Reflection on thought processes

the trick to keeping your sanity involves keeping your mind working actively.

There are many ways to think of the current turmoil I, and by extension my wife and family, are under at the moment, through that could be slightly overexaggerating it when compared to the plight of others.

One, is my gullibility and by extension by ability to correctly diagnose situations and   my judgment in people. The 'happy-happy' perspective, as elaborated by husnul-dzan concepts that I've used to good effect all these while are really truisms that need to be tested against the test of evidence and circumstance. Idealism should not be replaced with laziness to think and putting in the effort to adapt accordingly.

Two, there are thugs that we should be sensitive to, to have a zealousness to safeguard and protect our reputation and credulity. In most circumstance, when dealing with a close circle of family, friends and confidante, it's important not to let the ego become so bruised that a totally avoidable altercation happens. Berlapang dada starts when we trust our close circle. Trust. And although I could be espousing these concepts verbally, in actions is where it counts. 

Three, controlling personal feelings of helplessness, loneliness. it is important to control the narrative of our own life story - at least allow us the ability to dictate and decide our own circumstance and reality to the extent that where possible, that decision was made with clear understanding of implications. The victim mentality suits no-one except for manipulative leaders intent on getting the fight and the fire to respond to that instinct. In our own minds, the victim mentality must be managed to allow us to fight, within reasonable parameters of course, and motivate us to obtain what we truly want.

Four, nothing truly worthwhile is obtained in life by doing nothing and relying purely on hand-outs, empathy, sympathy and sychopantic dependence on others. Most worthwhile endeavors require vision, passion and the heedless determination to shape reality. Take Rasulullah. Take other great but in relation lesser achievements of military generals, political and business leaders. This is the essence of leadership. Without this special ingredient, we fail the test of life, and of living.

Learnings from the KJS mini-fiasco

1.       Thankfully, good (rather than common, as common is now just plain bad) sense prevailed. KJS’s proposal for some manipulations on the innovation agencies structure was not endorsed last Monday. (for background, refer the Malaysian Insider report last Friday which depicted a fairly accurate picture, rather peculiarly considering the poor journalistic standards it normally has)

2.       My take on the whole proposal was that it was particularly bad and misguided – corporate structuring-type solutions to overcome what are particularly deep-seated defects of the Malaysian innovation landscape. To expand, if the issue on innovation is i) a mediocre education system totally reliant on parents to push the agenda for the brightest and the best students, (ie on tuition, extra-curricular, skill shops etc), universities and SPM-levels purely focused on A’s and paper chase, (ii) a lousy innovation funding whose criteria is more the colour of skin rather than meritocracy of ideas, (iii) a compliant civil service and GLCs who does not value talent, research, innovation; then the solutions are that which address the core and fundamental issues, not the fringe issues. As long as no one stands up to say that the country is going to the dogs, any solution is just plain imperfect. But the worst thing is to say that the whole innovation ecosystem is a greenfield that requires corporate maneouverings to consolidate, and assuming that this can take a life on its own to drive innovation in the country.

3.       So, where did KJS go wrong? One, is him not questioning his assumptions, not cross-referencing his ideas / assumptions / solutions and getting the buy-in from his stakeholder constituency – a classic failure of change management. Political will can come in a bit later once he has sufficient social capital to push his ideas through. Failure to identify his allies and come up with strong backing for his proposed solutions saw the proposal’s eventual rejection. We cannot deny that while common sense, brilliant proposals are welcome, but without political backing it just won’t go through. In this case, these were bad proposals, and without backing it’s just no-go from the start.

4.       Two, reputationally he was tarnished from the start. He was dismissive of current practitioners. He failed to listen to the little guys. He lied and slimed his way through the initial gatekeepers. In the end, he didn’t need any encouragement from others to be dismissive of his own work. You reap what you sow. You show disrespect to others, others will show disrespect to you.

