Let Air Asia and Malaysia Airlines Battle It Out
SEEING IT MY WAY www.Malaysiakini.com April 6, 2006
Let Air Asia and MAS Battle It Out
www.Malaysiakini.com April 6, 2006
SEEING IT MY WAY
Our civil servants have done it again! In their wisdom, they have divvied up the air routes between Malaysia Airlines (MAS) and Air Asia. With that, the flying public will now be well served, so those officials believed. Such hubris!
Our civil servants and leaders should disabuse themselves of their “fatal conceit” (Hayek’s phrase) that they could control the marketplace.
Neither MAS nor Air Asia has a right to exist; they have to earn it. Like other businesses, to survive they must provide services or products that the public wants. That is the essence of any enterprise.
Soviet factories were very productive in manufacturing goods. The only problem was, nobody wanted what they produced. Even if you could turn out what the customers wanted, you would not be successful if you could not sell for more than what it would cost to produce it.
Whether MAS or Air Asia “deserves” those routes will be determined ultimately by the flying public. This reality must be acknowledged; those civil servants delude themselves if they think otherwise. They would be better off doing something useful, like running the land office more efficiently. That is what they are being paid for.
More, Not Less, Competition
It would have been much easier, and more efficient, had the authorities simply liberalized the system and let any airline, foreign or domestic, fly any route. Let MAS battle it with Air Asia. Allocating the routes merely reduces competition for the two, but would not spare them from competition by other forms of transportation like trains and buses.
Soon executive jets powered by revolutionary micro engines will appear to provide “air taxi” service at a cost competitive to regular coach price. Already, the first few years of production are sold out, reflecting the demand. Meaning, expect more competition!
The best way to prepare our airlines – and Malaysians generally – for the increasingly competitive world is to expose them to greater, not less, competition. Divvying up air routes is not the way to go; instead, let them battle it out. Whoever serves the public better would survive and thrive. They would then be ready to take on the world. Coddling them would result in never ending subsidies.
Even if the airlines were to have a price war or indulge in predatory pricing (selling tickets cheaply with the intention of driving out the competition), the flying public would still benefit from the resulting cheap fares.
Flying is affordable and preferred mode of travel in America, thanks to deregulation. Legacy airlines like Pan Am have disappeared because they could not control their costs or serve their customers well, but they are being replaced by new players like Jet Blue. No one wants to return to the highly regulated days of yore.
Malaysia should be opening up its skies. Who cares how those tourists arrive or who owns the planes we fly in. We are concerned with safety, and price. This idea that every nation should have its own airline, or currency, is rubbish.
I enjoy MAS superior services; I have also not hesitated choosing other carriers when their price and schedule suited me better. I have no sense of reflected glory when flying MAS. I am grateful to the pilot, be he (or she) a Malaysian or foreigner, when we landed safely.
MAS continues to suffer massive losses despite the many attempts at cleansing its balance sheet. Its recent decision to sell its headquarters building eerily reminds me of the similar move made by Pan Am in the early days of deregulation.
Today the Pan Am building is worth considerably more, but the airline is long gone. Its previously hallowed brand fetched only a few thousand dollars at an auction. The government would do well to remember this; sell the airline but keep the real estate.
Malaysia would be better served if its civil servants were to focus on running the government and let the executives run their companies. As the major owner of MAS, the government has two choices: sell it, or change the management. The government had chosen the second option for now, but if that does not work, exercise the first. Making this explicit would focus the attention of those running the company. That can sometimes do wonders.
Body Languages of Leaders
To celebrate their carving up of the local flying market, the leaders of the two airlines posed for a photograph, flanked by their beautiful stewardesses. Idris Jalla, taking on the style of civil servants and other executives of GLCs, was in his suit and tie. This in hot and humid Malaysia! His Air Asia counterpart, Tony Fernandez, was in his T-shirt and wearing a baseball cap. Idris looked liked he was ready to head back to the comfort of air-conditioned suite; Tony Fernandez on the other hand was ready for some serious work under the blistering Malaysian sun. If I were to invest, I know which company to choose.
To be fair, Idris Jalla recently announced moving his headquarters staff to Sepang, to the factory floor as it were. Apart from reducing the overhead costs, the move would at least remove the distance and hence insulation between the managers and their customers. He has also promised to discontinue money-losing routes.
At least Idris Jalla is aware of the problems and taking steps to remedy them. The question is whether he could convince his civil servant and politician superiors that the solutions to Malaysia Airlines’s problems remain in the marketplace, not in the hallowed halls at Putrajaya. His challenge is to disabuse politicians and civil servants from their delusion that they could control the marketplace.
April 16th, 2006 at 7:40 pm
Dr Bakri,
Idris Jala and Khazanah Nasional must somehow hold the MAS Union at bay,and keep the politicians and know-all civil servants out of the picture if our national airline is to successfully compete in the global airline industry.
Numbers are easy to put together. It is only the first phase of the restructuring or “right sizing” exercise. The more challenging second phase is to effect “culture” change. The culture of thinking that Government and taxpayers can always be relied upon to pump in capital must stop. The attitude of free riding is always the danger.
Malaysia Airports’ cooperation is equally vital to deal with pilferage and poor baggage handling. MAS should also be allowed to outsource services like catering and maintenance on the basis of competitive bidding. Friends and the relatives of key politicians cannot be treated more favorably than others in awarding contracts. Is it possible?
Idris Jala and his Board are not in an uneviable position, and I can only wish them the very best of luck in their task of “going beyond expectations”, reducing cost, and rebuilding shareholder value.
Thanks.
April 16th, 2006 at 7:51 pm
Typo : “uneviable” to read “unenviable”. Sorry.
April 16th, 2006 at 8:20 pm
Let me rewrite this sentence to read : “Idris Jala and his board are in a difficult situation and I can only…” Always this danger when using double negatives.
April 17th, 2006 at 12:56 am
Any Malaysians who want to set up an airline in Australia…
Good opportunities: great tourism routes to the Pacific Islands….. and also if you dare.. flights to Bali…. and other exotic tourist locations….
Once the airline has gained experience in these markets… then can go to Malaysia… and give Tony Fernandez a run for his money…..
Anybody interested…… you can buy surplus 737-200 aircrafts from Ozjet…. the new airline which failed to sustain/maintain its Melbourne Sydney route…..
April 17th, 2006 at 2:49 am
It is undeniable that malays are stupid, lazy and incapable. Why don’t they just humbly admit the facts and repent and learn from other races especially Chinese?
What is the point to argue here and wasting time again?
From the first onwards we were merely telling the truths. It wasn’t us who think that way but their own Pak Lah as well.
All malays should go and read the newspaper, even Pak Lah is ashamed of maintaining the NEP after 34 years of implementing it and these malay baboons are still asking for it.
Even Pak Lah wanted them to compete on a level playing field.
