...literati after literati...hmmmm

Its Friday 15 minutes to 3 am. Have not been blogging since March 3. Been busy. No no not with the generall elections but busy writing my 3rd article for my regular column in BodyshopnewsAsia published in Sydney Australia once every two months. Fuh....what a relief, I emailed the article below, off to sydney yesterday at about 5pm local time. It will appear in the march/april 2008 issue..heheh. And oh ya busy finishing another keynote address. Thank gawd, thats also accomplished abt 2 hours ago heheh...

HUMAN CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT & THE BODYSHOP INDUSTRY…

(bodyshopnewsAsia forthcoming march/april 2008 issue)

Experience and skills have always been greatly valued, from ancient times and through the ages, both in war and in business. Luck and timing however, also seem to play a role so it was said, though the precise nature of this role has also been somewhat fuzzy. The 16th century Indian poet Tulsidas could not have captured the essence of it any better when he wrote lyrically:

The same Arjuna with his arrows
Failed miserably this time,
Truly, luck and timing influence
Success in ways sublime,
This is an important lesson
To remember at all times.

The puzzle of what defines and what diminishes, leaders is as intriguing to the bodyshop industry as it was to a 16th century poet. There really never was any attempt by anyone, in the bodyshop industry, as far as I can see, to reveal the truths or secrets of success in management, especially as they relate to managing people within the bodyshop industry. It was purely cultural and in an unstructured manner observing individual and organizational behaviour and how leaders create conditions and perform in a way that leads to successful outcomes. If you recall in my inaugural article, I highlighted the changing scenario that emphasizes or recognizes the importance of human capital development especially the family-owned type, within the automotive - insurance – bodyshop industries in Malaysia.

Perhaps we could pick up a thing or two from Howard Gardner, the John and Elisabeth Hobbs Professor of Cognition and Education at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education, from his latest book that went into one of the best business books 2007 list, entitled: Five Minds for the Future where he weaves the multiple intelligence threads from the looms of his mind, into a whole fabric. The five minds for the future according to Gardner, consists of three (3) cognitive minds (discipline, synthesizing and creating) and two (2) minds that concern our relations with other human beings (respectful and ethical). In our industry, all the five minds do put a strain on leadership especially the respectful and ethical bit which I guess in some markets, still leaves much to be desired. Like other industries, ours too, are being confronted with information age’s growing complexity and the need for a synthesizing mind to knit together into a coherent whole all the information that is available from different sources. Within the bodyshop industry, does successful teamwork depends more on the management skills than the technical expertise of their leaders? Or is it the other way round? The notion of ethics there again, would be like opening Pandora’s Box!

It has become fashionable to speak of human capital development (HCD) in a generic sense which I suspect may suggest a scenario of merely ‘rearranging old furniture in the same old room!’ The final perception one usually ends up with is that HCD is nothing more than mere training. Yes and no. It is much more than that. It is making sure of your succession plan or preparing your future leaders and to (the more consultant-type) high sounding term of ‘talent management’. HCD as a craft that transcend all industries, should be addressed by organizations, with sufficient regularity and assiduity. It has to move beyond mere rhetorics. Without doubt, the lack of which, I dread to think, what the long-term costs might be.

As usual, closer to home, I was recently invited to attend the launching of the new Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA) new office located at F-1-47, Block F, Jalan PJU 1A/3A, Ara Damansara, Petaling Jaya which incidentally is close to my home and office. The guest of honour was International Trade & Industry Minister Datuk Seri Rafidah Aziz and among some of the things she highlighted was the increase in the imports of CBU cars, where Thailand, Japan and Korea were the main import sources with 85.2 % of the volume and that the major import categories for CBU cars comprised those with engine capacities between 1.8 and 2.0 litre and between 2.0 and 2.5 litre. The President of MAA, Datuk Aishah Ahmad, my contemporary during the mid- seventies at Mara Institute of Technology (now UiTM) during her welcome remarks, cited a positive car sales trend in the light of new model launches and improved consumer confidence. She is a fine example of the outcome of human capital development if you may, having gone through the mill herself, I remember when our roads, were lined up with selected American models, Volkswagon Beetle (the 70s version), Peugeot 404s ( I was driving one!), 504s, and the Volvos 200 series were buzzing around then. She was one of the few pioneer batch who was handpicked to undergo the Inchcape Automotive Management Training Programme at a time when the national make Proton, wasn’t even around yet.

As I write this article the global oil price had already busted the US100 a barrel mark. How this will affect our industry is anybody’s guess. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what the likely outcome will be. In an era where the theory of diminishing returns are for real, and where sustainability concerns run high, the only way forward for any level-headed industry or nation for that matter, is to focus on their brainpower, the human capital and its development. In the ICT sector, the theory of increasing returns as propagated by Paul Romer seems to be taking a somewhat backseat. But the interesting debate within academia, I suspect, has not lost its fervour. We, at Motordata Research Consortium (MRC) both a subsidiary of HeiTech Padu Berhad ( a global homegrown IT powerhouse in Malaysia) and Malaysian Re, continues to play a role in promoting human capital development in the Malaysian bodyshop, related and ancillary industries both at the strategic and operational levels.

Khaeruddin Sudharmin, Managing Director & Chief Executive of Motordata Research Consortium Malaysia was a keynote speaker at IBIS2006, Montreux, Switzerland

Below is the other paper I was talking about...heheh..

Keynote Address 3rd International Conference on Principalship
and School Management
At Institut KePengetuaan, Universiti Malaya, March 10, 2008

Distinguished guests,
Ladies & gentlemen

Prologue
The beginning of the 21st century saw an upsurge of interest in educational reform focused on school improvement as a total school effort, among world educational scholars. Much of educational debates of the reform process are centered not only the role, function and effectiveness of school in responding to societal needs but also on whether school improvement policies, programs and strategies have brought about clear improvement in the quality of schooling towards making the school a total learning organization. This 3rd International Conference on Principalship and School Management, organized by the Institute of Principalship Studies, University of Malaya I have been told, aims to discuss theoretical, empirical and practical issues related to school improvement efforts and educational reforms. With the presence of such a distinguished and august audience like yourselves, I hope the aims of this conference in bringing together national and international scholars to share experience and discuss perspectives and experiences with local policy makers and practitioners, educational administrators and teachers have begun.

Ladies & gentlemen,
Every time there is a debate or a discussion on educational management, principalship and school management, the key word here is leadership and management. How do we address the subject area in its generic sense withoust losing sight of the link to education per se. In 1976, the Open University (UK) third level course, offered the first unit: Management in education –Dissimilar or Congruence? The central question being, whether theories and principles derived from the day-to-day administration of industrial or economic organizations had any relevance to what went on in an educational institution and it was generally agreed that educational management benefited substantially from management conducted in another context. I like to take this opportunity to revisit or caution, if you may, our worldview on leadership and management and to not take it in a simplistic manner, to juxtapose or perhaps in a more recent common reference to it as a cut-and-paste job!