5.       Three, over-reliance on name dropping and political backing. This is the old culture under Mahathir, and Tun M was the detailed micro-planner who would provide aircover for these type of schemes when it makes sense and provide powerful political support to get things going. Plus, he had always superscreened candidates initially so that he would have no qualms and no doubts to push this agenda through, whether this was right or wrong will only be proven much much later. With Najib, you get the sense he is someone who on the whole wants to move quickly, but is hindered when needed to make the difficult decisions – always unsure if he was on the right course. Always too easy to convince, and therefore thought that KJS was easily the best person there is for innovation. Then, when pressed for decisions, he flounders – and KJS is then left on his own. For KJS, it was a classic misstep, thinking that the cavalry was behind him, he had charged recklessly. And now seemingly, being made to look very stupid.

6.       Re: No 5 – there is merit for Najib, as much as there are negatives for Tun M’s style. It’s up to others now to adapt to their bosses style. No civil servant can afford to move things this quickly in the present government, especially not for some fringe issue like innovation if we consider greater issues like the Malaysian economy, race relations, corruption, ministerial capabilities etc are being pushed to one side. Najib isn’t a leader like Tun M, indeed he is more aligned in style to Pak Lah.

7.       So, all being said, KJS is a goner, unless he now decides to be friendly to others. Otherwise he can just be a BT consultant/ analyst and push his masters proposals to his bosses there. This job in my opinion, is just too big for him.

8.       For the innovation space in Malaysia, there needs to be another mover. Or KJS needs to just chug along with lower gears.

 

 

TNB & IPPs, Malaysian Electricity Supply Industry, and Malaysia

1.       I see Sakmongkol, Tony Pua, Guan Eng all weighing in their views on the June 2011 electricity tariff hike, and misinformation abounds especially when ignorant politicians try to score cheap political points. In the end, the rest of those people working in the industry are still going about their daily business-as-usual routine, scratching their heads at how ignorant politicians from both sides of the divide are.

 

2.       The rising Brent crude oil price has increased steadily from abt USD80 of last October to USD110 per barrel, and of course the whole crazy subsidy mechanisms we have in place puts paid to all our economic plans, and induces lots of desperate panic policy making. First off, is that probably no one allocated enough buffer when budgeting government spending when it became clear that oil price at 70-80 was just waiting for some leads to rise up in the global economy. Surely, someone somewhere would have already figured out that despite the economic crisis of 08-09, the global leveraged finance still has plenty of liquid capital trying to work its way into the next big thing, and commodities were surely a clear target, and relatively soft prices of oil were certainly a target. I could have put in my blogs before that I’d think the pricing of USD per barrel could stay for some time now, as hedge fund speculators weigh their bets on how much further this can spike. So, while this could have some positive impact for some sectors eg commoditization of our biomass resources with the caveat of if we can get our house in order, generally the inflationary pressures would be eating into household expenditures very soon.

 

3.       As inflationary pressures begin to take hold, where do the government address the subsidy cuts? Malaysia is not alone, UK, Greece, US (!) and just about every nation other than China will be affected. Petronas will make a killing this year, but with the shift of exploration to local oil wells preserving short-term capital bleeding at the tradeoff of uncertainty on long-term potentials, the increased Government revenues from Petronas cannot and should not be used to offset the current inflationary pressures of the oil price increase.

 

4.       So, what then? RON95 is still at 1.90, whereas RON97 is already at 2.90. Where will the targeted subsidy go to? Electricity is a good choice, seeing as it were that we’ve been subsidizing MNCs for monkey years for them to pollute our environment. So tariff hike for electricity is a good choice.

 

5.       And then you get side debates of the IPPs getting subsidies. No, the issue of the IPPs are lop-sided contracts, which I am very sure can be unilaterally revoked ie expropriated by the Government in the interests of nationalization, if there were some smart people doing the contracts. Subsidies isn’t the issue with IPPs. The issue is with below market gas price, but because of the lop-sided contract terms, if these were equalized to market rates, the cost pass-through mechanism would only affect end-customers.

