And our children's future is bleak....

It comes as no surprise to me when Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Muhyiddin Yassin announced that the teaching of Science and Mathematics in Malaysia will revert to Bahasa Malaysia.

It's what happened when you let political expediency rules over common sense.

So that nobody will say I am one sided, here's the Ministry's argument:
1. Only a small number of teachers has mastered the teaching of Science and Maths in English
2. The percentage of passes for students for the two subjects have dropped since they are taught in English
3. The gap between the performance of those in the rural area and urban Malaysia has widened (i.e. rural students are being disadvantaged as they have poorer mastery of English)

I sympathise with these arguments as much as I sympathise with people who go around saying they can't make a living because they have never gone to school. Actually, that's precisely what many of our youngs will be saying in 10 years time when they can't get a job because they could hardly speak English. Or count to 100.

Some leaders, such as the estwhile Mahathir Mohamad has argued for the teaching of S+M in English to continue as the body of knowledge of these are mostly in English. I will not even go so far.

I have seen with my own eyes how thousands of great students, intelligent kids, are being denied employment because they cannot converse in English. And yes, many of these are rural Malaysians - Malays who believed learning English is an affront to the Malay language, and Chinese and Indians who believed that learning more English will erode their mother tongue.

There is a huge majority out there who believed the teaching of S+M should remain in English. These people are simply too afraid to touch on the raw nerves of the 'nationalists' to express their opinion. When the majority is silent, the minority and extremists rule.

I have been to many conferences including scientific symposia around the world - and in all of these, I have never met a single presenter from Thailand and Indonesia - because their mastery of the English language is so weak, few were brave enough to walk up the podium. And the Malaysians who do present are all, without fail, older academicians who were trained in English from a young age.

For a quick comparison, i typed the word 'genom manusia' in Google, and i get 25,100 responses - and most of them are in Bahasa Indonesia. I tried 'human genome' and I received 6,570,000 responses.

I let the numbers have the last say.

WHO'S SELLING OUT THE CHINESE?
I get equally exasperated when I found out that among those who influenced our dearest Minister of Education are Chinese educationists and Chinese associations. These are now hailed as heroes in the Chinese newspapers and radio talk shows. Their arguments are that by teaching more subjects in English, the importance of Chinese language will be dilluted, and hence the Chinese will loose their heritage and a big part of their culture. I don't disagree.

I am of Chinese descent, but I have never believed that the strength of the Chinese is our language. I am always of the opinion that it is the Chinese ability to adapt and to change with times that has enabled the Chinese civilization to survive for thousands of years, when others such as the Mayans are all but wiped out.

My parents still rue their decision to send my older siblings to Chinese schools. All of them failed to advance beyond Form 3, because they simply could not cope with the teaching of other subjects in English and Bahasa Malaysia when they reached secondary school. The fact that both my parents are illiterate did not help, as there can be no way they could help tutor my older brothers at home in English or Bahasa Malaysia - or on any subject for that matter. My 3rd brother, was luckier, he was sent to a Chinese independent school, where he excelled in all subjects but English and Bahasa Malaysia, and graduated with flying colours in his Senior Middle 3 Exams. Yet, he did not go to university, because we could not afford education in Taiwan, which with his poor mastery of English, was his only option at that time.

My younger sister and I were more fortunate. We were sent to national school where we learned both Bahasa Malaysia and English. In a decision that must have pained my parents, we were both sent to foster homes at the age of 6, so we could learn from people who did go to school, and could tutor and guide us academically.

By denying young Chinese of the ability to master the language of science and technology and of commerce and trade, these 'educationists' and Chinese politicians are doing no less than selling out on the Chinese.

Sneak Preview of SME Solutions Expo 2009

It was setup day today at the SME Solutions Expo 2009. Over 100 exhibitors, and hundreds of people came to setup their products and booths. Some of the booths were of good quality - certainly in the running for Best Booth Design.

Here's a sneak preview of some of the booths. There's hundreds of Special Deals and Discounts for SMEs exclusively at the Expo.

Come and see us!


The huge banner at the Atrium of Mid Valley Exhibition Centre. We had to literally fight with the hall owner (Mid Valley) to get this banner moved here from inside the Hall.


Cyberjaya's booth - one of the nicest booth in the Hall. Come and see for yourself.


Bank Negara Malaysia - find out about the latest financial programmes and grants offered to SMEs.


