Tony Fernandes CEO Blog

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I agree with you! I think as a nation we have to wake up from this slumber we have fallen into.. Politicians will be politicians but real leaders are a dime a dozen, do we really have many leaders?

The basic fundamentals just not there and without those in place, we can build n build ..it will crash!

I have faith in our nation, i have faith that as Malaysians we will make it but we have to stop blaming,pointing fingers and make that move first! Failure is ok as long as you try to start with in my view....

Tun M thinks we might not make 2020, it sure looks like that now but having said that, as a nation we have the power to make sure that those who are responsible to run in realize that its not about politics but about Malaysia!

Sharing in your frustrations, Tony. Press on and keep dreaming. You aren't walking alone. In hope for a better Malaysia, Markus

Its my opine that the Herd mentality (myriad other reasons as well) that is plunging us further backwards....Policy makers should not only look at developing the country's economic climate, i.e. from a third world to a first world status but also developing a developed society. Apathy attitudes in continually developing one's skills and the lack of interest in the quest of knowledge is just one of the rudimentary problems plaguing us. Many would not disagree that for the last decade or so, to a large degree things were easy, competition was less for the Malaysian economy and Malaysians in general were blinded by the psuedo fact that our roads will be paved with gold forever (many did not see or may be refused to see increasing competition from other developing countries and structural economic changes & changes in the way business is conducted)...that beckons the question, were we planning ahead? or were just happy to be in the comfort zone? I guess when you glory the past, the future will dry up.... Our policy makers should be cognizant or sensitive to changes in generation charateristics and global structural changes. Effciency, the speed of business, borderless world, IT usage and transparency is the new business lingo. Harvard Business Review has a published a study " The Next 20 Years - How Customer and Workforce Attitudes Will Evolve". Its a brilliant article that peels the onion of the Baby boomers, generation Y and the gen X's chrateristics. Its a good insight on how the world and society are changing and may be its time we start being proactive and not reactive to changes! I'm sure just like me, myriads of Malaysians feel your frustration and are behind you on the quest of developing a new mentality and attitude....

Hi Tony! This post is exactly what's inside my mind and reflect how I think about the it. The world is already moving in a very fast pace. Since we set our goal for 2020, Malaysia should be working harder to keep up. The reality is, we are getting no where, not much of the progress are being made for the past 10 years, and perhaps moving backwards as our politician are spending their time stabbing each other. Corporate Intelligence are growing everyday, and soon it will surpass the government intelligence. When that time comes, we will be in a great trouble. Either the country development is forced to slow down (going no where), or it will getting out of control (moving backwards). Neither one is good for anyone. We need a leader that speaks the language of digital age.

Tony and all, yes, I agree very much with your pointers. All the questions and frustration raised, I am sure are valid, I am sure there are those in the administration who are feeling the same way too, trying to voice out their thoughts and trying to do what they can to change the "ways" things are. In good faith, I see posts/ expressions like yours as a good indication to how things may be. Let us work and strive in such directions. In good faith. Live, Love & Feel Life.

Dear Tony,

I am have the same opinion as you too regarding the lack of responsible mentality of Malaysians especially Malaysian corporations today. There are still much to learn and improvise to be able to achieve our vision 2020. Best regards

That is indeed one true thing shared by Tony. New mentality and attitude is what we all needed. We, Malaysians, like blaming. Instead of finding one solution, we start to point at each others. That is one sad thing.

I totally agree.

the creativity and the new energy that tony fernandez has brought into our country these years have inspired many and is definitely what we all need. We need to step out of our old traditional government-dependent mindset, explore new frontiers and exercise more creativity and flexibility! Malaysians have unique culture and a well diverse pool of human resources in the nation. We need to achieve our full potential!

Thanks tony fernadez for all the things you have done. Air Asia, Tune, Tune Hotel. they are all just amazing! Cheers to u!

Dear Tony, I'm Christon, the 20 year old dude, that asked you a question, "What do you think is the Malaysian Dream?" on Sunday at the Malaysian Young Entrepreneur Conference as you sat next to your friend, Edmund Santhara.

It was certainly interesting to hear your answer that day about education being part of that dream. About what you've written here, I suppose many feel just like you, frustrated.

But maybe just to lighten you up a little, at certain places, certain grassroots levels like universities, such as mine, some of the younger people have really impressed me with their attitude and dedication to quality, and I think my generation has what it takes to move forward.

I'm not sure when it'll happen, but I believe that my generation as they take over Malaysia in the next few decades, will move towards what we all want, progress.

Cheers Tony, have a great week in whatever you're doing. =)

Dear Dato Seri Tony Fernandes, Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!!