 

6.       And then you get people questioning Che Khalib’s pay. There are two issues here, is CK qualified to be CEO of TNB, and what is the compensation package of a TNB senior management team. For a RM20b PLC, and CEO drawing a RM1.2m, that’s bloody measly, but it’s still double that of his next most-senior officer. It would be good if CK can be magnanimous, publicly say how he has failed as a CEO, and give up 25% to his anointed successor, a true blue TNB / LLN breed. CK in my mind has not been the CEO that the media seems to paint, CEO of the year? He has largely been able to keep the company ticking over, but how much of that is due to the strong team supporting him? And what about the failure to grow non-electricity supply revenue? Regional aspirations? Over-dependence on tariff structure? Staff morale? All in all, he seems to be an improved version of previous CEOs, but to triple his pay for that? It seems that the issue isn’t whether he’s overpaid, the issue is whether he is qualified?

 

7.       And associated with that is how investment analysts can be paid 2x/3x what GLC engineers / accountants / professionals are being paid to do less substantive work. This is really an injustice, as this disparity of income allocation and distribution will just shift people away from the perception of low-paying, unrespected, vulnerable to litigation but exceedingly mission-critical jobs, to risk-free, penalty-free, high paying jobs in the financial sector. Apparently as my previous post has shown, it’s a worldwide injustive induced by capitalism and the greed to make more money. I don’t dispute or even feel bitter to these people, but the quality of the characters for these sort of activities must be present. It’s ok to make money if you are Rockefellers, the Gates, Bloombergs, Oprahs, Yusuf Islam, Li Ka-Shing and put your money into sincere humanity interests and activities, although of course perusing the list shows how personal agendas can actually be built-in by the rich and powerful.

 

8.       So, the first and foremost are not just good characters, they are strong leadership characters to build the next generation. The present generation has done their job, it’s time to move over and let the new breed take over. But the infusion of the new breed with the capacity to think, to accept responsibility not just for themselves but also for others have become supercritical for Muslims. And for Malaysia, the concoluted mess we are in, I’m afraid for you. I’m looking at the landscape, and seriously, I see no one with the sincerity, foresight and character to lead, particularly not from UMNO.

 

 

MOST OVERPAID JOBS IN THE UNITED STATES

From: http://www.engineersalary.com/overpaid.asp

And I can’t disagree with anything in this article. Apart from the different pay numbers, job designations, cultural acceptance of tipping – there’s hardly any difference to Malaysia. Take an engineering job only because you love the work, not because you want the wealth that your peers earn in the other sectors. Spouses should also bear this in mind.

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MOST OVERPAID JOBS IN THE UNITED STATES

by EngineerSalary.com Staff | Updated: January 3, 2011

No one ever admits to being overpaid, but some Americans take home huge paychecks — far beyond what they deserve for their level of competence or education — and contribution to society.

EngineerSalary took a look at the market outside of the engineering arena, and found huge inconsistencies.

Some jobs command excessive pay that can't be explained by supply and demand. While it's easy to argue that CEOs or celebrities are grossly overpaid - reality is not precise, according to EngineerSalary.com.

Top attorneys earn over $750/hour and plaintiffs lawyers (the ones that chase accidents and medical malpractice using annoying TV ads) pocket a third or more of personal injury settlements, but county prosecutors and public defenders get paid a pittance. Specialty surgeons can easily earn $1 million or more, but some family practice physicians are hard pressed to pay off their med school loans years later. The majority of general practioners (GPs) earn just under $125,000, internists (internal medicine docs) earn typically between $150,000 and $450,000, depending on the size and location of their practice... and keep in mind that they face potential liability issues daily, pay malpractice insurance premiums... and have hundreds of federal and state regulations to comply with - unlike Skycaps (see below).

Pharmacists (due to a national shortage) working for mass merchandisers (retail drug stores) earn between $60,000 (new grad) and $120,000+ with 15 years of experience, registered nurses earn less than half of this with 25 years of experience. Technical recruiters can earn $500,000 or more in a strong economy, but new FBI agents with a law degree earn around $62,000 and Air Marshalls are paid between $35,000 and $85,000 - depending on previous law enforcement experience.

