Village For Sale

Sheep dot green hills. Pheasants hop across country lanes. Quaint cottages sit next to a tiny stone church. Neighbours who have known each other since birth greet strangers warmly.

And for at least 23 million pounds (about $32 million), this leafy, nostalgic slice of England could be yours.

The village of Linkenholt's 21 cottages, grand manor house, lush green cricket pitch and accompanying pavilion are part of an estate that also encompasses 1,500 acres (600 hectares) of farmland and another 425 acres (170 hectares) of woods. The only piece of property not for sale is St. Peter's, built on the site of a 12th century church. According to the estate agent – "that is owned by God."

The 40 or so residents, many of whom have lived here all their lives, hope any new owner will keep the estate together and resist the urge to parcel off the land located in Hampshire only 75 miles (120 kilometers) southwest of London.

It's not the first time the estate has gone up for sale. It was bought for 2,000 pounds in 1629 and sold about 60 years later for 12,000 pounds - a kingly sum in those times.

The estate remained in the same hands until the 19th century. Roland Dudley bought it in the 1920s. Herbert Blagrave took ownership in the 1960s - and after he died without heirs, his charitable trust became the owner. The trust is trying to diversify its interests, which is why it has chosen to sell. Despite the challenging economy, Linkenholt is expected to generate interests. It is a unique purchase as there isn't really anything like this on the market.

I am definitely interested as the other instruments like FD, unit trust and shares are not sexy at the moment. However the asking price was way too steep. Like it or not have to give it a pass.

Perhaps the political frogs can retire happily ever after over there. Perhaps the few high profile missing individuals can be found there. Turn it into a Malaysia village. Dot it with pomelo, durian and angsana trees. The cricket pitch is useless because chances are the only cricket the new owners know is the insect, so just tear it up and build condominiums!

If the condominiums are not selling well, run to the authorities for bailout. Then make another round of money by selling the land to the authorities for 200%. The authorities need the land to build a sports academy to produce world beaters. They have discovered that our sportsmen were constantly ‘frozen’ on big stage tournaments because they did not acclimatize well with the weather!

That’s not the end. Get the contracts to build the academy, to supply materials and services, to maintain the infrastructure and the list goes on and on…..

Majulah Sukan Untuk Negara.

Investment - Was It All Worth It?

CIMB group CEO Datuk Seri Nazir Razak said “Investors should diversify their portfolios and preserve their capital under the current downbeat and uncertain economic climate. Look out for companies that are well managed. At times like this, the risk-reward equation is greatly amplified, so invest in companies with astute leadership that is well-aligned with shareholder value creation; the right managers can make highly profitable and transformative acquisitions or diversifications.”

He also cautioned investors to ensure that their asset management companies had high integrity and able to withstand temptations to be less transparent and ethical in the face of adversity.

Hmm.. Well managed companies, astute leadership, well-aligned with shareholder value creation, high integrity, transparent and ethical – love all these words.

Unfortunately we are not living in a perfect world! Thus the selection is pretty uncomplicated as there is only a handful of choices right here right now!
Definite no-no to those which are closely linked with the political parties or his big brother! These companies are the exact opposite. Worst still, they are probably managed by some Little Napoleons or some sons in law!

Perhaps, it is time to discard our investor’s cap (FD is only paying a miserable 2%, lower than inflation rate) and put on our spender’s cap!

Never Ending Story

Samuel Johnson, 18th century literary sage, evaluated a manuscript of an aspiring writer - "Your work is both original and good. Unfortunately, the parts that are good are not original and the parts that are original are not good!"

More outbursts on AIG (See my posting 2 days ago).

The CEO of insurance giant AIG told furious members of Congress that some of the firm's executives have begun returning all or part of bonuses totaling $165 million paid.

Overall, AIG has paid $220 million in retention awards to its financial products employees - $55 million in December and $165 million had to be paid this month.

President Obama, said: "I know Washington's all in a tizzy and everybody's pointing fingers at each other and saying, 'It's their fault, the Democrats' fault, the Republicans' fault.' Listen, I'll take responsibility. I'm the president."

