What's right with Malaysia

Previous entry(ies) here referred:
http://flinflan.blogspot.com/2010/09/to-address-whats-right-with-malaysia-we.html

So, where to Malaysia?
Essentially looking forward, the debate can simplistically be said to be status quo, ie Malay political dominance (rather than hegemony) vs goign to the far extreme of harsh Islamic Taliban-style state or the other harsh-extreme of laissez-faire secular-liberal valueless 'Western model', the type that Islamists of the 60s fight hard against.

To be fair, the two extremes dont appear likely. Islamists have veered to the centre now, as evidenced with Ikhwan's positioning in the Egyptian crisis and Rashid Ghannouchi's in Tunisia. What could have been seen as the right opportunity to stake a claim for Islamic statism, was forgone for a centralist position. Islamists political stance has matured. Abu Iman even goes so far as to say impossible for this to take place (although this may have been a misreported quote) and incited the ire of his party members.

Liberal and secular leaders know there's no way they can get support of the Malays, because of the imagery of Chinese chavs or purely against Islamic principle. Status quo appears to be more likely in the long-run, and that is without factoring in PKR's desperate and confusing positioning ever since Anwar becomes so embroiled in his sodomy trial that his deputies just cant help shooting themselves everywhere. UMNO needs to reform itself, but without full support from their non-malay partners who cant save themselves either, look like they too will have problems. Malay society will continue to be split for some time.

On the other hand, as the stand-off continues on the political ideologies of the 2 biggest malay parties, and I would think an integration is a viable outcome if the threat of backstabbing can be mitigated ie certain personalities were to change,then debate will occur on administrative policies.

So here I list certain debates I'd like to occur and see some strong willed opinion-shapers emerge to lead this to the best possible solutions:
1. Administration of Justice, restoration of impartiality
- removal of scent of partiality
- removal of threat of abuse, fear and insecurity
- justice and fairness in policy application to all cultures, religions and social classes
- inculclating meritocracy and removal of cronyism, including open tender systems and such
- stengthening institutional independence

2. strengthening economic growth
- creating a vibrant wide-based economic base, that adds value to commodity resources we are currently very strong in
- fulfilling social welfare needs, esp urban living. ie transportation - get this MRT project right the first time - where's the bloody masterplan. Then improving infrastructure connectivity throughout Peninsular, (what about East Coast) and East Malaysia. develop fairly.
- emphasise old, weak, infirm, handicapped etc. Why is Bersamamu so dependent on society? where is government role in supporting this?
- emphasise innovation
- reduce frivolous govt spending

3. Social reformation
- masyarakat madani - for the malay-muslim society. Esp for UMNO
- incorruptible
- respectful
- harmonious
- allow social mobility - support, but only for the deserving
- low crime rates - stop this silly buang anak, zina, kicking of cats / dogs

4. Education
- respect for all cultures
- language development for everyone
- academic emphasis but competitive sports and extracurricular portion

Looking at the above criteria, I can give my KPIs to the following Ministries and the PM now.
1. Justice - PM - 2/10
2. Economy - PM/MOF, EPU, other large ministries- 2/10
3. Social reformation - PM 1/10 (Permata program is barking up the wrong tree)
4. Education - 1/10

I'm sorry if I'm too harsh in my assessment, but there is an appeal process possible. It's called political will for policy change.

Learnings on leadership, need for project tracking

Leadership

1.       It is so much more comfortable to lead than to be led. But power distance studies done by Hofstedes is interesting. There are cultures, and of course made up of individuals who are uncomfortable with wielding power, such as the Swedes. Not so the malays who come from hierarchical feudalistic backgrounds. Leaders are expected to lead. Abdication, syura, discussion – kalau boleh tak payah la…

2.       That’s the funny thing. So here I am needing to decide on where I go. I’m being pressured to lead in the traditional sense, rather than being who I am. Examining my heritage, there is a certain suspicion of power and authority, one I detedted since shildhood that made me slink out from being given the responsibility of headboy in primary school, that made me silently back away from being a prefect. In one sense, this made me lose out on developing innate skills to develop large groups, to stand in front, make my opinions known, seize the moment so to speak, stand my ground but it is who I am. Here when I need to my position wrt the crossroads, I need to derive a certain authority and power to make things happen.