Time and again we are being reminded that it has become fashionable to speak of successful performance in the principals’ role largely in terms of management and administrative competence. Parallels are drawn between the role of the principal/headmaster and that of the managing director of a commercial of a private sector business organization. Such parallels, we are being told, consistently, do have a number of defects and dangers. First, they fail to bring out the real and essential differences between educational considerations and market considerations. This is not to say that there is nothing in common between running a commercial enterprise and running a school. Problems of control and delegation, of communication and departmental autonomy, of bureaucracy and budget determination are common to many kinds of complex organization. But to push the analogy too far is dangerous, for it fails to take account of certain characteristics of the values inherent in a market structure as compared to those characteristics of educational structures. The points could not have been captured better by Jules Henry, when he said that ‘one should not confuse the so called business ethics based on laws of contract, the stability of the currency, and the retention of the market – a satisfied market – with moral principles that govern the relations between human beings. They may resemble each other, but the similarity is purely coincidental and largely illusory. Between human beings one activates the ideas of protection and suffering, because one feels it is human to enhance the well-being that is involved. In the market the anchorage of value is always on the self; the anchorage in human relations is always on the other.

A second objection is that the business analogy encourages us to think of the relations between staff and pupils or students as similar to those between management and labour – them and us. There may be some senses in which it is helpful to conceptualize the relationship in such terms; events in post-secondary education have made such a point of view seem more realistic than the sometimes sentimentalized image of the academic community. But to over-stress the gulf that lies between pupil and student values and those of principals/ heads and staff provides a poor basis for building the kind of relationships that sustain educational efforts.

There is a third, more specific and perhaps even more unfortunate result of seeing the principal or the head’s role in management terms. It encourages us to think of him as deriving his authority from powers delegated by the governors, who in their turn derive their powers from the providing body. In a strictly legal sense this may be true. But the school or college is primarily and educative institution. Its activities are in the last analysis legitimated by its success in achieving whatever educational objectives it may set itself. All else – buildings, staff appointments, everything included in the day-to-day management of the institution – is secondary to this purpose, mere means to the larger end. A school can be superbly ‘managed’, the processes of consultation and decision-making be smooth and trouble free, the relationships between local authority, governing body, head and staff harmonious, the fabric and accounts meticulously maintained, and morale among staff and pupils high. Yet, unless the concept of management is extended to include kinds of educational objectives that are extremely difficult to operationalise and to evaluate, the work of that school still represent failure. If we accept that the primary purpose of the school is educative, then it follows that the initiation of action and the legitimation of authority within the school derive mainly from the work of those people who are appointed as professional competent to undertake the education of pupils, that is the principal and staff. The authority of the head is legitimated not by his skill as a manager, but by his stature as an educator. (Taylor, 1969:2-3)

Some Research Abstracts
I am sure, ladies and gentlemen, that you will be looking at a lot of new theories,research and findings relating to principalship and school management. These findings I believe will trigger a paradigm shift in the way we look at educational management. I like to share with you abstracts of some recent research that has relevance to principalship and school management elsewhere in the world.

1. In the US for example, at long last, scholars and policy makers have come to realize what most school administrators have known for years--that effective schools require both outstanding teachers and strong leaders. Although there is considerable research about the characteristics of effective school leaders and the strategies principals can use to help manage increasingly diverse roles, comparatively little is known about how to design programs that can develop and sustain effective leadership practices. In an effort to increase the knowledge about professional development programs, the Wallace Foundation recently commissioned a study of innovative principal professional development programs and the policy and funding mechanisms that support them. In fall 2003, a team of researchers from the Stanford School of Education was awarded a Wallace grant and proceeded to design and embark upon a nationwide study of both the pre- and in-service professional development of school principals. The study essentially discusses the findings about the qualities and impact of strong programs from a study of professional development for principals some of it perhaps have relevance to our own principals’ professional development.

2. Measures of cognitive intelligence such as Intelligence Quotient (IQ) have long been utilized as gatekeeper measures for leadership placement within organizations. Universities and Colleges have created leadership degree programs which are often almost exclusively measures of a student's cognitive ability. The degrees conferred are often the "gatekeeper" measures for entry into a leadership position within an organization. However, leaders with analogous educational and professional backgrounds may experience different levels of success even when facing quite similar situations. Why is this? The answer may be found within a fairly new field of study known as Emotional Intelligence (EI). The purpose of this study was to explore the degree of association between EI and school performance. The first question addressed within this study dealt the degree of association between a middle school principal's Total EI score and school success. Secondly, this study attempted to focus on the specific elements of a principal's EI (Area and Branch scores) and the degree of association that those elements might have with school success. This research project rendered valuable information which indicated that various components of a middle school principal's EI level is closely related to school success. With this information school systems and school personnel may begin to recruit and promote throughout the principal ranks those principals that demonstrate high levels of EI. Furthermore, training programs may be developed to enhance EI in public middle school principals in an effort to support higher levels of school success. Ultimately, this research indicated that the association between EI and school success could not be ignored and that additional study was strongly indicated.


3. Then there is this booklet, one in a series of "hot topics" reports produced twice a year by the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory. These reports briefly address current educational concerns and issues as indicated by requests for information that come to the Laboratory from the Northwest region and beyond. Each booklet contains a discussion of research and literature pertinent to the issue, a sampling of how Northwest schools are addressing the issue, selected resources, and contact information. The By Request series is intended as the "first line" of intervention--used for widespread initial diffusion of information. It is not intended to change practice in and of itself, but rather to spark interest among readers who can then take the next step of examining changes in practice. One objective of the series is to foster a sense of community and connection among educators. Another is to increase awareness of current education-related themes and concerns. Each booklet give practitioners a glimpse of how fellow educators are addressing issues, overcoming obstacles, and attaining success in certain areas. The goal of the series is to give educators current, reliable, and useful information on topics that are important to them. The purpose of this issue of By Request is to provide K-12 principals an introduction to leadership practices that can effect change in their schools. The booklet focuses on concrete strategies for novice principals and principals in schools in need of improvement.


4. Another related article I came across, draws on findings from a larger international study and the literature to examine successful principals of challenging high-poverty schools in the USA, England, and Australia. Specifically, this article reports case-study findings for 13 challenging schools, 4 each in the USA and Australia and 5 in England. Findings from this study indicate that successful principals used similar leadership practices and traits to make a difference and improve student performance in very challenging schools. These findings extend previous research conducted in single-nation contexts. The presentation of findings also considers differences in the role of the principal, the school context, and larger national policies. The article concludes with implications for leadership training and future research.

5. Accountability is a high priority in the U.S. education system, and principals play an important role in student achievement. The author examined the means by which superintendents focus on characteristics identified in the literature on effective principals and student achievement when hiring building administrators. The author questioned whether superintendents considered and assessed candidates for the 21 responsibilities of successful principals identified by T. Waters, R. Marzano, and B. McNulty (2004). Results indicated that although superintendents agreed on the key characteristics necessary for principals to succeed, they did not have a credible way to measure the characteristics in the hiring process. In addition, superintendents need to revise their hiring processes to assess those characteristics correlated in principal applicants to improved student achievement.