Dear Dato Seri, Appreciate your perspective and your frustrations. I have lots to say and plenty to share too. Let me throw the gauntlet here...i'll buy you a meal, a coffee, a tea, a beer, a champagne, a perrier,a roti canai, a nasi lemak, a nasi kandar...you name it,I'll pay the bill. I'll also promise not to utilise the time we share over the above beverage or meal to promote myself, my business or my value to you. I am doing this to share the frustrations of a regular joe with someone of your position,connections and influence so that we..the various 'rakyat' of malaysia....can begin to get off our lazy complacent posteriors and do something...anything..instead of just talk and complain over teh tariks. Dato Seri, I do not belong to any political party, have no political intentions and no aspirations to work for you, with you or anywhere close to you. I just think i'm willing to foot the bill for a conversation with an intelligent individual who believes that persistence and belief work in making things better than they are. My email add is in my registration, name the place, the time and i'll let you order...our conversation shall be for the duration you set it to be. I look forward to the email/phonecall/sms... I'd like to wish you and your family & AirAsia team a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

In reply to your comment, we live in a country where achievers aren't rewarded for their achievements. where registering a patent takes lots of money and time. where registering and operating a basic sdn bhd has us frustrated that every ringgit we earn we have to pay the govt in taxes, kastam in Service Tax,the utility companies, the service providers etc...leaving us with small slices of cakes we bake with our own hard efforts. We are buried in paperwork and procedure by a government that professes a paperless society yet churns out forms A1 to Z99 for us to fill to apply for anything...in triplicate.We have a Multimedia Supercorridor much like our highways, big but congested and not fast enough. The government servants who are to serve the people are corrupted with power and delusions of their own capability when in reality most of us in the private sector can run circles around a group of 5 of them. We have so much crap to deal with from the govt that we have to hire people just to handle that part of our business. The committees they set up to look into everything from public toilets to landslides are populated by people who will espouse what is fed to them by those who will benefit from the findings of the committee. Mind you committees are set up to investigate THEIR screw ups...its almost as if the committee is tasked with "whom to blame for this". We the rakyat are kinda fed up of the crap, we can smell the bs a mile off and we're a lot smarter than many of those who sit in Parliament...sadly, the smart ones among us would be apalled at the thought of contributing to improving society for the greater good. We're too mired down in paperwork and trying to make ends meet to give a damn. Or those that do are laughed at or befriended to benefit from. What led to this? A generous government leads to generous people and a greedy government leads to greedy people. What goes around comes around. Many of us find ways to pay less taxes...because we're not happy with what our tax dollars are spent on. There is an inequality here and we have no say on how the scales are balanced. The solution in many a Malaysian's mind is to make as much as they can, educate their kids abroad, hope for them to get PR and then migrate....pack up and move out, visit occasionally for the laksa,nasi lemak & teh tarik. We're proud to be Malaysian.. I am...I'd fight for this country only I can't say I'm happy with what i'd be fighting for.... Do we love it here? Of course, we have it all here...nice people. great weather, opportunities galore and many more wonderful reasons and other factors which include beautiful women (I'm a guy..heheh). Unfortunately we have a government who has an analogue mind...and a prehistoric mentality coupled with a neanderthal dream. If we let things be we'd regress back to being governed by cavemen... Visit any govt dept (except EPF..I'm impressed with them) and you'll find empty rooms. people out for mesyuarat,kursus,lawatan,teh tarik etc...and they think that's alright. Its taken as the Malaysian Way of Govt. Its APALLING! Getting work done seems the last reason to their existence. Visit Putrajaya...an Administrative Capital with millions spent, grand buildings, wide roads, lakes (where there weren't any before), bridges (for the lakes that didn't need to be there) and NO PARKING for the rakyat who are supposed to come there to do their documentation....amazing foresight for town planning i'd say. Kudos to the designers...hats off for thinking of the everyday people. thanks....how did Mr.PutrajayaPlanner think we'd get to Jabatan this or Jabatan that? Using the fantastic public transport that's available? We don't have all day to get ONE thing done...we only have 365 days in our year and we do have jobs...to pay our taxes,our bills and live our lives and we can't disappear from the office unless its supported with a valid reason. Anyways, i too can go on for hours if not days...this is just me venting. I'm waiting for a Death Certificate from the Jabatan Pendaftaran Negara because someone in a hospital screwed up...its been over 2 weeks. Apparently the documents are on the Pegawai's table awaiting his signature...he's just not around. How many Pegawais are there? I can understand why firearms aren't easily available...so many of us would go postal it would affect the HR dept at the Public Service dept.... That's all awwsum has to say today....if anyone's 'listening' we're FRUSTRATED too.

Im glad your blog isn't all about the positive, i favor this particular entry whereby its negative and people can learn from it. Truth hurts but we need to face our worst enemy sooner or later. Have a great 2009 Tony....Cheers!