(That’s why he is a respected statesman unlike most leaders – thou should not be named -who will not take responsibilities but blame it on the rain, act of God or hide under the ‘abused’ kangaroo court!)

"We didn't draft these contracts. It is appropriate when you're in charge to make sure that stuff doesn't happen like this. These bonuses, outrageous as they are, are a symptom of a much larger problem. It's a culture where people made enormous sums of money taking irresponsible risks that have now put the entire economy at risk. I think people have a right to be angry. I'm angry."

(We are angry too!)

The government has intervened heavily, fearing that AIG's collapse could have unraveled America's, and, perhaps, the global financial system. AIG has taken $170 billion in federal bailout money. AIG now is 80% owned by the government, meaning any profit or loss directly effects long-term taxpayer indebtedness.

(Similarly back home, MAS, RapidKL, Time and counting, were being bailed out by taxpayers. The culprits went off richer by cashing out the government’s coffer!)

Back In The High Life Again

Leaders have an obligation to set compelling example by incorporating a set of values, attitudes and practices not only at work but in their personal lives as well.

The majority of the current leaders in our political and sports arenas are unfit to led us. Change is imminent. It is time for us, the silent majority to spearhead the change.

There are many very capable leaders out there who could do the job but were sidelined due to various factors. Are you one of them? Unsure? You are one of them if you possess these key traits:

1) Practice what you preach
Simple but yet difficult to comply. If you preach work life balance, but then always require staff to work long hours. If you promote ‘promote from within’, but keep recruiting from outside! There goes your credibility!
CEO of Renault, Carlos Ghosn said “I personally believe the best training is management by example. Don’t believe what I say. Believe what I do.”

2) Walk the tightrope
People look up to leaders for directions. The difference between a leader and a boss is that leader leads, clearing all obstacles along the way while the boss simply drives where he is told to go. Leaders require sound judgment and ability to make tough decisions.

3) Be a good follower
The Greek philosopher Aristotle said ‘He who has never learned to obey cannot be a good commander’. The best way to learn is to be a good follower and to benchmark against those whom we aspire to be. Good followers usually make the best leaders.

4) Treat your people as assets
Jack Welch, GE ex CEO said “A leader’s role is to impart vision and a healthy corporate culture, build great people and teams and show them how to lead.” A good leader should intervene, coach, mentor and influence his people to perform at their best. A great leader takes people where they don’t necessarily want to go but ought to be.”

5) Assess yourself regularly
Leadership is an ongoing process of learning and refining management styles. Stay ahead of the game and be highly adaptable to changes. Take responsible when things go wrong and turn the spotlight on people in good times. JFK said “Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.”

C'mon guys, stand up and be counted.

Money Politics

Transparency International-Malaysia has launched a project called “Money In Politics, People’s Concern” to encourage transparency and accountability in the financing of political parties, especially during elections. The project would research existing legislation and evaluate actual local and foreign financing of political parties.

We are aware that during elections, all political parties seemed to have ample money to spend. We know that money does not grow from trees and obviously there are many willing and even unwilling (in local term – ‘kena pow’) ‘sponsors’ out there. Some of the likely sources could be the deserved and undeserved individual Datuks (maybe Datuk Shah Rukh Khan or Datuk Lee Chong Wei had to chip in during the just concluded KT by election?), the cronies who benefited from the awards of contracts (payback time?) and foreigners who wanted to have their puppet masters (Wanted : Deputy Sheriff?).

We sincerely hope the above question marks will be answered in this project.

I scratch your back, you scratch my back. Now you know why there are handing out Datukship so freely! No free lunch baby!

Happy New Year

Happy New Year! Hello 2009. Set your goals and work toward realizing them. Do not procrastinate, start now! As we know, time does fly and before long, it’s hello 2010!

Here is my wish list for the year :

1) Home front - Charity begins at home, so gotta continue to allocate the time and effort to build the loving home. Applicable to friends too, can count on me when you need a hand or two. Or wanna borrow money? Can but….!

