Delvalle: How Bad CEOs Destroy Good Companies

A very nice article to read...  just to share (they  say, sharing is caring), hemm!

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Dear IF Reader,

In the business world, if you can’t execute, you risk losing a lot of money.

But if your ideas are flawed to begin with, no amount of skilled execution will make them work.

And the same thing applies to stocks. If you buy into a stock that has executives brimming with lousy ideas or without the acumen to execute themselves out of a paper bag, you will lose a lot of money.

One story I can tell you involves Sprint PCS (S).

I had a Sprint phone about ten years ago. The phone itself wasn’t bad, but the service it came with was the worst I ever had. I experienced multiple dropped calls. Voice mails wouldn’t show up for days. I even had to call the company every other month to argue about erroneous billing errors.

I returned the phone and cancelled the service in disgust.

Of course, I wasn’t the only one. Sprint’s stock price dropped as the company lost customers.

Poor execution was costing the company. And its very ability to flip a profit was at risk. But then Sprint hired a new CEO. And he seemed to be righting the ship. Customer-feedback surveys improved. And the company started gaining subscribers.

But the good times didn’t last long.

You see, when you run a wireless telecom like Sprint, it costs billions of dollars to adopt new technology to improve service.

In 2006, Sprint decided that it wanted to upgrade its third generation (or 3G) wireless data network with a fledgling 4G technology called WiMAX. It would cost $2.5 billion to upgrade its towers across the U.S. Now, that’s a lot of money. But, if successful, it would put Sprint ahead of competitors like Verizon and AT&T Wireless. They weren’t planning on rolling out 4G for years.

But things never panned out the way Sprint expected. As soon as it started the rollout, WiMAX was plagued with problems.

First, network performance was never stable. If you drove down the strip in Las Vegas, download speeds would vary from 1-2mbps (slower than 3G) to 11-12mbps (which is similar to a cable Internet connection). Even my sister-in-law, who uses Sprint’s wireless data service, complains about how slow her connection is indoors.

The mixed reviews Sprint’s 4G network received didn’t encourage consumers to adopt its technology.

Second, phones that ran on WiMAX were hard to come by. Manufacturers didn’t want to waste money making them, especially if consumers weren’t willing to buy. So fewer phones were made. And the ones that did hit the store shelves suffered from battery drain problems.

Third, the entire industry began moving to a better 4G technology called LTE, which promises faster speeds than WiMAX and a steadier download rate. Sprint now finds itself behind the curve. If it doesn’t adopt the new 4G technology, it will be saddled with an inferior service… and lose money as a result.

In essence, Sprint’s investment turned into a massive waste of cash. This makes WiMAX the worst idea the company’s executives ever came up with. The execs should have known better. After all, even in 2006 most telecom companies understood that WiMAX had some potentially disastrous problems.

Now reports are hitting the wire that Sprint will abandon its WiMAX technology and upgrade to LTE. Can you believe this? It will push Sprint’s spending projections through 2013 from $3 billion all the way up to $10 billion!

Sprint doesn’t have that amount of spare cash. It’ll have to go to investors sometime next year and ask for more. Good luck with that in the economy we have today.

If Sprint manages to get more cash and the economy gets worse next year, it could pay much higher interest rates. If it fails to get the investment it needs, it would keep losing money and probably be forced into bankruptcy.

The company’s ideas were simply awful. And stockholders are paying the price. Shares are down more than 50% since June.

But Sprint isn’t the only company that is suffering from bad ideas and poor execution. In the past year alone…

- Hewlett Packard spent $1.2 billion to buy PALM, only to barely invest any money in product development. HP released phones and tablets that weren’t competitive with Apple or Google. Now, it’s mulling selling its stake or spinning it off into a new company.

- RIMM released a new smart phone operating system meant to take away business from Apple and Google. Too bad it released the software too early, without access to the applications Blackberry users actually access the most. RIMM shares have fallen 64% since February 2011. Clearly, investors aren’t impressed with the company’s execution.

- Netflix recently raised the price of its streaming and DVD rental service by 60% for most users. But here’s the real mess-up: After the price hike, the company announced it was splitting its DVD business from its streaming business. The uproar was huge. Since then, the CEO announced that (on second thought!) the split would no longer occur. But the damage was done. Shares of Netflix have dropped 63% since July.

What this tells you is that a company can only be successful if it 1) has good ideas and 2) executes those ideas well.