Veterinarians specializing in the care of large animals earn $89,000 on average. Museum curators with a MA start at around $27,500, and medical librarians average $45,000.

The average public school teacher, according to the American Federation of Teachers, earns $45,950. A full professor at a top 50 U.S. university will earn (on average) between $104,000 and $158,000, plus outside consulting fees. Associate professors will start at around $42,200 (national average).

Hospital administrators average from $67,000 to $143,000 annually, according to industry sources. Administrators at a teaching hospital earn significantly more. In hospital facilities where large numbers of physicians are employed (as a faculty group), salaries may be well above $300,000.

A Starbucks barista earns a couple of dollars over minumum wage, with experience.

News anchors in the 25 biggest television markets are making an average of $140,000 this year (national anchors up to $15 million), but the overall average pay for all markets is slightly under $47,000, and most of the jobs are in small markets where the average is $33,000. Newspaper reporters with three years of experience average $27,600 in medium sized cities... while newspapers survive.

Nationally, the median wage for police patrol officers is $41,920. Prison guards average $34,900 and court bailiffs $31,600. A New York State Trooper earns $77,218 after five years on the force, a sergeant earns $90,795, lieutenant $107,970, starting pay is $61,525 (plus overtime, and cost of living differentials depending on where they are located).

Paralegals average $30,700, federal court judges earn $145,100 to 159,030, the U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice earns $217,400, while Supreme Court Associate Justices make $208,100. The justices have the potential to earn many times their Supreme Court salary in private practice.

The President of the United States earns $400,000 (along with a $50,000 monthly expense account, a $100,000 non-taxable travel account and $19,000 for entertainment), the Vice President $221,100 and most White House senior staff members $172,200.

The Speaker of the House $217,400, Cabinet-level officers $175,700, U.S. Senators and Representatives $162,500 (plus perks), Majority and Minority Leaders $188,100. In the U.S. military, a one star general takes home $14,068.80 a month.

State senators are all over the map, from a high of $110,000 in California (+ per diem pay), to Michigan at $79,650 (+ $12,000/year allowance) to $14,067 in Arkansas.

Most states (except Alaska) pay football coaches at state universities and colleges better than their chief executive. The highest earner is the University of Alabama’s Nick Saban, whose $4 million salary far out-distances Gov. Bob Riley’s $113,000. Alaska, which doesn’t have a college football team, pays a hockey coach the most... but still $13,000 less than the governor. Head football coaches at NCAA Division 1A schools average about $920,000 annually, the largest salary of all state employees nationwide, according to a study by the American Association of University Professors.

In California, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger earns $206,500 (but gives it all back), followed by the governors of New York at $179,000, Michigan $177,000 and New Jersey $175,000 (but NJ Gov. Jon Corzine, former CEO of Goldman Sachs, only accepts $1/year). The lowest paid governors are in Maine at $70,000, Arkansas $80,800 and Tennessee $85,000.

Race car driver Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s earnings totaled more than $5,700,000 last year, and his endorsements earned him another $20 million, bringing his pay to nearly $26M. That number doesn't include sales of Earnhardt merchandise - and income from the racing company that he owns. UPS drivers’ salaries start at $24.69/hour. No college required for either job.

Marine biologists earn an average starting salary of $39,000ish, with a high-end of around $57,000 - with 6-9 years of field experience and an advanced degree.

Stars making millions qualify for many people's overpaid list. For every one of those actors, there are thousands more waiting tables and accepting bit parts in community theatre — awaiting that big break. Their annual earnings are usually below unskilled labor.

Many CEOs are earning obscene salaries based on their performance, while shareholder value in the company tumbles.