HSBC is offering discounts off trade products and refinancing of property loans to SMEs exclusively at the Expo. Come and talk to them.


The SME Magazine booth. Work-in-progress at the booth when we snapped this pix. 'Fight Back' SME Ad Package from RM 3,888 for 3-insertions exclusively for first time advertisers at SME Solutions Expo 2009. And get your subscription at the Expo. 1-year subscription to Malaysia's best selling business magazine for only RM 60 per annum and receive over RM 40 worth of instant gifts

Modern Slaves

The recent announcement by Minister of Human Resources, S. Subramaniam, that maids be given compulsory one day leave per week is long overdue. What is not said is that this is a standing ruling which has largely gone unenforced by the Ministry.

We have heard, read and to some, seen, so much injustice being done to foreign workers that we cannot be blamed to think that perhaps the government condone slavery in its modern form. True, the abused may be in the minority. And true, perhaps the media in countries like Indonesia may have blown the issue out of proportion. But what is also true is that these abuse do happen, and a lot more often than we will admit.

Maids being tortured, and physically and emotionally abused are only the tip of the iceberg. What has been reported occasionally, and happen every day, are foreign workers in factories and plantations working 16 hour days, salary (some as low as RM 300) illegally deducted for accommodation and food. And because of the illicit trade of these workers by unscrupulous agents in cohort with greedy business people, some are not even paid any salary for the first one year, purportedly to cover immigration and transportation costs to bring them to Malaysia. And so far, we are only talking about the legal workers.

The plight of illegal workers are even more heart wrenching. It's a long standing tale among the Indonesian workers community of how one renowned property developer has a worker killed because he was leading a group of abused workers to rise against their employer; and when this was reported to the authorities, we did what we usually do, arrest the complainants for illegal entry, put them in an illegal workers camp, convince them what they saw were not real and then deport them to their home country. Of course, this is hearsay and may be the work of over-imaginative minds, but are they really that hard to imagine? Now, who do we blame when some of these abused workers, many of whom borrowed heavily to come to Malaysia and thrown out of jobs, decide to turn to theft and robbery to put food into mouths?

Ask any foreign worker - legal or illegal, who they fear the most, and you inevitably get that four letter word - RELA. While the idea behind this quasi-police unit may be noble, what really happens on the ground may not. I've seen suspiciously non-Malaysian looking men donning the uniforms, which puts into question both the admission criteria and the discipline and self-regulation of this organisation. It has been widely perceived among foreign workers, justly or unjustly, that RELA condones its members to use unnecessary force and extort bribes for not arresting illegal workers. Of course, we pray these are just lies. But they are enough to instill hatred among even new foreign workers of Malaysians, uniformed or otherwise.

MORE THAN JUST A DAY OFF NEEDED
While a day off a week may be a good start, it is hardly enough. We don't need more laws and feel good press conferences, but the political will to cut off the rot, starting with quasi-police units that some political parties rely on to deliver the votes. Followed by local kingpins / politicians who make money from the misery of these foreign workers. Then go after the unscrupulous agents, many of whom are no better than pimps and human traffickers. More importantly, give one Ministry - preferably the Ministry of Human Resources, the full authority and responsibility to deal with every aspect of foreign worker employment - from immigration, health inspection to licensing and enforcement, to minimise abuse.

Now that we have a new Premier and a new Home Minister, it's about time we put things in order.

SME 2nd Anniversary Gala

I would like to thank all friends, supporters and government officials who joined us at Shangri-La Hotel Kuala Lumpur for our 2nd Anniversary Gala.

Your support has given the entire SME team the inspiration and stamina to continue working hard to delivering a magazine that represents you and your aspirations.

Thank you for sharing with us this beautiful two years and we hope to have you with us for years to come.

May god bless you.

And the Centre of the Universe Is In…..

When the first Europeans arrived in China in the 13th century, they were truly amused when told that they have arrived in the ‘Middle Kingdom’. After all, haven’t they reached as far East as they could possibly have?

The course of history as they run is clear to all of us. Geopolitical observer, Fareed Zakaria noted in his book ‘The Post American World’ that the three power shifts in the past 500 years are the rise of the Western world (15th – 18th century), the rise of the US (19th – 20th century) and the rise of the rest (21st century). Yet, lest those of us in Asia has this fake sense of coming grandeur, the heart of the world – political, economics, military and even cultural are still 10,000 km away in Washington DC. And despite what many would argue, that’s unlikely to change anytime soon – certainly not in our lifetime.