So what does all these tell the world? It sends a very clear message that it is malays themselves who are incapable and lazy and they don’t even want to admit it and make a change!
That is the biggest shame of all.
Can’t you see, it is all back to square one. Year in, year out, some talk for half an hour, some one, some two. Some sing, many belt out their most recent released ‘pantun’.
After all. Malays are good at that. Suggestions after suggestions, some good, some impossible to realize.
But, do you see any of these materialised? Hardly. Why, why and why???
Because the malays can never change. Never! Why?
The leaders forgot or were it they simply didn’t want to admit and address that the actual disease is the malays and the remedy itself is also, the malays. They can never change. What is it about the malays?
Firstly as you all know, they are a lazy species. Since the beginning of time they have been like that. Even the encyclopedia called them as lazy people. I think those British with their accent tried to call them ‘malas’, and if you put ‘y’ in, it becomes ‘malays’.
Embracing Islam make them a worse lot. Now they have a license to kill anything that gets into their way.
Malays are ungrateful lot. In reality, they just can’t live or open their minds for others. When Mahathir said that they are complacent, they put him in jail. When Mahathir encouraged them to learn English language, they got angry with him, saying it is a ‘bahasa penjajah’.
When other races ‘maju’, they got angry with them too. That was why at the end of Mahathir his regime, he said this, “I have achieved greatness as a prime minister, but I only fail in one thing, changing the malays.”
Well, nothing to be surprised about anyway since Mahathir is not really a malay, and I guess that was why the malays were angry with him.
Drug abuse, hate, incest, liberal extremism (culture of miniskirts and gay marriages), murder, racism, rape, religious fanaticism, parochialism, snatch theft, spoilt-bratty behavior, tribalism, wife abuse, child abuse, all that is associated with the malay race.
To them, malay is the biggest impediment towards building a truly Malaysian nation, and should be chucked into the dustbins of history.
A genetically flawed race cannot be fixed by politically. Nature will take its course and globalization will put them out to pasture.
What have we got now?
Brain drain, economic disparity getting wider, poor education system, racial segregation, widespread corruption, inefficiency and uncompetitive on the government departments and others.
Sad. Sad. Sad. The question asked by many of my fellow Chinese is this - Why can’t you just tell the malay peoples to adopt Chinese culture which is superior?
From research, this peninsular was part of the Siamese empire way before these malays from Indonesia invaded it.
Still so thick skin, don’t want to go back to Indonesia!
April 17th, 2006 at 4:04 am
Dear Badcountry
Your generalist “trollish” diatribes & rheotorics does not help. The Chinese/Indians & other races are not perfect and have much to learn from others and from the Malays in terms of unity as well (self declaration being part of peranakan/nyonya stock). Yes, social problems arise also within the Chinese society although not as much in Malaysia/Indonesia possibly due to the constant “rheotorics” reminding of their place.
Please note that if your neighbourhood becomes a mess, it also affects your own wealth/asset value per the “broken windows” observations.
However, the sypnosis remains, attack the issue/policies and not the race notwithstanding any “trollish” attacks by any parties.
Ajohore
April 17th, 2006 at 5:25 am
“Badcountry” has put forward his lame and baseless case for the “cultural and ethnic superiority” of the Chinese that to respond to his diatribe would be an utter waste of time.
If there is a section in the country’s Penal Code that makes it a crime to be stupid, he should be charged, jailed and the keys thrown away – to spare his neighbours of whatever race from having to share the same room and breathe the same air.
However, there is this one statement which no doubt reflected his claim of ‘racial superiority’ - and that is his claim that Mahathir went to jail for his views.
That’s how much his claim to ‘racial superiority’ is worth.
April 17th, 2006 at 5:36 am
Anybody here who knows how much does a 737-200 costs?…. that kind plane is a bit old….
The latest I suppose is 737-900/-900ER… but that kind of plane is big like Airbus A320.
I wonder if Air Asia operates Airbus planes…………
But beware… the aviation industry is highly regulated….. it is kind of ironic to talk about free competition in the aviation industry…..
Perhaps we may think the cheap no-frills airlines like we think about Intrakota and minibuses….. Minibuses of yesteryears may be “efficient” and “effective”… but passanger safety is always the second last thing for these minibus operators…….
April 17th, 2006 at 5:43 am
“This idea that every nation should have its own airline, or currency, is rubbish.”
I’m sorry Bakri bro - you’re over the top on this one! It’s just like saying we should put the face of Mao Tse Tung on our one ringgit note, and Mahatma Ghandi on our coins.
“Badcountry” would, of course, like to put his grandfather’s face on our notes as well on account of his ethnic and cultural superiority.
Perhaps he would like to confirm if that was the kind of reason they put not just Mahathir but Abdullah Badawi in jail - for their views??
April 17th, 2006 at 7:03 am
Running an airline in Malaysia is not easy. Air Asia is a for profit airline and will only fly routes that can make money for them. They won’t fly routes which are unprofitable. MAS on the other hand have been entrusted with the social obligation of providing air transport to remote areas in Malaysia with very low yield or passenger count. Yet they have to provide the service to ensure that the public is served with reliable transportation. Imagine someone living in the interior of Sabah or Sarawak and no air travel. They will have to drive days on ends just to get to the next town. This will set back Malaysia in its desire to be a developed nation.
There are many things to juggle with. Aircraft, routes, services, engineering, sales and marketing, customer services, cargo etc etc. MAS during Tajuddin Ramli years have bought new airplanes such as the B737-400, B747-400 and B777-200ER to service the medium and long haul destinations. At the same time MAS has reduced it’s F-50 and BN-7 fleet to just enough to service the rural air services. MAS thus neglected the domestic and rural routes. Air Asia if given these rural air services route will not accept the routes nor will they be able to service these routes with their B737-300/400 fleet. The runways are not long enough and the passenger count are too lean.
MAS is also flying to destinations that are losing money and have recently cut back these services. Cutting back these services means they have excess aircraft and a parked aircraft is losing money by the minute. Air Asia on the other hand uses leased aircraft and pays for the time the aircraft is used.
Malaysia is a small country and can’t afford to have too many airlines chasing after too few people. The result will be disastrous. Serives will be neglected and passenger safety and aircraft maintenance will be jeapordised. Just fly with Air Asia and see the safety procedures being neglected. Cockpit doors remain open during take off and cabin crew not performing the safety procedures correctly. Air Asia is just like an express bus ride.
April 17th, 2006 at 10:51 am
hi badcountry…
not all malaysian are like what you think. there are some who really deserves it. i knew few of them, the educated and non-educated. they really slot and work hard for it without the government help.
so please do not condemn all.
i have many friends, and they are all malaysian, no matter what color skin they are.
i grew up in the army garrison since my father was a soldier. and mix around with them a lot. i can only speak english and bahasa kampong but not chinese. even my written english macam 2+1.
i have never blame them but blaming the government. it’s the government doing that is causing this unwanted hatred among other malaysian.
just my falsampah… sorry for the bad english!
