Melayu Mudah Lupa

Our Malaysian friends held a farewell dinner for us last night. After the delicious beriyani and rendang, as usual we talked and discussed about the current issues. Last night’s discussion was interesting as it revolved around the ‘malay dilemma’ topic. At the moment, as you and I know, the racial tension in Malaysia is quite pronounced.

There were two camps last night. One opinion was that it is the malays’ right to be given the privileges given the fact that it is the malay land and therefore, the non-malays should not have any right to demand what is not rightfully theirs. And the success of the non-malays is seen as the result of some ‘conspiracy’ against the malays which include the policies that seem to be in favour of the non-malays or rather disfavour the malays.

Another opinion however believes that it is actually the malays themselves who are not utilising the privileges and opportunities that are given to them to their great advantage. The fact is ‘Melayu Mudah Lupa’ (Malay Forget Easily – the title of Mahathir’s book). We forget why we are given those privileges. Believing that they are our rights, we don’t value them anymore. As a result, we don’t work as hard as the non-malays (who have to survive) and the non-malays have emerged to be more successful, cleverer and wealthier.

And for this reason, we believe that there should exist a healthy competitive environment for the malays to prove that they are as good as or in fact better than the non-malays.

In Brunei, Alhamdulillah, we still live harmoniously together. Partly I believe is due to our small population and partly due to our ideology of ‘Melayu Islam Beraja’ (Malay, Islamic, Monarchy). As a result, the competition between the malay and the non-malay in Brunei is less severe or almost non-existent. This however does not mean that the Brunei malay is immune from the symptom of forgetfulness. In fact, we even take many things for granted. Take the ‘Ali Baba’ syndrome in the business sector for example. We want to be rich easily and quickly. Instead of genuinely running a business, we sell or rent out our permits and licenses to foreigners. As a result, the number of Brunei malays who have become true entrepreneurs that we can be proud is less than the ten fingers in our hands as compared to the number of business establishments (especially ‘kedai runcit’, barbershops and tailor shops).

Another example relates to the work attitude of the Brunei malays. The five-tea-break-a-day routine becomes the culture in the government sector. The attitude of ‘karang tah’ has lost the government millions of dollars in terms of productivity and even revenue-generation. As a result, the government sector, which is the first employment choice of any Brunei malay, is slow, inefficient and backward so much so that it can take weeks to send a letter within one tiny district, and months for the results of a few applications. (Come on! What is our population again?)

I totally concur with Dr. Mahathir who said “it is not race or ethnicity but the culture which determines the performance (of the people)”. So, to succeed we must change our culture. It is difficult, of course. To hope that we Bruneians will realize and change ourselves is probably a big wishful thinking.

Therefore, we have to create an environment that can change our perception of our rights of being Brunei malays, our perception of running a business and our perception of work – ‘work to live’ versus ‘live to work’ for our family and our country. We must look towards work as the true reward and take pride in our work, for without pride there may not be progress. This kind of environment may involve monetary reward but the reward should not outweigh the satisfaction of the achievement being made.

We have been blessed with oil and gas. We forget that this will not last forever. While the current generation probably cannot change, the next generation needs to change. We have to ensure that the next generation understands their purpose in life (which sadly is not understood by the current one). It is not an easy task but it has to be done.

Salaam.

Snail Mail

Can somebody from the Postal Department explain exactly the process of receiving/sending mails/parcels in Brunei, please?

Until today I still do not understand how it can take almost 3 weeks for a letter from the UK to be delivered to someone in Brunei. This happened many times to us. For example, about 3 weeks ago, we sent a letter to Brunei. It was an important document but not too important for us to fork 45GBP to send it through DHL. So, we sent using an express UK mail service. With a given tracking code, we could track the letter through the internet. It was express alright, the letter reached Brunei in 2 days time. Unfortunately, the tracking system only applied in the UK so its whereabouts in Brunei, God knew! Thinking that it should arrive in safe hands within a few days, we were happy.