Good ideas alone aren’t enough. The executives running the company have to be good at executing their strategies. Or else they could wind up like HP did when it wasted $1.2 billion buying a company that it acted like it never really wanted.

When it comes to companies that deserve your money, good ideas and proper execution go hand in hand. So it’s imperative to look for a company with executives who have a good record of doing both.

Of course, not every company is perfect. Even the best executives mess up sometimes.

Take the former leader of Apple, the late Steve Jobs. Not every product he introduced was a hit. But he never let those failures stop him from introducing something new. Because of his exceptional executive skills, the company now has enough cash to completely bail out Greece if it wanted to.

So don’t confuse chronically bad execution with the occasional bad decision. Let me give you one more example of what I mean.

Alan Mulally, head honcho at Ford, is another good executive who makes the occasional boneheaded mistake. Just because he goofed by putting complicated technology into cars (which has cost Ford some quality points on surveys like the one from JD Power and Associates), his leadership allowed the auto company to become the only domestic car manufacturer that didn’t need a bailout.

So every time you think of buying a stock, be sure to ask yourself: Do the leaders of the company have a track record of coming up with great ideas? And do they have a knack for properly executing them?

If the answer is “no” or “every once in a while,” stay away.

But if you find that the company has executives who know how to come up with breakthrough ideas and execute them flawlessly, you’ve just found a great reason to buy into it.

Take care,

Charles Delvalle

Financial Analyst

Insider Fortunes

Stability is the key to move forward.

Yes... you need stability to move forward!!

Stability enables you to focus, to think, to strategize, to act and to endure your incoming future.

Imagine, Malaysia with no political stability... UMNO? MCA?, MIC?, DAP? PAS, PKR?, the list to choose from... which will decide the type of the future that will be passed to the next generation.

Or... kalao susah sgt nak imagine, ambil contoh org main madu lah... alah... mcm Jamil bin Abu dlm madu tiga tuu... haha, kan susah tuh. Jangan kan kata nak keje, nak buang air kat rumah sendiri pun susah, asyik duk kena kejar dek bini. (bini bini ku gangster)

So the key is stability.  Keep it in mind.  Please keep the stability insight, and don't trade it with any unnecessary petty issues!!

Sekian coretan yg lepas beberapa bulan menyebokkan diri dgn isu2 yang bermacam.

The Power of Marketing

Kadang2, sebab pandai reka jalan cerita, filem yang takde mende pon bleh nampak gempak.

Tambah skrip kat sana sket, topup kat situ sket, buat roadshow sket, dah jadi box office.  Orang yang malas nak bercakap, atau tak pandai olah cerita pulak, takde apalah, mcm orang PAS jugak... akhirnya tinggal seluar dalam dengan serban jer. 

Itulah yang mat saleh panggil MARKETING.

Well, that's the reality.  And that's the lesson I learn to day, the hard way. So people, you guys should learn  to market yourself out there. Sincerity is one thing and promoting yourself is another, and yet they are not contradicting each other.

Just think about that yo!!

UMNO yakin masyarakat Cina akan kembali sokong BN

OR at least that is what Datuk Ahmad Maslan thinks here.

Sila tanya Ahmad Maslan, dia berani kerat jari ke yang kaum Cina ini akan kembali menyokong kerajaan Barisan Nasional? Hehehe

Dalam situasi terkini, selagi adanya barua-barua Melayu macam Khalifah Nik Aziz Al-Arabi dan Abg Nuwar Brahim Al-Depan wal Belakang, ko tunggu lah kunci bertanduk dahulu.

Betul ke tak? Fikirlah sendiri.

Selamat Harijadi, Intan!

Happy 26th birthday dear!!

For almost seven years of our marriage, we have gone through a lot of challenges.  But, together, we diligently confronted them.  We learned a lot of lesson from the mistakes and fetch them as a valuable experience for our future.  And, after each chapter, we became determine more then ever before, to confidently set sail forward for a better future.

You have been a wonderful wife of mine.  You render me with the support, morally and mentally during the critical times... and provides me with good advice when I need them most. Every time I am down, you boost me up, and motivate me not to loose hope and keep trying again.

Hey, they say behind every successful man, there is a woman ;)

For all that, I thank you!!

Happy birthday Intan, I love you so much!!

and lastly, a special poem for you, Cikgu...

******

People say you are small, but I say you are big-hearted!

and they say you are a kid, but to me you are a wonderkid!

and they call you a vernal mom, but actually you are a supermom!

and lastly, they call you Teacher Intan, but I call you che-gu Intan, hehehe.