April 17th, 2006 at 2:46 pm
After “kill all mala pig” now we have Bad Country spewing all things bad of Malays. I guess they all like to blame the Malays for their own short comings. If they were successful they wouldn’t even care whether the Malays are backward or not. Enough is enough as his/her pen name suggest he/she is even suggesting that Malaysia is a bad country.
If the country is bad, why are you living there?
I am not going to use the word “please” when responding to these people. They are rude, crude and biligerent idiot. They can’t see the good in many but are happy to call a whole race names. Malays can change, can’t you see, read and hear. The owner of this blog is a Malay and he does not into the mold that “Bad Country” has cast. So are numerous others. So brother Bad Country, pl… be more selective when making criticsm about the Malay race.
April 17th, 2006 at 8:02 pm
Dear Friends,
We have to decide once and for all whether MAS is a commercial airline company, or a “charity” organization for all the high and mighty, politicians and non-political VIPs alike, to abuse, or plunder.
Idris Jala should be told of this pointedly. He would not have to waste his time and energies and prejudice his future. I am sure he would be happy to return to Shell, or go elsewhere where his considerable talents could be better employed. National service yes, but it cannot be at the expense of the young man’s professional future.
If it is to be commercial, then MAS should be run like any other business. Make money, or close down. No more bailouts from taxpayers. Fancy on domestic flights first/business class, seats are reserved for Royalty, Cabinet Ministers, MPs and State Ministers, Menteris Besar and ADUNs and their families so that they can fly at their whims and fancy. More often than not, these seats are empty.
How to maximise revenue? Seats on flights are perishable items. Better coordination between MAS and their respective ADCs and private secretaries can certainly help to solve this nagging problem. Even the granting of free travel to MAS employees as part of their benefits should be better managed.
It is also important that every effort is made to increase yield, not just payload. I have often informed my friends in MAS that they should heavily penalise their travel agents for overbooking, or speculating of seats. Having committed themselves, these agents should, in fact, be made to pay for the seats they could sell.
In my experience, I found that every time I tried to book a seat at a MAS counter, the polite and pretty lady had to apologise profusely to me that the flight was full; yet when I finally got a seat I found the flight was nearly half empty (or half full, depending how you look at it!!). Empty seats mean loss of revenue. Why can’t something be done about this. SIA has no such problems. I wonder why!! Look at this, Mr. Jala.
Let us get real about everything we do. We no longer have the luxury of squandering our resources, no matter how well endowed we think we are.
Thanks.
April 18th, 2006 at 12:50 am
badcountry,
Talk..talk… go on talk as much as you can! But the fact remains ~ Nobody in this country wants you.
So I guess you can kill yourself now but dont let your remain be buried here, on this land! Make sure you do it outside of this country.
I repeat. Kill yourself now!
April 18th, 2006 at 3:43 am
MAS should be renamed UMNOputra.
The aim of MAS should not be to make profits but to operate at the level when Marginal Revenue (MR) equals Average Cost(AC) and to reach this breakeven point at the soonest possible time and remain at that point – any extra revenue if at all should be ploughed back to cover fluctuations in the cost of oil.
Right at the MAS counter ought to be a sign which reads, “No Chinese allowed. Only pigs.”
April 18th, 2006 at 3:46 am
Saudara Din,
Its business. Business acumen is as rare as gem. Having people with business acumen at the right place in a business means everything.
I used to travel quite a bit in the 80’s and 90’s and in recent times slowed down a bit. I always used other Asian Airlines like Thai Int, Cathay and SIA and occasionally KLM and Luthansa. My experience with MAS has been on off, meaning sometime good and sometime bad. Last week I had a bad experience with MAS. We had confirmed seats. My friend and I could not fly off due to a boo boo by MAS. One of the ground staff was fantastic. He made it bearable. Not many MAS staff was like that. He did his best to make up for the boo boo by his other colleagues. Eventually we were able to catch another flight 6 hours later and arrived for our meeting hours late. MAS had to make compensation to us. However we chatted with this gentleman who has served MAS for the pass 15 or so years. His morale was pretty low. We were full of compliments for his proactive conduct, but for a staff with low morale he did pretty well. It is this kind of staff that the company need. But do the management realise this? Apparently with his experience and proactive attitude, he could have been promoted eons ago, but it did not happen. When the company do not vaue the empolyees based on performance, you have a company like MAS.
BTW, Saudara Din, there is one habit that I find very difficult to understand, that is in the process of serving the customers, service staff seem to treat their conversation with their colleagues more important than serving the customers. It is a habit very much entrenched in the civil service, however MAS is a commercial organisation, similar culture exists.
I personally have not used Air Asia. However, I find their modus operandi not safety oriented. It is great as a business outfit and perhaps run a bit too efficiently. However, there is risk of saftely margins being breached.
I agree with Dr Bakri that MAS and Air Asia should be allow to compete freely. However, I am not too optimistic that our Jala friend could overcome two very important issues, politics and culture.
tks and regards
April 18th, 2006 at 4:04 am
KerisWieldingFanatic,
“The aim of MAS should not be to make profits but to operate at the level when Marginal Revenue (MR) equals Average Cost(AC) and to reach this breakeven point at the soonest possible time and remain at that point – any extra revenue if at all should be ploughed back to cover fluctuations in the cost of oil.”
Make this announcement public and they would be a peak at the trading at the MAS counter and the price go south.
April 18th, 2006 at 4:15 am
“If it is to be commercial, then MAS should be run like any other business.”
This, unfortunately, is not a statement I would like to see from someone who claims to be a Malay nationalist, who is honest and forthright in his views.
You’re playing into the hands of the likes of “mala pig’ and ‘bad country’ - the latter will then say the Malays not too long ago put Mahathir in jail for wanting to reform MAS, like KerisWieldingFanatic says he did. If you scroll back it is up there for all to see.
What’s wrong with the statement?
Well, the last time I checked MAS started off as a breakaway operation, if you will, from the old MSA – when Tunku made the mistake of agreeing to the separation of Malaysia from Singapore. SIA was not burdened with non-commercial objectives of an organization like MAS because every time SIA takes to the sky it goes international.
I would re-phrase the statement by Din Merican to read as follows:
It is time to change the ground rules which govern the operation of MAS to make its operations completely commercial like any other airlines. If fares have to be revised upwards to cover fixed and operational costs, fares must be revised immediately. It should not be seen as the flagship of UMNO ferrying so-called ‘privileged flyers’ and hangers-ons to meet their mistresses in Paris or Phnom Penh.
April 18th, 2006 at 4:20 am
Well, if you have the foresight to begin with you should not have invested in MAS shares. There is a lot to be said about remaining in the kampong and be a kampong boy.
