Your 10 questions (to Tan Sri Francis Yeoh)

Saturday January 9, 2010

Your 10 questions

Tan Sri Francis Yeoh, YTL group managing director answers....

1. What is your advice to young Malaysians who aspire to become successful entrepreneurs in this era of booming information technology and borderless world? – Benson Ting, KL

To be successful in any given moment, the fundamentals have to be right. I always say, master the three languages first. The language of God – integrity and long term perspectives; the language of Man – ability to articulate a vision and inspire confidence; and the language of Machine – ability to innovate with technology and skill-sets.

Once the DNA is correct, excel in what you are good at. Then be smart in coming up with cool products and services that people actually need or want, like the iPod or Facebook. Why force onto the market what no one wants? By all means, capitalise on the Internet. Use it wisely to brand and accelerate the exposure of what you could offer, especially in Asia. But make sure you deliver – on time! Finally, timing! Be ready to work your socks off to build a solid business. Quick fixes do not get anyone far. Just look at the mess in the global economy today.

2. Any plans for the group to explore Port Dickson’s huge potential given that there are many international-type resorts such as The PD World Marina Resort and so forth? – I.K. Yeo, Petaling Jaya

We already have many award winning hotels and resorts like Pangkor Laut and Tanjong Jara, but we do keep our eyes open for opportunities to expand the hotels division. However, we will only investigate places with unspoilt natural habitat and avoid areas bent on crass commercialisation like Patong Beach.

If you study Pangkor Laut, we have preserved nature by blending everything built into the existing ecological footprints. The 2 million year old virgin forest on the island is untouched. While our resident naturalist, Uncle Yip sees to it that the ecosystem is kept that way. Needless to say, every YTL resort after Pangkor Laut adheres firmly to this discipline of environmental conservation. If a location in Port Dickson fits our strictest environmental criteria, we would be happy to investigate.

3. As a wealthy entrepreneur, how do you wish to contribute to your countryman? There’s a perception that the group doesn’t contribute enough to the hard-core poor or the sick. Is that true? – Jennie Lai, Johor

Helping the poor and the sick is more than corporate social responsibility or moral obligation. It is a biblical command which I obey diligently. I believe in giving sacrificially and I deplore tokenism and boastfulness. However, I also observe Jesus’ teachings that “when you give to someone in need, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. Give your gifts in private, and (God) your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.”

Philanthropy should not be boastfully paraded. I can accept the premise that high-profile corporate philanthropy could help promote a particular cause or campaign, such as the environment. And YTL has been pushing the green agenda not only within the entire group, but also by actively supporting campaigns and charities.

4. In terms of the consistent success of a big corporation like yours, is the board of directors’ decision equally important as the management team’s hardwork? Teo Thiam Tech, Selangor

We do not measure success in those terms. YTL has a very fluid system. Our directors routinely roll up their sleeves and get stuck-in alongside staff to implement projects, myself included! It is very common for staff to be given the opportunity to lead and run expensive projects that they have conceived. Yes, we throw them in the hottest soup, but of course, holding their hands at the same time. How else can they become the next generation of dynamic leaders?

YTL’s emphasis is always on “ownership.” Whenever directors and staff have that “sense of ownership” of the company, they are more passionate, more willing to take hands-on initiatives, more innovative, and certainly more committed to excel. They make better leaders because they will think about the company and their colleagues beyond the one or two immediate projects.

5. What do you value most, and why? Bulbir Singh, Seremban

I treasure my daily quiet hours spent reading, praying and in reflection. Everything comes from my Maker, from Whom I derive joy, insight and strength. Without my Lord, I am nothing! I am also a family man who loves his family to bits. I treasure the time spent with my wonderful children, my parents, my siblings and their families. Of course, I also give time to my friends. Life is very short. The richness of one’s relationships is what defines him or her. Not wealth, not knowledge, not fame!

6. Your wife passed away several years ago. What if you meet someone whom you’d like to spend the rest of your life with, then? Would that go against your religion? CT Lim, Selangor

Christian teachings on marriage allow a widow or a widower to remarry. My decision not to remarry is my own choice, in honour of my wife whom I love dearly.

7. Do you believe entrepreneurship and being business savvy is innate or can it be acquired/nurtured? Yong Bih Cheng, KL

Whether entrepreneurship is innate or acquired, the real issue is how well you make use of what you have. Many business folks I know are highly successful, but you would not think they are naturally inclined towards entrepreneurship.

