April Fool

The origin.. some says when King Charles IX of France change 1st day of the year from 1st April to 1st January some didnt change and stayed on with 1st April. Those who continued with 1st April were taunted and called april fools. Every where people not to say celebrate but many people do practical jokes on friends and family members. Normal ones are somebody looking for u, either your frens or teachers. Some jokes will be too extreme that it hurts you and takes time for you to forgive your fren.

Note Have you ever being caught by april fool jokes.

UMNO Assembly - New cabinet line-up

The results for the top posts in UMNO had already been known. Now left with the announcement of the new cabinet line-up. I really hope that leaders who are matured, intelligent, professional and sincerely want to lead and fight for the rakyat are chosen as cabinet ministers. We don't want hypocrites and unimaginable characters being chosen. There are many who want personal glory and not the country's glory.

Those who won in the UMNO elections does not necessarily mean that they are good. In UMNO election itself there are many queries and doubts whether it truly reflects the wants and views of the grassroots UMNO members.

Najib said give a clean and good SAF. I think now its time for him to choose his own SAF. I pray to ALL MIGHTY GOD that he is given ease and peace of mind to choose the right ones. This cabinet line-up is crucial not only to lead the country against all the current economic turmoil but importantly face the rakyat confidently in the next general election. Rakyat is watching.

How to bring people together as a team

Since i have been writing in this blog, I managed to throw my ideas and personal views. Apart from that, other people can comment, agree or disagree with the views and thots put in here. I really don't know how many people read my blog. Whether this is really an interesting site to visit and spend some valuable time reading whatever that is written. I guess some of the visitors or readers are my own officers. Surely, i encourage them to read and give ideas. I don't expect to agree to all the things that i have written here. Coz i may be wrong and they are right. I'm a open-minded person, can take jokes, can receive and accept other people's ideas.

Having said all this, managing human beings is tough. To manage 100 cows is easier that 3 guys/gals. People can't agree with one another is the major thing that i'm facing. Personality clash, differing views and ideas. All this is happening not with me but among themselves. There are guys and gals who are fond of taking unnecessary medical leaves. There are people who often come late to work. These are some discipline problems.

The personality clash is another bigger problem where individuals within the division can't see eye to eye. There are people often argue among themselves clearly indicating the differing views between them. There are also guys (cancerous) spreading things accusing other people of things they didnt do. I know them who they are.

I thot in the 20th century all these are gone. People are matured enough to understand one another. Can exchange views and ideas professionally. Working as a team to solve issues and problems. Success of the division means more than success of individuals.

But I'm wrong. People think of themselves first than the organization. They think they are always right. They are doing the right thing. They are the cleverest person on earth. Wow. I can go on and on. Quoting things happening around me and things that i hear.

But that's enough for now. But readers tell me any brilliant ideas on how to overcome or do away with these issues or cancerous people???

Eateries in Putrajaya - Not Much choice

Not much of a choice when u wann go for lunch in Putrajaya. I can count by fingers on the number choices available. When my friend from KL asked what good restaurants u have in Putrajaya. I found quite tough to answer him. He heard alot about Alamanda and thot that there are many good eating places over here. i told him in alamanda its mostly fast food and food court except for one or two restaurants such as penang village. We have the putrajaya clubhouse but the service is very slow and food not that fantastic either. Then we have the exclusive seafood restaurant by the lakeside its quite nice and the food is good but the price is high. Of course, you have other smaller Mamak and Malay restaurants.The newest one is the Chakra Indian restaurant.

I think Cyberjaya got a better choice from streetmal, padi and kopitiam, vege reastaurant as well as the clubhouse restaurant.

I think Putrajaya need more shopping malls and restaurants.

Mini budget is over- Main Budget is coming

We have just tabled the Mini Budget on 10 March 2009 and the debate is still going on in Parliament, supposed to be over by mid-April. Then the whole cycle begins again for the 2010 Budget. I'm still wondering what will be the focus. The global economic crisis is till not over yet and the impact on Malaysian economy is still very much yet to be over. Some says by the third quarter of 2009 everything will be ok. I doubt so. Even if things get better it will take sometimes to fully recover.