April 18th, 2006 at 6:22 am
KerisWieldingFanatic:
The aim of MAS should not be to make profits but to operate at the level when Marginal Revenue (MR) equals Average Cost(AC) and to reach this breakeven point at the soonest possible time and remain at that point – any extra revenue if at all should be ploughed back to cover fluctuations in the cost of oil.
That doesn’t make sense. The point of privatisation is to create incentives for the company to perform at the optimum level. If you take away all the profit — incentives, in other words — what is the point? MAS would be litle more than another Soviet collective — didn’t hundreds of Malaysians sacrifice their lives to prevent communism from sweeping across the country? Why are we now proposing to restore such a failed system?
MelayuTiang:
This, unfortunately, is not a statement I would like to see from someone who claims to be a Malay nationalist, who is honest and forthright in his views.
1. Why? Isn’t your restatement exactly what Pak Din said?
2. What’s this about Malay nationalism? I thought we only have one nation — Malaysia?
April 18th, 2006 at 9:48 am
KerisWieldingFanatic,
The Kampong those days did provide more than a sniff of freshair and I remain.
April 18th, 2006 at 10:13 am
well, john lee remick
if you haven’t heard, it’s called an exercise in reverse privatization - like the one we’re now seeing happening in the johore straits when the bridge makes a U turn. it looks set to be the world’s first bridge to join the same piece of land.
April 18th, 2006 at 7:09 pm
KerisWieldingFanatic
“Right at the MAS counter ought to be a sign which reads, “No Chinese allowed. Only pigs.” ”
The above throwaway comment is uncalled for. It does not help any party or the business of MAS. Further, if you wish to banned Badcountry, go ahead but you are smearing with the same broad brush as Badcountry
Regards
Ajohore
April 18th, 2006 at 7:52 pm
I have been reading this blog for a while, and I would like to post something, if nothing else than to show my support for Mr. Bakri. It is sad that there are extremists such as KerisWieldingFanatic on one side, and badcountry on another side hijacking this blog. Can’t we see that the problem in Malaysia is not Malay vs Chinese; but rich vs poor?
April 18th, 2006 at 9:59 pm
DinM,
Thanx for the mention. Sorry I had been busy and away.
Yes it sadden me to read all those disgusting postings from a despicable few who come in here purposely looking for a channel vent their anger, hostility and frustration while others prefer to divert their energies to others, feeling good antagonising by calling others names. They have such very low self esteem.
If they are serious and really keen to interact and discuss issues, what is there to prevent them from speaking their piece in a nicer way? To me they are not only a mischievous lot, but have also lost their sense of basic human values and self-worth. Sad.
April 18th, 2006 at 11:45 pm
DinM, you said:
“In my experience, I found that every time I tried to book a seat at a MAS counter, the polite and pretty lady had to apologise profusely to me that the flight was full; yet when I finally got a seat I found the flight was nearly half empty (or half full, depending how you look at it!!). Empty seats mean loss of revenue. Why can’t something be done about this. SIA has no such problems. I wonder why!! Look at this, Mr. Jala.”
I fully agree with you !
Let me relate my experience with SIA. I was flying SIA Vancouver/Changi with connecting flight to KUL. Due to some mechanical problems, my plane couldn’t take off on tme from Vancouver Airport. There was a delay of 1 hour.
Once the plane was in the air, I infomed the a cabin crew that I had a connecting flight to take Changi/KUL within 1.5 hours of my eta at Changi and with the plane’s delay, there was no possibility I could make it within 30 mins for my flight into KUL. Within a short while, the chief steward was sent by the Captain to rest-assure me that he would try his best (to speed up the flight) to get me on time for my connecting flight to KUL the same night. It really made me a valued passenger. I was indeed happy that the Captain and his crew really cared.
My SIA plane touched down at Changi Airport a mere half hour behind the actual eta although there was a full one hour delay at Vancouver Airport. It was such a relief for me that the Captain kept his words, delay time was cut down by half.
When my plane touched down at Changi Airport, I was the first to be ushered out of the plane by the chief steward while first class VIPs & Biz class passengers had to hold their steps while the ground crew took over and I was quickly escorted direct to my KL bound plane! That was really something for a small fry like me!
I just want you folks to know this is the type of service SIA provide and they do treat their customers with extreme care and concern. Can we expect such a service from MAS? I don’t think so. Their orang-orang besar, high and mighty, non-political VIPs must always be at the top of the queue !
April 19th, 2006 at 12:08 am
What a piece from badcountry … I see that others are trying hard to ignore you (as you should be), but I would rather have expected to see such hate writing elsewhere than in this blog.
If a Chinese like me keep silent of your writings, then this will send a wrong message to our fellow Malay and Indian brothers here. You are the first kind of people that I will fight.
To summarize, your thesis of cultural racial superiority is not new. Almost every race on earth has members of their community saying the same thing. If you know the history of Chinese civilization, you will have no problem finding some of the most evil and stupid guys who have walked on Earth. You say much bad things about the Malays, perhaps your opinion of them comes from their performance in the civil service. But the bureaucracy in every place in the world is like that. If anything, Mainland Chinese bureaucracy is worse - Corruption is a way of life. Don’t believe me? Check with your friends in China, if you have any.
Instead of choosing to work together, you have chosen to follow the path of an extremist. I am very much saddened by this.
April 19th, 2006 at 12:58 am
Hey…. I read somewhere here that the Malaysian aviation market is small…. so there is no point in having many firms in the industry…
Now… what would be a possible solution ?
M Bakri has given one: unilateral liberalization of the market… which may not be politically feasible… especially when potential newcomers may likely be Americans or Australians… or perhaps Japanese… i.e. firms from those places with excess capital and expertise in aviation industry….. Do you think the French and Brits airline firms would like to take a share in this market too?
What about a more regional liberalisation… open up the airspace to regional operators…. maybe the 2nd best…. but still it may create political problem…. ahhh…. all this nationalism is not good for the economy…!!!
April 19th, 2006 at 1:03 am
Oh yess…. another option is to create a monopoly….. but that is like reverting back the bad (or good… depending on who you are) ol’ days when Mas is the king of aviation in Malaysia…
So what will be the solution….
Yet another…. as I suggested earlier… motivate some Malaysians to set up aviation firms to rev up the competition and give Tony Fernandez a run for his money…..
April 19th, 2006 at 3:43 am
As I see it, MAS has great potential but poor or bad management and unnecessary fiddling by the politicians have not helped much. Those chosen to lead are more of theorists good for bundles of reports but have very little inkling towards understanding and resolving problems. It also appears that MAS, too, has been undermined by a culture which is entrenched very deeply in this country - what is mine is mine and and what is yours is also mine. Sadly, the stewards helming the carrier have been utterly hopeless. Bold measures are needed to turn around and we have to hope that Idris Jala would be able to do it.