******

Nasi jadi bubur... nasib lah adik ipar, hehehe

Rasa kesian bercampur rasa nak tergelak kuat-kuat bila terdengar al-kisah sebuah syarikat kapal yang dah nak karam.

Hai nasiblah..

Bila ingat-ingat balik kisah syarikat ni masa zaman tengah gagah dulu, nak jer aku jerit PADAN MUKA kat si tokey kapal tu yang memang berlagak dan tak pandai nak kenang budi pada orang sekeliling yang pernah berjasa.

Hai nasiblah...

Pernah dulu ada pekerja-pekerja yang bagus tapi tak dijaga dan dibela, dikutuknya lagi ada.  Sekarang pagar-pagar yang setia menjaga tanaman diladang pun dah roboh dek kerana tak pandainya si tokey menjaga dan membela.  Yang masih tinggal hanyalah seekor anjing yang sedia menjilat dan gerombolan penjilat-penjilat anjing tersebut yang pun hanya tahu menjilat, nak berbakti, kirim salam ajelah.

Hai nasiblah, nasi dah jadi bubur!!

Holiday Mode :)

I'm back in KL, for the first time since Aidilfitri - and that's like more than two months ago. Not only the kids, even their mum is so excited to be back in 'kampung' - to meet Tokdi and Nanny.

I am currently in the holiday mode. Now, having seeing the business initiatives starting to brew early results, I think I deserved a short break, especially after the long hours of non-stop working to get everything in place.

The LPG division now ready for the dealership, the Oil & Gas division kicked-off its first business transaction and the construction division is still awaiting client approval to proceed, and the Lube division is back in business.  That's really something to be rejoiced about.  I know, the result is still far from enough for the shareholders - especially considering the amount they had invested in, but hey, I just been around for four months, and that's really something to be appreciated of.

The housing loan also submitted a few days back, and the officer ensured me that the approval will be within two weeks time, or maybe less.  Hopefully, everything will be just fine.


During the short break like this one, my brain will usually work best, especially in brainstorming new ideas to be explored and generating new plans to be tested.  Maybe a couple of new good business ideas will submerge, who knows. Hehehe.

That's all for now.

Welcome to the right lane - the fast lane.

Everything seems to be moving very fast. Just in split seconds, they come and go, leaving behind the impacts that have to be taken care of.  Right decisions have to be made quickly and accurately - without hesitation.  There are no time to aggrieve and feeling sorrow for things that do not go your way.  That's how life in the fast lane.

For the past few months, I have made few bold decisions that impact my life hugely.  Some have been paid with very fruitful ROI, while few others had thought me a very useful lesson for the future.  Nevertheless, these are the experience that you will never encounter in a normal life - unless you dare to challenge your own fate.

I would like to share the details with you all, however, that would not be at the best interest of the subject and people that I'm currently working with.  But still I will share them with you, when the time has come.  Maybe a bit later... at a  time not so distance ahead. Maybe. Perhaps. :)

Salam Ramadhan!!

Selamat mengerjakan ibadat puasa kepada semua umat Islam di seluruh dunia.  Jangan lupa untuk hidupkan malam-malam Ramadhan anda... maksud saya dengan amal ibadat lah. Ini merupakan malam yg ke-8, bermakna ada lagi tiga suku baki bulan yg mulia ini.

Jadi, jangan lupa untuk ambil manfaat daripada peluang keemasan ini ya!!

Ke mana saya? Kenapa dah lama tak update blog? Kenapa sepi tanpa berita? Hahaha.  Ramai yang tanya soalan-soalan tersebut kepada saya. Siap ada yang email lagi... hehehe, glamour ke blog saya ni? Sampai ada secret followers rupanya. Hahaha

Ada. Kat sini-sini saja. Tak ke mana pun saya ini.  Cuma agak terisi sedikit waktu... yang dulunya memang banyak terluang, hehehe, if you know what I mean.  Anyway, thanks for those who asking.  I appreciate your concern very much.

Hem, I'm not in the mood to write a long post now. Maybe I'll be sharing some piece later. A bit later.  See you all then.

The countdown story...

June is almost come to the end.

Except for the tiny changes made to the cabinet, I don't think there will be no further move.

Talks on the street... PM Najib does not have enough in his pants to make the changes.

But is it true?  The latest rumor I heard is that GE-13 will be an early one - very soon, sometime in 2011.

