Congratulations to Sarawak State Government and to Idris Jala.
The State of Sarawak has proven time and again that they are capable to produce leaders and entrepreneurs who are competent, dynamic and people who has high integrity and capability.
Idris Jala of Bario, 47, the kampung in the high mountains of Sarawak where it is remembered more for the helicopter disaster, is now named as the managing director and chief executive officer of Malaysian Airline System (MAS), taking over the rein from Datuk Ahmad Fuaad Dahlan who left the job halfway through his contract, after MAS announced RM280 million losses for its 2nd quarter.
Idris is currently the vice-president of Shell Malaysia Gas and Power and managing director of Shell Middle Distillates Synthesis. He has a historic 23 years of service with Shell Malaysia and is credited as a man of integrity and honesty. The only set-back is that is has no airline business management experience and in his own words, he has to learn fast and act swiftly to curtail and plug the leaking pockets, and at the same time stop the haemorrage.
While congratulating Idris, I would like to remind him and the board of directors of the words of Peter Drucker:
"Good organizational system does not by itself ensures success;
But poor organizational structure makes success impossible, no matter how good the manager is."
The sickness of MAS is not just the weakness of the person who helm the institution and certainly the losses are not the result of plying the unprofitable domestic routes as can be seen in the proven fact that AirAsia is making money from domestic routes.
MAS main problem is the overall cost issue. They pay high price for catering, excessive maintenance and services charges, and has excessively high overheads due to its bureaucratic structures. Apart from it, the procurement system is tainted and it is observed that procurements are lucrative areas which the political masters and the oligarchs are grabbing positions.
Another reason for the weakness of the management is the complain of the lack of meritocracy. Promotions and benefits are said to be based on influence and ball-carrying and curry flavouring; it do not commensurate with productivity and competency. The system is derailed by the fact that cronies would be lifted up the hierarchy because they are politically aligned to the grandmasters of UMNO and those that are competent in curry flavouring and ball-carriers.
To Idris Jala, success is onerous. He must be firm and unassuming. He must have the courage to make decisive-decisions that are good for the organization irrespective of the fact that it would be unpopular with the oligarch. He must maintain honesty and integrity not only of himself, but throughout the organization structures, including the proper and timely scrutiny of the senior managers and also the board of directors' decisions. He must be a grand change-master, shaking out the excesses, cutting cost drastically and trimming the unproductive manpower to a level of cost competitiveness.
In essence, Idris Jala must dictate change, which must ensure a radical, timely turnaround. There would be pain all-round, and many changes must take place including the trimming of manpower; reorganization of the strategic portfolios; strategic redesign of the planning; implementation and control of the business units and the procurement system; and the implementation of an effective performance measurement system and reward system, a system that measures productivity, efficiencies and capabilities based on competencies and efforts, and a fair and just reward system to motivate the entire workforce.
The first step is to plant-in high performance managers into the right place to effect change. This could be the hardest as those currently at the top are politically strong as they have leverages to the oligarchs.
A major resuffling of the senior management structure is necessary to reflect the change. Inherent in Change will be chaos and at such, Idris have to manage chaos and complexities.
Idris must also handle delicately the problems of political interferences, particularly from UMNO Youth two cronic leaders. In the observation made by RPK, these leaders may want to plant their spy inside the system. Idris must not bow to them. He must not be afraid to expose those perpetrators who are corrupt in mindset and by their acts, and this include those politicians who will try to make inroads to make some money from the procurement system.
For this, Idris should implement a transparent system that is accountable to the public, so that he will have the full support and backing of all the people of the nation, and the people will be able to know the crooks who are trying to infilterate the system with cans of worms.
Idris must prove that he only feared God, and not the political masters or the board of direct-ors.
Wish you luck, Idris, and may God bless you.
The State of Sarawak has proven time and again that they are capable to produce leaders and entrepreneurs who are competent, dynamic and people who has high integrity and capability.
Idris Jala of Bario, 47, the kampung in the high mountains of Sarawak where it is remembered more for the helicopter disaster, is now named as the managing director and chief executive officer of Malaysian Airline System (MAS), taking over the rein from Datuk Ahmad Fuaad Dahlan who left the job halfway through his contract, after MAS announced RM280 million losses for its 2nd quarter.
Idris is currently the vice-president of Shell Malaysia Gas and Power and managing director of Shell Middle Distillates Synthesis. He has a historic 23 years of service with Shell Malaysia and is credited as a man of integrity and honesty. The only set-back is that is has no airline business management experience and in his own words, he has to learn fast and act swiftly to curtail and plug the leaking pockets, and at the same time stop the haemorrage.
While congratulating Idris, I would like to remind him and the board of directors of the words of Peter Drucker:
"Good organizational system does not by itself ensures success;
But poor organizational structure makes success impossible, no matter how good the manager is."
The sickness of MAS is not just the weakness of the person who helm the institution and certainly the losses are not the result of plying the unprofitable domestic routes as can be seen in the proven fact that AirAsia is making money from domestic routes.
MAS main problem is the overall cost issue. They pay high price for catering, excessive maintenance and services charges, and has excessively high overheads due to its bureaucratic structures. Apart from it, the procurement system is tainted and it is observed that procurements are lucrative areas which the political masters and the oligarchs are grabbing positions.
Another reason for the weakness of the management is the complain of the lack of meritocracy. Promotions and benefits are said to be based on influence and ball-carrying and curry flavouring; it do not commensurate with productivity and competency. The system is derailed by the fact that cronies would be lifted up the hierarchy because they are politically aligned to the grandmasters of UMNO and those that are competent in curry flavouring and ball-carriers.
To Idris Jala, success is onerous. He must be firm and unassuming. He must have the courage to make decisive-decisions that are good for the organization irrespective of the fact that it would be unpopular with the oligarch. He must maintain honesty and integrity not only of himself, but throughout the organization structures, including the proper and timely scrutiny of the senior managers and also the board of directors' decisions. He must be a grand change-master, shaking out the excesses, cutting cost drastically and trimming the unproductive manpower to a level of cost competitiveness.
In essence, Idris Jala must dictate change, which must ensure a radical, timely turnaround. There would be pain all-round, and many changes must take place including the trimming of manpower; reorganization of the strategic portfolios; strategic redesign of the planning; implementation and control of the business units and the procurement system; and the implementation of an effective performance measurement system and reward system, a system that measures productivity, efficiencies and capabilities based on competencies and efforts, and a fair and just reward system to motivate the entire workforce.
The first step is to plant-in high performance managers into the right place to effect change. This could be the hardest as those currently at the top are politically strong as they have leverages to the oligarchs.
A major resuffling of the senior management structure is necessary to reflect the change. Inherent in Change will be chaos and at such, Idris have to manage chaos and complexities.
Idris must also handle delicately the problems of political interferences, particularly from UMNO Youth two cronic leaders. In the observation made by RPK, these leaders may want to plant their spy inside the system. Idris must not bow to them. He must not be afraid to expose those perpetrators who are corrupt in mindset and by their acts, and this include those politicians who will try to make inroads to make some money from the procurement system.
For this, Idris should implement a transparent system that is accountable to the public, so that he will have the full support and backing of all the people of the nation, and the people will be able to know the crooks who are trying to infilterate the system with cans of worms.
Idris must prove that he only feared God, and not the political masters or the board of direct-ors.
Wish you luck, Idris, and may God bless you.
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