April 19th, 2006 at 4:07 am
I still maintain Malays are Mala-s - this characterization of the Malays is backed up by history.
They are biologically flawed and like the Neanderthal are doomed.
We Chinese are a culturally and ethnically superior race. Our Chinese civilization is more than a 1,000 years old.
I think Malays should send their kids to Chinese schools.
It’s time to call a spade a spade.
Look, who else would build a bridge without first entering into a written agreement? That is sheer stupidity!
Malays are stupid! What do you expect from a race who practice incest, rape their own daughters and have their son marry their their brother’s daughter?
April 19th, 2006 at 6:10 am
badcountry,
From the way you had written , you appear to be very much less civillized than many Malay friends I have.
Please do not bring disgrace to Chinese.
How can you feel superior of being a Chinese if do not even practise basic value of good manner stressed in Chinese Civilization.
April 19th, 2006 at 6:12 am
badcountry:
You appear to plagiarising Dr. Mahathir’s thesis from The Malay Dilemma — interesting how you would adopt the stand of someone you consider inferior. You’re just as bad as those you consider yourself above of.
amit:
MAS has had decades to develop itself. The flimsy excuse of needing protection to prevent a start-up from being overwhelmed by the established juggernauts no longer applies. If Malaysians simply can’t run a good airline (something I doubt very much), why should we bother trying? According to the simple economic principle of comparative advantage, we’d be better off investing our efforts in more fruitful activities. MAS needs to sink or swim now, and protecting it will only be throwing good money after bad — it will sink eventually, unless we allow the good Idris Jala to put MAS’ house in order. We need to get politics and protectionism as far away as possible from an ostensibly private company.
April 19th, 2006 at 6:14 am
badcountry,
If you are a chinese, you are insulting Malaysian Chinese. Why do you want to pit races against each other?
Not happy with BN, argue on issue. Don’t bring race into the picture.
If you settle down in China, you won’t be accepted as a Chinese but a foreigner?
April 19th, 2006 at 6:19 am
Come on badcountry, surely you are not going to continue this tirade. Surely you must have substance to argue your points. And surely you do not want to hold a higher moral ground when what you are actually doing is to degrade yourself and the race you belong to. How come, all the Chinese friends I have are so polite and courteous and even where we disagree on issues, we do so as friends.
I am doing business with Chinese and they treat me with so much respect and some have even gone out their way to help me. Otherwise, I would not have survived this long in business. Are you the odd guy who prefer to tarnish that image? And what makes you think that by writing liking this you become a superhero? - All you are doing is to become a laughing stock.
I share your frustration in many things but there are others: Malays, Chinese, Indians, etc who share and face the same fate. Let us discuss that first. Cheers.
April 19th, 2006 at 6:50 am
Amit
Yes the Malaysian aviation market is indeed small. Some routes are so thin that if we have 2 airlines operating on the same route they will have difficulty in filling the seats. The answer is in changing the fleet with smaller but more fuel efficient aircraft such as the Regional Jets or even the ERJ, CRJ 40’s and 70’s. Secondly some smaller airports can’t accommodate jets and so have to be serviced by turbo props which are better at short takeoff and landing and also quicker turn around time.
Open skies and deregulation won’t work in Malaysia. Take a look at the US. With deregulation there was a spurt of new budget airlines entering the market but now these airlines are filing for bankruptcy protection. Closer to home take a look at the Express Bus business. Every Mat, Lim and Gopal wants to be in the Express Bus business. With so many buses chasing the few passengers, these bus operators resort to underhand tactics and many have failed and fallen by the wayside.
The answer is to have managed growth. Yes we can have new airlines enter the market but the airlines have to file a passenger/route growth data before being awarded a route. This would ensure that the airports can handle the traffic and the skies over Malaysia are not overcrowded. The Air Traffic Controller must be able to manage the air space safely.
April 19th, 2006 at 7:06 am
hello
the first badcountry is not the same as the second badcountry
be careful the real writer
April 19th, 2006 at 8:16 am
First it was mala pig then badcountry now badcountry wannabe. So, what is next? Time to move on, chums.
LKS and Jeff Ooi here I come.
April 19th, 2006 at 2:15 pm
I think it is the same person who is trying to be a second wannabe, who is actually the first wannabe.
In cyber space you can take on whatever identity you please.
April 19th, 2006 at 2:17 pm
I think “not the real writer” is the first badcountry, who pretends to be the real writer.
April 19th, 2006 at 4:45 pm
Dear all
Good country, bad country etc are all trying to attract attention just like the crazy drivers on the high speed chase in the US. If the media don’t give them the coverage then they’ll abandon the high speed chase. So if all us reasonable contributors here ignore them then they will go away and poison other blogs.
April 19th, 2006 at 8:59 pm
Dear Kgboy,
Well, the Cabin Crew sometimes is more interested in shopping and the latest gossips (and I bet the singer Siti Nurhaliza and Datuk K saga is probably a hot topic up in the awan biru). They treat the white man and first class passengers better than ordinary passengers like you and me.
In my years experience, I have come to this simple conclusion: everything has to do with ATTITUDE, and in our country, it is this damaging “tidak apa attitude” or “chincai” mind-set that is at the root of all our problems.
Building good customer relationship is much talked about today in Malaysia, but what is lacking is the understanding of the practical aspects of CRM (Customer Relationship Management) and how we can operationalise it. I remember reading years ago (1987?) about the CRM stuff, even before it became the fashion, by Jan Carlsson, the CEO of Scandinavian Airlines, in his book titled “Moments of Truth”.
Jan explained how people in close and direct contact with customers can damage the image of an airline, and why top managers must be hands-on to understand the cock-ups that can, and often, occur at the ticket reservation counters, check-in stations, and baggage handling and why they cannot ignore the details, or run on auto-pilot. One bad incident is enough for a passenger to switch to another airline and after that, he is not likely to come back.
Fine to be great strategists and planners, but getting a handle of even mundane things is equally essential. When will our top managers learn this simple matter? Until they do, they will not be able to win customer loyalty. That’s why SIA takes great pains to ensure that their staff all the way down the line, from top to bottom, have the right attitude.
I know my fellow Malaysians are not happy when I compare MAS with SIA, especially after the latest developments on the so-called cynic bridge, and the surrounding controversy between Badawi and Mahathir. Details matter, and execution is absolutely vital.
Thanks.
April 19th, 2006 at 9:03 pm
Face the fact, we suck in the service industry, sometimes, it’s the small things that counts.
To improve and move forward, we need the right person to lead a team / company /association / council / state / etc irregardless of the race
April 19th, 2006 at 10:46 pm
Din Merican:
If I had not mistaken, this is the 2nd time under different topic you had mentioned about Jan Carlsson’s book. I been working in civil service for 10 years and now under my study leave. To let you know that my boss have been passing her “Moments of Truth” book to us 3-4 years ago but the problem is the intruder or the culprit of the system is the politician itself. Since they are the minister, they thought the ministry is their territory and many political considerations have to be up held above the rakyat needs. Their people, the kunco2 sometimes act like Little Napoleon and guess who get the bad name? again the civil service..