3.       I need to stand firm on what I want, communicate innermost thoughts, understand transmitter motivations and things should flow from there. Again, these are the back-to-basics which needs to be done, executed, action-orientation. Convey the key messages well, and monitor that the key messages get to be translated into action, not just by me individually, but my immediate inner circle. Widening the circle then becomes the next phase of leadership. Gaps should be identified and addressed. Strategy, and action, and back again.

4.       In a nutshell, leadership is about getting right transmission of the key message of where we want to go. Action point: tazkirah, family meeting, blog writeups, lunchmate discussions. My utmost appreciation of Allah’s creation of our lisaan as an instrument of leadership, Alhamdulillah, subhanallah.

 

Project tracking

5.       Some items just never get moved: going wallclimbing, swimming, agriculture, tendering my resignation etc. I need a platform for synthesizing the different knowledge, otherwise the clutter in the noggin just doesn’t facilitate thinking on my feet, and therefore hinders whatever I intend to do. Sunday mornings look the best bet, or rather, very late at night.

 

 

 

 

learnings from Liverpool FC

1.       Supporting Liverpool has changed from my childhood years in the 80s – back then they were the standard bearers of footballing standards, both on-field and off-field. There were skills that I would follow from Rush and Dalglish, even the cerebral passing of Molby. Then when I was in the UK, there was a bit of complacency that it wouldn’t take long before we got back to our rightful place, and certainly not 20 years and counting.

2.       Rafa was pretty good. Tactically, ability to organize a team was perhaps right up there amongst the best. Perhaps lacking in leadership and man-management, an area where Ferg is the undoubted master. So, we could have had it good with him still around, but to have a dynasty such as Ferg’s, perhaps not. Rafa’s template would be closer to Wenger – working towards a model, and if it wins, good, if not hard luck we’ll improve an try again the next year. Having said that, I rate Rafa better than Wenger, as LFC has overtaken Arsenal in most years Rafa was at the helm.

3.       Roy? Less said the better. I sort of agree with PT’s take on him, but asking for his removal is too treacherous. Especially so that NESV is now on-board and determined to revamp the whole structure of the club. Having a DoF seems to remove the anxiety that Hodgson will turn LFC into a Fulham, and perhaps shouldn’t be said too loudly, but he HAS been undermined.

4.       The team still doesn’t seem to be functioning as well as it can, understandable when the limiting factor is the manager. The sooner he goes and someone / a team more competent brought in, the better. The team probably needs very few tweaks, there are youngsters which can be brought through, and having just seen the highlights on youtube, we probably already have a replacement for Alonso in the shape of Lucas.

5.       Investment decisions are hard – too much micro-managing in an area you are not the expert in, and you run the risk of making a colossal and irreversible damage. Too laissez-faire and you don’t achieve your set objectives. There needs to be a clear-headed assessment of what NESV wants from LFC, and which is to go back to where it was in the 80s – leadership both on and off-the field. Clearly, this is hard work, and the fans must not expect instant success, and trust and backing must be given to all. The caveat must be that the directionally progress must be clear. To undermine Hodgson is the right step forward.

 

ESQ Parenting 101010

ESQ Parenting 1010

 

ESQ is now 10 yrs, and seeks to be neutral. 420 staff, pretty impressive growth.

 

Delivery done in multimedia, rah-rah interspersed with introspection, very different to traditional Islamic madrasahs. In a way, it's a very much underdeveloped way of education transmission, although there is a hadith that the Prophet asked that the transmission be done bil-hikmah. Emotional "manipulation" is perfectly done. While motivations and learnings are good and maximises introspection, content and the after-effects of increased personal awareness would be better if related to tazkiyyah, tarbiyyah and jamaah. Later, the question of how-to and "after-care" support will be raised and takes up a different question. I can probably surmise it as it should not be seen as a religious education, although it speaks the same language, and most importantly, should be how Islam is conveyed in this day and age.

