I had a very interesting discussion with an UAE businessman about our PM. The discussion started with his concerns on our political and economic situations. He did not mince his words with his disgust towards United Malay National Organisation politics, policies etc.
For the record, we have known each other since a decade ago. He has big doubts on Najib’s worthiness and leadership qualities. He has been following Malaysia politics since Mahathir’s days.
“Your PM is a ‘text-book’ leader. What a joke to tell the world about reading Blue Ocean book on the eve of swearing as a new PM and how stupid to announce his plan to incorporate the book’s ideas into his administration..he lacks brain!”
I have not read the book in full, but I have some ideas from browsing the book several times at bookstores.
There is a comment in Din Merican’s blog here last year which echoes my friend’s assessment:-
Blue, Red or Rainbow Ocean strategies are just gimmicks and this time, these ideas came out of INSEAD (Fontainebleau, France) where I attended the 1989 Advanced Management Program.
Najib is using it for his politics. Civil servants will buy the book; some will read it; others will carry it around in the brief cases, just to show off and hopefully Najib will notice. No one will be able to apply the ideas to improve the work quality and output. The Deputy Prime Minister is falling into the same trap that Tun Ahmad Sarji got into by thinking that business concepts can be applied in to public administration.
Performance indicators are different. As far as I know, no civil servant has been fired for non-performance. They are usually sent some remote district to hibernate till retirement or shanted to the pool in INTAN to join useless civil servants to read and relax. In the corporate world, incompetent and non-performing executives are fired. The civil service is so rotten that nothing works. I need not elaborate on this, except to say that I agree with you that it requires “utmost integrity, accountability and transparency”.
Culture change is required and a massive firing of top civil servants would be necessary for that to happen, I think. And there is no political will in the UMNO-led BN government to do it. This is because the politicians in power including this Blue Ocean Najib want an incompetent and compliant civil service so that “corruption, nepotism, cronyism and myriad of other ‘-isms’ – with the use of draconian laws” can continue”.
Back to my discussion, the businessman mentioned that it was fool for the PM to apply Blue Ocean in government administration. That’s his opinion which may not be correct. correct, correct. He had explained at length including his notion that the book itself was obsolete.
He also chided Najib who had never been in the ‘real world’, corporate and business to follow something which is not proven.
“Najib has been spoon-fed all his life…he’s never poor, never had to struggle like other common folks, he is from an elite family and he thinks he knows the real situation…what a bull!”
Then my friend criticized the so-called KPI to be implemented on the ministers’ annual performance, he asked me, “What about Najib’s own KPIs? Will he fire those ministers who have not performed? Will he appraise his ministers in transparent manners, can we know what are his and his ministers’ KPIs?”
I was in the mood to further probe his mind. And like other non-Malaysian friends I know here, he also believes that Najib has a direct link with Altantuya’s murder. I do not blame him for this ‘fitnah’ which has been spreading all over the world, up to Anifah Aman’s date with Hillary Clinton few days ago in the White House. - Anwar Ibrahim Blog
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