Hello dear reader, and welcome to this introductory course, entitled as above.
The formula is very simple indeed, and may be stated as follows:-
1. Find a highly-placed friend or two in Government. But note: "Kulit" mesti "sama". Jika Kulit "tak sama", Lain Akibatnya.
2. The "A Certain Country" Government possesses a very strong propensity to engage in Muslim-centric, Keynesian, fiscal-policy, multiplier-effect, demand-side-economics expenditure. Often married to non-existent or perfunctory planning. Use this to your advantage.
3. Obtain a Government contract without open tender. In fact, do it without any track record, capital backing, relevant human resources, or objective evaluation of your ability to complete the project at all.
4. Ensure that the said contract consists of a long-term concession (at least 30 years) which confers upon you a monopoly on an area of economic activity which is essential to national productivity.
5. Can't find an area of economic activity which is essential to national productivity? Just create one, ask your friend to procure his friends in the rubberstamp Parliament of A Certain Country Government to legislate so as to create a monopoly, and have those friends grant the monopoly to you. For example, "all men are to shave and keep their heads bald by regular visits to any licensed barber shop in [ name your location ]. Penalty on default: 10 years jail - without any haircuts." This should be followed by the grant of one (1) licence only, for a barber shop in the said location, to you. All other barbers' licences are to be revoked immediately and without prior notice or explanation, whatsoever.
6. Next, ensure that the concession is bulletproofed against economic loss. You do this by persuading the Government to agree to guarantee your profits every year. For the entire period of the concession - say, at least 30 years.
7. Further, ensure that the tariffs charged to members of the public for the use of your services pursuant to the concession increase in accordance with a fixed formula every few years irrespective of actual surrounding economic and other conditions. In our example, have the barber fees start cheap, then rise sharply every few years for the entire duration of 30 years, so as to make you a billionaire many times over by the end of your concession.
8. Finally, continuing on with our example, find a genuine trained barber, wherever possible one of the "kulit tak sama" type, to actually perform the haircuts. That's because, of course, they actually know how to do the work, they just don't know how to make the money. At least not in A Certain Country. It's a consequence of Being Born Different. Pay him a tuppence, and keep the vast majority of the revenue from the haircut services for yourself as a reward for your brilliant "business" acumen. Oh, and by the way, said "kulit tak sama" barber should bear all startup and operating costs of the business, including all costs of the foregoing steps and your ongoing luxury car and extended overseas "business" trips costs.
9. If you should for any reason come under attack from journalists or sensible, ethical politicians for adopting the above business model, respond by saying that all "kulit sama" types must unite and face the world together, or the "kulit tak sama" types will "take advantage" of the situation to return all "kulit sama" types to the world they were in "before independence from 400 years of colonial domination" - or words to that effect.
10. Alternatively, threaten to shut down all "Kulit Tak Sama" businesses for the merest, most minor transgressions of the law in the name of "equal treatment for all law-breakers". Do so in a very implicit way, by means of quiet, brooding comments to the popular press.
11. As a last resort, announce that the concession agreements are strictly confidential and that their terms are not open to any question on any ground whatsoever, and have your friends arrest all who dare comment on such terms.
12. Repeat the above until you are sick of being insanely rich. Then retire and go into space on the back of a Russian rocket to test the dynamics of creating a proper good-tasting traditional Teh Tarik in a zero gravity environment.
LMT
LawMan's Dogs
Killer Beasts Doing Breakfast
Showing posts with label business. Show all posts
Showing posts with label business. Show all posts
Monday, February 05, 2007
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
PAC: Get rid of 'agents' for NS transport service
http://www.sun2surf.com/article.cfm?id=16595
This is an example of what goes wrong when you allow a massive Ali Baba mentality to take root. It's been a real disease for decades in Malaysia - the government does not do the simplest thing by open tender, but instead hands all contracts out to people whose kulit is of a particular colour, and whose religion is of a certain type, and then those with the right kulit subcontract down the line to others with the right kulit , with the final subcontractor (the one who actually does the work) being not only of the wrong kulit but also the wrong religion, language and culture. For instance, that last subcontractor will actually know what he's doing, and be a hardworking fella who understands that you actually require technical skills and cost-control savvy to survive in a hard business world, whereas all the others above him have become experts at taking commissions and calling themselves great businessmen.
