My Wish for a White Chritmas

Joy to the World - calls out the carollers along busy Orchard Road in Singapore. The branches on the trees swayed as if in response to the call, as the dangling bright lights littered the tree tops. Groups of tourists on open double-decked buses added even more glare to the over-exposed lighting as they popped their flashes with their cameras. Traffic came to a near standstill, as merrymakers, holidaymakers and all others thronged the two-kilometre stretch of one-way traffic all the way towards the city front where Suntec City is located.

I took courage and joined the bustling crowd of merrymakers, inching my way through to soak myself into the Christmas spirit. Though the crowds were just as thick as it was in previous years, the mood was somewhat sombre. Merrily people still posed for photographs at the various stalls set up by Christian groups to promote the message of the birth of Jesus Christ. The retail outlets competed with their giant Christmas trees and colourful decors. One other sign that a shopper wouldn't miss when visiting the retail malls is the sign that flount the word: Discount or Sale. Such sales gimmicks were unnecessary in the better years. Sales were only held after Christmas, on Boxing Day.

Christmas was a special time for me when I was about 10 years old. A stopover at the Robinson's then in the heart of the business centre at Raffles Place was a must. I would spend a good hour alone musing about the toyland, constantly on the look out for the sales lady for fear that she would notice that I was only there to play with the toys. The huge electric train set, complete with tunnels, stations and train crossing was certainly a key attraction for many children.

Today, visit Robinson's is a far cry from that good ole days, as they called it. Even the background music is not a traditional carol but a jazz tune sprinkled with the jingling of bells. The decor and the atmosphere certainly reflected a changed era...and indeed Robinson's has changed in ownership. To satisfy my thirst for some good traditional Christmas carols, I ventured out to the rest of Orchard Road, and I heard someone singing the line "...may your days be merry and bright". And I thought how I wish all Christmases may be white!

Obama's Young Team

The team of key office bearers announced by President-elect Obama is indeed something to watch when the New Year unfolds. The average age is about 55 years and this group will certainly bring a new perspective to the White House. In fact this is about the first time that the White House will be steered by such a large group of post-War leaders whose experiences and perspectives will hopefully bring a new freshness into US role as a leader in world politics.

Hitherto the US has been brandishing its might and roared at anyone who gets in its way. No doubt the US has shown its willingness to sit on the negotiating table in several instances, and North Korea nuclear talks is one good example, but its patience often fall short after a while. Dealing with others in the past by dangling aid and other incentives might have worked, but not so for Pyongyang whose pygmied leader seems to apply a different brand of negotiation skills. The mainland Chinese were famous to the point of notoriety for delaying in coming to an amicable conclusion. They would procrastinating in the hope that the opposite party would eventually give in out of frustration. The Koreans are worse. They don't show what they are willing to put on the table and you end up getting frustrated for coming to the table to talk. Suffice to say, there would have been Think Tanks who would have studied the psychology and the techniques of the Korean negotiating style to be able to advise the US negotiators a key that would fit the hole to open up Pyongyang. However, so far this seems to have eluded the Americans. I had occasion to negotiate in a trade dispute with a South Korean. Certainly there is a difference between the northerners and the southerners, but if the techniques adopted by the south is anything to come by, I can understand the difficulties face by the US nuclear negotiators. The stand taken by my counterparty was that their position was non-negotiable, and there was no such thing as a win-win outcome.

Perhaps Obama's young team would have some tricks up their sleeves that may well undo what the outcoming US administration has not succeeded over the past years. Or, am I putting too much expectations on Obama's new team...

Putting a stop to high seas piracy

The decision by the UN to allow the pursuit of Somalian pirates on land is not altogether unexpected. These pirates are no more than a band of robbers and reminded me of the movie Death Wish, where marauding bands of gangsters terrorise innocent people. The action being taken by various governments have so far had very limited impact in curtailing their activities. The hide-and-seek game in a vast open sea makes it very challenging for them. This is one crime which requires the concerted effort of all peace-loving nations and yet the coming together of governments has been somewhat slow. NATO, India, the US have made their presence in the area, and the latest is China is likely to send their navy to protect their own vessels. Sadly there seem little or no interest from the countries in the South African continent - not even the Arab states though one Saudi tanker is still being held hostage at the time of writing.

The way to deal with the pirate is perhaps to let force meet with force. Blasting the pirates out of the waters will be a good deterrance to others. Arresting the pirates and bringing them to the courts may be a waste of good money for bad. The system of administration in Somalia may well see these culprits back onto their boats even before the change of seasons. What governments should do is to confiscate the money from these pirates and donate them to the needy and suffering in the South African continent. I find it almost like reading the comics each day when I open my newspapers to find news about pirates seizing ships, plundering and robbing almost at will. If nations can't tackle this somewhat "localised" problem, there isn't much hope to get even more nations together and try to tackle an issue like global warming.

Year end is a time to take stock

Year end is the time for spring cleaning and you won't imagine how much junk you have collected over the past 12 months. As I rummaged through the pile of papers and files, I couldn't but pause to think about all the ideas, plans and projects that didn't take off. Somehow things went awry and/or got distracted by other more pressing issues. It also caused me to ponder about how things look good when they were on the drawing board...but when it comes to execution and totalling the costs, then the gloss and shine just give way to the grey matter.

Sitting in my 11th floor room which overlook a busy road junction as I reflected on some of the papers, I recalled a proposal for a customer to work on a project that would have propelled them to the forefront. Internal politiking among the board members, and worse still, with a leader that's not quite willing to lead, made the proposition even harder. A presentation was made to the board. I went well as the ideas illuminated on the big screen via the power point slides. Questions were asked. Eventually we had to scuttle the project because what they board wanted out of the project was way off the budget they were willing to commit. It was a shame, as it was an opportunity that they missed. The goodwill and the value add would have far out-weighed what they paid.