Urban school superintendents hold one of the most important and challenging jobs in America's education system. The Council of the Great City Schools (GCS) represents the majority of large urban school districts in the country. Though there are approximately 17 thousand school districts in the country, the Council's 65 districts serve approximately 7.4 million of America's 48.3 million K-12 students (15 percent), and some 30 percent of the nation's students of color, low-income, and English language learners. With vast numbers of students, including the nation's most vulnerable children, urban superintendents face a set of challenges that are systemically different from those in the rest of the nation's school districts. In this era of accountability and standards, superintendents are expected to make visible and rapid improvements in student achievement. As a result of the increased availability of achievement data to the public, superintendents are under more public scrutiny than ever: parents and teachers are able to closely monitor district progress. Urban district superintendents also face a variety of challenges that are often unrelated to teaching and learning: many report that political pressures and internal conflicts may be difficult to manage and detract from the time that could be spent working on improving student achievement. Superintendents are cognizant of being held uniquely accountable for meeting student achievement goals in their districts. Given this backdrop and the historically short tenures of most urban school superintendents, the Council of the Great City Schools has surveyed its member districts approximately every two years since 1997. This fifth report on urban superintendents, presents the results of the Council's 2006 survey. Results from past surveys are included for comparison. Several patterns, trends, and relationships relating to employment and demographics have emerged through the course of analysis. The demographics of urban superintendents have become more diverse. Tenure of CS superintendents has gradually increased: CS superintendents are staying in their districts for longer periods of time, although the length of tenure of the CS superintendents does not appear to be directly related to salary. Overall, salaries have been steadily rising since 1999. Superintendent salary does not appear to vary with tenure, but there does appear to be a relationship between superintendent salary and district enrollment: superintendents in larger districts tend to earn more money, suggesting that salary rewards for big-city superintendents vary according to the level of responsibility and magnitude of the job.

In 2007, the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future (NCTAF) completed an 18-month study of the costs of teacher turnover in five school districts. The selected districts varied in size, location, and demographics enabling exploration of how these variations affected costs. Costs of recruiting, hiring, processing, and training teachers at both the school and district levels were examined. Findings indicate that the cost of turnover varies from district to district, largely dependent upon the size of the district and the types of induction programs the district implements, but that in all cases, the cost of teacher turnover is substantial. One of the most important steps identified that school districts can take is to recognize that supply side solutions focused on recruiting more teachers will not reduce the high cost of teacher turnover. School districts must first recognize the importance of teacher retention and then develop a comprehensive and coherent human resource strategy to reduce teacher turnover. Citing the high cost of teacher turnover, the document recommends action at both federal and state levels, including: (1) Making retention of highly effective teachers a focus of No Child Left Behind (NCLB); (2) Amending NCLB to hold school leaders accountable for teacher turnover and its costs; (3) Supporting development of coherent school district human resource data systems; (4) Supporting up-front investment in well-designed teacher induction. At the district level, the document recommends: (1) Measuring teacher turnover and its costs; (2) Investing in coherent data-based management of the teacher workforce; (3) Hiring well-prepared teachers; and (4) Targeting implementation of high quality induction programs to at-risk schools. An appendix presents: Calculating the National Cost of Teacher Attrition.

These are some of the continuing research being done elsewhere and I believe it contributes to not only academic accumulation of body of knowledge but it helps identify and cluster common denominators within the realm of principalship and school management no matter where in the world it is. Of course there are other mitigating factors and/or cultural influences but the universal concepts and precepts with regard to principalship and school management to my mind, remain fairly similar and applicable and transferable.

Reality- an anecdote…
Perhaps this narration of a real-life reflections of a Malaysian principal’s experience, motivations and aspirations crystallizes what ultimately a principal’s competency should be:

As a school principal the basic skills you need to have are the following:
a) making use of all resources, whether its human, materials, monetary, and community surrounding the school to get things done.
b) identifying the best practices in management and professional field – to act as guidelines.
c) my experiences at 2 schools proved that there is no specific formula for managing a school. In fact, there is no special formula to manage a school. Theories in management and leadership can help to some extent, but not all.
d) we have to study the environment – type of school, teachers, students, kind of infrastructure, amount of money, rapport with parents. Line of actions depend on your perception of the school environment. Therefore different schools are managed differently. Eg if the staff have inclination towards academic excellence, then we have to encourage them to think creatively; but if staff are the sort who work aimlessly, then the principal have to think of strategies to boost their morale. Using the same style of management to deal with schools of different nature is suicidal.
e) Life as a principal – everyday is not the same. Each day is unique. Each case being treated differently with care
f) As a principal – monitoring is important. Follow-up and follow-through. I will make sure that problems are really solved to the very end. Everyday I will monitor to see that particular problems are dealt with thoroughly.
g) Teamwork is very important. Weekly meetings with senior teachers.
h) To me, every issue is to be dealt with seriously. Though it may be small – it can cause a great impact later on. Example, teachers entering class late. I will say it loud during meetings to show how I abhor such acts. I will call teachers concerned and will even have several meetings with senior teachers to get ideas how to tackle such problems.
i) School achievements however small – I will make sure it is announced at the assembly, and little notes to teachers to say how I appreciate their good work.
j) I strongly feel that a good principal should master the generics of effective teaching and learning.”

There you are, the practical aspects of principalship and school management.

Epilogue
Perhaps we could pick up a thing or two from Howard Gardner, the John and Elisabeth Hobbs Professor of Cognition and Education at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education, from his latest book entitled Five Minds for the Future where he weaves the multiple intelligence threads from the looms of his mind, into a whole fabric. The five minds for the future according to Gardner, consists of three (3) cognitive minds (discipline, synthesizing and creating) and two (2) minds that concern our relations with other human beings (respectful and ethical). Ethics relates to other persons, but in a more abstract way. In taking ethical stances, an individual tries to understand his or her role as a principal and his or her role as a citizen of a region, nation, and the planet. What are your obligations to your stakeholders (parents, teachers, pupils)? If you were on the other side of the table, if you occupied a different niche in society, what would you have the right to expect from those others who lead? And to take an even wider perspective, what kind of a world would you like to live in, if, to use John Rawls’s phrase, I were cloaked in a ‘veil of ignorance’ with respect to your ultimate position in the world? Every principal should be able to pose, if not answer, the same set of questions with respect to his or her occupational and civic niche.

If any cliché of recent years rings true, it is the acknowledgment that education must be lifelong. How prescient were the words of Winston Churchill: “The empires of the future will be the empires of the mind.” We must recognize what is called for in this new world – even as we hold on to certain perennial skills and values that may be at risk. Curricula developed fifty or a hundred years ago no longer suffice. But don’t toss out the exquisitely evolved infant with the sudsy bathwater of earlier eras. It is easy – but dangerous – to conclude that all education in the future should simply concentrate on mathematics, science, and technology. And it is equally easy - and equally dangerous – to conclude that the forces of globalization should change everything.

Finally, I do think that some of Gardner’s idea of the Five Minds For The Future has relevance in our preparation of future principals, principalship and school management. Thank you.