So now it has come down to bus services getting all mucked up because - basically - some commissions got stuck somewhere - or the commission-getters took the payments and forgot to actually get the bus drivers. O man, this is rich. Malaysia Boleh - semua pun boleh.
LMT
This is an example of what goes wrong when you allow a massive Ali Baba mentality to take root. It's been a real disease for decades in Malaysia - the government does not do the simplest thing by open tender, but instead hands all contracts out to people whose kulit is of a particular colour, and whose religion is of a certain type, and then those with the right kulit subcontract down the line to others with the right kulit , with the final subcontractor (the one who actually does the work) being not only of the wrong kulit but also the wrong religion, language and culture. For instance, that last subcontractor will actually know what he's doing, and be a hardworking fella who understands that you actually require technical skills and cost-control savvy to survive in a hard business world, whereas all the others above him have become experts at taking commissions and calling themselves great businessmen.
So now it has come down to bus services getting all mucked up because - basically - some commissions got stuck somewhere - or the commission-getters took the payments and forgot to actually get the bus drivers. O man, this is rich. Malaysia Boleh - semua pun boleh.
LMT
Thursday, January 04, 2007
This is going to Kill MAS?
Lately I've been hearing horror stories about MAS, in particular its standard of service. Seems that morale is very low, and employees are merely going through the motions. Was it like this before the sale of MAS to a certain (now former) cellphone tycoon a decade ago? I cannot remember, so it probably was not (I would remember bad service, not good service - that, I would take for granted).
Well, this is not going to make the folks at MAS jump for joy - it might make a few jump ship, or jump plane, at any rate jump airline, but if you owned shares in MAS you wouldn't be looking to add to your holdings right now.
For a first, I'm going to do both the link and the entire article - talk about unnecessary infringements of copyright - however, the source is named (BERNAMA):
http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v3/news_business.php?id=239622
"Business
January 04, 2007 21:21 PM
Malaysian Aviation Industry Takes A Quantum Leap
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 4 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian aviation industry is taking a quantum leap following the government's vision of making the country a regional hub, when it gave Fly Asian Express (FAX) the nod to divert from its normal domestic routes to offer budget long-haul services to Asia, Australia and Europe.
FAX is 50 per cent owned by AirAsia Bhd chief executive officer, Datuk Tony Fernandes, while the other two shareholders -- Kamarudin and Raja Mohd Azmi -- owned 30 per cent and 20 per cent respectively. It operates a rural air services in Sabah and Sarawak since Aug 1, 2006.
The move augurs well for Visit Malaysia Year 2007 in attracting more tourists, further boost the tourism industry and will have a spin-off effects on the economy.
It would also enable locals to travel abroad at much cheaper rates.
"Such efforts would promote travelling both inbound and outbound," said AmResearch Sdn Bhd head of research, Gan Kim Khoon.
Being the first business model of a budget long-haul service itself gives a sense of pride to the country as well as for operators, FAX and AirAsia Bhd.
However, for some it came as a surprise.
"It is a surprise. I feel a bit peculiar that AirAsia or FAX would depart from their original point-to-point destinations and test flights that are more than 3.5 hours," said Standard&Poors Equity Research airline analysts, Shukor Yusof.
FAX, together with Richard Branson's Virgin Group and Stelios Haji-Ioannou's easyGroup, the parent company of Britain's easyJet, is expected to announce tomorrow plans to offer long-haul low-cost services to the three continents.
Shukor said the market for long-haul flights was different from low-cost models or structures which were currently used by AirAsia and other low-cost carriers (LCCs) in the region.
"It really depends on what FAX or AirAsia hopes to achieve in the new venture because they have to price it differently. But then again pricing alone is not the only factor in the business," he said.
He said a passenger's decision to fly is not purely based on pricing alone but a combination of factors including connectivity, services and route selection.
"Hence, the model would be flawed if the company decides to design the long-haul budget business based on pricing structure alone.
"The model will be flawed if it is going to be based on pricing alone as long-haul flights need certain number of business class passengers who are able to pay more compared with casual travellers or backpackers.
"You got to fill your flights everyday. If you don't have enough people using your aircraft to go abroad, long distance flying becomes insignificant and your cost will rise and margins eroded," he said.
Asked on the impact on the aviation industry in Malaysia given that this would be the longest LCC route, Shukor said there would not be much in the near future.
He said this could very well serve the company and country in the long run.
Reports, quoting sources, said if the FAX-easyJet-Virgin alliance decides to fly to London as well, they could also use the Luton airport as a hub because Virgin already operates a rail link from there to central London.
