudah committee and an improved bureaucracy (which I think deserves a Malaysian-version of the Nobel Prize for impressing me to no ends).
But wait. Our neighbours are catching up too. Thailand, despite their tendency to change their governments, have moved up 6 ranks to the 27th. Indonesia has moved up to 51st (up 3 notches). Philippines is now 40th (from 45th).
And before you start gloating, hold it. Singapore is still at the 2nd position, right behind the US. And if the US is not careful, our neighbour down-south might just become the World's Most Competitive Economy this year.
Sadly, there's so much we can do to improve our competitiveness as a nation. And we refuse to go down that path for political expediency. They are called transparency and meritocracy.
After years of industry dialogues and 'national economic consultations', we still refuse to accept that we need to break down the clutches called 'government aid' and 'preferential treatment' that are holding us back.
My erstwhile advisor, Tan Sri Navaratnam said today that he is “surprised and embarrassed" because
Bravo Malaysia, for getting more competitive. But I am not celebrating, because I know we could have done so much better.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Are We Doing Enough for the Economy?
US President Barrack Hussein Obama announced a US$ 1 trillion (RM 3,620,000,000,000) rescue plan to move the country out of its worst economic crisis in 70 years. That's almost 7% of the country's GDP.
We will not ask where the US government will find that kind of money, short of printing them. Even if the Congress approves the plan, economists are already arguing that the US$ 1 trillion is not enough. Some are proposing as much as US$ 20 trillion. Yes, you read that right.
Nearer to home, China announced a stimulus plan of about US$ 600 billion or about 8% of its GDP (not 16% as some mainstream newspapers erroneously reported).
In Malaysia, Finance Minister Dato' Sri Najib Tun Razak announced RM 7 billion in a stimulus package last December. He's scheduled to announce a second stimulus package of about RM 11 billion anytime now. I've said recently in this blog and on Radio 24, that RM 18 billion is a little over 1% of our GDP, and is clearly far from enough. What we are facing is not just a currency crisis like in the '97 - '98. What we have now is a global recession and severe credit crunch. And unlike the US and Europe (or even China), we are relatively resilient and distanced from the source of the crisis. Perhaps this has lulled the government into believing that the stimulus packages are sufficient. It is not.
Because our banking sector is still relatively liquid and our fundamentals are still strong, we need measures that differ from that of the US and Europe. The keyword is confidence building.
People has begun to panic, due to lack of clear communications from the government. People, like you and I, has been hearing bad, scary economic news through the internet, blogs, etc. As a result, businesses stop their plans to expand and freeze all capital expenditure. Consumers opt for cheaper items and delay buying houses and cars. Employees worry about their jobs and start searching for new ones. The end result is a complete breakdown of confidence. If this continue, the economy will grind to a halt, and true enough, we will be in a recession deeper than any. It's self fulfilling prophecy.
What we really need is a huge and bold (or shock and awe, yes - goodbye Bush) stimulus package to the tune of 30 - 50 billion ringgit. We need sustained government spending on a scale so large that people forget there’s a recession. We should bring the 10th Malaysian Plan projects forward. We cannot worry about a budget deficit or inflation from pumping more money into the markets. This is no time for fiscal prudence. We need bold, unconventional measures like we did during the Asian financial crisis. And the funds should be spread across as many industries as possible, not just the infrastructure / construction industry - hoping that it will trigger recovery in other sectors.
More importantly, there must be MERITOCRACY AND TRANSPARENCY in how these funds are disbursed. Without that, please, don't waste our money and time.
We will not ask where the US government will find that kind of money, short of printing them. Even if the Congress approves the plan, economists are already arguing that the US$ 1 trillion is not enough. Some are proposing as much as US$ 20 trillion. Yes, you read that right.
Nearer to home, China announced a stimulus plan of about US$ 600 billion or about 8% of its GDP (not 16% as some mainstream newspapers erroneously reported).
In Malaysia, Finance Minister Dato' Sri Najib Tun Razak announced RM 7 billion in a stimulus package last December. He's scheduled to announce a second stimulus package of about RM 11 billion anytime now. I've said recently in this blog and on Radio 24, that RM 18 billion is a little over 1% of our GDP, and is clearly far from enough. What we are facing is not just a currency crisis like in the '97 - '98. What we have now is a global recession and severe credit crunch. And unlike the US and Europe (or even China), we are relatively resilient and distanced from the source of the crisis. Perhaps this has lulled the government into believing that the stimulus packages are sufficient. It is not.
Because our banking sector is still relatively liquid and our fundamentals are still strong, we need measures that differ from that of the US and Europe. The keyword is confidence building.
People has begun to panic, due to lack of clear communications from the government. People, like you and I, has been hearing bad, scary economic news through the internet, blogs, etc. As a result, businesses stop their plans to expand and freeze all capital expenditure. Consumers opt for cheaper items and delay buying houses and cars. Employees worry about their jobs and start searching for new ones. The end result is a complete breakdown of confidence. If this continue, the economy will grind to a halt, and true enough, we will be in a recession deeper than any. It's self fulfilling prophecy.
What we really need is a huge and bold (or shock and awe, yes - goodbye Bush) stimulus package to the tune of 30 - 50 billion ringgit. We need sustained government spending on a scale so large that people forget there’s a recession. We should bring the 10th Malaysian Plan projects forward. We cannot worry about a budget deficit or inflation from pumping more money into the markets. This is no time for fiscal prudence. We need bold, unconventional measures like we did during the Asian financial crisis. And the funds should be spread across as many industries as possible, not just the infrastructure / construction industry - hoping that it will trigger recovery in other sectors.