2) Lifestyle – Health is wealth, so vow to stay healthy. Step up the exercises and games, let go and not to cling on to things that eventually cause stress and eat and sleep well!

3) Career news – Global downturn but surely there is opportunity. Anticipating a busy schedule as there is a new project in the pipeline.

4) Politics front-page - Change of government – whoever the new PM has no time for honeymoon. There are many ailing things to be sorted out immediately and bring back the feel good factor.

5) Malaysia Today – We are losing our sense of humour. Please bring back the days where we could laugh at ourselves. Please don’t be super sensitive and jump on every word or statement that is deemed politically incorrect!

6) Sports page – We are the Champions. Liverpool FC to win the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup. YNWA!

Crying Out For Blood

More disturbing headline “Most Pempena investments are bad”. The Tourism Minister admitted that only a few of the 24 companies that were invested in by Pempena Sdn Bhd, the controversial subsidiary of the Tourism Ministry, showed profits in the last three years. Pempena had invested RM54mil via equity participation and advances made to its Investee Companies from March 1997 to November 2007.

That’s all? Announcement made and end of story? How can – anti climax! Another one bites the dust. Another throwing good money after bad thingy. It is high time someone must take full responsible for this mismanagement. (nicer word – thought of using other words!).

It is driving us crazy. Expect the rakyat to pay higher taxes and reduce the subsidy for petrol, then lo and behold, flush out this money with questionable investment and projects!!! Change Must Come to Putrajaya!!!

Saya Anak Selangor

Yesterday, I experienced a refreshing encounter at a public service counter. Read on.

After dad demise, an uncle urged me to claim the funeral expenses from Selangor state government. Can meh? Apparently the new government is living to its election manifesto in handing out welfare aids. Started logging into the website www.selangor.gov.my. Downloaded this form called Borang Tabung Jasamu.

Dad complied with the terms and conditions as he was born and bred in Selangor. Started compiling the supporting documents but there was a slight hiccup. These documents need to be certified by the Penghulu! Where the hell to find this Penghulu as we are living in a residential estate which at no fault of us had been gifted to the Federal government with a stroke of a pen! Made some calls and got lucky. Was directed to the nearest Penghulu at Gombak.

On Monday morning, went to this kampong and found this young 29 years old Penghulu. Yes, he was that young from his IC number! Horror, this young turk rejected my application. “Your dad’s last address was in Kuala Lumpur, so he was not eligible” Huh! I have read the terms & conditions and damn sure that he qualified (born in Selangor and resided there for more than 15 years). Tried to slow talk “Tok Penghulu, please sign la” “Cannot, I will get scolded” Huh!

Started to get impatient and gave him this case study “Imagine if I lived my whole life in Selangor, then when I fell sick, I moved in with my son who was based in Johor. Then within few months I kicked the bucket. Does that mean I ain't no anak Selangor?” He did not want to hear this argument and kept on saying the entitlement is based on last known address! Finally he came to his senses and made a call.

“Ok, I will sign but if rejected don’t blame me!” Huh! Bloody young ciku….

Yesterday, I submitted the application to a counter staff at Pejabat Daerah Gombak. In less than 5 minutes another officer came over. Lo and behold she handed an envelope to me. “Kira i.e. Count it”. 1,2,3.. I counted RM2,000. A bit shock and shiok! though. Shocked not because of receiving the money but the efficiency! I always thought they will sit on the documents and if the stars are properly aligned, I will receive a notification in a month or two to collect a cheque! This sum will not make us rich but it definitely pay some bills!

Anyway, the intent of this article is to broadcast that Selangor state is handing out many other benefits to anak Selangor. In addition to Tabung Jasamu, senior citizens (above 60 years) can register for Takaful coverage. Insurance payment will be paid upon death. (Dad missed out on this as he was not registered / insured). Then there are aids for single mother, newborn, undergraduates etc. No sure if there's any aid for being a toyol! Check out the website for more information. Can also contact this no 03-55447450 or 55447000.

Now everyone wants to be anak Selangor!

Going In Is Easy, Coming Out, How La?