The alliance would also give Virgin and easyJet an access to Kuala Lumpur's LCC terminal, the gateway to a dream Asian hub for their Europe to Australia routes.
Shukor was optimistic this local venture could be successful if there was a bigger market for such services.
Asked on Malaysia's aim to become the aviation hub for the region, both Shukor and Gan agreed there was a possibility of it being realised.
Both believed it was important to have substantial inter-connectivity and bigger volume of airlines flying in and out of Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA).
"Arguably, Malaysia does not really have prominent inter-connectivity, which is a fact," said Gan.
"But should FAX pull off this feat, it would entice more airlines to touch base with KLIA," said Shukor.
On a more personal note, he said, this was the beginning of an even more adventurous journey for Fernandes and company.
"He has proven pundits wrong when he started AirAsia, which is currently the most successful and profitable low-cost airline in the region," he said."
-- BERNAMA
Well, this is not going to make the folks at MAS jump for joy - it might make a few jump ship, or jump plane, at any rate jump airline, but if you owned shares in MAS you wouldn't be looking to add to your holdings right now.
For a first, I'm going to do both the link and the entire article - talk about unnecessary infringements of copyright - however, the source is named (BERNAMA):
http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v3/news_business.php?id=239622
"Business
January 04, 2007 21:21 PM
Malaysian Aviation Industry Takes A Quantum Leap
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 4 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian aviation industry is taking a quantum leap following the government's vision of making the country a regional hub, when it gave Fly Asian Express (FAX) the nod to divert from its normal domestic routes to offer budget long-haul services to Asia, Australia and Europe.
FAX is 50 per cent owned by AirAsia Bhd chief executive officer, Datuk Tony Fernandes, while the other two shareholders -- Kamarudin and Raja Mohd Azmi -- owned 30 per cent and 20 per cent respectively. It operates a rural air services in Sabah and Sarawak since Aug 1, 2006.
The move augurs well for Visit Malaysia Year 2007 in attracting more tourists, further boost the tourism industry and will have a spin-off effects on the economy.
It would also enable locals to travel abroad at much cheaper rates.
"Such efforts would promote travelling both inbound and outbound," said AmResearch Sdn Bhd head of research, Gan Kim Khoon.
Being the first business model of a budget long-haul service itself gives a sense of pride to the country as well as for operators, FAX and AirAsia Bhd.
However, for some it came as a surprise.
"It is a surprise. I feel a bit peculiar that AirAsia or FAX would depart from their original point-to-point destinations and test flights that are more than 3.5 hours," said Standard&Poors Equity Research airline analysts, Shukor Yusof.
FAX, together with Richard Branson's Virgin Group and Stelios Haji-Ioannou's easyGroup, the parent company of Britain's easyJet, is expected to announce tomorrow plans to offer long-haul low-cost services to the three continents.
Shukor said the market for long-haul flights was different from low-cost models or structures which were currently used by AirAsia and other low-cost carriers (LCCs) in the region.
"It really depends on what FAX or AirAsia hopes to achieve in the new venture because they have to price it differently. But then again pricing alone is not the only factor in the business," he said.
He said a passenger's decision to fly is not purely based on pricing alone but a combination of factors including connectivity, services and route selection.
"Hence, the model would be flawed if the company decides to design the long-haul budget business based on pricing structure alone.
"The model will be flawed if it is going to be based on pricing alone as long-haul flights need certain number of business class passengers who are able to pay more compared with casual travellers or backpackers.
"You got to fill your flights everyday. If you don't have enough people using your aircraft to go abroad, long distance flying becomes insignificant and your cost will rise and margins eroded," he said.
Asked on the impact on the aviation industry in Malaysia given that this would be the longest LCC route, Shukor said there would not be much in the near future.
He said this could very well serve the company and country in the long run.
Reports, quoting sources, said if the FAX-easyJet-Virgin alliance decides to fly to London as well, they could also use the Luton airport as a hub because Virgin already operates a rail link from there to central London.
The alliance would also give Virgin and easyJet an access to Kuala Lumpur's LCC terminal, the gateway to a dream Asian hub for their Europe to Australia routes.
Shukor was optimistic this local venture could be successful if there was a bigger market for such services.
Asked on Malaysia's aim to become the aviation hub for the region, both Shukor and Gan agreed there was a possibility of it being realised.