We were wrong. 2 days ago, the intended recipient asked where the letter was. We were gobsmacked! Finally, today we were told the letter has now finally arrived. It took exactly 18 days: 1 day in UK, 1 day travel, 16 days in Brunei.

Really, the term ‘snail mail’ literally applies to Brunei mail. What happened?

I don’t know about anyone else but a good, reliable postal service is crucial in providing a healthy and conducive business environment. Millions of e-bay UK sellers, for example, depend on the reliability of the UK postal service to deliver the goods in timely manner. Sending anything ‘First Class’ will usually mean next-day delivery wherever you are in the UK (the first time I experienced this, it knocked my socks off! haha). And you can claim for compensation if item is lost or damaged by the Post Office. So if the e-bay VP who is now in Brunei knows about the postal service in Brunei, I’m sure he will devote half his talk about the importance of a reliable delivery system.

Anyway, this is one service that can and should be corporatized (Read: the salary of all employees will depend on their ability to send letters/parcels quickly) so hopefully it can become efficient. I hear it’s in the pipeline. So, a big GOOD LUCK wish from me!

Salaam.

Not Likely to Change

Apparently our local youths still think that it is their given birth right to work in the government sector (here for full news). Oh perhaps, their life is still full of roses that having no job is better than having a low-paying job in the private sector.

To solve this dilemma, here’s a thought. Considering the government sector is already saturated (or so as I was told) i.e. it can no longer employ the whole 6000 job-seekers (and it shouldn’t be!), there should be some mechanism in place that should stop the idea that everyone can get a government job. And at the same time, make people value their private sector job or at least stick to their private sector job until their contract ends (with good behaviour). So I say, increase the level of qualification requirement and make ‘private sector employment’ a pre-requisite to the ‘popular’ public sector job.

Now, with regard to the ‘elaun sara hidup’, I think it’s either we scrap it off OR give to ALL Bruneians, fair and square (after all everyone is doing their bits to develop the country, regardless of the sector, no?)

Salaam.

Brain Food

In between shopping for a new house and packing to go home (sorting 4-year worth of stuff into ‘bin it’, ‘donate it’, ‘sell it’ and ‘bring it’ can be a pretty daunting task), I also try to catch up with my readings.

One of the books I just finished reading was ‘Predictably Irrational’ by Dan Ariely. It is insightful and entertaining (I laughed out loud reading this book, which is a rarity for an economics/business book) and that is why I’d recommend it to anyone. Written in simple english, it explains how we think we behave rationally, when in fact we are actually irrational and predictable. For example, we would be more willing to go (hunting) to different shops just to save $5 of a $15-good but would be less willing to save the same amount of money ($5) of a $500-good. So, if you have to buy 1 book this year, make IT this book. It can change how you think and hopefully can make us become 'rational' in our decision-making. It’s also good for any would-be entrepreneur and any businessperson as it contains a lot of marketing strategies.

A more serious book is ‘Rogue Economics’ by Loretta Napoleoni. This book is about the dark side of economic force. It actually makes me shiver that economics can actually cause misery to the lives of millions of people (in case you’re wondering, it is beyond ‘trade and globalisation’ stuff). Interestingly, her conclusion was that Syari’ah Economics could play a very positive role in saving the world from rogue economics.

Salaam.

Battle of the Sexes

While watching President-elect Obama and his staff having a meeting in the news today, it dawned to me that out of the 20 or so people sitting around the table, there were only about 3 females. Why? Are we less productive? Less capable? Less educated than men?

In Brunei, for example, this year alone about 80 per cent of UBD graduates were females but I bet this percentage does not reflect the number of female high-ranking officers (directors and above) in the government sector or even in the private sector. OK forget Brunei, according to Fortune magazine, in 2007 women made up only 2 percent of Fortune 500 CEOs.

I found this interesting article from Slate that explains why we still live in a male-dominated world. Apparently, there are three reasons: 1) women are more risk-averse. 2) conscious discrimination still exists and 3) unconscious discrimination (despite women working harder). And according to this article, mothers earn 75 percent as much as men while childless women earn 95 percent as much as men of the same age and the same job.