What is the difference between what Valuecap is trying to do, with what the Federal Reserve is doing to save the collapsing banks?

The American bailout is simply injecting much-needed fresh capital directly into the banks and not buying shares in the open market. The Fed is getting new shares and existing shareholders are diluted. The share prices continue to be determined by market forces.

In contrast, Valuecap will be trying to boost stock prices by buying up shares from shareholders eager to get out of the market. Mmm, an exit plan for the shareholders. They will be laughing all the way to the bank and it will be double whammy, if the sellers remit the money overseas. Would this move shores up the market and maintain share prices above critical levels? You decide.

Then would we, the EPF contributors know whose shares were bought? The good and fundamentally strong counters or the buddies’ counters?

And how will Valuecap exit from its positions in the future? Any exit plan? It acts as saviour to the exiting shareholders but who is going to ‘save’ it?

In a further cloud of secrecy, there was news that 20 per cent of its RM330 billion funds has been invested in shares. However we do not know how much has been invested in loans for infrastructure projects with low or questionable returns? Think Bakun, Pelabuhan Tanjung Pelepas, Left Right Centre corridors! Etc.

Perhaps the RM5b would be much better used injected directly into the economy itself, via tax breaks for SME enterprises or short-term loans to help smooth over the rocky road ahead.

Throwing Good Money After Bad?

Last week the Government announced that it has doubled the amount of money available to Valuecap Sdn Bhd (Value *who?) to buy undervalued stocks to RM10bil. At last a positive move to move the market but wait a minute, where is the money coming from?

*Valuecap is a fund management firm established in 2003 to invest in the stock market. It is jointly owned by Khazanah, PNB and Retirement Fund (Incorporated).

The bombshell - The Government would borrow RM5bil from the EPF. Another national service! It claimed that EPF will make a profit based on the past performance of Valuecap which has grown its portfolio from RM5bil initially to RM8bil now.

(Not sure about the claim as past performance does not guarantee profitability, it is only use as an indication!)

Perhaps make public the detailed financial statement before the RM5 billion is channeled. If indeed it is in the black with RM3bil profit, it should feel proud to disclose the book. Show us which counters it has invested in. Fair deals, we only want transparency - if they want to use our money. Without it, how can we hope to inspire confidence?

The other question: why use EPF funds, which is public money held in trust? What kind of return can the EPF expect to get and how does that expected return compare with more stable, less risky investments – opportunity costs?

Another article on EPF was posted on 5 September. Please read EPF 8th Largest Fund in the World.

Come Fly With Me

THE Federal Territories Minister revealed yesterday that Kuala Lumpur mayor spent about RM1.5 million in travelling expenses and allowances on 11 overseas trips in 20 months after he took office last year. Seven trips in 2007 and four in 2008.

Quick arithmetic - close to 2 trips per month, spending close to RM140,000 per trip!

The expenses were as follows:
Tokyo (travelling expense paid by Tokyo Government/Allowance RM12,309.46);
Perth (RM199,526/RM16,822.56);
Dubai (RM45,171/RM22,214.12);
Istanbul (RM219,225/RM13,608.03);
Stockholm, Helsinki, London (RM240,625/RM23,202.70);
South Korea, Japan (RM166,134/RM13,433.80);
Manila (RM25,297/RM3,405.53);
Shanghai (RM43,586/RM3,903.71);
Bangkok (paid by KL Sports Council);
Canada, UK, Germany (RM370,315/RM19,873.50);
Beijing (RM19,318.04/RM4,717.50).

Save the best for last – Apparently the trips were required in order to observe best practices to improve City Hall’s delivery service system.

