One
*****
Pak Lah announced his mid-term reshuffle of the Cabinet.
As highlighted in my speech on "How to set Pak Lah free?" in an earlier October forum, I never gave up hope on Pak Lah even after more than 3 years into his administration. I saw some positive elements, and I had hoped pretty much that Pak Lah was serious biding his time before showing his cards to both his detractors, as well as the non-performing cabinet members.
I could accept a largely unchanged jumbo cabinet after his election victory on the basis that he wanted to give the existing cabinet members a chance. But I could not accept that irresponsible, incompetent and possibly even corrupt members were retained in their portfolios after more than 2 years "chance".
It was a reshuffle which I had hyped myself up so much on expecting many positive things, after giving Pak Lah the benefit of the doubt for many years. But it was a belated "reshuffle" that wasn't, and my hopes and faith in Pak Lah died with it.
I do not believe that Pak Lah is corrupt or immoral. I do however, believe that he is not a leader of man, and not a competent man in administration. I believe that we need more effective, intelligent and equally ethical leaders to take the country forward, in place of the current poorly performing leadership.
Two
*****
I founded my company in the early parts of 1997 just 3 months before the Thai baht crashed triggering the Asian financial crisis. That was also a fair few years before the dotcom boom where money from venture capitalists were aplenty. By August 2001, we managed to get the company listed on the Singapore Exchange. It wasn't a big company, but it's listed nevertheless. ;)
But the up and down swings continued with many factors coming into play - weak economic environment, the Asian SARS crisis, a large payment default from a Berjaya Group subsidiary (>RM2m!) and even being hit by a fraudulent contract. The last 2-3 years were particularly difficult recovering from some of the above crises.
This year however, after an extended delay and plenty of preserverance, the company is finally back on stable footing financially as well as a return to being back in the black for 2006. It is a huge relief, and credit must be given to the company's employees for playing such a key role in the process.
Three
*****
As stated on the panel on the right, my ambition was really not to become a multi-multi-millionaire like top entrepreneur, Tony Fernandes, but to be actively involved in the socio-political scene in Malaysia. The question has always been timing, as well as "how much money is enough?"
Thanks to a personal and external confluence of factors, a critical decision has been made in October and I hope I will be able to live my personal dreams not too long into the near future. Due to the sensitivity of being a CEO of a public listed company, I can't reveal too much here, not yet anyway, but you can be assured that when the time comes, readers here will definitely be amongst the first to know.
There has been major events in each of the past couple of years. But I dare say that this year, and what will come next year, will certainly be a momentous period for me, and possibly for my family.
Happy New Year! ;)
6 comments:
Happy New Year, Tony, may all your dreams come true in the new year ahead.
Happy New Year to all fellow Malaysians and bloggers alike.
HNY. I heard about that opportunity you're probably talking about. Here's wishing you the best of luck in what you wish to achieve.
The cabinet today comprises more than 95% of the dumbos from the Mahathir era. This shows that the weak aab dares not remove/reshuffle the powerful, long-entrenched ministers for fear of rebellion which would surely cost him his job and all the benefits that come with it. This is reminiscent of the weak Ming emperors being controlled/manipulated by corrupt court eunuchs which brought about the Manchu Dynasty.
You don't think Pak Lah is competent nor talented and you have to ask yourself, if its possible for talented and truly moral beings to rule this country tommorrow. If you look at the bench, there is hardly truly talented and moral compasses that can take over the leadership of this country.
Malaysia will continue to be what it is. Not a bad place but never a great one and because it cannot be truly great it will never be able to solve its fundamental problems which are really about issues of fundamental now not short terms ones..
Must admit that today is the 1st time I have had the chance to visit your blog, Tony. I think it's come a long way and considering how busy we all are with our lives, I must congratulate you on a job well-done. As one of your oldest friends, I wish you and your family all the best for 2007. From our times at Presby, I wish you all the best in your efforts to make Malaysia a better country for us all! Sincerely, MN.
Tony, Kian Ming, (although I know Kian Ming should be in the other blog)
For the Year 2007, it's about time both of you to spend less time blogging and concentrate on the doing part. Both of you have blogged long enough, it's about time to show that both of you guys are more than just cyberspace bloggers and talk.
Show us that you can put education in place like what you have written. You might want to start your own college, you might want to show everyone how education should be delivered and how's the way to deliver education in order to produce the kind of graduates that you guys are so critical of. Show us that you can start a college that is profitable, viable and at the same time produce the kind of quality education you talk about.
Talk and blog is easy and cheap, (although I would say that the research does take up considerable time) Time to show that you guys are more than just bloggers.
Waiting for the real action - hopefully year 2007 augurs that.
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