The GDP of the United States is still almost double of China – Asia’s largest economy and over three times that of Japan, Asia’s second largest. Even assuming the impossible – that China continue to grow at an average of 7% (the projected growth rate this year) while the United States’ economy remain stagnant, it will take a whole decade for China to be on par economically with the United States, and another 40 years for China’s GDP per capita to catch up with the United States. And in the meantime, the new Asian tigers – China and India (or Chindia – a term we Malaysians have long been using before Indian politician Jairam Ramesh usurp the term in 2005) would have to content with the rise of other Asian countries, Latin American economies and the emergence of stronger and hopefully more politically stable African nations. Not to mention the military might that is hard, if not impossible, to surpass (the United States and Europe collectively accounts for two third of the global expenditure on military hardware and personnel).

The shift of power to the East is unmistakeable, mind you, but just not as miraculous and effortless as many of us have been led to believe. The most challenging years remain ahead. China’s call for a new international financial system prior to the recent G20 meet in London fizzled out faster than the suggestion could even take root. The fact that it has almost all its reserves in US dollar probably served as a reality check.

Having said that, the markets and regulations are changing at a rate not seen since the industrial revolution. So much so, that I begin to comprehend how people living during the gold rush of the 19th century must have felt. Brought on by the internet, the retirement of the baby boomers, the emerging economic leadership of the Gen-X and ultimately, greed: the international financial markets are experiencing a flux like never seen before. Most people call it a global recession. To some, including this humble writer – it’s an overdue correction of a lopsided system designed to keep the centre of the universe exactly where the sole superpower want them to be.

We have been playing so hard in the field created by others that we fail to see that the goalpost and rules of game can be changed anytime, rendering what we know completely useless. Some preach the mastering of Western ideas, technologies and ways of doing business. What is truly needed is innovation leadership – the championship of ideas and thoughts that will allow us to redefine how the world operates. A new international financial system based with on an alternative to the dollar would be a nice start.

It would of course be good to be in the thick of actions, to be the centre of anything. For that to ever happen, we need more than just unbroken economic growth. Nothing short of a ‘United Asia’ or a complete dismantling of the current financial system would result in a real shift in power to Asia. Otherwise, all the gains are nothing more than proxies for the continued dominance of the West.

We live in interesting times indeed.

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This is an article appearing in SME Magazine June 2009. The writer is currently in Beijing, China in the official entourage of Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak.

The HR Legacy

“The greatest legacy is that which benefits the widest number of people for the longest period without limit to value”.

Many of us are so caught up with daily work that we often fail to see the purpose of our very existence. We may argue that we are hired to do a job, to get things done – nothing more or less. For many of us, that works just fine, as that leaves us with room for our family and other things that are important to us.

Yet, for many of us who are HR leaders, the profession is no longer about getting things done. It is about leaving a lasting legacy. But again, that’s something that many of us would think wishfully, yet few would ever achieve. Those of us who are not in a position of organisational leadership may think that legacies are for CEOs; after all Jack Welch and Lee Iacocca are not HR directors. But you are far from right.

All of us, regardless of our place in the organisation and society have the ability to leave a lasting legacy. As HR professionals, we can create values so powerful that we will be remembered for generations. Leaders and legends come from all walks of life. But they have a few things in common: strong personal values, inextinguishable passion, and a burning desire to succeed. Key here is having strong personal values as opposed to merely supporting business values – to be able to define ourselves and our organisations instead of being defined by the rules that we sometimes inevitably help create.

ARE YOU UP TO IT?
However, many of the legends as we know them – people we read in business school textbook, people whose name adorn great halls and public buildings, have made sacrifices so great many of us would shudder to even consider. Many of these have shattered families, spouses who cannot live along with a seemingly selfish character, children who grew up never seeing their parent. Many of the greats lived a life misunderstood, hated even, and generally fighting to correct the perception. So how would you juggle this mismatch of public perception and reality?

Often, however, we can create our own legacy by just doing what we do, but a little differently, a little more passionately. That way, we leave behind a lasting history – be it in the systems that we create, the values that we instil, the culture that we build or simply, the leaders that we help mould.

When we set out to create HR Asia, for example, we know we are not just merely creating a magazine, but a mean to create a profession that is rich in leadership in thoughts and actions. Perhaps, that will be the legacy that we will leave behind.