Yeah, we did see some changes.
A) Change road name lor! Alor!
B) Increase parking charges by 35% around city centre
C) Impose parking charges in residential areas, i.e. we need to find coins and parking machine and feed them each time we need to feed ourselves or when we grab our daily bread and groceries.
D) Increase rental of sports facilities – badminton courts etc. by 100%

Perhaps, these increases are to ‘sponsor’ more trips!!! Some questions - Is there a travelling budget? If yes, is there anyone keeping track of it? If there is still unused money budgeted and before it is reallocated before year end, go get invitation to 'lawatan sambil belajar' these countries and ‘import’ followings :

a) South Island, New Zealand – to introduce bungee jumping in Gombak river and to count sheep.
b) Mumbai & Delhi, India – to study the traffic situation and tell KLites – don’t complain about the traffic jam here, it is worse in India blah!blah!
c) Phnom Penh, Cambodia – to visit the genocide museum and set up something similar aka Japanese occupation museum to remind the so called ‘mudah lupa’ 'lupa daratan' youth who do not know the history.
d) Liverpool, England – to watch a Liverpool derby football match and try to recreate the atmosphere in Klang Valley derby (KL vs Selangor)!

Or cut down the travelling and reallocating some of these money to improve the road conditions, improve public transport system, alleviate flash flood etc?

For better or for worse - you decide.

20% Rise in Tax Collection

There has been a 20% increase in tax collection in the first eight months of this year compared with the same period last year. In 2007, the IRB collected a total of RM74.669bil. This year target is RM77bil in revenue after refunds.

So far, refunds have totalled RM6bil for individual taxpayers, companies and big organisations. IRB usually received about 400,000 refund notices, but only 200,000 to 300,000 were genuine. And 20% to 30% of the refund cases needed auditing.

Another statistic worth noting is that this year saw about 1.2 million people using the e-filing system, compared to about 800,000 last year.
Non believers out there, just try it, avoid the hassle in joining the last minute rush to the agency!)

IRB the cash cow of the nation. The nation can go bust if this agency is not on tip top condition. Worth noting is the high amount i.e. RM6bil of refund! Major chunk is being claimed by the business entities. There surely must be a better system to reduce this amount and thus reduce the refund administration.

In the present self assessment system, the companies are paying taxes monthly, in advance based on projected income for the year. There is a drain on the cashflow especially for SME as the trade collection might be slow.

Our wish is that the leaders and those in the Treasury to make good use of the billion! Yeah, really make good use of the billion for the rakyat!

Only RM25m Out of RM537m Recovered

This alarming report was published in The Star today.

“After investing RM537.04mil in the US-based Columbia Aircraft Manufacturing Corporation (CAMC) through Composites Technology Research Malaysia Sdn Bhd (CTRM), the Government only managed to get back RM25mil.

The 2007 Auditor-General’s Report stated that CTRM, owned by the Finance Ministry Incorporated and Petronas, invested and lent RM537.04mil to CAMC as of September 2007. CAMC, which produced four-seater light aircraft suffered an accumulated loss of US$132.28mil (RM480.18mil) at the end of 2006 and filed a bankruptcy notice at an Oregon court on Sept 24 last year.

The Report said the investment failure was due to unscrupulous spending by its senior management officers, CAMC’s board of directors being unable to tackle production of aircraft quickly and the Finance Ministry Incorporated's lack of monitoring of CAMC.”

Oh dear! More than RM500mil gone down the drain or perhaps contributed to someone’s retirement funds! This was not the first case and yet the authorities choose not to learn from previous investment failures. The authorities can never be good investors because the decision makers and appointed honchos are using public money and not their own money. Bad investment? Never mind la, not my money, doesn’t feel the pinch and who knows, might be given another toy! Another RM500mil to try building space shuttle, any taker?

Leave these investments thingy to the private shareholders. Heads will be chopped if their hard earned money is burned! As stated in the above case, the foundation for financial disaster was erected as the honchos spent like nobody business with the knowledge that there was a lack of monitoring.

Accountability is the name of the game. The authorities can go back into this game once they embrace this accountability game rule! Choose to ignore this rule; don’t see how they can win the game.

p.s. Can ACA poke their noses into this case? Enough is enough!

$500 Toilet Paper

How bad is inflation in Zimbabwe? Well, consider this. Toilet paper costs $417. No, not per roll. 417 Zimbabwean dollars is the value of a single two-ply sheet. A roll costs $145,750. The price of toilet paper, like everything else, soars daily, spawning jokes about an impending better use for $500 bill, now the smallest in circulation.