Ten Most Overpaid Jobs in the United States (in reverse order):

10) Wedding Photographers

Wedding photographers charge $2,000 to over $5,000 to shoot a wedding, for what amounts to a one day assignment plus a client meeting (and processing time). They must cover equipment and film development costs (with digital cameras, this cost goes away). Still, many photographers in major metros shoot two weddings each weekend in the May-to-October season, and can rack up $75,000 to $100,000 for six months work. And much of their work is mediocre. No adjustments for missing the best shot of the day, missed opportunities or amateurish techniques. No retakes.

9) Airline Pilots

While American and United pilots took pay cuts, senior captains earn as much as $250,000 at Delta, and their counterparts at other major airlines still earn between $140,000 to $220,000 - several times the pay that pilots at smaller regional carriers receive - for a job that technology has made almost fully automated. By comparison, senior pilots make up to 50% less at low fare carriers like Jet Blue and Southwest, but enjoy perks like stock options. That explains why their employers are profitable while several of the majors are still teetering on bankruptcy, and asking for government bailouts.

However, keep in mind that pilots on commuter lines are earning $25,000 to $40,000.

The pilot's unions are very powerful. They demand premium pay as if still in the glory days, rather than the cutthroat, deregulated market of low cost coast-to-coast roundtrips. Because we entrust our lives to them, consumers accept the excessive compensation negotiated by their unions (when it's airline mechanics who really hold our fate in their hands).

This may be changing, due to carrier mergers and bankruptcies, but no new data has been published recently.

8) West Coast Longshoremen

In early 2002, West Coast ports shut down when the longshoremen's union fought to preserve very generous healthcare benefits that would make most Americans drool. The union didn't demand wage hikes, because its members already were making a huge paycheck. West Coast dockworkers earn an average of $117,600 for handling cargo, according to the Pacific Maritime Association, their employer. Office clerks who log shipping records into computers will earn $139,000. Foremen who oversee the rank-and-file members will take home an average $177,000.

Unlike their East Coast counterparts, who compete directly with non-union ports in the South and Gulf of Mexico, the West Coast stevedores have a lock on Pacific ports. Given their rare monopoly, they can seriously disrupt commerce -- and command exorbitant wages, even though their work becomes more automated and less hazardous every year.

7) Skycaps

Many of the baggage handlers who check your curbside luggage pull in more than $100,000 a year -- most of it in cash. On top of their $30,000 salaries, peak earners take in $300 or more a day in tips. That amounts to a $2 tip from 18 travelers an hour. Many tip much higher. While most skycaps are cordial, many treat travelers with indifference, knowing passengers don't want to attempt counter check-ins.

Their work is more mindless than that of a fast food counter worker, who at least has to bag the order correctly (and they make less than 20% of a Skycap's earnings). Skycap perks: no liability for sending your luggage to the wrong destination, no personal accountability or liability, no refunds. Education requirements: none.

This occupation, however, is coming to an abrupt end, with new check-in regulations. It is expected to fade away over the next couple of years... as skycaps become unnecessary.

6) Real Estate Agents

Anyone who puts in a little effort can get a real estate license, which makes the vast commissions that luxury home agents earn stupefying. While most agents really hustle to earn $30-60,000 a year, those in affluent areas can make $200K for half the effort, courtesy of high priced listings. However, sellers are finally shopping around, and beginning to negotiate fees down before signing a listing agreement. The more expensive the property, the more negotiable the fee. The real estate bubble has hit a lot of high earning agents directly in the bank account.

5) Motivational Speakers

Whether it's for Rudy Guiliani ($100K per speech) or Tom Peters, corporate groups pay astronomical sums to celebrity types, authors and political has beens to pump up their convention audiences. Former President Reagan raised the bar in 1989 when he took $2 million from Japanese business groups for making two one-hour speeches. President Clinton earned $10.5 million on about 60 speeches last year.

4) Orthodontists

For a 35-hour week, orthodontists earn a median $374,000 a year, according to the Journal of Clinical Orthodontics. General dentists earn less than half as much working 47 hours a week on average. The difference in their training isn't like that of a transplant surgeon vs. a family practice doctor. It's an extra two years — and a rewarding investment if you're among the chosen. U.S. dental schools have been criticized for keeping orthodontists in artificially short supply (to keep their incomes high).