 

Everything is carefully stage-managed. Very professional, and I would say it's world-standard. Symbolisms, imagery, sounds, music, voice intonations - all served to deliver. Some messianic imageries is a bit concerning, but I guess it's part of marketing. To be nit-picking, it's not all about Ary's parents, everyone in the hall has parents. Otherwise, training brief and learnings served to emphasise the points extremely well.

 

Several controversies that were raised before were I think dealt with, except for one or two things. God-spot is now replaced with fitrah, to mean suara hati. Manacles referring to nafsu(?). Hati dilingkungi oleh 6 rukun iman, dan 5 rukun Islam. But later there was also a reference to a God-spot in oursleves while pointing to the head, so is that a yes or no? Anyway, there are better ways to convey this content surely, and adaptation of business management concepts and precepts should be done but the overarching framework of our understanding of Tauhid should be firm and unwavering, but also with an updated delivery style. The understanding of Tauhid and Zaat of Allah goes through the Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaah's way of tauhid uluhiyyah, rububiyyah and asma' was sifaat should be retained, and within that context the elements of Maqasid Syariah and all should be used as a mission building capacity using these modern business approaches.

 

In essence, the process part is the delivery, the content should be the Syariah-advisor responsibility.

 

Content is where the training is excellent, and succeeds in moving my own personal paradigms, views and outlook towards creating a tamadun, a multi-generational commitment to khilafatu fil-ardh, and especially of the parenting mission: pengabdian penuh kpd Allah 51:56, fulfilling of covenants  7:172, fulfilling role as khalifah 2:30, preparing for life's realities, accountability 75:36, Reminder of Vision is excellent. Must enhance vision! Middle / average is not good enough, and I do need to update, enhance and expand these previous do'as of mine - "+Naeem's rounded personality devt,+Husna's quiet leadership, +Hadi's excellent leadership, +Hafiz's human touch and love"

 

Crowd –I think there is this admiration bordering on awe, but I must stress this is the delivery portion. The cause, content and veneration should be limited to that which comes from the Almighty, as contained in the Book and the Sunnah of the Prophet. I think Pak Ary made this point clear on many occasions throughout the 1 day, and I don’t see this as misguided veneration of pak Ary or ESQ or even the “rituals”. I’ll try my damnedest to keep my comments fair lest I mistakenly damage someone’s reputation. Others should partake in guiding and providing the “after-care” services rather than criticizing from their high-chairs.

 

 

 

Community spirit and the detriment of its excessiveness

1. TNB prides itself in its HR benefits - "the best in the country", "from womb to tomb".. and such like. The country prides itself in protecting the nation from colonial influence (though results vary hugely from the boasts), protecting the malays rights and priviledges, safeguarding malay interests and such like. We are a community-based nation, where we do things for the sake of everybody else, and the guys who can think and fend for themselves are the ones who are running the country. In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.

 

2. And so here we are again. The HR powerpoint says, we shall take care of your talent development, we will guide your careers. These relics of the ancients continue to think, just like their Pharaonic predecessors who thought they could control the rise and ebb of the Nile, that they can dam enthusiasm of the people and release the talents to the competitive forces as and when necessary. Hogwash! Rubbish! Nonsense! There is nothing that can suppress the human spirit. Postponing it with the transactional equivalent of the promise of development is the main reason that BN has remained in pwoer for the last 50 years and more.

 

3. The human spirit needs to be released, guided and nurtured. Let them understand where the flow takes them. The role of those in authority is to create best-practise benchmarks that the spirits could choose to endeavour itself within. And the best is that which follows the guidance of the Quran and what has been demonstrated by His Messenger. The world's best practices are deemed as such when the spirits choose their vocations based on what and where their passion takes them towards. Guidance is that of the signposts placed there by those responsible. Let people decide. let them feel their emotions, and their inner voices callings be heard. That's where the strengths will be.

 

4. The extent of the need for the PMS is to decide how much remuneration we can take home as a result of the year's work. And that is enough. The talent development and "strategic" consolidation on a centralised level, forget it. The bitter on-off centralised decentralised power struggle between corporate and divisional HR in TNB before was living proof that centralisation doesnt work.