This is no laughing matter. Toilet paper, bread and even the morning cup of tea have become luxuries. All are casualties of the hyperinflation that is roaring toward 11 million percent in June, a rate usually seen only in war zones. It has been tormented this entire decade by both deep recession and high inflation, but in recent months all hell breaks loose. Its inflation is the world's highest and has been for some time.

If you need something and have cash, you buy it. If you have cash you spend it today, because tomorrow it's going to be worth 5% less. Those with spare cash put it not in banks, which pay a paltry 4 to 10% annual interest, but in investments like bags of corn meal and sugar!

Public-school fees and other ever-rising government surcharges have begun to exceed the monthly incomes of many urban families lucky enough to find work. The unemployed is officially 70% of 4.2 million workers, but widely placed at 80% when idle farmers are included.

The purity of drinking water, siphoned from a lake downstream of its sewer outfall, has been unreliable for months. The city suffers rolling electrical blackouts. Mounds of uncollected garbage pile up on the streets of the slums.
The government has printed trillions of new Zimbabwean dollars to keep ministries functioning and to shield the salaries of public servants. This only worsens inflation, for printing too many worthless dollars is in part what got Zimbabwe into this mess to begin with.

What is your thought on the above? Definitely it’s a living hell! Let this be a good lesson to our leaders and keep our fingers cross that it’s not the path that we are heading to!

RM45m City Overtime

That is the staggering amount of Kuala Lumpur City Hall overtime claims for 2007, as published in the local paper yesterday. It paid to 11,200 employees in 27 departments, averaging RM4,017 per employee. Major chunks were paid to staff in petty traders management, health & licensing and public works departments.

The mayor admitted the huge amount showed that there were some discrepancies i.e. poor management of the employees' schedules. He said that clocking long hours did not necessary mean that they were working! (Ooh! he just opened a can of worms! His staff will not like it and the union will 'manage' him!)

A task force will be set up to monitor the work schedules. (Brilliant idea - more overtime claims by the task force members but the best is yet to come). He added logically, if they were working overtime, there should not be any complaint against City Hall. There would be no illegal activities in the city and enforcement would have been carried out in a proper manner. (Genius 1+1 = 2, right baby! Mayor for PM!)

(Now come the icing on the cake). "Lately the public has doubted our ability, reliability and integrity. There have been lots of reports criticising City Hall and complaints keep piling up." (Huh? Lately? Either he was living in a shell for the past 2 decades or our integrity benchmark was bloody high! However hats off to him - at least he realised - whereas many more are still in self denial mode and playing the blame game!)

As the parting shot, he hoped that all employees will change their culture so that City Hall can work towards making Kuala Lumpur a world class city. (Broken records, same old scripts since I could read English!)

pic - My beloved Kuala Lumpur

Rubbish

The article Crude Prediction featured in CFO Asia latest issue caught my eyes. It mentioned that Alam Flora, the solid waste management company that serves 6.4 million Malaysians had come up with a list of measures to cut down oil consumption. This is where the fun begins.

Among the ideas ;
1) upsizing garbage containers so trucks can make one collection per week!
2) moving from day to night time pickups which could reduce drive times from eight to six hours due to lighter traffic!
3) convert to natural gas

What a load of Rubbish! Of course business is set up to make money but do not reduce expenses at the expense of the customers! Will be disgusted if the first 2 ideas are implemented.

1) 1 collection per week? Perhaps you readers could comment and tell me the consequences (I know, I know, pinch your nose and don't let it go.. for a week!) Lately there are an increasing number of scavengers rummaging the bin to look for recyclable items. Nothing against them as they are doing the earth a big favour but very often, they do not 'clean up'. Then it's fiesta for the neighbours' pets! Do I need to say more?