This isn't neurosurgery. Orthodontists manipulate teeth -- and often leave much of the adjustment process to low paid assistants (whose work they bill for). What makes their windfall earnings egregious is that they stick parents with most of the inflated bill, since orthodontia insurance benefits cover nowhere near as large a percentage as for general dentistry.

This is the same as having a first year associate in a law firm handle your case (behind the scenes, completely unknown to the you), and the partner bills out the hours at his/her much higher hourly rate, which can typically run $100 to $300 more per hour. Your $1000 fee for legal work becomes $4000. It happens everyday.

3) Chief Executive Officers

Most CEOs are grossly overpaid (if you ask the shareholders) - but if their company is rewarding owners and employees, producing quality products of good value and being a responsible corporate citizen, it's hard to take issue with their compensation package.

CEOs at unprofitable companies (and those always lagging industry peers) stand as the nation's most overpaid citizens. Most know they should leave - in the shareholders' and employees' best interest - but they survive because corporate boards that oversee them are stacked with colleagues, friends or, in some cases, even family.

The ultimate excess comes after they're finally booted, usually by powerful insiders tired of seeing their own holdings plummet. These long-time losers draw multimillion-dollar severance packages as a reward for their failed stewardship, as an incentive to leave. There is no penalty for a CEO's incompetence.

In 1980 CEOs made 42 times the annual salary of the worker, and in 2002 it skyrocketed to 419 times (according to Financial Economists Roundtable Report, 11/2003). In 2007, a CEO of a Fortune 500 company averaged $9.91 million in compensation, not including other benefits.

2) Pro athletes

Pro athletes at the top of their game may deserve what they earn for being the best in their business. It's those who sign whopping, long-term contracts after a couple of strong years, and then find their talents vanish, who reap unconscionable amounts of money.

A NBA player, for instance, earned $10 million in a year he averaged 6.1 points a game. Braves pitcher Mike Hampton earned $9.5 million -- in the second year of an eight-year $121 million contract -- while compiling a 7-15 won-loss record. Thank the players' unions for refusing to negotiate contracts based on performance - and driving up the cost of tickets to unaffordable levels for a middle class family, especially for pro football and basketball. They point to league owners as the reason, yet Tiger Woods earns his income strictly on his personal performance in each tournament.

1) Mutual Fund Managers

Everyone on Wall Street (it could be argued) makes far too much for moving money around - based on results generated from software that's making most of their decisions -- but mutual fund managers are emerging as among the most reprehensible. Stock fund managers can easily earn $400,000 to $5 million a year (including significant bonuses above base salary) -- even though only 3 in 10 have beaten the market in the last 10 years.

Now we discover a large number enriched themselves and favored clients with illegally timed trades of fund shares. That's a worse betrayal of trust than the corporate scandals of recent years, since they're supposed to represent (and level the playing field for) the small investor --- including many thousands of engineers.

Put aside what fund managers earn... and consider their managers. Putnam's ex-CEO's income (estimated at $167 million over the last five years) rivals the bloated pay package that sparked the New York Stock Exchange President ouster.

Engineers...

Then you look at what most engineers earn.

They may design and develop a blockbuster product that earns their company millions, but they usually receive nothing in return except a paycheck... and a couple of percent more every year. Some companies give a paltry bonus for a patent, but very few engineers working for someone else ever get rich... or even really comfortable... on their personal creativity and ability.

Their innovative and revenue producing ideas become Intellectual Property owned by the corporation (remember that employment contract you signed).

We can't think of any cases (and we tried) where you can point to a group of engineers and say "Are they overpaid or what?"

Engineering salaries, taking into consideration education and responsibilities, the stress of accelerated delivery schedules and their direct impact on corporate profits and overall success of the company, seem absolutely inadequate.