So, whether PM Najib has enough in his pants, is yet to be proven.

Let us pray for the best for all of us.

By the way, its Countdown minus 7 today.  Do you still have the faith in you?

Keep the answer to yourself.

Happy Father's Day

 Happy Father's Day

Dear Aboh,

Happy Father's Day.  You have been most inspiring, not only to me but all of us, the Mohamedians and the Teranians.

We are very proud of your success and the value you carry with you. They have have been most exalting to us in every way they should.

I shall live with the same spirit and courage you lived with and will past them to the generation after me.

I wish you a wonderful life ahead. May Allah bless you.

P/s: I love you!!

P/s: Happy father's day to all Mohamedian dads... and all other dads too!!

Mutiara kata...

Kata Pujangga...

Orang yang berjaya di dalam hidup ialah orang yang tahu dan jelas tentang tujuan dan matlamat hidupnya, DAN menuju tanpa menyimpang ke arah matlamat hidupnya itu.

Anda bagaimana?

tHE bIG jUMp!!

they said, a picture worth thousands of words...

Finally, after months of thought, I made the big jump, today.

I don't know whether this is the right decision to make.

But, I do know one thing for sure - I ain't going anywhere if I stay longer.  That's what happened for the past six years.

Some friends called me, and asked - "Izzu, are you sure what you are doing?"

Guys, to answer the question - yes, I am sure... but whether the decision is right or wrong, only time will proof it.

Enough said, it's time to jump forward, shall we?

p/s: what happened to the man in the picture? Did he survive?

Etiqa Insurance yang tak guna!!!

Ada satu syarikat insurance yang sungguh tak guna di Malaysia ini.  Kenal logo di bawah? Ya, inilah syarikat insurance yang tak guna tu. Kenapa ia tak guna? Kerana ia langsung tidak menghiraukan hak-hak pelanggannya.  Sila baca cerita di bawah - ianya kisah benar.

Pengalaman ini berlaku sendiri pada diri saya sendiri. Semuanya bermula daripada satu kemalangan kecil yang berlaku Ogos tahun lalu.  Kereta Toyota Altis kesayangan saya dilanggar oleh sebuah motorsikal yang ditunggang oleh dua orag remaja rempit (pun yang tak guna).

Dah tahu kan kalau nak memotong, gunakanlah laluan sebelah kanan! Barulah pemandu kereta nampak kau tuh.  Lagi pun, kan si pemandu dah bagi isyarat. Kau tak nampak ker? Atau kau memang nak kena lanyak?

Akibatnya, kedua-dua remaja itu terjatuh  dan motorsikal mereka pula terperosok ke bawah kereta.  Habis jahanam kereta aku tu.

Budak-budak berdua itu luka di badan dan tangan.  Mujurlah tiada yang serius.  Seorang pakcik menawar diri untuk membawa mereka ke hospital manakala isteri saya terus ke balai polis untuk membuat laporan polis.  Di pendekkan cerita, kedua-dua budak tersebut tak mahu panjang kes, mahu settle begitu sahaja - status quo orang putih kata.

Apa kes adik nih, bukan kau ke yang hentam kereta aku? Patut akulah yang decide nak settle camner kan?!!  Sebab saya tengok kereta saya kemek sedikit jer berbanding motorsikal budak tuh yang dah separuh remuk, maka saya pun setuju. Nah, inilah salah abang ni.

Ingatkan kisah ini habis kat situ saja, rupanya tidak.  Nak jadi cerita, budak rempit yang tak guna tuh bukanlah tuan empunya motor.  Dia hanya meminjam sahaja, bukan orang tempatan pun, budak Felda Lepar.  Patut senang sangat nak mintak settle.  Nak lari rupanya.  Jadi tanpa pengetahuan saya tuan empunya motor telah buat third party claim ke atas insurans kereta saya tu.

Yang ralatnya, Etiqa telah meluluskan claim tersebut tanpa merujuk kepada saya terlebih dahulu.  Itupun saya tahu apabila nak renew insurans Altis.  Terkejut badak saya bila dimaklumkan bahawa NCD saya ialah 0% kerana ada third party claim - pada 6 Ogos 2009!!  Mak aii Etiqa, dah dekat setahun pun third party claim tuh, pun kau takde hati nak maklumkan aku!!

Macam mana nih? Saya rasa sesuatu yang tak kena dengan SOP tuntutan ganti rugi third party Etiqa nih.  Yelah, kita yang bayar premium insurans.  Takkanlah, bila ada tuntutann kau terus bayar jer.  Tak rujuk dulu pada aku?!