Oh dear, apparently we women still can’t have it all.

Salaam.

Click here for the list of 50 Most Powerful Women in the world.

The World in History

It's official. The most powerful man on earth is now Barack Obama.
This proves that nothing is impossible in this world, as long as you work (hard) for it.

Click here for his victory speech.

(Oh please God, Brunei needs someone like this to make changes!)

Salaam

TAP

I was reading the news about TAP today and I couldn’t help doing a quick calculation on my own TAP. And I am worried. Because I don’t think I will have enough money to support myself, let alone to support my family, when I retire until I die.

With the current TAP contributions of 10 % (5%-employee & 5% employer), by the time I retire I will probably earn about $200K. Now, let’s say I live for another 20 years then my monthly retirement will be about $800. I have not taken factors such as inflation which will make the $800 have a lesser value, and Brunei-without-oil which will probably mean I need to spend more for my basic necessities such as medical care.

Oh dear. What should I do? Contribute more seems to be the suggestion.

But hang on, what about those who are earning less than me? What about those who have many children to support? Who, even now, are difficult to make ends meet. How can they possibly ‘voluntarily pay more’ in their contributions?

Anyway, I googled Singapore’s Central Provident Fund (click CPF for a quick summary) which is their TAP equivalence (but more superior). What I find very interesting is their principal behind their scheme:

Over the years, the success of the CPF scheme has depended on values such as self-reliance, good work ethos and family support. Besides encouraging self-reliance, the various schemes underscore the members’ responsibilities as parents, children and breadwinners. The values that the CPF both promote and rely upon include: Standing on one’s own two feet. Every CPF member is encouraged to work, even beyond his retirement age. The CPF savings will guarantee him a comfortable retirement. Even those with modest savings will have enough for basic needs. This self-reliance—funding one’s own retirement instead of relying on the future generation—is a vital element of the scheme.

I don’t know about you but the word ‘guarantee’ stands up. With their total of 30% contribution (10% employee, 20% employer) surely can make that happen. And reading further, there is a required minimum sum to be met, which at the moment is around $100K.

Now, I don’t mean to criticize and belittle anyone’s effort but we seriously need to review our TAP scheme. For a starter, I don’t see any harm in increasing the employer’s contribution. As for those who are working in SMEs, whose employers can’t make the increasing contribution, shouldn't they deserve a miniscule slice of oil income?


Salaam.

Life

Life has been busy in the past one month (hence, the absence of post). First of all, I am very pleased to announce that I did it! I’ve finished and submitted my thesis in under 4 years (Alhamdulillah) and now I’m waiting for my viva. I don’t mean to brag but a few of my colleagues asked me how I managed to do it considering I also have a family to look after i.e. being a full time mom and a housewife.

Well, I must admit it was not easy and without the help from my husband, I don’t think I could manage (Thank You, Abang!). But most importantly I guess, is to keep on doing your work, every day. If you ask me, I don’t have any pattern. I would do my work anytime of the day, whenever and as long as I could (this ranged from only 15 minutes to 2 hours per day). If I had to follow a pattern, say only night time or early in the morning, I don’t think I could finish. What is also important I think is that once you start doing your work, you need to focus. When your concentration is gone, then stop doing your work or try to do something that requires very little or no thinking. There has to be some quality with the work you’re doing. There’s no point in sitting in front of a computer for 5 hours if nothing comes out of your head. You only end up bidding for handbags in ebay (which unfortunately happened to me a few times :p) and become upset when you don’t win them.

Oh and don’t forget to pray, du’a to Allah S.W.T to give you the understanding, the memory and to be always full of ideas and thoughts that can assist you in your study.

Anyhoo, I would like to say to those moms or would-be-moms out there who are now studying or who are thinking of going back to school, you can do it! Insya Allah, God will help you.

Salaam.

"Glory be to You, we have no knowledge except what you have taught us. Verily,
it is You, the All-Knower, the All-Wise" (Baqarah 2:32)