2) night pickups? (worse if idea #1 materialises) Don't like the idea to be honked in the wee hours as you are dreaming 'fiesta-ing' in the Nirvana land or when you are about to score a goal in the injury time against your bitter rival. We have witnessed many times - the drivers would just honked if other vehicles were blocking their paths. Most households own a few cars but the problem is that the garage is only designed to accommodate 1 car! So Malaysians are very creative in parking their vehicles. Of course, they need some tools in order to maintain civil order i.e. business card and mobile phone! Yeah, no joke, parking disputes did claim few lives in the past few years!

Suggest a more holistic ways to reduce expenses. Perhaps for a start, cut down on business travels and 'entertainment'. Lastly, stop the kickbacks and bribes!

pic - a better way to collect the waste? No petrol ma!

How to Spot a Future Politician

Recently a telemarketer tried to sell an English course/program to my wife. After the initial introduction, the musketeer was getting uncomfortable and asked if they could converse in mother tongue! Huh? My wife could not wait to relate this story to me.

Aiyah! how la to sell if Malaysian English also cannot speak! Die la like that!

Trust me, this musketeer will graduate to become a politician puppeteer! Read on.

Our Tourism Minister launched Visit Malaysia Year programs after programs and lectured the citizens to take inbound holiday - Cuti-cuti Malaysia but would be seen holidaying everywhere except on our own shore!

Our Education Minister kept changing the education policies and charged that the policies are to create better leaders but would enroll his children in private and international schools.

Our Health Minister boasted that we have one of the best infrastructure with many brilliant specialists but would quietly go for his check up and operation overseas.

Now 1 plus 1 = 2, go figure out why I rate this chap a future politician!

pic - another politician in the making. For a start, he is learning how to pose as an orator and how to salivate!

Massive Jam and Meeting

The Home Minister apologised for the massive jams due to the police roadblocks but reiterated that the operations were undertaken in the interest of public security. Huh? What were my damages? Managed to use alternative roads in the morning but many were not so lucky who were stuck for few hours. Scheduled 2 meetings, 1 in each half of the day. The morning session was delayed till noon but as some participants managed to turn up on time, spent the whole morning babysitting them! (What else, talked politics and did some cursing!).

According to Heera Consultancy, problem of excessive meetings has become one of the most mismanaged management function in most organizations. In a survey done by MCI, US :

a) around 11 million meetings occur in the US each day
b) most professionals attend a total of 61.8 meetings per month and over 50% of these meeting times were wasted!
c) 91% admitted to daydreaming and 39% admitted to dozing off during meetings!

Sounded familiar - Leadership by example set by you know who!

Among the reasons listed for the unproductive meetings were :

a) Ritual meeting - Force to attend, don't know the agenda or do not care!
b) Weak chairman - not able to control the meeting
c) Meeting culture - call for meeting for any problem arises

Some recommended measures to ensure effective meetings :

a) Is it necessary? Maybe the issue could be resolved via a phone call!
b) Set a time limit and stick to it
c) Get only the right and necessary people - 3 who can contribute rather than 30 who are there for the sake of being there!

Happy Meeting!

Investors Not Swayed By Politics

We are having a laugh. Another foot in the mouth act by DPM. "The global economic outlook and not the current local political scenario may be causing investors to think twice about coming to Malaysia."

So, what's new? Self denial again and again! Talk to the real people. The men on the streets. Listen and not just hear. Don't just listen to what it's pleasant to the ears. Undeniably the truth hurts.

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/7/9/nation/21774757&sec=nation

Kiss My #^%

Latest huh-hah is on the showing of boxer shorts incident by the singer of Carburetor Dung in Sunday Protes rally. Big deal? You decide based on the photo.

I had the chance to attend one of the underground music gig at The Piccadilly during the early 90s which featured Carburetor Dung, Butterfingers, OAG and many others. Fuel, roti canai and nasi lemak were much cheaper then. So no baring of any flesh but just purely baring of music creativity. Great fun and no untoward incident.

According to the band, it's part of their act to bare their #^% (with the boxer shorts on la!) when they performed Mari Menyanyi Menjilat for the past 5 years. As the song condemned the rampant corruption, it was an act to signal ' kiss my #^%'.

Someone advisers could perhaps get them to do a statutory declaration claiming wardrobe malfuncion? Duress at Protes!