And then there are those, like me, who are naturally more entrepreneurial. But some have succeeded in business, whilst others have not. It just goes to show that innate talent is not a recipe for success. The key word here is nurturing! My innate entrepreneurial tendencies were recognised early by my father. He not only encouraged me to exercise my talents, he took major risks by allowing me to pursue new business opportunities on behalf of the company.

My father is a brilliant mentor. He kept a close watch over affairs and patiently guided me, as I moved from building properties, to power plants, to high speed trains and to acquiring utility assets. My father certainly taught me how to accept and learn from failures.

Because of this “nurturing”, my fellow directors and I routinely use the same methods on the next generation of leaders in the firm. No doubt, it is a challenge for companies to cate r to various talents and YTL is no different. But at YTL, we welcome entrepreneurs, as much as the managers. If anyone is passionate, hungry and willing to learn, we will break our backs to train and mentor them.

8. As a devout Christian, how do you keep yourself righteous from unethical business practices, especially in the construction field? – Mong, Sunway

Given YTL’s long term perspectives on our business interests, we cannot do without credibility. Otherwise, we would certainly have failed in buying public utility assets abroad like Britain’s Wessex Water or Singapore’s Power Seraya. My point is this – in business and in life, integrity and trust are priceless! Do not let anyone tell you otherwise.

There are principled folks in the business world, in the construction industry and not least, in governments. Our preference is always to work with them. Having honest partners spares us many headaches. We know we can trust them to be transparent, as well as to uphold our values.

If I mention some of their names, you would instantly recognise them as those already advocating and upholding moral leadership in their own spheres of influence. To avoid being in “compromising positions,” we do not go into certain businesses – even if the money is good. And whenever we do pursue new ventures and investments, I do openly inform our potential clients and partners of our values and ethics. But always only after the most stringent due diligence. Finally, we find places to invest and operate in where transparency is promoted and the rule of law upheld.

9. What are the challenges you expect to face in rolling out WiMAX given that there are many experienced players competing for their share in the market? – Sue Ling, Selangor

YTL Communications will roll out a nationwide infrastructure that will be very different from existing players. We promise consumers a very cool and exciting WiMAX package, backed-up by Clearwire, Cisco and Samsung. Trust me, we will offer entirely new value propositions that are very affordable and also with a “wow” factor. All this will become clear when we launch our WiMAX this year. In the mean time, our challenge is of course, to get everything up and running. By the Grace of God and with very hardworking YTL engineers and experts, we will get there.

10. What is the one big personal goal you would like to achieve in 2010? – Sunita, KL

My personal goal is always to walk in the footsteps of God. Whether in 2009, 2010 or God willing, in 2050!

13 May

A REPORTER’S ACCOUNT OF AN INTERVIEW WITH TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN ON THE 13 MAY INCIDENT

The following statement is a factual account of the above-mentioned event given to me by the late Tunku Abdul Rahman (first Prime Minister of Malaysia) during an interview at his residence in Penang in 1972. I requested to discuss the above incident and was surprised when the appointment was given within three days.

His Secretary, a Chinese gentleman, allotted me one hour and advised me not to go into too much detail as this would tire the Tunku unnecessarily. In fact, the interview lasted three and a half hours. Because of the very surprising details provided to me, I think it would be best to report in a first-hand manner based on my notes written immediately after the interview.

“It was clear to me as well as the police that in the highly charged political atmosphere after the police were forced to kill a Chinese political party worker on May 4th, 1969, something was bound to happen to threaten law and order because of the resentment towards the Government by the KL Chinese on the eve of the general election. This was confirmed at this man’s funeral on the 9th May when the government faced the most hostile crowd it had ever seen.

Therefore, when the opposition parties applied for a police permit for a procession to celebrate their success in the results of the general election, I was adamant against it because the police were convinced that this would lead to trouble. I informed Tun Razak about this and he seemed to agree.

Now, without my knowledge and actually “behind my back”, there were certain political leaders in high positions who were working to force me to step down as a PM. I don’t want to go into details but if they had come to me and said so I would gladly have retired gracefully.

Unfortunately, they were apparently scheming and trying to decide on the best way to force me to resign. The occasion came when the question of the police permit was to be approved.

Tun Razak and Harun Idris, the MB of the state of Selangor, now felt that permission should be given, knowing fully well that there was a likelihood of trouble. I suppose they felt that when this happened they could then demand my resignation.

To this day I find it very hard to believe that Razak, whom I had known for so many years, would agree to work against me in this way. Actually he was in my house, as I was preparing to return to Kedah, and I overhead him speaking to Harun over the phone saying that he would be willing to approve the permit when I left. I really could not believe what I was hearing and preferred to think it was about some other permit. In any case, as the Deputy Prime Minister, in my absence from KL, he would be the Acting PM and would override my objection.