Ultimately as HR professionals, all of us have a choice. To live a conventional life, or to leave behind a legacy. But if we live our daily life with the conscious effort to create a legacy in whatever we do, then we are already a step closer to creating one.

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This appeared in my note on the editor's page of the latest HR Asia. To get a copy, visit your nearest bookstore, or alternatively if you are a senior HR professional, email chro@hrasiamedia.com for free subscription.

Long Tail or Tall Tale?

There’s so much talks about the ‘long tail strategy’ of late that if you are like me, you would start wondering – does it work? Well, I tell you upfront that I am never a fan of ‘theories’. Theories are for academics, not entrepreneurs. And ‘The Long Tail’, to me, is nothing more than a theory.

A bit of backgrounder is in order here. Chris Anderson, editor of Wired magazine, made a huge splash with The Long Tail, which was first published by the magazine in 2004 and then as a book in 2006. In a nutshell, the long tail theory says that the abundance and ease of choice on the Internet has shifted sales potential from a small number of mainstream "hits" (at the front of the demand curve) toward a near-endless number of lesser-known choices at the tail (hence a ‘long’ tail).

Furthermore, because retail economics restrict stores to carrying only the best-selling products, items that are new in the market and have either lost their appeal or were never popular in the mainstream are pushed out - along with their sunk costs. But then come the Internet, with its infinite "shelf space", making every product discoverable and ready to be purchased. The book has become something of a holy document in the Internet community where companies ("from Amazon to iTunes," says Anderson on his website) want to find a way to sell old songs, movies, videos, ringtones, on-demand books and television shows from their infinite Web warehouses. Case studies flew up everywhere. Locally, we even have pseudo-experts claiming they are now experts on long tails and making all kinds of business consultations to companies.

The new ‘Blue Ocean Strategy’?
Personally, I thought it is a little bit of an oversell. Or rather, I thought the concept vastly overdramatized the effect of a small minority of "committed seekers" dedicated enough to something (comic books, copies of this magazine signed by me, etc...) to search for and purchase what the majority generally do not want. For the sake of democracy and capitalism, I sure like hell hope they are right.

However, when I looked around, in fact, it seemed that the rest of us were doing quite the opposite. The New York Times' Most Blogged, Most Emailed and Most Searched lists. Alexa’s ratings. Top TV Shows, Top Music, Top Movies on iTunes. Amazon.com's Sales Rank, and its Bestsellers list (updated hourly). Even my local DVD pirate has got a list of ‘must watch’ with him. The Internet appeared to be herding users more aggressively toward blockbusters, NOT away from them. So what long tail are we talking about?

Want some proof that the long tail is nothing more than long tale? There's a professor at Harvard Business School who has researched the long tail. Based on sales data for online video rentals and songs, Professor Anita Elberse verifies what I think: not only do hits continue to be just as important online as they are offline, but the Web is actually amplifying demands for hits.

Elberse also discusses what she and others view as an incorrect subjective assumption that Anderson made when building the long tail, which is the idea that people want to go their own way. They don't want to listen, watch or read what everyone else does, and would rather search along the Internet-superhighway for that piece of individuality. Who is he kidding? Elberse cites additional research showing how intensely social people really are: how we like sharing experiences with others and that the mere fact that others like something makes us like it even more. Just go to your Facebook account for a case study in experience sharing.

And Elberse and I are not alone. Neil Howe, who probably coined the term ‘Millennials’, draws a broad distinction between Gen X and this new influential group - the generation driving the most development and change on the Web. Among other things, while Boomers and Gen X "individuated," born-in-the-80s Millennials gravitate toward the social: chat rooms, instant messaging, Facebook. They enjoy being with each other, forming friendships and shared preferences. Rather than acting independently, Millennials who spend time customizing content on the Web do so for the purpose of sharing it with others (hence the YouTube phenomenon). The need to be accepted and conforming is never stronger than with the millennials.

Howe says it is and will be "the most connected generation in world history," and that their preferences will only solidify the popularity of mainstream, popular brands and products. Finally, Elberse and The Wall Street Journal's Lee Gomes also believe that the Internet community unconsciously may have wanted to back the theory because it flattered its citizenry. Long tail strength would fortify the value of new digital assets created outside the walls of institutional, cultural power. And bloggers are cool, say the Long Tail worshippers, because the long tail promises an audience for just about any goofy comment out there.

This is all probably true, but it's a little too much of a bullshit for me to buy.

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Read more of the same by William Ng in this month's SME Magazine!