patriotism

In less than a year another tragedy strikes MAS, our national flagship airlines yet again. Human lives are lost again and the pain and sorrow is being felt again in every corners of the world. Question has been asked, how will MAS survive this ordeal and continue to remain relevant in the industry.

A minister has plea that all Malaysians should stand side by side with MAS in its hour of darkness. This is definitely a valid plea because as Malaysians we must never abandon our national airlines leaving it free falling into the abyss. This is patriotism and must be cultivated in every Malaysians regardless of race, religion and social status. The next golden question will be; how do we as Malaysians able to help?

Analysis has been done countless of times on MAS and its issues of profitability way before the 2 colossal incidents that befalls it. Based on the analysis, the current business model of MAS bleeds more expenses than its ability to generate revenue. It has been running on losses continuously even though being bailout by the government numerous times. It was always presumed that there are 2 main reasons for the continued failure. One of them is the resistance of the MAS union members to a total organization revamp that can affect benefits cuts and even job cuts. The other reason is lopsided service contracts with external vendors that are charging atrocious fees that chalk up huge expenses.

Now coming back to the minister’s plea, a very curious logic has come to mind, aren’t the MAS union members and those external vendors Malaysians? Aren’t they obliged to become patriotic and save MAS from its hour of darkness? The general Malaysians have done their part from the government bailouts which are taxpayers’ money. Isn’t it time these MAS union members and external vendors do their part as Malaysians?

There are successful case studies that we can learn from for instance Japan Airlines turnaround from bankruptcy into a much leaner-managed airline. Therefore there is still hope for MAS to do a similar turnaround but the catch is Malaysians and this means all Malaysians must stand steadfast by its side.

A quote from John F. Kennedy succinctly sums it up,” Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” God bless Malaysia and its people.

humanity vs progress

“Move out or be fined”, those are the words from a Malaysian minister to the organizations that feed the homeless in KL city center. There are many arguments on the rationale of this move from both sides of the fence. In a nutshell it sounds cruel to deprive the homeless of aid and relief. However, the minister came up with an argument that the homeless creates much problem for the city to thrive, in sense of tourism and cleanliness.

A city is built by its people. No doubt, it will be ideal if the people living in the city able to contribute immensely and effectively for the city to progress. Are the homeless considered a scourge in this sense since they are being seen not contributing in any way? Human resource management has taught us, each individual in regardless of his competence level will be able to contribute in one way or another for the cause. In this case, the homeless are doing odd jobs within the city and without them, who will take up these jobs? A job no matter how menial is still required to be completed to run a city.

We should not just dismiss these homeless aside and writing them off wantonly. In fact, there are so many success stories of homeless people becoming self-sufficient later in their lives. One of the famous one is Chris Gardner, portrayed in the movie "The Pursuit of Happyness". He was homeless with a young son while he was in a finance training program. Therefore we should provide assistance to the homeless in every way we can. They would not be in that state if they have a choice.

As Mahatma Gandhi puts it, “The greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated.”…..more so of its people. God bless Malaysia.

leadership through crisis

Leadership is a trait coveted by many yet not many has the reputation or clout to be in that position. There is always this general conception that a leader is born rather than made. No doubt, a natural born leader is always the best bet as this can be construed as a gift from the divine. It cannot be denied that some leaders can be trained into the role as well. But how do we gauge whether the leadership undertaken is of quality and excellence? There is only one avenue possible to gauge this; through a crisis.

In good times, not much leadership is required as the condition is peaceful and conducive for any undertakings. There are no conflicts or obstacles available to impede progress or well-being of an organization or even a country. Only when a crisis is at hand, then we will see what our leaders are made of and capable of doing. Leadership through crisis is when all the critical elements are meticulously scrutinized and analyzed to ensure the best decision are being made to address the issue. The next course of actions should be effective and efficient to mitigate the crisis and not causing more harm and prolonging the event.

In times of crisis, the military concept of chain of command must be adopted immediately. Democratic means are not effective in crisis handling whereby everyone has their own views and a vote must be put forward. This will delay the response time. The leader must lead the people under his command and not allow them to run around like headless chickens. Those people that are not kept in the loop of information and are not authorized to manage the crisis should be kept out indefinitely. All information must be carefully vetted and statements released must be consistent and without any shred of ambiguities. Decisions taken must be executed promptly without any doubts. This is to create an atmosphere of confidence and credibility in managing the crisis.

Sad to say, our country’s leaders failed miserably in this sense based on their handling of the missing flight MH370 to the extent of being vilified by the international community. It is clearly seen that our leaders are definitely not natural born leaders and substantial training is clearly needed in this area. Hopefully there are not many crisis of this proportion down the road. God bless Malaysia.

why MCA will never be accepted by the malaysian chinese

MCA is trying to regain the trust of the Chinese community in Malaysia. Valiant effort for a party that was nearly decimated in the just concluded General Elections. Chinese votes swung conclusively towards the opposition to the extent our Prime Minister was left dumfounded on what the Chinese actually wants. MCA, once a gigantic party with the prime objective of championing the Chinese rights is left licking its wound in a far corner of Malaysia’s political arena. MCA politicians tried to court the Chinese community with everything possible but still to no avail. What do the Chinese really want?

Malaysian Chinese is no different than all the other Chinese around the world. It is a race that has deep cultural roots within the family spreading across generations. The Chinese emphasizes on its generations to always bring honor and fame to the family name. Thus education and subsequently having a good career is the main ingredient for that objective. Enriching and providing the best possible avenue for growth to their children is always paramount to the Chinese. MCA politicians are themselves Chinese. Their sons and daughters are given the best possible opportunities to grow and this is clearly seen by the achievements of those bravely appearing in the public eye. They are being vilified in the alternative media of being “cronies” and to the extent that their riches are given to them on a silver platter rather than working hard like the rest of the general Chinese people in Malaysia. Does this perception alone riled up the general Chinese? It certainly does not.

The Chinese believe that the parents should always provide the best for their children. Therefore the MCA politicians are not entirely wrong in their actions. No doubt, some of the opportunities are dubious in the sense of corruptive practices. It is still for the benefit of their children. The general Chinese can still accept that to a certain extent. However, when these MCA politicians began to collaborate with the central government in reducing the quality of education and even to the extent of plunging the entire country into a debt-ridden abyss, that’s where the buck stops.

By these actions alone, the MCA politicians are restricting the general Malaysian Chinese from being able to provide the best for their children. Education is the tool to a better life and the country’s financial well-being is essential for career and personal growth. MCA politicians are sending their children abroad for better quality education and doing foreign investments while the general Chinese community is left fumbling in the dark. As the Chinese saying goes, “You don’t break other people’s bowl of rice.”

MCA, the ball is clearly in your court. Change or be changed.