Accordingly, when I was in my home in Kedah, I heard over the radio that the permit had been approved.

It seems as though the expected trouble was anticipated and planned for by Harun and his UMNO Youth. After the humiliating insults hurled by the non-Malays, especially the Chinese, and after the seeming loss of Malay political power to them, they were clearly ready for some retaliatory action.

After meeting in large numbers at Harun’s official residence in Jalan Raja Muda near Kampong Bahru, and hearing inflammatory speeches by Harun and other leaders, they prepared themselves by tying ribbon strips on their foreheads and set out to kill Chinese. The first hapless victims were two of them in a van opposite Harun’s house who were innocently watching the large gathering. Little did they know that they would be killed on the spot.

The rest is history. I am sorry but I must end this discussion now because it really pains me as the Father of Merdeka to have to relive those terrible moments. I have often wondered why God made me live long enough to have witnessed my beloved Malays and Chinese citizens killing each other.”

This was a conspiracy at the highest level and nothing short of a power struggle, with the ‘Young Turks’ then forming the pressure group. To achieve their ends, they very cleverly used race to make the Malays rise and push the Tengku aside.

Today, they are doing it again. This is dangerous politics. It may backfire and, instead, it may make the Malays rise against the non-Malays, like what happened in 1969 -- a fire raging out of control with no fire extinguisher in sight.

We must never allow our country to be turned into a racial battlefield again. Let politics be issues concerning policies, civil rights, good governance and justice. Let us not allow anyone to bring race and religion into our politics lest we suffer the fate of many countries around us where mass murders of entire families are made in the name of ‘bangsa’ and ‘agama’.

Time to go beyond the old taboos

DPMs and PMs: Time to go beyond the old taboos
Written by Farish A. Noor
Monday, 17 March 2008

WHEN the opportunity presented itself for Malaysia to choose a Malaysian woman of South Asian origin to be made the country’s first astronaut, those responsible for the final decision stepped back before the seemingly-insurmountable wall of taboos and inherited petty wisdom. No, they opined, we should choose a Malaysian Male Muslim Malay instead, as this would reflect the demographic realities of the country. But by doing so, they not only reflected the demographic realities of the day, but also confirmed the hegemony of that reality and thus rendered it absolute and unquestionable.

Now think of the possible alternatives had the Malaysian-Indian woman be chosen instead: For a start it would point to the demographic realities many of us would have wanted to see; and it would have been such a powerful symbolic message sent to Malaysia and the world. Had the other candidate been chosen, we could have proudly proclaimed that this was a country where racial and ethnic divisions had been transcended, and where gender equality was within reach. It would also have been such an enormous boost to the pride and sense of self-worth of so many other marginalised minority groupings in the country, to see themselves mirrored in the national narrative and to be made to feel that they truly belonged to a Malaysia that was indeed a country for all races. But no: Sadly, once again, the powers that be did the familiar cop-out and conceded to their own misguided belief in the old taboos.

The debate over who should be made chief minister of Perak, which has been going on for a week now, points to the same sort of intellectual and psycho-social impasse that has kept Malaysia paralysed for so long. Despite winning the biggest number of state assembly seats in the state, the DAP was not allowed to nominate one of its own to the post. The grounds for this realpolitik consideration happens to be a legal provision in the Perak constitution that apparently precludes the possibility of a non-Malay and non-Muslim from assuming the post of chief minister, even if her/his party won all the seats in the state assembly.

That such a provision emerged in a specific historical context that was determined even before the struggle for independence got off the ground is known to historians and laymen alike. But the question is this: Are we forever to remain beholden to history and trapped by the circumstances of the past? Or are we finally going to admit to ourselves that this nation-state of ours – Malaysia – is an invented construct and as such is also open to deconstruction, revision, adaptation and subsequently evolution? Are we now ready to evolve a new Malaysian politics that will finally reflect the plural and multicultural reality of Malaysian society today?

The debate over who should be the Perak chief minister appeared archaic and totally out of touch with the realities of our time. Coming immediately after an election that demonstrated the possible emergence of a pan-Malaysian cross-racial electorate, the fact that the post of chief minister for Perak was determined not by merit, experience or acumen, but rather by the racial background of the potential candidate, was surreal to say the least.

But as the dust settles and as the country slowly regains its momentum in the wake of the results of the 12th general election, let us take this opportunity to stir up some other sleeping sacred cows and rattle some other popular taboos.