Memang Etiqa nih tak guna.  Saya syak dia nak elak saya buat claim untuk baiki kerosakan Altis saya.  Tapi bila ditanya, macam-macam helah dan jawapan. Peraturan bank negara lah, kalau masuk mahkamah tetap akan diarah bayar lah, dan berjenis-jenis lagi jawapan.  Geram betul aku ni!

Nasi dah jadi bubur. NCD saya dah pun kena reset.  Jadi, saya berkeras untuk claim kerosakan Altis saya itu dengan Etiqa jugak.  Itu hampir dua minggu lepas.  Tapi sampai sekarang, tiada khabar berita.  Pegawai Etiqa yang saya hubungi asyik mengelak.  Bayangkan kalau dah 20 kali sehari telefon, asyik tiada di meja, apa kes kan?!!

 Huh, don't expect me to believe, ever!!

Kesimpulan, JANGAN AMBIL INSURANCE DENGAN ETIQA LAGI.

Bagi saya syarikat insurans sepatutnya meletakkan pelanggan dihadapan.  Kepentingan pelanggan harus diutamakan. Memang itupun tujuan asal kita ambil perlindungan insurans diri dan harta benda.  Untuk melindungi kita daripada kemalangan dan petaka. Tapi selepas pengalaman ini, apa yang pasti, Etiqa tiada semua itu.  Saya dah menjadi pengguna yang teraniya dan tidak terbela.

Sekarang, sebagai tanda protes, saya akan batalkan semua polisi insurans keluarga saya dengan Etiqa dan akan bertukar kepada syarikat insurans yang lebih baik. Insurans yang meletakkan kepentingan pelanggan dihadapan.  CUSTOMER FIRST!!

Home alone (Yesss!)

Dear diary,

Friday, 9.30pm
It was Irsyad's aqiqah ceremony and the tahlil for arwah Tuk Mama and Tokki.  Everything went well.  Almost 150 guests attended the majlis.  The program started with the welcoming remarks by my dad in-law. He is a talented story teller.  His story of how Irsyad got his name drew a lot of laughter from the guests. The majlis then proceeded with Yaasin, tahlil and recitation of doa selamat.  Then its makan time... the rest as they said is history.
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Saturday, 10.30am.
We visited Desa Waterpark... and the boys (Irham and Imtiaaz) enjoyed themselves very much in the water (of course their parents too... ;p).  Again, Irsyad was left at home. He's too young to enjoy himself, by himself.  Three hours under the sun - we are burnt, especially Imtiaaz.  I can see the reddish marks on his white face.  Later, the others - Mum, Nadia, Najwa, Din, Hana and their families joined us - only after finishing their unscheduled shopping session at Jalan TAR.  It was a fun day.
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Sunday, 10.45pm.
Its school holiday!!  My wife and three sons are left back at home Kota Damansara, safely in the hands of my in-laws.  Safely reached home exactly at 7.30pm.  My Altis covered a distance of 370km in just 3 hours and burnt RM50 worth of petrol.  That will be 123km/h, slightly above the speed limit. Hopefully no summon is tailing me, =P.

I'll be home alone for two weeks (I supposed).  Now that I can be more focus, I should speed up some of the long pending items.  Time is getting short.  A few thing left to be sorted out.  I met both of my bosses and spoke out my intention.  Both of them are okay, although one initially freaked out (twice actually) and tried to hold me off and the other one encouraged me.  Which one is genuine - I don't know, because it doesn't matter anymore.  A man will do what a man have to do =P.  Hopefully everything will turn out to be just fine.

By the way... the countdown is still continuing!!
********
Nite nite, sweet dream diary.

Idris Jala & the Subsidy System

I have been wanting to comment on the subsidy issue since a couple of weeks, but it seems the matter is too complicated to be commented in short.  Both the pros and cons of the implications of abolishing subsidies outweighs each others.  So, I choose to wait and observe - at least for a bit longer.

However, I agreed with some of the opinions - especially on the suggestion that instead of removing the subsidies on the basic needs such as foods items and fuel, the corporate subsidies should be removed first.  This include the gas subsidy to the IPPs and tax break to successful corporates such as AirAsia and the AP system.  These are the profit making companies, and their shareholders enjoyed billions of ringgit on top of the subsidies given to their companies.