April 20th, 2006 at 1:35 am
I’ve not met Tony Fenandez, but the good words about him from his employees shows he’s a hard-working, dedicated and likeable boss. Whenever he’s on flight, he would go around, introduce himself and get acq with the passengers, that they’re comfortable and happy with Air Asia.
Once I was having dinner with a friend, a staff of AAsia when TonyF called to direct her to Bali, first flight out the next morning. It was way past 8.30 pm then and that Tony guy was still working, personally attending to things in the office.
As CEO of AAsia, and a bigshot that he is, he could have been at the golf course and leave everything to his assistants but, that’s not Tony. As his employees, they are expected to be on standby and on their toes at all times!
This what Idris Jala and the ‘big guns’ of MAS should emulate.
April 20th, 2006 at 1:37 am
Oops a correction - lst para, line 4
” …himself ad get acquainted with the passengars…”
April 20th, 2006 at 3:46 am
“Whenever he’s on flight, he would go around, introduce himself and get acq with the passengers, that they’re comfortable and happy with Air Asia”.
There’s nothing very wrong about this, except that I can’t see the CEO of say United Airlines or SIA doing the same. If I were a passenger on that flight, I would be forced to wonder if everything is a-ok with this Airline, that someone as busy as its CEO would want to do what his, say PR guy could and should be doing.
It’s different if you were in a restaurant, and its celebrity owner comes up to your table and ask how you like his latest addition to the menu – and his house wine? This is because the restaurant business is so personal and competitive that only the owner could and would want to do something like that. The airline business is much less personal than a restaurant business. There are people who are paid to do just that, who can do it just as well if not better.
April 20th, 2006 at 3:59 am
I think the Asian airlines need to learn not to exploit the ‘female figure’, the sexism that accommpanies it, the discrimination against male flight attendants etc.
When airlines all over the world no longer refer to flight attendants as ‘hostesses’ but as ‘flight attendants’ plain and simple, it looks like our Asian values regarding the role this fairer sex plays have still to make that inevitable adjustment that comes with progress and changing times.
We should not exploit our women.
I bet there is an age limit for air hostesses in MAS and SIA and Cathay or Thai. This is grossly unfair to them when compared to their male counterparts.
April 20th, 2006 at 4:07 am
What has air travel got to do with sex?? I can understand, however, why Japanese tourists on flights to places like Bangkok, Manila, Taipeh or Seuol may have sex on their minds.
SIA spends millions in advetisements to project that ’singapore girl’ image but I doubt if it has any impact on the choice passengers make over which airline to go to. Passengers are motivated by pricing, efficiency and safety - not the sex of the flight attendants and how they look, how young they are etc.
April 20th, 2006 at 6:01 am
Air Traveller
SIA or the other airlines you mentioned is too large for the Chairman to wander around and greet passengers. But they do it differently. If you are a frequent traveller SIA will ensure that you are recognized and addressed by your first name by the Leading Steward or Inflight Supervisor. Your name will be on a special print out.
I am always addressed by my first name on SIA by the steward or stewardess. When I fly economy SIA will ensure that the seat next to me is kept empty even if the aircraft is full. This is to allow me extra space. I get a birthday card and a gift on my birth day. I get invited to special events, games, sports or even aerformance by the likes of Olivia Newton John.
When travelling on other partner sirlines, I am welcomed to use their lounges and while on board the Captain will come and meet me and give me his business card and ask how was the flight.
SIA spend millions of dollars to project the image of the Singapore Girl. It is the most widely recognized picture associated with Eastern Charm, Top Level Service but never selling the sex. In a blind test during one of my class, I displayed a picture of the Singapore girl without any caption. I asked the class to tell me to identify the picture. All in the class recognized the picture of the Singapore Girl and Singapore Airlines ad and all said that that they think the airline is the best in terms of service. What can I say for an ad that ran for 34 years and still running strong.
April 20th, 2006 at 10:16 am
Even Mahathir said so. He can change a lot of things but he failed to change the mindset of the Malays. What more you want to hear??
Malays refused to learn English because to them it is bahasa penjajah. Sure – bahasa penjajah! Who else speak English and in a world becoming more globalized…. Behaving like that is so stupid.
My fellow Chinese think that Malays should just adopt Chinese customs and speak Chinese language and put that in the Constitution.
Malays come from Indonesia – just like we Chinese from China. So who have more right?? All got same right.
You know why Chinese are smart? If Malays want to be as smart as the Chinese, they must eat pork. Yes, it is true. Go do your research. If not smart, may be they become more hardworking and not lazy.
Malay girls wear miniskirts and kiss underneath stairways even have sex – but others cannot hold hands in parks. That is so very stupid. That is why I say Malays are flawed genetically. They cannot think straight. They don’t know what they want.
Wife abusing, child abusing and some more incest and rapes of minor children.
Yes. MAS should be managed by Chinese. Look at SIA. Malays don’t know how to manage because they think they must have style, no money ok.
April 20th, 2006 at 10:20 am
Saudara Din,
To many, CRM is just some data in their computer, routine churning of letters and offers for “lucky” customers who use their service regularly. Human touch is pushed to the background. Airline business involves real people with emotion and travellers are specially in need of attention especially if the flight is a long haul one. Discrimination is found everwhere, however my experience with Thai Air is that they actually pay as much attention to their own nationals as the whites if not more. MAS cabin crew play an opposite tune.
Orgre,
SIA understands the cardinal four C’s in branding. Their Singapore Girl image demonstrated their distinctive execution of two strong C’s i.e. Clarity and Consistency. 34 years of unwavering!
April 20th, 2006 at 10:28 am
badcountry,
Since I am in proximity to your comment, please may I ask to open the window to clear the foul air. Good for all of us.
Thank you.
April 20th, 2006 at 6:18 pm
badcountry
You are a disgrace to Chinese ,and have not right to speak for Chinese.
Orge
How to ignore this guy, unless all of us can regard him as crazy dog barking.
April 20th, 2006 at 7:32 pm
Taishan
Don’t respond to his comment. When he finds out that no one pays attention to his comments he will move on. We can all tune him off just like the TV. When you see his comments, don’t even read it.
April 20th, 2006 at 7:40 pm
AirTraveller, you said:
“If I were a passenger on that flight, I would be forced to wonder if everything is a-ok with this Airline, that someone as busy as its CEO would want to do what his, say PR guy could and should be doing.”
I think you worry too much. You should be glad the CEO of AAsia is there to say “hello” so just cheer up, relax and enjoy your flight. But if you’re wondering about your safety in the air, please be informed that when your time is up, there’s no escape whether in the air or on land.
Cheers!