So what shall we do - Mr Saturday and Ms Sexy Mama any advice, ideas or views

UMNO GENERAL ASSEMBLY - TIME FOR A CHANGE

In a few days time we will have new cabinet members and Najib leading the country. I really hope this is the time for a change. UMNO now, is at its weakest point since its establishment but it is still relevant to Malaysian politics. Only UMNO and Barisan can lead Malaysia to its glory. I sound like a staunch UMNO and Barisan supporter but I'm not. Like I said, i'm a thinker and analyst. But this is reality in Malaysian politics that no other party or coalition government can rule much better compared to UMNO and Barisan. I say so because of 2 reasons:

Firstly, UMNO and Barisan has come a long way in Malaysian politics. They have some good leaders and also young leaders from the Youth and Puteri wings. On the other hand, the oppositions dont have much choice. They may have Anwar, Lim Kit Siang and Nik Aziz, and other than this they don't have good and visionary leaders to lead the country.

Secondly, The coalition among Barisan parties has a long history and the bond is much stronger compared with the marriage of convenience among the Opposition parties. I for that matter, won't be surprised if suddenly they just break away among themselves. All the three parties Keadilan, DAP and PAS have different ideologies and cause for their political ambitions.


For this reasons, I personally feel Barisan is still a better choice. Only that UMNO the leading member of Barisan need to change. UMNO faces double challenge, it is currently at its weakest point and secondly the world economic crisis. UMNO has to change the leadership style and I Think Najib will do that. Bring in more professional and new blood as well as far visionary and creative people into UMNO. Dictatorship or Authoritarian style may have worked during Mahathir's regime but not now. On the other hand, we don't need a leader who listen to too many people like the out-going PM. With need a new breed, with open-mind, courage and strong personality to lead the country. A man who can bring change and bring back glory to Malaysia. I hope and pray... Najib is the Right Guy.

Is Life Complicated

In the last entry i was talking about life. This is a continuation i suppose. People say life is so complicated. Is it really so? or Are we the one who makes life become so complicated? Sometimes small things in our daily life we make it a big huh hah. The small things crop-up into a big problem and you will be crying loud to solve it. As a matter of fact, those small things that comes in our life often, we just ignore it and not try to make a big deal out of it. We have less hassle in our life and no high blood pressure problems.

There are people out there who likes to be busybody (jaga tepi kain org). Their job to just go around gathering information and spreading it all over. While they spread the news or gossip they add color to it, meaning to say they exaggerate things. This makes other peoples life miserable. What should we do with this kind of Virus.

As a good person we should be simple and ignore small problems. Life is full of problems. Life without problems is only after you die. Then again there will be other problems there - (punsihment, heaven and hell).

So in this life on the planet called Earth, be simple, try not to hurt other peoples feelings, see things positively and the most important thing be happy and enjoy your life while you are alive.

Questions I asked myself at 2.00 am (22/3/2009)

What we want, we won’t get but what we don’t want, we will get. Sounds strange but that’s what life is all about. How we make best use of what we have, is what we will be experiencing throughout our life. Many of us are not satisfied with what we are going through. We will be cursing our life or even God for that matter. God becomes the target of our anger and frustrations. We will often be asking all sorts of questions. Questions which sometimes nobody could provide the right answer. Of course, some will attempt to answer but the answer provided is not satisfactory. Some even will use verses from holy Qur’an or Bible to answer the questions we ask.

What are these questions? What are we not clear about? Some of the questions often we ask either ourselves or even our friends and teachers are:

What is life all about?
Why do I have a family?
Why there is sometimes happiness and sometimes sadness?
Why should I die?

There are many more questions but I am only writing four of them here. I’m not trying to be smart by providing answers to the above questions. I’m not a ustaz or a priest or a psychologist. I’m a simple man who does lots of reading and thinking. May be my thoughts about these questions are not right. May be you all have a better answer. Let us try to answer these questions together.

Life is all about a journey from birth to death. The journey, where each of us has to travel and face all kinds of challenges. Whenever we overcome each challenge and we experience some kind of satisfaction in ourselves. This journey in this world is temporary which leads you to the permanent life after death. You will be judged how you travel in this journey. Whether you have done good or bad things.

Family is like a team or an organization. Teamwork is crucial in any undertakings. The journey we are traveling, we can’t do it alone, we need a team called family. Even in your daily office work you need to work in a team. Close cooperation among team members brings success to everyone in the team. However, if there is no cooperation, the team will face lots of problems. The team members will console each other during tough times and enjoy together during happy times.