Some said the subsidies on basic items such as fuel and food items are irrelevant to the low income rakyat (the poor ones) as they benefited minimally from the subsidies. On the other hand the rich had maximized the gifts. Hence they should be removed.

Try to imagine this... let say Pak A, an office assistance uses a low-capacity motor vehicle - let say a Myvi to travel back and fro to his workplace which is located 10km from his house and requires let say five (5)  liters of petrol every days.  That translated to RM1.79 x 5 liters = RM8.95 of subsidized fuel per day or RM268.50 per month. (Market price for RON 95 petrol is RM3.59 as of 30th May 2010)

On the other hand, his boss the GM of the company - En. Y uses a high-capacity motor vehicle, let say a E280 Mercedes travels the same distance but due to the larger engine size uses let say ten (10) liters of petrol everyday.  That will translated to RM17.90 per day or RM537.00 per month of subsidized fuel (do the calculation yourself - only simple math).


But, hey wait a sec... Pak A is only a clerk and a clerk's got paid let say RM1k per month (i'm being too generous here) and his boss En. Y - the GM, may be paid up to RM15k per month... and please don't forget the petrol allowance, the company car, the company's driver, the corporate credit cards and lots more facilities that the boss could be enjoying.

With all that in mind, is it still logical for the government to subsidized the rich GM more than the poor hardworking clerk?

Let see the figures again shall we... RM268.50 (the POOR) 26.85% of monthly salary vs RM537.00 (the RICH) 3.58% of monthly salary

That is only a small part of how the whole government subsidy regime works. One point that can be summarized here is that, the rich due to their larger spending and consuming capacities, had benefited more from the current subsidies mechanism.  I am very sure that out of RM74 billion subsidies expenses, more than 70% are being enjoyed by the rich!!

And let say if the government decided to do away with the subsidies, the impact will very much likely to be immediately felt by the poor rakyat, not the rich one.  Consider the above scenario - Pak A will have to spend an additional of 27% of his salary to cover the daily petrol cost while his GM, En. Y will only spend 3.6% from his perk (if not from his own pocket).  That is petrol alone, what about other items - foods, education, medical, electricity, etc.  

Hey dato, still remember the bottom 40% of Malaysians' household that earn lower than RM1,440 DS Najib was talking about? So, how can this go align with PM Najib's "Rakyat Diutamakan", sila jawab Dato Idris Jala?  Perhaps you may want to recommend PM Najib to change the slogan to "Rakyat yang Kaya (dan Korporat) diutamakan".  That may suit the move better.

What I'm trying to say - the abolishment of the subsidy system must be handled with care (especially in regards to the low income group).  The move must be executed by phases and gradually as to give the time for the rakyat to prepare for the impacts.  Well that's another area to be discussed - maybe later.

Countdown Begin!

Bahang rombakan kabinet kian terasa.  Cakap-cakap dikalangan umum meramalkan rombakan tersebut bakal berlangsung pada bulan Jun - iaitu seawal esok.  Blogger-blogger pro-UMNO dan kerajaan semakin rancak menimbulkan isu ini.  Malah, ada yang lebih berani dengan terus terang menamakan senarai menteri/timbalan menteri yang wajar digugurkan terus daripada kabinet dinasour Datuk Seri Najib kerana prestasi yang kurang cemerlang atau malap terus - baca di sini dan di sini.

Rombakan kabinet ini sememangnya penting dan harus berlaku. Lima belas bulan selepas mengambil alih tampuk pentadbiran kerajaan, PM Najib seharusnya tahu dan arif - menteri dan portfolio yang kurang menyerlah dan perubahan yang perlukan.  Langkah ini bakal menyegarkan kembali keyakinan dikalangan rakyat tentang keiltizaman DS Najib untuk membawa perubahan kepada Malaysia dan slogan-slogan yang dikendong bersamanya itu bukanlah retorik semata-mata.

Sementelahan lagi, selepas kejayaan polisi ekonomi beliau, ahli UMNO dan rakyat umumnya sepatutnya menaruh lebih keyakinan terhadap pentadbiran Najib dan percaturan yang dilakukan untuk memantapkan lagi proses transformasi Malaysia.

Persoalannya adalah adakah benar perubahan tersebut bakal berlaku?  Dan sekiranya berlaku, adakah sekadar diperingkat Pusat?  Apakah halnya pula dengan prestasi menteri-menteri besar (juga sebenarnya adalah jemaah menteri di peringkat negeri). Adakah mereka yang tidak mencapai piawaian akan terus menerus diberikan mandat daripada PM Najib?