April 21st, 2006 at 3:27 am
Dn_i,
How right you are!! The politicians have always been our biggest problem. They talk too much, promise the moon, do very little, get hefty pensions after 5 years’ service, and time after time they let their voters and civil servants badly down. Just look at our MP from Jerai as the shining example of what I mean.
You should know that politicians, especially the Prime Minister, are starting to lecture civil servants, focussing on the execution aspects of RMK9. So if the plan is not executed successfully, civil servants will end up carrying the can. This is because you have been forewarned. Our Yang Amat Berhormat and Yang Berhormats are always blameless.
Take care and study hard. After you have your qualifications, consider other options.
April 21st, 2006 at 4:12 am
you fellas are so stupid.
this blog is a disgrace. it cannot compete with LKS’s blog where there is a serious discussion on the issues of non-Malay rights. if you have the balls come over to this blog and express your opinion. we’ll kick your ass with all the discussions we’re having - expose your ludicrous statements, your racism and your stupid beliefs…
April 21st, 2006 at 10:49 am
hello
the badcountry is not the first real writer badcountry
be careful
April 21st, 2006 at 11:56 am
ironictwist
There is no competition intended as far as this blog is concerned. We are here to share our thoughts and to enter into intellectual discourse. You are free to patronise other blogs such as LKS and Jeff Ooi. Nobody ask you to join this blog and you have access here courtesy of the blog owner.
MPACA
Free speech has limitations and also comes with responsibilities. You are free to express your opinion or views but it should not be at the detriment of others. I am all for free speech but not when the speaker/writer attacks a whole race. Secondly you can speak your minds the listener can also close out your message. This is selective listening.
April 21st, 2006 at 10:18 pm
Yeh hats off to SIA and their Singapore Girl. I’m certain even for someone who is hard on hearing and with poor eyesight will be enamoured with the aura of the Singapore Girl who still retains her charms 34 years down the road !
What has MAS to offer other than an oversized kite. And kites will fly only when there is enough wind.”
April 21st, 2006 at 10:41 pm
Ya, MAS’s logo is a kite and kite flying is seasonal. No wonder its fortune is like a roller coaster - up and down.
Thanks Jong, you have hit the nail on the head.
April 22nd, 2006 at 5:58 pm
Jong and SIA,
Both “The Singapore Girl” and The Kite or “Wau Layang/ Bulan” (for MAS) are creations of ad men/women. Performance is what counts. MAS must operate as a commercial airline, not as a national airline, if it is to live up to its tagline,”Going Beyond Expectations” and make profit (I prefer to use “return on shareholder funds in line with market expectations”).
If MAS does not make money, close it down, or change its ownership. It is this classic blurring of politics and business that is worrying me. Too much political interference and as a result, managers like Idris Jala will not be allowed to operate MAS as a strictly commercial entity.
My Yen MP, Datuk Badruddin, UMNO’s archetype political pantun man, will always have something to say given the opportunity. I am also told that the young chickos led by an ambitious young politician-bureaucrat by the name of Zaki in the Prime Minister’s Office are interfering in the affairs of MAS, including the recent decision over the allocation of domestic flights between MAS and Air Asia. So who is in charge of our country, Badawi or his team of young and “too smart for their own good” officials?
Thanks.
April 23rd, 2006 at 4:56 am
Dear badcountry,
To my mind your seething anger will not help the race, although this is a digression of topic but I shall indulge.
I am sorry, I categorically do not agree with what you have accused of the poor malays. I for one, think that the malays are :
1 quite intelligent
2 quite a hardworking lot
3 enlightened
4 creative
5 interesting
6 worldly
7 risk takers
8 caring
9 accomodating
10 visionary
11…any other adjectives you care to fill in, down to no 100, we are all that.
Believe me the malays are on par with any other race you care to compare.
I believe in this because I am a product of the old education. I am a product of the old charm, the old super dynamic model of education we once had. The education where we were very bi-lingual and our teachers were vibrant, pro-active, committed and a fun and dynamic lot. Yeah! I agree with Bakri in saying that we must not say that the malays are not good in science and maths! We say this too many times to the malay students, this will be a self fulfiling prophecy. Period!
So I did the positive list! 1 to 11 and hope you guys help me to arrive at a 100. We do the self-fulfilling prophecy the positive way.
The malays need the right motivation, not de-motivation. Honest, I believe we are a great lot but not motivated correctly.
We have greats. I don’t wish to do a list of malay greats. Suffice to say we have plenty. Just look around us from past to present. We have talents on par globally.
You see, I don’t believe we are lazy. We just lack motivation. We are not hungry. Worst, we don’t suffer from fear. We have not faced any grave challenges, be it natural or man-made. Some say we have been lucky but are we? Not that we want any. God forbid.
I have mingled with some families who ran away from their war-torn countries. I found them different. I found they are motivated to live. Motivated to survive any which way they possibly can. At the back of their mind, they are thankful, they are grateful to have survived the war, even though they are in another country. Therefore they strived to be better. They strived to not fail, given this second chance. They displayed special ‘I-want-to-survive’ traits.
I have mingled with people who have survived natural disaters. I noticed they embraced the same ‘I-want-to-survive’ traits. They did all, to be on top of things without having to wait to be told, to do so.
Challenges of all forms become the torch for people to excel. Challenges push people to great heights. Challenges are the natural motivators for some known dynamic race. Just study history. The more a race is laced with grave challenges, the more dynamic they are. They get to inherit the ‘I-want-to-survive’ genes from their forefathers.
Today I find, the malays, or anyone for that matter, in general need the right motivation. We do not need to go to war, we do not need to be faced with natural calamity, to have these special traits. I think we need to inculcate values, we need to inculcate the desire to excel in more creative and attractive ways.
We should start at school, we start them young with moral classes, like before, like my days. We have storytelling that motivates. We have storytelling that inculcates good firm universal values. To be honest I can only think of starting with the young ones. For the adults…gee! Maybe we have story telling for the adults too…made compulsory once a week!! Storytelling conducted by inviting exemplary malay greats! At least their words count.
Believe me badcountry, the malays can change for the better. Work together.
April 23rd, 2006 at 5:57 am
Remember what I said about the Chinese being a race who would sell their daughters away?
Well, there is this case in Wisconsin yesterday about a Chinese father having tried to sell his 18 months old daughter to raise money for his home improvements. Can you imagine that??
Now tell me of stories of Malays trying to sell away their daughters. They adopt the daughters of Chinese neigbours to raise them as their own - yes.
April 23rd, 2006 at 6:00 pm
This Malay/Chinese bashing is heading nowhere. It will only heighten our feelings of animosity.
I am from the old school and being an urbanite, I got to mix with all races. That was the beauty of the old system. Today we can only reflect upon the good old days.
It is not a foregone conclusion, however. There is still hope for all of us. So, let us work towards it rather than getting at each other’s throat.