Your frustrations are actually noted. The vision 2020 is just around the corner from what we can see basically. Our country is actually a giant in a deep slumber. But up till now, the country is still continuing the same pace that has been going ever since. Like what you say, the people in this country still have the Third World mentality. Our country has been telling the world that we are actually a FREE country. Yet, from what the eyes around the world have been observing, the country is walking not up but down slowly. In a so-called FREE country, freedom of speech, movements and others of the press, people and such are still being restricted. In politics, all that we get during the meetings between the politicians in our country has been highly entertaining by the sense where they are actually calling each other animals? Highly irrational acts for the so-called "Peoples' Choice". If the nation and us as the people doesn't wake up, we will always be labeled as a Third World country. Worst come to worst, we could be left behind by other Third World countries.

You proved them wrong many times over. Our establishment is such that quotas have to be met to fulfill a policy and not based on merit. Mediocre seemed that have become standard here and every justification frenzy by our leaders offers no solutions other than new policies and witch hunt. give it another few months and it will be sweeped under the rug. Never have i seen a timeline promised being attained or concluded but what we do have are a lot of great oratory interchanges. Instead of a protection policy, what we have is a protectionist policy to safeguard a few. And those few always don't make the grade.

TF, Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!! A quick one, hope u can answer in details. Do u think, in Malaysia if u dun have a “good” connection, better to stick to daily job instead of start a business? (with assumption: gud research have been done for the business) TQ

It all start at the top Tony, when the head is rotten, everything else stinks till heaven's high. Malaysia is a country of sloganeering, unfortunately. EVERYTHING and EVERYONE can be bought, if the price is right. To be able to do that you need money. Money buy you access, influence and power to make more MONEY.

I am more optimistic about the possibilties since March 8th 2008. It is clear that a large portion of Malaysians of all backgrounds decided that 'enough was enough'. A message was sent saying we want the end of corruption and deceit that exists in our government, bureaucracy and business. Also a message that 'race based politics should be consigned to the dustbin of history'. Whilst most Malaysians got the message - unfortunately the government still has not received it. I am disappointed that we have still no leadership but above all no stateman leading the country. Instead the leadership shows every intent in living in the past and has not given us a vision of the future. But this is why now is the time for every Malaysian to take the lead ourselves - we as the rakyat should show the way. But Tony - there is also a need for business in this country to show the way. There are still too many sycophantic businessmen (or are they really politics) leading major corporations who are indulging in 'political ventures' with shareholders and the rakyats money and bleeding this country dry. One only has to look at the strange aborted takeover of IJN by Sime Darby to wonder what the hell is going on? It is time for business leaders to actually take a lead in this - transparency, core values and using merit as a criteria. I belive a sea change in Malaysian life has begun - and until the current poltical and business leadership wake up to it fast - I am confident they will find themselves out of a job in the very near future.

I agree. We cannot resolve the problems of the digital age by using an analogue mindset. We need new, visionary thinking. However I just felt that there is a thought that contradicts what you concluded earlier. In the free market, we develop ideas together for the betterment of society, thus, the idea of copyright protection may only lead to limited creativity and automatically installs fear in our heart on the need to protect the work of our intellect. We are now officially trotting into the digital world. Most of rules from the analog world have to change if we really want to embrace the free economy. Of course we can still take ideas and information in this digital era, and claim copyright protection, however, this would also mean we no longer play our part in harmonizing the growth of information and knowledge. Seeking copyright protection will also slow down the growth of the ideas that we plan to execute simply because now, as idea's grow openly in forums, through blogs etc., it somehow becomes difficult to "protect" the person who originally conceived the thought in the first place. Copyright protection also tends to protect "big boys" who do sometimes steal these ideas but have the money to hire fancy expensive lawyers to fight and probably end up prolonging the case until the original owner of the idea finally gives up, or the novelty of the idea runs. What if the person conceives this brilliant idea, claim copyright protection, and does absolutely NOTHING about it? Thus I feel the free market should remain a free market. Its may be true that copyright protection allows the original owner of the idea to maximize the profits that he can gain from it, but in reality, he (and especially the idea) will benefit more by giving away the idea and getting help in making it better through facilitation and community efforts to continuously improve it or simply benefit from it, instead of worrying about the peddlers in Petaling Street who is distributing illegally. Shouldn't this be also considered FREE ADVERTISING for the idea? Maybe, if we can start to apply visionary thinking, we will also find a way to go about things like "copyright protection" and start finding more creative ways to earn our dollar from our intellectual capacity. The reality is you only lose out when you think you're losing out. In this day and age, if you're destined to be the greatest innovator on earth, try to follow better examples like Larry Page and Sargey Brin, or even Linus Travolds for that matter, NOT Bill Gates.