Persoalan-persoalan tersebut hanya mampu dijawab oleh Datuk Seri Najib sendiri.  Sama-sama kita tunggu dan saksikan.   

Countdown: 30 Days

Mesyuarat Agung UMNO Cawangan Banggol

Pagi semalam (Jumaat) saya menghadiri Mesyuarat Agung UMNO cawangan Banggol - Bahagian Kemaman.  Dan sekali lagi saya kecewa, nama saya masih lagi belum tersenarai dalam senarai nama ahli UMNO yang berdaftar.

Namun, semangat Melayu saya tetap berkobar-kobar seperti biasa.  Sementelahan lagi setelah mendengar ucapan Ketua Cawangan UMNO Banggol, merangkap Ahli Dewan Undangan Negeri Cukai,  dan juga Pengerusi Jawatankuasa Pembangunan Koperasi, Usahawan dan Luar Bandar Negeri Terengganu - Dato' Haji Mohamed bin Haji Awang Tera menyuntik lagi kesedaran dan keinsafan ke dalam diri saya.

Antara lainnya, beliau menyampaikan hasrat pucuk pimpinan parti (Pusat yer...)  terutamanya impian Datuk Seri Mohamad Najib bin Tun Abdul Razak yang mahukan UMNO diperingkat akar umbi melipatkan gandakan usaha untuk menarik lebih ramai lagi keahlian parti keramat ini.  Ramai yang ditagih itu bukanlah sekadar kuantiti, malahan kualiti setiap ahli UMNO juga perlu dipertingkatkan. Ahli berkualiti yang tahu sejarah asal usul perjuangan dan perit getir pejuang zaman awal penubuhan parti.  Yang menyertai parti bukan untuk tujuan lain - melainkan memperjuangkan untung nasib bangsa Melayu ini.

Beliau juga menekankan peri pentingnya UMNO meramaikan ahli-ahlinya dari golongan profesional muda dan berpendidikan tinggi. Golongan ini diharap dapat menangkis serangan sistematik anasir-anasir perkauman dan golongan chauvinist (yang faham tapi buat-buat tidak faham isi kandungan Perlembagaan Persekutuan) yang kebelakangan ini semakin kencang terhadap hak-hak istimewa bangsa Melayu yang termaktub dan dilindung di dalam Perlembagaan Persekutuan.

Lebih daripada itu, kehadiran cerdik pandai ini juga diharap membawa angin perubahan  terhadap dasar dan  agenda sosio ekonomi bangsa Melayu ini ke satu platform yang lebih efektif dan dan bawa kejayaan yang lebih besar kepada bangsa dan agama di masa hadapan.  Diharap dengan keahlian yang bukan sahaja ramai malahan juga berkualiti - satu sistem check and balance antara pimpinan parti dan ahli akar umbi dapat berfungsi seperti aur dan tebing, saling memerlukan antara satu sama lain.

Beliau mengingatkan bahawa sasaran 10 peratus keahlian baru perlu dicapai oleh semua cawangan, bagi memastikan kemenangan UMNO dalam pilihanraya umum kelak tidak lagi bergantung kepada bangsa-bangsa chauvinist tetapi kekuatan bangsa Melayu dan parti UMNO itu sendiri.  Jadi tidak perlu lagi kita terus tunduk dan berputih mata terhadap tuntutan golongan racist dan chauvinist ini yang ternyata semakin hari semakin melampau - ibarat dihulurkan betis ingin paha pula.

Dato' Mohamed turut mengulas mengenai perkembangan terkini dasar kerajaan Barisan Nasional dibawah pimpinan Dato Seri Mohamad Najib.  Kejayaan Program Transformasi Kerajaan dan Model Ekonomi Baru kini terbukti apabila Keluaran Dalam Negara Kasar (KDNK) atau Gross Domestic Product suku pertama 2010 melonjak ke paras tertinggi sejak Krisis Kewangan Asia 1998.

Namun, dasar 1Malaysia masih lagi belum mendapat kejayaan sepenuhnya apabila didalam dua pilihan raya kecil (Hulu Selangor dan Sibu) trend pengundi Cina masih lagi cenderung malahan semakin condong membangkang dasar kerajaan apabila hanya saki baki 20 peratus yang mengundi BN) - ini adalah komen peribadi saya.