Ref: TSAA/3rdIntlConferencePrincipalshipUM10March2008/ks

The Malaysian Society for Training & Development (MSTD)

I got a sad text message from Dr Kamal Khir this morning informing me of the fate of the Malaysian Society for Training & Development or MSTD. It was sad because I was one of the protem committee and the founding executive board member more than a decade ago. It all began as an initiative to bring together the training fraternity of GLCs and government bodies especially statutory ones to compliment INTAN (or Institut Tadbiran Awam Negara). I was then director of Keretapi Tanah Melayu Training Centre, and we had others like Hj Zulkifli Baharom who had a stint at Petronas and was at the time with MAS Academy and Ismail Nordin of Telekom Malaysia, Rozita Nordin & Rozita Abu Bakar (EON Berhad), Prof Dr Saran Gill (UKM), the late Dr Surjit Singh, a close friend who was at the time with INTAN , Prof Dr Raja Maznah of UMLIC, Universiti Malaya at the time. There others as well and we use to organise delegations to the annual training fraternity 'mecca'...the ASTD or the American Society for Training & Development International Conference.

What will become of MSTD now? Your guess is as good as mine. I had, just months ago, suggested to Dr Kamal and Ismail Nordin that MSTD be merged with MIHRM (or the Malaysian Institute of Human Resource Management). Moving forward, this, I reckon, needs to take place. We need people to move this well, thankless job. Any takers?

Menghalau lebah diatas peti

sambil menyiram buah yang subur

Kalaulah MSTD sudah pon mati

dimanakan kucari letaknya kubur?

an aura of hams** karisma....hahaha

I was sharing some stuff with Tengku Joshua and I like the way he crystallized all that was said...thus..the title for this blogpost. Jonathan Yang in his book 'Rough guide to Blogging: Navigate the blogosphere' said somewhere inside that book of his, is that sustainability or staying power of people who writes or blogs diligently and with discipline...are endangered species. Most eventually fade away at best become Tyrannosaurus at the Jurrasic Park eventually....hahaha.

Just to summarise the week that was, everything else was on hold cos we had audit comm, remuneration committee, and full board meeting (whether u like it or not...eh hello...i am still group corporate secretary of HeiTech Padu Berhad ok? until otherwise notified officially to me and to Bursa Malaysia..heheh *wink*). Then on friday 29th march I obliged CN by attending his partner program with ITD/Hewlett Packett at Awana Genting. After the boring slide presentations (heheh) it was karaoke till 1 AM...thank gawd the golf game next morning had to be abandoned because of intense fog and zero visibility...hahaha. Then saturday nite was a family dinner (my sister-out-law's besday...hahaha). A long table of about 25 pax, grandchildren incuded, heheh. Not a free dinner mind you. I had to sing a song for the besday gurl heheh. Of course, there were other regular guest singers too..hahaha. As though the karaoke session the night before at awana wasn't enuf!! hu-hu. And this morning...what? another heavy meal? yeah you bet! this time it was salero nogori, hartamas branch...forgot to take shots ofthose tatlising dishes heheh..my favourite green cili sambal padang/minang style must have mde me forgot everything else...heheh

To top off eveything else that I have said, nothing beats the satisfaction that I had, in my own little way, made someone got out of their loneliness, or who had felt like a loser, feeling empty and useless. I hope a multiplier effect will be triggered and that that 'million dollar smile' of yours will also change the lives of a million other people around them ( i hope you are reading this ya? hihi)....

..JW Marriott Kuala Lumpur Wed 20th, February 2008

Some snapshots of the Asia Business Forum (ABF) conference on Employment Law & Contracts at JW Marriott Hotel Kuala Lumpur last week. There were, among the audience/participants, 5 chairmen of the Industrial Court of Malaysia. One of the chairman ( a Datuk) asked my professional opinion whether the mediation mechanism should be merged with the industrial court to help reduce the delays in dispute resolution especially of cases that have been escalated to YB Menteri (Minister). Since the IR Dept cannot initiate it (as cautioned by Datuk), I suggested that it should then be initiated by MEF (Malaysian Employers Federation). Afterall they are also an important stakeholder that is expected to shoulder the responsibilities in ensuring a harmonious industrial relations atmosphere in this country! heheh

of lessons (in) or (to) court?

Last week February 18, I was called to testify for the second time at the Appeals Court, Palace of Justice Putrajaya. I had a valuable lesson in court. The presiding judge screwed me up hahaha for responding with open-ended answers (well...I was reminded to speak less, just say yes or no, and not introduce any new infomation that could delay submissions by both plaintiff & defendant...hahaha). I learnt my lesson alright. I have great respect for this judge. Very English, very dignified, knows his stuff, exudes an aura of great wisdom. I saw him ticked off some rookie lawyers at another court hahaha not realising that eventually I got the same bashing from His Lordship! I was probably trying to apply the new malay legal term 'melinggam' (yang bermaksud menidakkan kebenaran walaupun setelah dikemukakan dengan bukti) hahahaha....

..of british sense of humour..

I was reading some blogpostings on wordpress and came across this really clever, intellectual and comical letter to citizens of America...by John Cleese, my favourite British Stand-up Comedian...much like America's Jay Leno..heheh. Let's see if Jay Leno has armed himself with a much livelier rebuttal....hahahaha. Enjoy......

John Cleese’s “Letter to America”15 02 2008

Dear Citizens of America,
In view of your failure to elect a competent President and thus to govern yourselves, we hereby give notice of the revocation of your independence, effective immediately.