Happiness and Sadness are like rough seas and calm seas. You will experience happiness if you manage your life properly. Sadness is not a punishment but on the other hand, it is the test on how you manage yourselves during difficult times. There will be ups and downs while you travel in this journey of life.

Death is something everybody has to go through at the last point in our journey of life. Death is the end of our life story. There must be an ending to all the beginnings. You cannot go on living in this world. If you go on living or become enduring, then there is no ending and we cannot call it a journey. In any journey there is ending or final destination. Some believe in life after death. They say that is the everlasting life. No more journey but eternity. There is heaven and hell. The journey which you have traveled will be weighed to see whether you entitle to enter heaven or hell.

The Era of Change – Breaking away from the trap

April First (may be April Fool) but it is also the beginning of a change in the Malaysian politics and may lead to a change in socio-politic environment and even a structural change in the economy. The prime minister in-waiting, Najib seems to be a dynamic guy with incredible ideas. He has his vision of moving Malaysia up to the next level but lots need to be done (especially change of mindset of politicians and civil servants)

Malaysia, for me has been so long trapped in this middle income group of countries. We are not moving upwards or downwards. We managed to change structurally from a rural and agriculture-based economy into an industrialized nation starting mid 80’s and into mid 90’s. However, moving forward we didn’t progress much. Though there are many plans which outlined the need to move-up the value chain into a knowledge-based economy, were are still trapped in all kind of problems. The production process still uses out-dated and labor intensive techniques.

We need to change. Not only the public sector but the private sector too. Malaysia is not like China, India or Vietnam, where labour is cheap and one can use old and polluting technologies. We have long passed this stage. Malaysia needs futuristic technologies and investment should go into new discoveries rather than buying on-the-shelf technologies. We are not short of scientists and discoveries, as can be seen by the number of new discoveries made by the local university professors. The number of medals they win yearly in international seminars and exhibitions. The only problem is transforming the research findings into commercially viable projects. We have MOSTI, we have science and techno funds but things are not moving. We need somebody or an entity which goes around to the universities and research institutions, undertaking efforts to commercialize the researches which are viable to be marketed.

THE GOVERNMENT FOR THE FUTURE

Last week, on 14/3/2009, I attended this seminar on Government for the Future. The seminar was attended by most of the heads of ministries and departments, and chaired by the Chief Secretary to the Government. They were talking about the roles of civil servants and how they should suit themselves in this demanding and changing environment. There was also a presentation by a Korean Professor form KDI, explaining the experiences of Korea, especially bringing in private sector people into Korean civil service. I questioned him that it is debatable as to improving the Malaysian civil service by bring in private sector people. It may work or it may not. As all of you know, private is profit motivated and the environment is different in public sector. One should also think of how the failure of certain privatization efforts of government. The good example is the privatization of public transportation, sewerage facilities and even tolled-roads. In the case of toll roads, the Government had to subsidize millions of ringgits in order to maintain toll rates at the current level. The public sector needs more than bringing in private people into the system. First, you need to change the mentality of all heads of ministries and departments to be dynamic and keep-up with the demand of the changing global environment. If they can’t change, then we change them. Bring in new and creative people into the system and not necessarily, the private people have this capability. If within the public system, there good people with incredible ideas than one should make use of these people.

THE SECOND STIMULUS PACKAGE

I have stopped writing in this blog since the beginning of the year. I have been busy with the stimulus packages. The first was announced on 4 November 2008 and the second (also known as mini budget) was launched on 10 March 2009. Of course, there are many comments both in the media and blogs, some criticizing and some praising the Government on the programmes and projects in the packages. The second package of RM 60 billion is more comprehensive and covers a wider spectrum of issues. From the retrenched workers, the vulnerable groups, the business community and foreign investors. The package also focused on building capacity for the future rather than only giving emphasis on short-term problems. One question from the public is that they don’t believe the Government is going to spend RM 60 billion. My response: RM 60 billion is real. All the programmes announced sum-up to RM 60 billion. In this package, the Government is positively creative in using the liquidity in the system which amounts to RM250 billion to draw the two guarantee scheme. First, for the small and medium scale companies the RM 5 billion working capital guarantee scheme where companies with less than RM 20 million shareholders equity can borrow up to RM 10 million with maximum repayment period of 5 years and with 80:20 Government guarantee. The second is the RM 5 billion industry restructuring fund for companies to restructure their production processes and companies going into green technology, they can borrow up to a maximum of RM50 million with maximum repayment period of 10 years. I hope the packages will be implemented fast and will avoid the country going into a deep recession.

