How should we judge a government?

In Malaysia, if you don't watch television or read newspapers, you are uninformed; but if you do, you are misinformed!

"If you're not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed, and loving the people who are doing the oppressing." - Malcolm X

Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience - Mark Twain

Why we should be against censorship in a court of law: Publicity is the very soul of justice … it keeps the judge himself, while trying, under trial. - Jeremy Bentham

"Our government is like a baby's alimentary canal, with a happy appetite at one end and no
responsibility at the other. " - Ronald Reagan

Government fed by the people

Government fed by the people

Career options

Career options
I suggest government... because nobody has ever been caught.

Corruption so prevalent it affects English language?

Corruption so prevalent it affects English language?
Corruption is so prevalent it affects English language?

When there's too much dirt...

When there's too much dirt...
We need better tools... to cover up mega corruptions.

Prevent bullying now!

Prevent bullying now!
If you're not going to speak up, how is the world supposed to know you exist? “Orang boleh pandai setinggi langit, tapi selama ia tidak menulis, ia akan hilang di dalam masyarakat dan dari sejarah.” - Ananta Prameodya Toer (Your intellect may soar to the sky but if you do not write, you will be lost from society and to history.)

Friday, June 05, 2015

E.S. Shankar's take on why we need a German to be MAS's hatchet man

Why we need a German to sort out MAS? Just like Margaret Thatcher, who used an American to sort out British Leyland and British Steel, we need an outsider to get things done instead of being affected by local politics.

'Put simply, in the divided and polarised 1Malaysia of today, no Bumiputra Malay will be allowed to do what is necessary or doggedly pursue what it takes, to completion. They will succumb to political interference and pressure. When accused of being traitors to their own kind, the dreaded "Jebat, Hang Tuah and derhaka" cry, they will not be able to make those hard decisions. They will wilt under Perkasa and ISMA's accusations, and dare not allow meritocracy to flourish and MAS to spring back to a meaningfully profitable life. They would rather the government print more and more money to bailout MAS, than lay-off one excessive worker. Where ruthless efficiency will be the bitter pill required to be swallowed, we can be very assured that they will substitute it with namby-pamby, syrupy, mollycoddling!

This is how Mahathirism has programmed the ultra-Bumiputras, especially the Malay elite mind. They will set the bar lower rather than higher, until the government itself collapses. One local CEO will plumb for outright buying of aircrafts one year, another will push for leasing the next, both options being acceptable as million dollar kick-backs in the airlines industry are nothing new in a highly competitive arena and cut-throat business domains.

Will appointing a Chinese or Indian work? No! The Chinese will be told that one must not break a fellow citizen's rice bowl or they can return to China, the Indian,  that he should be grateful his grandfather was granted citizenship and that besides, the culture at MAS is such that the staff will boycott a non-Bumiputra CEO. 'Apa lagi you mahu, anak pendatang?' (what more do you want, children of immigrants) will be the insulting reaction. Race, religion, colour, creed and culture will all be used to make life for a non-Bumi CEO at MAS, untenable and unworkable.

Mueller, however, will have arrived with no baggage or tag. He does not have to look at who stole what, when, where and who from before he arrived. That will be PM Najib and Khazanah's job. He will not have to worry about Bumiputra and Malay quotas. His remit will be to transform MAS back into the 5-star profitable airlines star it used to be. He knows no one can achieve that by offering 3-star service, soggy nasi lemak, limp noodles and being side-tracked by cut-throat low cost airlines upstarts. Mueller's job will be to capitalise MAS at the optimum cash plus borrowing (gearing) level and maximise profits. In other words, the return on capital must meet industry norms.'

More:
http://donplaypuks.blogspot.com/2015/06/why-german-thomas-mueller-is-right.html

E.S. Shankar likes to use pseudonyms to thinly disguise his facts as fiction. But in this article, only the name of the German is different: Thomas instead of Christoph Mueller, and I am sure it was a deliberate mistake. In fact, I prefer his facts than so-called fiction (he tends to get carried away in using pseudonyms) because of his qualifications and extensive experience in accounting, audit and finance.

Link

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