Both believed it was important to have substantial inter-connectivity and bigger volume of airlines flying in and out of Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA).
"Arguably, Malaysia does not really have prominent inter-connectivity, which is a fact," said Gan.
"But should FAX pull off this feat, it would entice more airlines to touch base with KLIA," said Shukor.
On a more personal note, he said, this was the beginning of an even more adventurous journey for Fernandes and company.
"He has proven pundits wrong when he started AirAsia, which is currently the most successful and profitable low-cost airline in the region," he said."
-- BERNAMA
Saturday, December 09, 2006
Genting Gets the Singapore I.R. - Smart Political Move
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/246100/1/.html
Oh I'm sure Genting got the Sentosa IR on merit, everything in its proposal having been tried, tested and nothing too weird, but the political benefits couldn't have hurt.
All along I'd been saying in face-to-face though not online that Kerzner's "robotic fish" would be too... robotic... heh, and Eighth Wonder's Harry's Island was just too "tacky"; not to mention too kiss-a&*@ - given that Lee Kuan Yew is also known as Harry Lee. Lots of Singaporeans must have winced at the obvious sucker-u**er connotations of the name.
But the clincher - I speculate - and this this is never admitted in the official grounds of decision - is that a failure to award to Genting would have resulted in intense, totally unfriendly and uncertain competition with the region's most established (by far) resorts operator. Genting's operations in Australia (Perth - Burswood), the Phillipines and finally in Malaysia where the casino is a prosperous national landmark in a majority-Muslim country clearly viewable from Kuala Lumpur (more than a hundred kilometres away) - on a good day - gave it a location-specific performance record nobody else could match, least of all the angmolang from Las Vegas.
Giving it to Genting totally killed the idea of a Universal theme park in Southern Johor (in consideration since 1998, when Renong still ran Nusajaya), co-opted Genting into making the resort work together with all its other operations and not in do-or-die competition against them, and was tightly worded enough to minimise any risk that Genting would try a typical Microsoft "buy-it-to-kill-it" strategy. As for political risk vis-a-vis Malaysia (always a difficult relationship where Singapore is concerned), Lim Goh Tong & Co owe nothing to the Malay-dominated government of Malaysia; Malaysia is fortunate to have received what it did (and is, to receive what it still does) by way of tax revenues and other tourism-related benefits from the Genting group and if Goh Tong had to he'd leave Malaysia with his whole family and business in a flash, say, if PAS came to power in the Federal government.
All in, the correct decision to make, which is nothing less than what I would expect of the world's best civil service.
LMT
Oh I'm sure Genting got the Sentosa IR on merit, everything in its proposal having been tried, tested and nothing too weird, but the political benefits couldn't have hurt.
All along I'd been saying in face-to-face though not online that Kerzner's "robotic fish" would be too... robotic... heh, and Eighth Wonder's Harry's Island was just too "tacky"; not to mention too kiss-a&*@ - given that Lee Kuan Yew is also known as Harry Lee. Lots of Singaporeans must have winced at the obvious sucker-u**er connotations of the name.
But the clincher - I speculate - and this this is never admitted in the official grounds of decision - is that a failure to award to Genting would have resulted in intense, totally unfriendly and uncertain competition with the region's most established (by far) resorts operator. Genting's operations in Australia (Perth - Burswood), the Phillipines and finally in Malaysia where the casino is a prosperous national landmark in a majority-Muslim country clearly viewable from Kuala Lumpur (more than a hundred kilometres away) - on a good day - gave it a location-specific performance record nobody else could match, least of all the angmolang from Las Vegas.
Giving it to Genting totally killed the idea of a Universal theme park in Southern Johor (in consideration since 1998, when Renong still ran Nusajaya), co-opted Genting into making the resort work together with all its other operations and not in do-or-die competition against them, and was tightly worded enough to minimise any risk that Genting would try a typical Microsoft "buy-it-to-kill-it" strategy. As for political risk vis-a-vis Malaysia (always a difficult relationship where Singapore is concerned), Lim Goh Tong & Co owe nothing to the Malay-dominated government of Malaysia; Malaysia is fortunate to have received what it did (and is, to receive what it still does) by way of tax revenues and other tourism-related benefits from the Genting group and if Goh Tong had to he'd leave Malaysia with his whole family and business in a flash, say, if PAS came to power in the Federal government.
All in, the correct decision to make, which is nothing less than what I would expect of the world's best civil service.
LMT
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