The Return of Christine

I thought that Christine has migrated to UK for good. I’m wrong. Like the saying goes; you can imagine or think whatever you want, but the ultimate result is determined by HIM. Christine also thought the same that she won’t come back to Malaysia. But things didn’t turn-up as she wished. One can only plan but one cannot decide the future. Well, I don’t want to talk about the personal life of Christine in this blog and it’s not right to talk about another person’s life. I don’t want to aggravate what she is undergoing now, coz I know she will be reading my blog. To her, I will just say be strong to face the world and forget whatever happened in UK. After all the world is not UK alone, it’s a huge world, u can survive anywhere you want.

The will-power and determination is important. You can be a writer if you keep on writing. You can be a singer if you keep on singing. It’s in you, what you wanna be.

Reality shows on TV

I used to watch reality shows on TV, especially singing competitions such as Malaysian Idol, American Idol, Akademi Fantasia, One in a Million and Gangstar. However, after one or two years now, I feel these shows have become monotonous and boring. Some of the contestants have no real talent but somehow managed to reach the final. They win because they are beautiful or handsome or people are really crazy of the person than his/her voice capability. The quality of the contestants is questionable. On the other hand, the quality and capability of the selected permanent judges are also debatable. Some of the comments they make is not relevant to the performance of the contetstants, especially those related to the way they dress-up and costumes as well as shoes they wear. I still remember the high quality of singing competition in the early 70’s and 80’s such as Bintang Radio, Bintang RTM and Juara Kugiran. These competitions managed to produce quality singers such as Sudirman, Jamal Abdillah and Sharifah Aini.

Do we still need NEP

The New Economic Policy (NEP) was introduced in 1971 as contained in the Second Malaysia Plan to cover a period of 20 years up to 1990. The NEP has a two-pronged strategy of eradicating poverty irrespective of races and restructuring of the society, especially to increase the share of Bumiputera in participating in the economy. The ultimate objective of NEP is to achieve national unity. The objective and strategies of NEP were noble and righteous in view that the majority of the Bumiputeras were in the rural areas, mainly engaged in the agriculture sector. They were poor, still lagged far behind, in terms of education and composition in workforce both public and private sectors. Today, after 38 years far exceeding the original 20-year target, the NEP managed to achieve success in certain areas. There are many learned and professional Bumiputeras both in the public and private sectors. However, in terms of equity ownership in the economy, the Bumiputeras are still lagging behind.

Who should be blamed for the failure in achieving the 30% target in equity share in the economy? There are many policy measures implemented to achieve this target but we still failed. Among the measures include the provision of pink forms to Bumiputeras to own equity shares in newly listed companies, the award of APs to selected Bumiputeras to enable them to import cars, the award of Government contracts, the FIC guidelines and the establishment of MARA to assist the Bumiputeras as well as Permodalan Nasional Berhad which issues trust shares to Bumiputeras (ASN and ASB). Although, all these measures,in someway managed to increase the wealth of Bumiputera but at the same time, the equity share held by the non-Bumiputeras increased and further widened the equity gap. Some of the Bumiputeras who had been awarded the contracts have no business experience and just intend to make quick money by unofficially selling the contracts to the non-Bumiputeras. This gave rise to Alibaba businessmen, where the company is in Bumiputeras name but the real owner is a non-Bumi. Ther were also complain that those who are close to the Government and cronies of certain people will easily get Government contracts. Similarly, complaints were heard that scholarships and jobs were offered to those who have strong cable links with the authority.

I believe in NEP kind of policy but I think that time has come for us to review the NEP objectives and strategies. After 38 years of implementation, we have failed to achieve the main objective of national unity. Whether we agree or disagree the disparity and dissatisfaction among races has widened. The majority Malays are still left behind although there are some multi-millionaires among them. Not all Malays benefited from NEP and there are many who are unsatisfied. We need a new version of NEP focused on uplifting all Bumiputeras livelihood and eradicating poverty among all races through education and providing opportunities to progress in the economy.