To begin with, let us ask the singular question that nobody seems to have raised thus far: If, as our politicians would lead us to believe, this is indeed a country for all Malaysians, then should it not be the case that Malaysian citizenship and the commitment to the ideal of a plural Malaysian Malaysia be the guiding principle and criteria for all appointments to high office? Should that premise be accepted, would it not be conceivable that one day this country may have as its prime minister or deputy prime minister a Malaysian of non-Malay, non-Muslim and non-Male background? In other words, can we even begin to imagine the day when we may have a prime minister who happens to be of Indian-Hindu background and a woman to boot? And if such a situation is deemed unthinkable by some at the moment, we need to ask: Why? What is holding us back from entertaining such contingencies and variables? Surely what matters most in the selection of any leader or administrator is the competence and sincerity of the individual concerned; and it’s not as if it is the colour of the person’s skin that is doing the governing! (We hope not at least.)

The following imponderable questions can be addressed to all the parties in the country today as well.

Umno considers itself the party that defends the interests of the Malays and bumiputeras, though as we all know, both of these ethnic-racial categories are artificial and were invented as part of the colonial census. Be that as it may, Umno still presents itself as the party of the Malays and bumiputeras, and so let us ask this question aloud: Can the Umno leadership and membership consider the possibility that one day the president of Umno may be of Kadazan, Bajau, Iban, Penan or Peranakan background? Could a Catholic Kadazan ever dream of rising to such a post, and if not, what does this say about the institutional and structural limitations of Umno itself that does not and will not open up such opportunity structures?

PAS on the other hand claims to have transcended the culture and praxis of race politics, and the elevation of its Chinese-Muslim leader (Datuk) Anuar Tan Abdullah in Kota Bharu is a case in point. Yet PAS still has a woefully small number of non-Malay Muslims in its ranks and it remains to be seen if the party can and will make that great leap to non-racialised politics by courting the support of non-Malay Muslims across the country. Now the leaders and members of PAS may wish to consider this imponderable question as well: Can and will a non-Malay Muslim ever become the president of PAS, chief minister of Kelantan or even assume the highest post of Murshid’ul Am (Spiritual Leader) of the party and its followers?

Both the DAP and Gerakan on the other hand are ideologically-defined parties that have foregrounded their ideologies in the course of their struggles. But with the demise of Ahmad Noor, it has become an imperative for the DAP in particular to expand the racial spectrum of its leadership and membership. Already efforts are being made to undermine the hard work that the DAP has put into winning back Penang and those crucial state assembly seats in Perak and Selangor. Barbed comments about the DAP being a Chinese-dominated party may upset the sensibilities of DAP stalwarts who have laboured for so long to fulfil their leftist ambitions, but the fact remains that this perception of the DAP as a Chinese party is real for many and resonates with others too. In the same way that PAS places Islam at the forefront of its struggle, so should the DAP keep its Democratic-Socialist course, but surely the time has come when we can and should imagine the possibility of the DAP being led by a leader who may be of Malay or Indian background?

In the wake of the election, many of us have celebrated what may well be the first signs of a nascent Malaysian nation where citizenship counts the most in defining ones identity. A rupture has been opened up at last in the collective mindset that determines the conduct of our politics, and perhaps for the first time since 1957, we are in a position to collectively redefine the terms of Malaysian politics.

We need a new Malaysian politics that would breathe new life and faith in the political system, and where all of us – mainly on the basis of our universal citizenship – can claim to be stakeholders in the nation-building process. But for this to be the case we have to be brave enough to think out of the box and to imagine what was once deemed unimaginable. Our sacrosanct taboos and sacred rites have held us back too long, and kept us in a state of limbo where political superstitions ruled the day. For so long, we assumed that Malaysians would not vote for change; that the Malays would never support the DAP; that non-Muslims would never vote for PAS. But these certainties have been shattered and we now see that we are a mature, adult nation after all.

So perhaps all we need to do is push the envelope a little further, set our targets a little higher, wish and work a little harder; and our dreams for a truly democratic Malaysia that is the nation for one and all may eventually come true. We failed to send a Malaysian-Indian woman to space, but that doesn’t mean we can’t send her to the Prime Minister’s Office in Putrajaya!

Guess Who's Back? (^___^)

Anwar's popularity adds to ruling party's fear and loathing
JAMES CHIN
28/08/2008 10:15:00 AM
Former deputy prime minister of Malaysia Anwar Ibrahim won a crucial by-election for the parliamentary seat of Pemantang Pauh on Tuesday. That Anwar was going to win was never in doubt. He was first elected to the seat in the early 1980s and his wife became MP when he was jailed in 1988. Last month, she resigned from the seat so Anwar could get back into Parliament.