Her Sovereign Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, will resume monarchical duties over all states, commonwealths and other territories (except Kansas, which she does not fancy), as from Monday next.
Your new prime minister, Gordon Brown, will appoint a governor for America without the need for further elections. Congress and the Senate will be disbanded. A questionnaire may be circulated next year to determine whether any of you noticed.
To aid in the transition to a British Crown Dependency, the following rules are introduced with immediate effect:
1. You should look up “revocation” in the Oxford English Dictionary. Then look up “aluminium,” and check the pronunciation guide. You will be amazed at just how wrongly you have been pronouncing it.
2. The letter ‘U’ will be reinstated in words such as ‘colour’, ‘favour’ and ‘neighbour.’ Likewise, you will learn to spell ‘doughnut’ without skipping half the letters, and the suffix “ize” will be replaced by the suffix “ise.”
3. You will learn that the suffix ‘burgh’ is pronounced ‘burra’; you may elect to spell Pittsburgh as ‘Pittsberg’ if you find you simply can’t cope with correct pronunciation.
4. Generally, you will be expected to raise your vocabulary to acceptable levels (look up “vocabulary”). Using the same twenty-seven words interspersed with filler noises such as “like” and “you know” is an unacceptable and inefficient form of communication.
5. There is no such thing as “US English.” We will let Microsoft know on your behalf. The Microsoft spell-checker will be adjusted to take account of the reinstated letter ‘u’ and the elimination of “-ize.”
6. You will relearn your original national anthem, “God Save The Queen”,
but only after fully carrying out Task #1 (see above).
7. July 4th will no longer be celebrated as a holiday. November 2nd will
be a new national holiday, but to be celebrated only in England. It will be called “Come-Uppance Day.”
8. You will learn to resolve personal issues without using guns, lawyers or therapists. The fact that you need so many lawyers and therapists shows that you’re not adult enough to be independent. Guns should only be handled by adults. If you’re not adult enough to sort things out without suing someone or speaking to a therapist then you’re not grown up enough to handle a gun.
9. Therefore, you will no longer be allowed to own or carry anything more dangerous than a vegetable peeler. A permit will be required if you wish to carry a vegetable peeler in public.
10. All American cars are hereby banned. They are crap and this is for your own good. When we show you German cars, you will understand what we mean.
11. All intersections will be replaced with roundabouts, and you will start driving on the left with immediate effect. At the same time, you will go metric immediately and without the benefit of conversion tables… Both roundabouts and metrification will help you understand the British sense of humour.
12. The Former USA will adopt UK prices on petrol (which you have been calling “gasoline”) - roughly $8/US per gallon. Get used to it.
13. You will learn to make real chips. Those things you call french fries are not real chips, and those things you insist on calling potato chips are properly called “crisps.” Real chips are thick cut, fried in animal fat, and dressed not with catsup but with malt vinegar.
14. Waiters and waitresses will be trained to be more aggressive with customers.
15. The cold tasteless stuff you insist on calling beer is not actually beer at all. Henceforth, only proper British Bitter will be referred to as “beer,” and European brews of known and accepted provenance will be referred to as “Lager.” American brands will be referred to as “Near-Frozen Gnat’s Urine,” so that all can be sold without risk of further confusion.
16. Hollywood will be required occasionally to cast English actors as good guys. Hollywood will also be required to cast English actors as English characters. Watching Andie MacDowell attempt English dialogue in “Four Weddings and a Funeral” was an experience akin to having one’s ear removed with a cheese grater.
17. You will cease playing American “football.” There is only one kind of proper football; you call it “soccer”. Those of you brave enough, in time, will be allowed to play rugby (which has some similarities to American “football”, but does not involve stopping for a rest every twenty seconds or wearing full kevlar body armour like a
bunch of Jessies - English slang for “Big Girls Blouse”).
18. Further, you will stop playing baseball. It is not reasonable to host an event called the “World Series” for a game which is not played outside of America. Since only 2.1% of you are aware that there is a world beyond your borders, your error is understandable and forgiven.
19. You must tell us who killed JFK. It’s been driving us mad.
20. An internal revenue agent (i.e. tax collector) from Her Majesty’s Government will be with you shortly to ensure the acquisition of all monies due, backdated to 1776.
Thank you for your co-operation.
John Cleese

...the other 90%

Nothing interesting or exciting really...these last few days...except for today's announcement of the dissolution of cabinet by the prime minister....heheh, Cooper (author of 'the other 90%') tells us that the four (4) keystones of human fulfilment are: trust, energy, farsightedness and nerve. And that we have three (3) brains (gut, heart and mind). He said, we only use ten (10) percent of our potential in the course of a lifetime. He shares a poem for his and other's children:

"...to lead by example,

love as if you will live forever,

work as if you have no need for money,

dream as if no one can say no,

have fun as if you never have to grow up,

sing as if no one else is listening,

care as if everything depends on your caring,

and raise a banner where a banner never flew."

...of fishermen & smugglers in Lanunland

I am sure there are plenty of people who are like-minded, who chose not to travel during festive holidays where the highways are jammed up, the airports, hotels and resorts both in the highlands or at the seaside are overflowed with homo sapiens. My son has been asking me, intermittently...dad, are we not going anywhere? and I said firmly NO! Then yesterday evening I thought...hmm...why not take a quick day trip to a place not soo far away? I browsed the internet to read what residents of this crappy island (Pulau Ketam..heheh) described themselves...hahaha...according to the island website...their main preoccupation are fishing and smuggling. I like that smuggling bit hahaha. Anyway, the last time I was there, we got stuck for a few hours at Kampong Lima with a lecturer from Nottingham in 1990! Little did we realise that the next boat or ferry was hours away, there wasn't a single soul around and that the only way to the actual pulau ketam is by boat! Both these places were separated by mangrove swamps! luckily a malay fisherman in small boat offered to send us to Pulau Ketam proper! OMG! the place really hasn't changed much since.

This morning, I looked like a white man ('Kwailo' as they say in Hong Kong hahaha) during the heidays of 'Plantation Malaya' in the 1930s...wif my white polo t-shirt, khaki shorts, white socks and a pair of yellow adidas track shoes. (more like a Japanese tourist actually..haha according to my wife!). And most oustandingly, was my australian riverine guard hat I bought in Freemantle in 2005 for RM550 (bloody expensive mate!)...and o ya clad in my latest golf agent XXX type sunglasses heehee.

I spent the whole day today at Pulau Ketam with my smuggler Teocheow, Hainanese and Hokkien khakis...juggling cautiously amidst the mangrove lybyrinth of lanunland at an alarmingly treacheous low-tide situation...I take my hat off to the taiko who navigated us safely out into the open sea back to Port Klang...Thank gawd I survived to blog you that experience hihi....

Oh I forgot ... incidentally that boat could probably be owned by the German Secret Service...heheh (note the word HERR on the name plate!...hahahahahahahahaha).

...of MBAs,basils & bangsarvillages...

Henry Brooks Adams, American historian-author (1838-1918) once said that a teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops. I hope that is also true in my case...heheh. Last thursday January 31st, I had lunch again with my MBA students (who have since graduated with flying colors, congratulations!), Areehan and Aznirisa above. We have been trying to go back to this Thai eatery called Basil @BangsarVillageOne. The others in the same group, could not join us. Both Areehan and Azni are two of the 25 selected future leaders of Telekom Malaysia Berhad. They were all sent to do the MBA at International Business School (IBS), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) at the City Campus, Jalan Semarak, Kuala Lumpur. They were divided into four (4) groups. I was one of the advisers, teacher, mentor and examiner. Both Areehan and Azni are now in important strategic positions within the TM group. Watch out for them....they may be CEOs sooner than you think...

...of sand-birdies

heheh...I think the foto above deserves some explanation for non-golfers. Yesterday I was invited to play golf with Labuan Re CEO, Best Re CEO (emirates) and another golfer. We were at the 16th hole (Par 3). My first shot landed in the bunker (the sand trap behind me). My 2nd shot as I sand-wedged the golf ball out of the bunker...it rolled onto the green and whoala! right into the hole! In golf, if you get the ball into the hole in 2 shots, that's called a birdie shot. In my case, the shot came from the bunker or the sand trap...that's why it's called a sand-birdie...heheh. Even Tiger Woods don't get to do that often...I am not even sure if he has experienced it (perhaps he has...hihi). Majid, CEO of Labuan Re,took that historic shot with his pearl blackberry...heheh

...of disputes and employment law

Yezzezz...my upcoming speaking engagement with Asia Business Forum is 20-21 February 2008, JW Marriot, Kuala Lumpur. The conference is 'Avoiding & Resolving Disputes in Employment Law & Contracts'. And my specific topic is 'Practical and Cost Effective Solutions for Dispute Settlement'. Key words are 'practical', 'cost effective solutions' and 'dispute settlement' whatever that means hahaha. I will be chairing the afternnon session of February 20th as well. Which is great cos ...heheh as usual I will abuse my authority to cut short other people's presentation and push mine earlier and do a quickie so that noboby would realise that I am done with my mine...hahaha and oh ya...not give anyone a chance to ask me any questions. That's rather aweful and mean, right? But hmm macamlah tak pernah buat? hahaha. It will be from the HR perspective. Not from the legal perspective...though I suspect the LB inside me may be oozing out uncontrollably if nobody stops me hahahahahaha....

