Tony Fernandes CEO Blog

What can you do for your country, not what your country can do for you.

A Happy 2009 to all.

It has been a very strange 2008. For many, it has been an Annus Horriblus. Some cry at the wealth they have lost as the global financial system went into meltdown and national economies slipped into recession. Many are fearful about their own future. And most are glad to see the back of 2008.

I understand their pain. But for me, 2008 has been a truly defining year. A year that ensures that Malaysia and the world will never be the same.

In my business world, it’s been a year when AirAsia finally got almost a level playing field , a year where Tune Money realised that it’s not just about a great product, a year where Tune Hotel got off the ground (and I believe will be a global brand) and Tune Talk finally got a partner. Serving the underserved is what Tune and AirAsia are all about, as someone pointed out in his blog. It was a year I learnt that attention to detail and having proper systems is crucial.

For Malaysia, I think we learnt that democracy is here to stay, and we the people do have a say in shaping our nation’s future. In the March 2008 elections, Malaysians delivered a clear message to the powerful: We all have a view and our opinions and intelligence should be respected and taken into account. I hope we will use that power wisely in the days, months and years ahead.

For the world, it was a year that emphatically reinforced all the old axioms about the evils of greed. Foreign bankers have brought the world to its knees. Casting prudence and good sense aside, they financed a buying binge that was probably unprecedented in history. Many people took advantage. Spurred by the availability of cheap cash, they allowed greed to overwhelm their senses. One house wasn't enough, so they borrowed and borrowed. And bought two, three, sometimes four. Banks happily fed the spending beast, and all that materialism and consumerism is now coming home to roost. The house of cards toppled, and now the pain has begun – and likely to last a while.

So what are my hopes and aspirations for 2009?

1) I hope Malaysians will change forever and look at what they can do for the country, instead of relying on the nation to provide everything. We must be positive and see what we can do to make this country a better place. Sitting back and criticising and not changing will just not work anymore. And I do hope that when we speak, we present our views clearly, rationally and with sensitivity instead of doing so anonymously. So many of those who post their views on blogs, for instance, just criticise and do so anonymously. If there is something to be said, say it openly and be prepared to defend your views in open debate.

2) We as a community must demand more from our education system. If our national schools eradicate their deficiencies and all were more like Victoria Institution or St. John’s, for instance, Malaysians of all races will be lining up to send their kids to national schools. There would then be no need to waste time on pointless debates about vernacular schools and such. Get the national schools right, and we will be on our way. It’s about providing the people with palatable choices.

3) We have to improve the standard of English among our kids. If we are to be globally competitive, then you can't run away from the need for a high standard of English. That's not saying we should not also be fluent in our own mother tongues. How I wish I could speak other languages. Imagine if all our kids could fluently speak English, Malay, Mandarin and Tamil or Hindi! How powerful that would be! But we must be masters at English.

4) Hopefully, banks will be responsible in providing credit to allow businesses to function effectively. The lesson from the financial crisis of 2008 is not that banks should not lend, but should do so in a prudent manner and only to businesses that are genuine rather than hand out loads of cash to every charlatan who comes knocking on their doors.

5) That 2009 will be the Year of Meritocracy. Adopting meritocracy as a policy in all sectors will help lure back smart Malaysians and not risk losing them to other countries, especially Singapore.

6) Hopefully, in 2009 our civil servants will see the value of private entrepreneurs and not regard them with undue suspicion. Yes, I’m sure they have been hassled by many Malaysians with get-rich-quick schemes, but there are just as many, if not more, genuine Malaysian businessmen out there.

7) That Malaysia takes the lead in making the Asean economic union a strong and viable reality. Imagine a market of 600 million! Our region would no longer be at the mercy of the industralised world and we would be able to shape our own future.

8) I hope Malaysians will take a grip of their own lives and design their own destiny. Don't complain, don't wait for handouts, go out there and make a difference. Don't be negative and have a real can-do mind-set.

9) And finally, on a personal note, I want to lose weight. I am already doing the obvious – watching my diet and trying to work out more often. Any other tips would be greatly appreciated.

Happy New Year, all.

I am ever the optimist, but recently I have been a little despondent about our country. I love Malaysia and am so proud to be a Malaysian. Have always been that way and always will, but now I can't help feeling like we seem to be losing the plot. Reality is sinking in that we are not that great after all and we have lots to do.

My heart goes out to the families of the victims and the survivors of the landslide at Bukit Antarabangsa. Personally, the landslide came as devastating news to me. Coupled with an incident where a friend of mine lost his life in Plaza Damas because of an accident caused by poor building regulations and those of my friends who lost everything in the Highland Towers collapse, the Bukit Antarabangsa disaster emphasized some home truths for me.

I feel that in the year 2008, Malaysia is still behaving with a Third World mentality. With just 12 years to go, are we really serious about our goal of achieving developed nation status by 2020? Highland Towers happened in 1993 and 15 years on, we have Bukit Antarabangsa.

How can we ever achieve First World status if we do not plan, if we continue to take short cuts and allow unscrupulous behaviour for short-term profits? It made me think that if we as a nation don't change, we will be squashed just like the houses in the landslide.

What is wrong? We need leaders from all political parties to act truly as leaders. Honestly I'm despondent and tired of politics. It’s just you vs. me, me vs. you on a very personal level and let’s see who gets one up on the other all the time now. Is anyone doing anything about the problems that the common Malaysian faces? What about the education system or the health system or the impending economic recession?

We need freer markets and more inquiring minds, an independent judiciary, a first-class civil service and a great police force. And on top of that, we need first-class transportation infrastructure. Think of how much productivity is lost by just sitting in traffic jams.

How can we still argue about less freedom? We need a press that’s more free; we need a great police force that instills more confidence, and a great civil service that helps private businesses and increases productivity. How can we still be arguing about an independent judiciary? How can we be developed without it? How can we be developed without copyright protection and protection of intellectual property? It's not about Petaling Street, and the ingenuity shown by Malaysians who can produce “genuine fakes.” We are still selling ourselves cheap. What about the innovator who could be the next Bill Gates but all his work is stolen so he has to be a sales consultant? How about our next great composer?

I could go on and on for ages. There is frustration in this post. Frustration as I see a great nation sliding downhill. The world is moving at warp speed. While we fritter away our valuable time engaging in petty political squabbles and arguments about individual ethnic identity, other nations are catching up – and even passing us by on the global economic autobahn.

We cannot resolve the problems of the digital age by using an analogue mindset. We need new, visionary thinking. And we need to be brave enough to act decisively and implement policies that benefit Malaysia and Malaysians. If we do not change our ways, I fear that just like the houses in that landslide, we are in danger of watching Malaysia – the nation we all call home -- being washed away into irrelevance.