Other papers pertained to people whom within the span of months have left their organisation, moved on hopefully to greener pastures. Suddenly I realised that how many old familiar names are gone. Times were still good at the start of the year and people were switching jobs like the game of musical chairs, except that now the music has stopped and many may find themselves on chairs with only three legs for support.

Soon another year would dawn on us...and everyone would be looking forward with joy...even if it is subdued joy. People will clothe themselves with new hope that the new year will bring - at least that's the best that they can look forward to.

Of greed and madness...

The financial industry is hit by another US scandal with the fallout felt as far as Asia..all thanks to Bernard Madoff. The whole scam sounds rather simplistic...giving high returns for investments. While hindsight may point to the many red flags that should have sprung up when his company was able to pay high yields during times when other investment houses were struggle, yet somehow this was overlooked. The answer is perhaps as simple as the whole scam - it is an classic example of "greed". When everyone was attracted to the returns, no one paused to ask questions. We learnt since early childhood never to take sweets from strangers and we should be on guard and ask questions like: what's he up to? But once kids become grown up, they forgotten all the basic rules until it's bingo! Whose to be blamed? Fingers are pointed at the regulators and at everyone else, except the CEO, CFO, and auditors of those firms who had invested in Madoff. When things get too good, invariably questions must be raised even at the risk of being labeled as being too faint hearted, or as one who is risk aversed.

Talking about risk, it must be a real shocker for outgoing US President George W Bush when he was bushwhacked by an Iraqi journalist who threw not one but two shoes at him during a press conference. Apparently this journalsit is mad with the President and is making his feelings known to the whole. Isn't it a hair-raising experience to see how someone can throw two shoes before being manhandled. Imagine if it was a knife or a gun, two or three shots would have been fired before the attacker was pinned down. Doesn't that raise the question: where were the security men? Did they respond too slowly? Were they stationed at the wrong place? Was the President's bodyguard too slow in rushing up to him to protect him? The video showed someone going to the President who gesticulated that he was fine...but that was only after the assilant had thrown two shoes at the President. Where was all the President's men?

Human Rights Abuses

Two dozen people protested outside China's Foreign Ministry to mark the 60th anniversary of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The end result was obvious in that they were all bundled onto buses and taken away. The significance of the event was not how they demonstrated or were arrested but that numbers who took to the street to voice their indignation. Governments every where tended to have a bad perception of humam right advocates. Many see them as "trouble makers" and others classify them as a "threat" to political stability. It is indeed a shame that basic rights are not widely followed by countries who are not just members of the United Nations but even those who sit on the Security Council. While I am not advocating that one should take to the streets to push for governments to pay more attention to human rights issue, I think the UN body should revisit the charter and look at how this matter can be given a new dressing and made more palatable to its wider membership.

There are so many countries where governments abuse their power and steam-rolled their way through to get things done to their advantage. The events in Zimbabwe is pathetic and given the ills that have beset the world's economies, free governments are not too enthusiastic to put their finger in lest they be drawn into a deep bottomless pit. While politicians look polished in their suits and lavish office, large parts of the people are dying of cholera and suffering from starvation.
Sudan and Myanmar are other examples where human rights are abused in broad daylight. But such abuses are not just confined to the Third World. We see absuses in developed nations which makes it difficult for anyone to throw a stone at the likes of Zimbawe and Sudan since everyone seems to be living in a glass house.

Meantime the people must suffer, finding solace only in the writings in their religious books where sufferings is seen as an atonement for past sins given by the Greater Being. Suffering is also seen as a way to greater glory in the life hereafter.

Wash away by recession

The advertisements in the newspapers posed a constant reminder that the Christmas season is just round the corner. The trees along the main business district was also donned with bright city lights and colourful decorative buntings. Santas, with their bushy beards and bells are somehow noticeable absent...perhaps it is still too early. Certainly the mood is dampened not only by the economic recession that pervades across the spectrum of society but even the weather is not letting up. Amid the whole gloom, I believe not everyone is affected badly. I would exclude the rich from the list as they are obviously still comfortably sitting on their wealth albeit the values may have lost one or two zeros. Certainly if we look at the professionals, the lawyers, doctors, accountants and those who are holding senior management positions like CEO, COO, CFO, Corporate Secretary, General Manager etc they would still be well cushioned from the impact of the recession. Perhaps they may be denied the additional dressings on top of their main dish, but the fact remains that they would still have their main dish. The next level would be those who are in the middle management. Earnings may be curtailed by employers cutting back on annual bonuses and increments, but they too would have benefited from the employer's generosity with raises in salary in 2007 and all the perks that came with it. Their only fear is that they have to keep themselves employed because when the axe comes down often it would fall on the middle terrain. The lower rankings and those on the shopfloor are the worse off. Though their wages may be small, often they are the target of retrenchments by virtue of their being in large numbers. $1500a month each for 1000 workers is a lot of money for a struggling business, compared with $5000 a month for four senior managers. Besides during bad times companies need good managers to develop the business, or to hold whatever business there is left. The production or shopfloor work can be outsourced or be done by fewer numbers, working a little longer hours.

The signs were there before the tidal waves hit the shores. Yet many in postion of authority did not more than make verbal exhortations and became passive bystanders when the waters crashed on the beaches, wiping away whatever stood in its way. Could we not divert the workers on the shopfloor to other areas? Point them to safer avenues where they can take temporary refuge even though wages may be lower? Did we think about it at all, or did we fail to lift a finger for them?