...bertepian pantai...jeng3x

Lately my writings appear sad, if you noticed. Well, in between great desserts actually...heheh. I met someone familiar today. She was at the office. She was forever the person she has always been for as long as I have known her...heheh. And to think that I was the only one around who is abrasive (with my words...hahaha). There's an old saying: you can't change a leapard's skin...ever...She made some not very nice remarks about my blog. I just smiled and said to myself...hmmm who asked you to read it if you don't like it? It's your choice, right? Anyway, there's again an old malay saying: "if you're frightened of tidal waves or tsunamis, why build a house by the seaside? "or another universal quip "if you can't stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen!" heheh. Well, when you blog, when you go online, you would have already considered the risks. right? Some will love you, some will hate you, some will sneer, some will jeer...some will be jealous too I guess. But the consolation would be for those who were motivated to start or create their own blog after reading mine (hihi), or those who read and learnt something from it, or got an idea or two from what they have read. Come on man, be honest...surely not all that I have written or blogged...is BS? Don't worry, I won't lose sleep over such demoralising or degrading remarks. In fact, I feel much more motivated. If I can irritate 1 million people through my blog...hah...wouldn't that be great?! hahahaha... Anyway, tau lar my blog tak famous, uwaa uhu huu... never intended to take it to fame pon...just documenting stuff (even though you know that I am a minimalist at worst, and was never a documentarian, at best! heheh)....have a great weekend folks!

'People want to be a part of something larger than themselves. They want to be part of something they're really proud of, that they'll fight for, sacrifice for, trust.' - Howard Schultz, Starbucks

...of oxtail stew and banana apple crumble...ermmm yummy

The general counsel & company secretary of UOB Bank told me that TopHat restaurant at Kia Peng had one of the best oxtail stews in town. After several failed appointments (hahaha) we managed to check it out today. Maria Danker, the owner was there to greet us. I have not been there for quite sometime now. Must go back there again. They always have great food. Ya Ya and I forgot to capture that great stew with my new toy LG KU990 viewty camera phone (5MPixels)..hahaha. But just the same, in order not to disapoint you...enjoy the desserts we had hahaha. I had my favorite apple banana crumble with vanilla ice-cream while my host had that ermm chocolatey whatever it was with orange ice-cream topping...heheh. Met another general counsel & cosec of another public-listed company there as well...hihi.

...of old buildings, weddings & nation-building?

The first two (2) pictures of old chinese shops hang on the walls of the corridor of Sunway Pyramid Suites. The other three (3) are from a wedding of the eldest son of a colleague of my wife (Bao Ling & Foo) at the Textboook Division MOE we attended last saturday night. On our table (No. 57..heheh) were friends from the Examinations Syndicate (Lembaga Peperiksaan), Educational Techology Division MOE, assoc prof and coordinator of the Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) programme of the University of South Australia (UniSa) and a professor couple from Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL). Chats, while trying to finish the 9 course chinese dinner, went as far back as the early 70s...hahaha...even speculating that the oldies being played were Foo's selections hahaha. Judging from the massive attendance of malays (male and females mostly clad in kurungs and hijabs...ermmm well mostly from my generation, Who says mubibbah is out? or that polarisation is acute? heheh... Well, I suppose this is probably one of those rare moments. Those who attended are really long time friends and colleagues in the government. I didn't see young malay couples, mostly young chinese couples that suggests polarisation may probably be much more apparent among the younger set.... ok ok I will not trigger any polemic on the state of polarisation at this juncture...hahaha. The food at the Putrajaya Marriott was great! Thumbs up!

"Courtesies of a small and trivial character are the ones which strike deepest in the grateful and appreciating heart." -Henry Clay

...MICPA commemorative lecture 2008

I left the late Tan Sri Megat Junid's place at 11 am for the office. At 12.15 pm Abdul Halim Lassim (HeiTech SVP/CFO and President of the Young MICPA group) and me were off to JW Marriott for MICPA (Malaysian Institute of Chartered & Public Accountants) Commemorative Luncheon Lecture 2008 by YBhg Datuk Zarinah Anwar, Chairman of the Securities Commission Malaysia. The attendance was very good indeed. Met the who's who from various other professional associations like MAICSA, MASB and the rest of the nation's pool of bean counters ....hahaha (no offence my friends!). The service at JW Marriott, I noticed, leaves much to be desired..hmmmm.

...when it;s time to go...you go....

I was in the car this morning on the way to the office, and as usual the route will take us near Tan Sri Megat Junid's hollywood bungalow at SS7 just opposite Kelab Golf Negara Subang (KGNS). I happen to share the neighbourhood and my little cottage is just metres or yards away from his house. As I got near the house there was a little detour and I saw alot of people. I asked someone and they said to me Tan Sri had passed away this morning at about 5 am. Innalillahi wa inna lillahi rajiun...I stopped to join streams of politicians, pensioners, others who were roaming the corridors of power as well as those still haunting those very corridors of power...hahaha. Minutes later Tun Mahathir our immediate past prime minister came out of the house only to be swarmed by the media. Many common people and dignitaries came to give their last respects to the late Tan Sri. I met many people, too many to list them down, as they say...only at childbirths, weddings, or funerals do we sometimes get the opportunity to meet long lost friends. We must always be thankful to Allah almighty of our good health and being able to wake up the next morning to continue contributing in whatever little way that we can for mankind's greater good....still...one really never can tell...

...paradoxically strategic?

I love to collect and keep books autographed by the author himself. The above is one of my collection of favourite strategy books. I have been collecting autographed books since my oxford university press days way back in the late 70s. Professor Ron Meyer is a faculty member at the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University, The Netherlands. I had a chance to visit the Dean of Economics at that university when I visited a friend in Rotterdam in 2005. It is a well-written and well planned book. Not the usual boring heavy academic stuff strategy book I use it often to borrow some anecdotes of paradoxical statements from it. And I recommend it as permanent reference to my Cranfield/IBS-UTM MBA students...