Most share similar sentiments with the exception of a few, of course.
April 23rd, 2006 at 6:14 pm
I thought there had alread been calls to ignore those despicable few, Ogre called for it so did Din Merican, Fathol, Taishan etc and Kgboy opened the window to clear the foul air. Why are some of you still backtrekking issues?!
Please let’s move on.
April 23rd, 2006 at 6:31 pm
So with things up his sleeves, this ambitious politician-bureacrat ZAKI at PM’s office is being identified for interfering in the allocation of domestic flights and affairs of MAS and Air Asia huh? Ummmm that’s interesting but not surprising.
April 23rd, 2006 at 7:05 pm
Rubyahmad,
Interesting & sightful writing! There’re still clear mind but are they just the trace of the dying old guards?
Yes the present Malay generation needs motivations & a lot of serious one too. A true role model to inapire them to greater height.
Yet what do we have now as role models?
The underhanded tactics in politics orchestrations by racial bigotry, the unethical accumulation of national wealth mostly via rent seeking, the distorted interpretations of man-&-god relationship via arabilization.
These are the role models that the current Malay are exposed to.
So what & how can you expect the Malay will get out of these chronic umnoputras’ behaviours?
The trace of survival is in-borned within every human. This charater will demostrate itself even more in time of crisis & remains as a life-long reminder after one goes through the crisis & live on.
So its all come down to will the Malay want the easy way out or to fight for it in earnest, despite all the challenges in politics, religions & monetary temptations, along the way pushing all the obstacles & kindred ostracizations aside?
The older guards of the Malay, like you, know the fruits of success through hardworks & struggles. Unfortunatle majority of the younger generation Malay just want to have the easy way out. Thus you’ve the present scenerio in umno.
Someone asked me to re-read Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed by Jared Diamond. After several attempts, I think you guys should seriously look into this book for inspirations & factors to change the Malay’s attitudes & thinkings.
One of the chapter about the failures of the Greenland Vikings to survive, these factors ring like thunders; too Europe centre (too much into being Malay, rather than Malaysian), hollow interpretations of the Christinity believes, so much so that they’re been control by the Vatican (too much into the Arab form of Islam, rather than the true teaching of the words of God) etc etc.
Where are the younger Malay intelligensia that will lead your people out of these woods? Are they all staying out of the country while the struggling old guards shouting like crazy just as the tidak-apa-ism play its drum call to the doom march?
April 24th, 2006 at 12:38 am
He he he…sometimes people are too hung up by the race issue…in Malaysia’s case… the so called access or the right to engage in unbriddled economic pursuits… that they forgot …..the larger and more important issues… in this case…such unrelentless economic pursuits will eventually lead to the destruction of the society….
Please read on:
___________________________________________________________
Fathol,
I agree with you… we should not be engaged in racial abuse…. no more racial bashing…. or racial denigrating (as practiced by c53k).
__________________________________________________
I sometimes think…….
What does c53k means by the “doom march” ????
Just wandering what does c53k thinks about Jared Diamond….what did Jared Diamond say about the long decline of the old Chinese civilisation… versus the rise of Europe civilisation… this is from Jared’s Guns, Germs, and Steel book….
Or more appropriately what did Jared say (explicitly and implicitly) in his latest “Collapse” book about the impending collapse of China which he says will be due to environmental degradation?
Think about it……
And what is the connection between Jared’s main argument to the Malaysian situation?
Perhaps the right question to ask is where are the Malay intelligentsia and alternative elites that will lead the society into sustainable economic growth… and promote a kind of economic development that will enhance the environment instead of destroying it…
_________________________________________________________
Yes.. Malaysians…especially those who owns the big logging companies are contributing to environmental degradation
I wonder who owns the logging companies that has denuded much of Malaysia’s rain forest????
And lately…since not much forest in Malaysia anymore…. these tycoons are exporting their desctruction elsewhere……
Who are the owners of the Malaysian companies that are raping the rain forests in Papua New Guinea and the forests in the Pacific Islands……??????
These companies are contributing to the collapse of those societies!
_______________________________________________________
If people read Jared’s Collapse carefully… and try to apply it to Malaysia…. and to elsewhere….the more appropriate suggestion is to cut back on the present mode of growth…. and think of alternative economic arrangements that are environmentally sustainable…….
Only that will save Malaysian society which is comprised by Malays, Chinese and Indians by the “doom march” from reckless destruction of the environment
_________________________________________________________
Here is the review of Jared’s book…
http://www.newyorker.com/critics/books/?050103crbo_books
Now if I may ask again….why did the Greenland Vikings society collapse?
April 24th, 2006 at 12:58 am
Just to add…
I understand c53k’s misunderstanding of the Jared Diamond… and his strange connection of the issue of race and religion to Diamond’s book…..
This misunderstanding is quite understandable…….Especially in the sections with regard to the viking society which failed “in part because its embedded cultural and religious predilections did not make it amenable to adaptation and innovation within the context of the harsh arctic environment…..”
But I think c53k’s is reading too much into that part that (s)he is consumed by what I think is his/her attitude (or bias) against Malays, Islam and Arab or Arabisation…..
Jared Diamond main argument is about the environment and how societies must put environment first…. not about being against certain religions or being against certain ethnic types…….
That’s all folks….
April 25th, 2006 at 12:54 am
Also to add…..
Jared’s Collapse book also has factual problems….. it will be too much to list them here… so I give you a link to another review… by an Australian who says that whatever little Jared has to say about Australia contains factual errors; and according to this reviewer, Jared’s factual errors have caused him to doubt the rest of the Collapse book…..
http://www.smh.com.au/news/Books/Collapse-How-Societies-Choose-to-Fail-or-Survive/2005/03/17/1110913718597.html
So the lessons are:
1) Beware of what we read….. don’t trust everything literally….do cross checking… yes.. read it several times… but more importantly… read other related materials…..
2) Beware of our biases and prejudices… sometimes due to deep-seated prejudices… our minds act like filters…. and then we may make an error of over emphasis…. which sometimes result in making inferences to conclusions which are never intended originally by the author.
September 13th, 2006 at 7:51 pm
Dave
Interesting topic… I’m working in this industry myself and I don’t agree about this in 100%, but I added your page to my bookmarks and hope to see more interesting articles in the future
September 13th, 2006 at 7:51 pm
Dave
Interesting topic… I’m working in this industry myself and I don’t agree about this in 100%, but I added your page to my bookmarks and hope to see more interesting articles in the future
September 26th, 2006 at 7:04 pm
hayek
Interesting post. I came across this blog by accident, but it was a good accident. I have now bookmarked your blog for future use. Best wishes. Salma Hayek.
September 29th, 2006 at 5:23 pm
Dave
Interesting topic… I’m working in this industry myself and I don’t agree about this in 100%, but I added your page to my bookmarks and hope to see more interesting articles in the future