What was unexpected was the huge margin of victory. Anwar's wife won the seat in the March general elections with slightly more than 13,000-vote majority. Many had expected Anwar to win by about 10,000 votes rather than the nearly 16,000 votes he took on Tuesday.

The ruling Barisan Nasional (National Front) coalition poured everything it had into the campaign. Led by the Deputy Prime Minister, Najib Tun Razak, the BN promised nearly 60million ringgit (about $A20million) worth of development.

Almost every minister visited the constituency offering more goodies if Anwar was defeated. The BN has spent millions in trying to discredit Anwar, using the mainstream media and giant video screens spread all over the constituency, to remind voters that Anwar is under criminal indictment for sodomy.

Sodomy is a serious offence under Islam and more than 60 per cent of Pemantang Pauh's voters are Malay Muslims. The BN showed a tape of Anwar's accuser swearing on the Koran that he was sodomised by Anwar. Malay voters were told also that Anwar was a race traitor.

Anwar champions the removal of the New Economic Policy, or NEP. Under the guise of affirmative action, this policy discriminates against the non-Malay population in all areas of political and economic life.

Special scholarships, bank loans, contracts and even a university were established exclusively for the Malays. While it was initially popular among the Malay population and deeply resented by non-Malays, in recent years, the younger, better educated, Malays have become critics of the NEP.

It is a known fact that the NEP has enriched only those with link to the United Malays National Organisation, the ruling party, and that poorer Malays have benefited much less. Some Malays who supported opposition parties were even denied access to the NEP.

Younger Malays are starting to realise that the NEP, far from helping them, is actually a tool for UMNO to manipulate and buy its political support from the Malay community. The culture of corruption created by the NEP has reached the plateau that a large segment of the Malay community has decided that the only way to get rid of the corruption is to get rid of the NEP and UMNO. They also want an end to racial politics in Malaysia pioneered by the BN, and UMNO in particular.

UMNO's ideology of ''Ketuanan Melayu'' or Malay Supremacy has meant open and blatant racial discrimination against the non-Malay population.

One senior Chinese minister described UMNO's relationship with its non-Malay parties in the BN parties as akin to a ''master-slave'' relationship. Race relations are now much worse after 50 years of independence.

Anwar has promised to replace the NEP with the Malaysian Economic Policy, or MEP, which does not have racial criteria. The overwhelmingly majority of the younger population sees this as the only real long-term solution to racial polarisation.

Anwar has promised that he will engineer the defection of about 30 MPs from the BN by the middle of September, and he will take over as prime minister then. There is every reason to believe that Anwar is capable of doing this, although the BN will still try to do its best to stop him. The BN will do its best to make sure that Anwar is convicted of sodomy.

It does not matter that more than 80 per cent of the population thinks that the sodomy allegations are politically motivated. The only political game Malaysia now, at least among UMNO, is to stop Anwar. The security apparatus will also be used against Anwar's allies. Several leaders in Anwar's parties have been arrested for corruption, and bloggers who are sympathetic to Anwar are being sued for defamation and publishing false reports on the internet.

The Government is also expected to pass laws that restrict political chatter on the internet, and crack down harder on civil society groups. The BN is still a powerful political machine and when it is threatened, it moves back to its authoritarian mode.

There is every reason to believe that there will be mass arrests under the Internal Security Act to stop Anwar from becoming prime minister.

There are too many vested interests that will stop at nothing to make sure that their corruption and past misdeeds are not exposed by Anwar's new administration.

They have every reason to fear the consequences of an Anwar ascendancy. When Anwar's party took power in several states after the March general elections, they exposed shady land deals and government contracts worth millions. A Morgan Stanley report published a few years ago says that corruption has cost Malaysia the equivalent of more than $110billion in the past 30 years. The NEP was promulgated about 30 years ago and it was only after the NEP came into being that ''money politics'' became synonymous with UMNO.

If Anwar eventually becomes Malaysia's prime minister, it will be one of Asia's most remarkable political comeback tales. The closest one to it is that of Kim Dae Jung. Sometimes called the Nelson Mandela of Asia, Kim was nearly killed by South Korea's intelligence service in the 1970s, imprisoned, put under house arrest, sentenced to death for sedition and banned from politics. Kim managed to overcome all these obstacles before becoming South Korea's president from 1998 to 2003.

James Chin teaches at Monash University's campus in Malaysia.