...its plain economics, stupid....hahaha

The Edge Malaysia (week of January 21-27, 2008) on its front page was printed: On the cusp of recession - all signs point to a recession in the US as the fallout from the subprime mortgage crisis takes a toll on its economy. Global share prices drowned in a sea of red as jittery investors fled for cover. Is Asia, including Malaysia, in a better position to weather the downturn? the business and investment weekly asked.... I dunno man, scary...now read the Headline, page 1, Boston Globe, dated 20th January 2008 below:

"Broker's clients detail web of dashed dreams"
"When Marcia Neilson couldn't qualify for a home loan in early 2006 because of poor credit, her mortgage broker, Nicole Lyder, had an unusual solution: Add Neilson's daughter to the loan application.
"Neilson's 21-year-old daughter had just lost her job, but Lyder remained undeterred. 'That wasn't a problem,' Neilson recalled her broker saying.
"Neilson's real estate agent said Lyder enlisted him to drive Neilson and her daughter to Brockton City Hall. The pair filled out a business certificate that claimed they owned a hair salon in Brockton.
"The Neilsons qualified for a mortgage and bought a Dorchester house in June 2006 for $565,000. Last fall, Marcia Neilson learned from state investigators looking into Lyder's business practices that her loan application was padded in other ways: a statement for a $25,000 bank account in Neilson's name that she had no knowledge of.
"Fake documents, a phantom borrower, and other irregularities were common features of five subprime mortgages brokered by Lyder between November 2005 and June 2006 that were examined by the Boston Globe. Lyder's clients ranged from the barely employed to struggling working-class couples; one had just left a homeless shelter and two others gave up government-subsidized housing to buy homes. They said Lyder arranged loans that they later realized had monthly payments that far exceeded their means. All five loans are now in foreclosure." (courtesy of tompeters blog)

I don't wanna sound pessimistic but it would be wise to prepare for the worst. Never get caught with your pants down, so the saying goes...heheh. Hope you guys out there made the most of the thaipusam public holiday today heheh...and did not contribute to littering the roadside with coconuts...hahaha

...Nostalgia 1: 2008

PNB-iT Sdn Berhad management team 1999 (just before the name change to HeiTech Padu Sdn. Bhd and just before we went for Public Listing) when we left PNB building at Jalan Tun Razak to occupy our new corporate HQ at Plaza Damansara. Left to right: Abdullah Ahmad, me, Che Ngah, Mohd Radzi Zainal, Haji Safiee (President), Fawzie Embi, Abidin Yahya, Wan Zaidi, Omar Che Mad posing at the back row to executive chairman YBhg Dato' Mohd Hilmey Mohd Taib.

(P.S.: Radzi Zainal, Fawzie Embi and Abidin are no longer around. Omar Che Mad went on mandatory retirement recently. Haji Safiee too has retired but still around on contract. The only ones in the current executive committee are Dato', Haji Safiee and Wan Zaidi. You may sight the current management team on HTP's website. I remain in attendance as joint company secretary at HeiTech's board until otherwise notifed (hahaha) and remain as managing director & ceo of MRC (60% owned by HTP and 40% owned by Malaysian Re) also until otherwise notified...heheh..... )

...of strategy & spin jobs...hahaha

This morning Suruhanjaya Syarikat Malaysia (SSM) or Companies Commission of Malaysia (CCM) launched their e-lodgement services (whatever that means...hahaha). Well, to me it simply means doing stuff lodging your company information to CCM via the internet. So you can actually now do your returns in the comfort of your bedroom on your notebook without coming to the office? ya rite...you think your companies will allow that? hmmm. Anyway, the notion of being virtual, being ubiquotuous -to use the ICT lingo, is still far-fetched if you really look deep into the real practices of companies in Malaysia. I stand corrected though, heheh. You know what's the problem? that's because alot of people still must see the hardcopy, still insist on printing documents, don't trust the softcopy...must feel the paper and hmmm thus contributing or lemme put it another way, the main culprits for the perennial cutting down of trees...hahaha! Overall, I hear comments that the do was a great spin job...heheh.

I had planned to arrive just before the minister but unfortunately I arrived at 10.35 am and as soon as I took the escalator to level one of the sime darby convention centre, the VIP entourage just walked out of the holding room on the way to the main hall. I stood by the door, shooked hands with Datuk Johan Raslan chairman of PwC and Moidunny president of MAICSA and I wallked with all of them trailing behind the minister (YBhg Datuk Shafie Afdal). I got a great seat behind the minister and seated on my left was Dr Nordin executive director of the Malaysian Accounting Standards Board and Moidunny on my right....hahaha. The rest is history. Not a bad strategy arriving slightly later than the minister...hahaha so much for strategy and spin jobs!!

..Farewell Sir John Harvey-Jones

Two people I liked, passed away. One is the beautiful hollywood actress, Suzanne Plesshette (and her famous husky voice). She died at age 82 and the other is british management guru and former chairman of ICI. John Harvey-Jones who died at age 83. I reproduce below the obituary of Sir John harvey-Jones as it appeared in the Economist:

John Harvey-Jones
Jan 17th 2008 From The Economist print edition

Sir John Harvey-Jones, manager extraordinaire, died on January 9th, aged 83

IN THE winter of 1946-47, when ice and snow lay thick across Europe, John Harvey-Jones found himself in charge of bands of Germans and Russians dismantling Wilhelmshaven docks. The docks were to be shipped to Russia as war reparations. Naturally, the two squads of workers hated each other. Every advance was followed by slippage and obstruction before, at long last, the job was done. Mr Harvey-Jones, then a young naval lieutenant, was there because he spoke both languages. It sowed the seeds of a career in man-management.

He was born two years before Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) was formed in 1926, and died within days of the disappearance of ICI as an independent company after its takeover by a Dutch competitor last year. When he became chairman in 1982 the company was making a loss, bleeding heavily from the harsh effects of Margaret Thatcher's economic policies on British manufacturing. Industrial customers for its plastics, paints and pigments were shrinking or going bust. Sir John knew whom to blame, once describing the prime minister as British manufacturing's greatest handicap.

His hair was long and scruffy, his ties ludicrous and his manner jovial bordering on Falstaffian; a board meeting, for him, was a debate, punctuated by gales of his maniacal laughter. Few were better at the brisk summing-up and the clear, no-nonsense decision. He could not have been more unlike the dull, grey-suited types in most British boardrooms. The top job at ICI fell to him after a tussle as his predecessor sought a second term; roaring in, he trimmed the bloated bureaucracy and tried to make the company more go-ahead. By the time he stepped down in 1987, it was back in profit. The business cycle accounted for much of that, but Harvey-Jones magic had made the difference too.

That got him noticed. His biggest impact, however, came when he presented “Troubleshooter”, a pioneering BBC TV series that aimed to interest the general public in the nitty-gritty of running a business. Before long he became the best known boss in the country. Cameras in tow, he would breeze into a company, dispensing blunt criticism, bonhomie and brisk advice in equal portions. The series attracted 3m viewers, outshining stodgier business programmes, though with none of the cruelty attending “Dragons' Den”. Sir John was sharp in order to be kind.

He did not always get it right. Had Morgan, a specialist maker of old-fashioned, hand-built sports cars, taken his advice to modernise and expand, it would have gone bust in the recession of the early 1990s. Instead, it largely stuck to its niche market and thrives to this day. Sir John combined his TV career with dozens of non-executive roles, including—from 1989 to 1994—chairman of The Economist. When he took up that job, he invited the then CEO out to dinner, asked him what his vision was, and mauled him until, by coffee time, some sort of grand plan for the future had emerged. The Harvey-Jones mantra, both in management and in media, was the need to confront change as the only way to survive.

The hunter, not the hunted

Sir John's climb up the ICI ladder began in the 1950s, as a time-and-motion man at the huge petrochemicals complex at Wilton on Teesside, in north-east England. This site, the very symbol of post-war British industry with its dramatic floodlit skyline by the Tees, was the beating heart of the company, taking in oil and gas, brewing up and piping out the potions that supplied other ICI factories around the country. Later, as deputy chairman for petrochemicals, he tackled sour industrial relations and disjointed management at the plant. If workers at Wilton downed tools (and Sir John was quick to spot the stirrings of industrial unrest that were to lead to the “winter of discontent” in 1978-79), the whole company would grind to a halt within days. His job was to keep the site humming.