More importantly, there must be MERITOCRACY AND TRANSPARENCY in how these funds are disbursed. Without that, please, don't waste our money and time.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Perak Falls, More to Go Down?
Post March 2008, I predicted that the PR Perak government will only last a single term. The Chinese voters (except the hard core DAP supporters in Cantonese speaking Kinta Valley) voted out of frustration more than anything else. Ditto the Malay and Indian voters. But noone, not even the hastily put together Pakatan Rakyat expected the BN to lose the state. For many in Perak, UMNO and MCA have done a good job in developing the state. Then MB Tajol Rosli was loved by many, Malays and non-Malays, even though he may not be exactly loved within his own party. That a PAS MB was installed, and the perceived 'arrogance' of some PKR and DAP leaders did not help. This led to many Perakians secretly hoping they did not vote for PR after all.
Of course now we know the PR state government is not likely to last even till the next election. Whilst I may not agree with the situations and political manouvers leading to the current impasse, I think its just fast forwarding what is inevitable.
Is this a prelude to other state governments under the PR changing hands via the same method? Kelantan is rock solid, and if you have been to Penang lately, DAP is well entrenched now. Selangor will be the real battle ground next elections. Whilst I can find little fault with MB Khalid's government, I can tell you there's plenty of ramblings on the ground - even in PJU / DU where I stay. If the state leaders - especially PKR and DAP, don't deliver on their election promises, Selangor will be hard to keep.
But by wresting Perak via defections, BN may have just burned whatever moral authority they have left. If they have waited patiently and continue to work on their service centres, Perak is likely to be theirs next elections anyway. Now, we'll be watching a battle royale in Perak and Selangor come next GE.
We live in very interesting times indeed.
Of course now we know the PR state government is not likely to last even till the next election. Whilst I may not agree with the situations and political manouvers leading to the current impasse, I think its just fast forwarding what is inevitable.
Is this a prelude to other state governments under the PR changing hands via the same method? Kelantan is rock solid, and if you have been to Penang lately, DAP is well entrenched now. Selangor will be the real battle ground next elections. Whilst I can find little fault with MB Khalid's government, I can tell you there's plenty of ramblings on the ground - even in PJU / DU where I stay. If the state leaders - especially PKR and DAP, don't deliver on their election promises, Selangor will be hard to keep.
But by wresting Perak via defections, BN may have just burned whatever moral authority they have left. If they have waited patiently and continue to work on their service centres, Perak is likely to be theirs next elections anyway. Now, we'll be watching a battle royale in Perak and Selangor come next GE.
We live in very interesting times indeed.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
HR Professionals: The World’s Most Hated People?
I don’t think this is news to you. Everyone in every organisation hates HR professionals. Maybe it’s not universally true, but it is generally so. And during times like these, when we have to play the broom, down-sizing, right-sizing and generally keep our organisations lean and mean by getting rid of employees, we have certainly been moving up the ‘hate-o-meter’.
All of us know that HR can be a thankless job. Do it well, and colleagues and bosses expect more of the same. Do it badly, and we are the scapegoat for anything that’s rotten in the organisation. When there are happy news to announce, we are but scriptwriters for CEOs and perhaps the PR-types. But when there’s a bad news to announce, we’re suddenly the official spokesperson of the organisation.
This hate tag is unlikely to go away anytime soon as well. By definition, our constituents are most unpredictable – ‘human being’. Unlike finance who deals with numbers, and production who deals with machines, we are faced everyday with emotions, irrationality, cultural differences, etc. On top of that, we have bosses and investors to deal with, and governments and unions to worry over. With so much juggling to do, we can’t really play the Mr. Good Guy role, can we?
HR – THE MOST LOVED PEOPLE IN ORGANISATIONS?
A lot of these hatred are misplaced, as you would know. In most cases, we are powerless to correct the perception. However, I would like to think that we can, if we want to. Through the 3Cs of communications, commitment and compassion.
If we learn to better communicate the reasons for many of our actions and decisions, our stakeholders will be better prepared to understand our roles, and hence, alleviate some of the misgivings. If we can show compassion in delivering the bad news (read Cassandra’s article on page 46) and in our everyday dealings with employees, perhaps we can become the most loved people in the organisations (like many HR professionals already are!). Remember how HR was once considered the ‘mother hen’ within organisations – the place to go to with your grievances, personal or work-related? Perhaps technology and the need to keep up with other organisational functions have dimmed this role – making HR the last place to go to! A lot of the perceived unfairness – that HR professionals are henchmen of financial controllers and CEOs can be corrected if we show stronger commitment to justice: if we uphold what is good for the organisation in the long term rather than immediate issues. Yes, easier said than done, I know. But we can’t continue being ‘the most hated department’ if we are to progress as a profession.
TALENT MANAGEMENT
Since this issue is about talent management, perhaps we should put first priority to managing talents within HR. We are expected to acquire and retain the best talents for the organisation. How about starting with our own departments? It’s time HR are staffed by the brightest of candidates. Not just future HR VPs, but future CEOs and captains of industry. That’s talent management. And a challenge worth taking up.
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This article appeared in the Editor's Note of HR Asia Vol 2. For more articles on HR across Asia, get a copy from your nearest bookstores - now available in Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Thailand, Indonesia and Hong Kong. If you are a senior HR professional - email chroclub@hrasiamedia.com for free subscription.
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