Tidak lupa, sekalong ucapan tahniah kepada Dato' Mohamed yang berjaya memberi nafas baru kepada perjuangan UMNO cawangan Banggol.  Atas daya usaha beliau dan pimpinan UMNO cawangan Banggol yang lain, maka telah tertubuhlah sayap Pemuda dan Puteri UMNO di cawangan ini.  Untuk nota, UMNO cawangan Banggol ini sebelumnya dikenali sebagai cawangan 'makcik dan nenek'.

P/s: Saya teringat kepada seorang kawan yang merungut apabila teman-teman menggelar baju kurung cotton kegemaran beiau sebagai baju kurung nenek. :)

Cina Sudah Terima Terima Konsep Negara Islam

That was what Salahuddin Ayub, one of PAS vice president said here.

It is either Salahuddin is dumb or he is too dumb (obviously he is dumber than he should be) to understand what happened in Sibu By Election.  The Chinese in Sibu voted for DAP and not PAS or PKR.  It was a DAP's win in Sibu, not Pakatan.  After two years of dominating the Pakatan controlled states, DAP had managed to convince the Chinese that the party are capable to champion their rights.

The Chinese will never accept Pas' Islamic State concept.  It will be a long way before the Chinese can understand the Islamic State concept, and it will take an even longer time before they agree to adopt the concept.  They do not accept what they identified as the 'Malay supremacy' or Ketuanan Melayu or what we call as Malay/Bumiputera Special Privileges concept, leave alone the religion supremacy concept (although both are enshrined clearly by Article 153 in the Federal constitution..

So, abang-abang PAS, think again before you issue a blunt statement in the future.

Seribu kali sayang - Monica Bay

Saya dan keluarga sempat meluangkan masa petang Jumaat lepas untuk bersantai di pantai Teluk Mak Nik - atau nama glamournya Monica Bay.

Pantai Teluk Mak Nik ini memang cantik. Dataran pantainya terbentang luas bersambung dari muara sungai Kemaman terus terbentang ke selatan dan berakhir di kaki bukit Geliga.  Pasirnya putih bersih,  anginnya nyaman bertiup sepoi-sepoi bahasa dari Laut China Selatan bersama deruan ombak yang menghempas pantai.  Nun jauh di kaki langit, deretan kapal-kapal menunggu giliran untuk berlabuh di pelabuhan Kemaman. Indah sungguh!

Namun, dalam begitu,sedikit benar orang yang tahu (atau mahu?) bersyukur dengan kurniaan Allah ini.  Nah, lihat sahaja gambar-gambar di bawah.  Saya ambil ketika melepak-lepak di sana.

 

Kotor? ini baru sebahagian.

 

Ini sebahagian lagi.

dan lagi peninggalan pengunjung pantai

Tong sampah dan sampah.

Sedih dan kecewa saya. Memang pengunjung Pantai Teluk Mak Nik sudah berjaya membukikan bahawa mentaliti mereka masih kekal di tahap dunia ketiga. (Begitu jugakah dengan kerajaan yang mentadbir mereka?).  Bukankah kebersihan adalah sebahagian daripada iman? (Terengganu juga adalah darul Iman - adakah satu kebetulan yang disengajakan??)

Saya berharap pihak berkuasa tempatan dan pihak berwajib yang lain (Majlis Perbandaran Kemaman dan Agensi Pelancongan Negeri Terengganu) dapat ambil perhatian tentang perkara ini.  Kalau boleh, saya cadangkan lantiklah satu kontraktor khas yang memantau dan menjaga dan memelihara pantai-pantai di negeri ini.

Bagaimana dengan menganjurkan kempen "Sayangi Monica Bay!" atau "Kami Sayang Mak Nik!" untuk membuka hati dan minda yang mungkin belum lagi tergerak untuk sama-sama menjaga pantai kita ini? Alah tuan YDP, duit minyak yang banyak itu takkan nak buat bangunan-bangunan di kawasan tadahan hujan aje.  Apa kata salurkan sedikit untuk manfaat dan nikmat semua rakyat?

Harap tuan YDP atau Exco Pelancongan negeri dapat diambil tindakan yang sewajarnya.

Owhh YDP, kami bukan sekadar membebel, tapi cuba juga untuk sumbangkan tenaga yang sedikit ini mengikut kemampuan kami.

Kami cakna!!

Sukarelawati yang bertugas...

Ouhh, selipar pun korang buang ke?!

Melentur buluh...

Berjaya!!

Sekian.