He was never an obvious candidate to lead this champion of industrial technology. He was neither an accountant nor a chemist; the only time he donned a white coat was in his early years at Wilton. Before that, he might have been a sailor. He went straight from Dartmouth College in Devon into the Royal Navy during the war, was torpedoed twice, and then went into submarines, typically opting to become the hunter rather than the hunted. After the war, with his German and Russian, he spent some time in the intelligence service “driving small boats in the Baltic”, as he put it. But management soon became his first love.

By the time he reached its boardroom, ICI was rapidly becoming less imperial, less chemical and less industrial. The days of sprawling chemical companies were over; investors wanted more focused, individual businesses. The firm started to unravel less than ten years after Sir John's departure, when a threatened bid from two corporate raiders exposed its weaknesses. An expensive foray into speciality chemicals loaded it with too much debt. Even Wilton had to be sold off to Americans. ICI dropped out of the FTSE 100 list of leading British companies, and may survive only as a brand. The bellwether of British industry, and the man who symbolised it, went out together.

...lest we forget

the age difference 1977 to 2007... This should be read only by those whose level of maturity qualifies them to relate to it... hahaha

1977 : Long hair
2007 : Longing for hair

1977 : KEG
2007 : EKG

1977 : Acid rock
2007 : Acid reflux

1977 : Trying to look like Marlon Brando or Liz Taylor
2007 : Trying NOT to look like Marlon Brando or Liz Taylor

1977 : Seeds and stems
2007 : Roughage

1977 : Hoping for a BMW
2007 : Hoping for a BM

1977 : Going to a new, hip joint
2007 : Receiving a new hip joint

1977 : Rolling Stones
2007 : Kidney Stones

1977 : Screw the system
2007 : Upgrade the system

1977 : Parents begging you to get your hair cut
2007 : Children begging you to get their heads shaved

1977 : Passing the drivers' test
2007 : Passing the vision test

1977 : whatever
2007 : Depends

Just in case you weren't feeling too old today, this will certainly change things. The people who are starting college this year were born in 1989. They are too young to remember the space shuttle blowing up. Their lifetime has always included AIDS. Bottle caps have always been screw off and plastic. The CD was introduced the year they were born. They have always had an answering machine. They have always had cable. They cannot fathom not having a remote control. Popcorn has always been cooked in the microwave. They never took a swim and thought about Jaws. They can't imagine what hard contact lenses are. They don't know who Mork was or where he was from. They do not care who shot J. R. and have no idea who J. R. even is. They don't have a clue how to use a typewriter.

Do you feel old yet? Pass this on to the other old fogies on your list. It is good to have friends who know about these things and are still alive and kicking!!!! Hahaha...enjoy the rest of the weekend folks...oh by the way, the creative naughty reminiscence you just read, was forwarded to me by my contemporary Nik Roseli of global Insurance Broker Marsh (I was told that he is cousin of Nik Faldo...yes the great golfer is a kelantanese...hahaha)

...Anak Cucu Cicit Arshad (ACCA)...heheh

YBhg Tan Sri Dato' Seri (Dr) Arshad Ayub (founding Director of ITM-now UiTM, former Central Bank Malaysia Deputy Governor & former Chief Secretary to a few Malaysian Ministries, was the recipient of the Asia-Pacific ACCA Global Lifetime Achievement Award 2007, flanked on his left by YBhg Dato' Khalid Ahmad (pioneer ACCA ITM student and current President of ACCA Malaysia Advisory Committee) and on his right, Allan Blewitt, Chief Executive ACCA Global, London, at a ceremony at Le Meridien Hotel Kuala Lumpur, 10 A.M. this morning

Guests from left: Dr Sharifah Mariam, Assoc Prof Dr Shakila Yacob, Dr Khatijah Khalid (all three from the International Institute of Public Policy and Management (INPUMA) Universiti Malaya, Datuk Saein former Deputy Director-General of Inland Revenue, MOCCCIS Secretary, Hj Yusra, Hj Razi, YBhg Tan Sri Datuk Seri (Dr) Abdullah bin Ayub (partly hidden) & Datuk Dr Zaini Ariff

The Main VIP table: clockwise YBhg Datuk Rafiah Salim Vice-Chancellor Universiti Malaya, YBhg Datuk Seri Ibrahim Shah Vice-Chancellor UiTM, Allan Blewitt Chief Executive ACCA Global, Tan Sri Arshad partly hidden, Puan Sri hidden, Datuk Khalid, Nik Hasyudeen and Datuk Abdul Samad Alias the 2006 recipient of ACCA global achievement award

Tan Sri Arshad delivering his acceptance speech

well of course, the photos would normally not be complete... if it does not include a pose of me...hahaha... seated next to Dr Sharifah Mariam Deputy Director/MPP Coordinator, at the International Institute of Public Policy & Management (INPUMA) University of Malaya

...passionately dispassionate

I said in my earlier post that I will summarise the fraud conference. Just one word: excellent! Well done ISM & ACFE Malaysia Chapter. A good start for the year for the insurance and takaful industry. Nothing that most delegates do not already know, but the new information, updates, statistics was illuminating and errm quite scary too...hahaha. Well, all of us at some point in time, in our jobs, do have to deal with paradoxes don't we?!

Which reminds me of the HBO movie (Avengers -starring my favourite old man actor Sam Elliot). The CIA operative asked his boss: what? you are asking me to to eliminate a patriot, who has a series of congressional medals for his services in Vietnam and elsewhere only to protect a war criminal and his atrocities during the serbia-hezergovina troubles? The CIA chief responded: our job is not without its paradoxes, and in some other outfit...what I have just asked you to do...is termed...outsourcing!

Thats the movie script...hahaha which brings me to our local papers headlines today! Upon reading all of them this morning I can't help but to come out with this observation: listen to this...doctors and lawyers I think have a common duty. To save a life, one from dying and one from being put in jail for life or from being sent to the electric chair, right? That I suppose, is the profesional ethics bit...but hang on, it seems to me that what I have read this morning...seems to give me a different impression....let's see if this makes sense to you... a doctor recently appears on the front page and say: Yes...I am the one, the actor in the DVD; then, a lawyer in the front page today says: hmmm it looks like me and sounds like me...hahaha.

If you go by the maxim that honesty is the best policy or if public admission is a highly rated virtue of integrity and transparency of the highest level...I dunno man!....I am not sure now what integrity, transparency, corporate social responsibility, whistle-blowing and the rest of the mouthful of other near humbug fashionable terms really mean. You tell me folks...in the meantime, I shall remain passionately dispassionate...hahaha

...fraud oh fraud..where art thou...heheh

Today and tomorrow, six of us from MRC are attending the Insurance & Takaful Fraud Conference at the Prince Hotel Kuala Lumpur (organised by ISM). From left to right: Yen, Ng, Diana, me, Hairul & Khiew. I will summaries the salient features of that conference tomorrow...heheh...