Thesun 2009-03-11 Page14 Doing Business The Malaysian Way

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theSun

| WEDNESDAY MARCH 11 2009

speak up!

Doing business the Malaysian way THREE days after spending more than an hour at the High Court Registry going through several bundles of documents, we sought clarification from one of the parties in the civil suit. The meeting held about three months ago at an Indonesian restaurant was cordial and the conversation with a partner of an advertising agency went something like this: Q: Why did you pay for the air tickets of the minister’s personal trainer to Japan and Hawaii? A: What is wrong with that? Q: You are doing business with one of the agencies which comes under the purview of the minister. Therefore, we can assume that you did it to further your business interests. A: If you want to be close to the minister, you have to look after those who are close to that person. That’s how we do business in Malaysia. Terence Fernandez and I were

flabbergasted with the reasoning. If paying for air tickets for aides and trainers of ministers – solicited or otherwise – is the key to succeeding in getting contracts or getting “close” to the minister (whatever that means), you might as well throw away all that they taught you in business school. Instead, it would be better to take the tried and tested path (according to this businessman) to success by buying not only air tickets but also gifting gem-studded golf putters to those in the “inner circle”. Fast forward to last Thursday and phones were buzzing and the exchange of text messages went into overdrive. The Saloma Bistro was the buzzword. Apparently, one little bird, which termed it as “Operation Boxer Shorts”, said that the political aide of a minister was apprehended with RM70,000 on Wednesday night. But that was not the end of the story. Overnight in the hands of

CitizenNades by R. Nadeswaran

officers from the Malaysian AntiCorruption Commission (MACC), the aide provided names of people who gave the money and for whom it was meant for. Two more partners of an advertising agency were taken in for questioning. We cannot ascertain if it was the same minister and if it was the same advertising agency involved. We can’t even put two and two together because the MACC, after having boasted that it had enough evidence to prosecute yet another politician with the rank of mentri besar, has suddenly gone into silent mode. It has issued a statement saying that it will not issue statements on ongoing investigations. When queried about the arrest by Terence, there was a one-line note from a senior official which said: “Sori my friend. No komen.” When I asked his boss, the response was: “We have not arrested any minister, yet.”

letters

***** NORMALLY, the surat layang and the anonymous email end up in the bin after being read, but this was one I savoured reading and have decided to have it for keeps. It appears to be one of those letters which appear before an Umno election and lists the misdeeds of a minister – from the beginning to the present. Some of the information contained is true because it merely confirms what I already have

gathered from other sources, while others cannot be verified. But this surat layang gives honourable mention to this writer. This edited version (to protect the personalities) reads like this: Datuk X telah diarahkan oleh Mentri untuk merasuah Nadeswaran (penulis ruangan Citizen Nades dalam akhbar theSun). Harga yang ditetapkan untuk Nadeswaran ialah RM10 juta. Walau bagaimana pun, Nadeswaran dikatakan telak menolak tawaran tersebut. (Datuk X was instructed by the minister to bribe Nadeswaran (theSun columnist Citizen Nades). The amount was fixed at RM10 million but Nadeswaran is said to have rejected the offer.) Like most surat layang, this claim is a figment of imagination. Yes, Datuk X and I are good friends but never did he broach the subject during our regular meetings over a beer or at the golf course. And we know each other well enough that he wouldn’t try something like that lest the friendship is lost forever. Yes, I am flattered but why waste so much money when it would be cheaper to get a hit-man to bump me off? I never knew ministers earn so much that they have so much money to spare! R. Nadeswaran is having a ball reading what ends up on his table. He is editor (special and investigative reporting) at theSun. Feedback: [email protected].

Decide wisely on language

[email protected]

End of trial not a U-turn I REFER to “Not another U-turn, please” (March 10) and wish to underline that reverting to the teaching of maths and science in Bahasa Malaysia should not be viewed as a U-turn but as the end of the trial period for a policy that was temporarily necessary to realise that it would not give the desired results. Although students may know more English now, it is also true that they know less Bahasa. Before the teaching of maths and science in English started in 2004, students learned all subjects in Bahasa Malaysia and this made them well-versed in at least one language. The importance of knowing one language almost to perfection before attempting to learn another cannot be stressed strongly enough. Language allows a person to formulate thoughts and generate ideas and then put them into action, either in speaking or writing. A person who does not know the language is therefore unable to think clearly because he or she does not have the tools (the words, grammar, sentence structure, etc) to originate thought. Naturally, not knowing the language sufficiently makes a person a poor communicator who will be unable to truly succeed in school, at work, or in personal life. Besides practising reading, listening and speaking, language skills are most notably learned by writing essays. Because of the lack of time, essay writing is often disregarded in school nowadays. Yet, writing the essay allows the student to learn all the skills necessary to be a good communicator. You start with an idea (ie the essay title), you expand on it and develop it into paragraphs, you make sure it is to

“Yet” is a subjective word and could be interpreted in several ways. But we will leave it for a fullfledged discussion on another day. PS: Something totally unrelated: A little bird tells us that a visiting dignitary called on a VIP in early January. The company has dealings with the ministry. In the course of the conversation, they talked about the American elections and the hopes of the people. And that discussion led to the inevitable question: “Could you arrange an invitation to the inauguration of the president? I would love to be there.” The visitor politely told the VIP that he had no access to such invitations. Using the Malaysia Boleh concept where anything and everything can be done for a song, the VIP retorted: “I thought you were American and you can use your position to secure one …” Is that soliciting a bribe or an inducement or is it how “we do business in Malaysia?”

the point and does not exceed the word limit, and you provide a suitable conclusion. This specific language skill applies to science too because the researcher starts with an idea that needs to be tested. He or she will then consider possible applications but will select only the most suitable. Of course, learning a language in such depth and breadth requires many years of teaching and learning. Thus, students in primary and lower secondary school should not be taught a second language simply because their knowledge of the first language is not yet strong enough. Problems will immediately arise when students who do not know their first language well are asked to express themselves in a new language. When expressing a science experiment, for example, students will try to transfer the template of Bahasa to English. This will be clearly inappropriate as the meaning and connotation of words are different for each language, and word order, sentence construction, and grammar rules also differ. The result will be confusion. As for having to learn English because it gives

access to the Internet, I find this argument rather feeble. I see no reason why the Internet in Malaysia could not have more Bahasa content. Learning another language also means importing its culture, and we should seriously consider whether the liberal, unreliable, and often violent content found on Internet sites from English mother-tongue countries has benefited the students and society. And since teachers have often been blamed for their students’ lack of proficiency, it should be remembered that good students make good teachers. Good teachers teach because they know that teaching is the best way to retain and increase knowledge. Therefore, teachers are made better by students who are alert, interested, enthusiastic, and who provide a positive challenge. It is the duty of the government, and the parents, to create a school environment with many such proactive students. Teaching listless and unresponsive students will make even the best trained teacher feel discouraged and depressed.

BEFORE making a decision whether to teach maths and science in Bahasa Malaysia or English, we have first to consider what is the objective of teaching the subjects in schools. If our education system is geared to produce politicians (arts graduates), we do not even have to teach these subjects. The country, however, needs technocrats – engineers, architects, scientists, doctors, actuaries and even astronauts. Pupils who choose these

Providing a strong focus and a clear direction with a limited number of subjects that are learned in more depth is an excellent way of maintaining both student and teacher’s interest and performance. Ultimately, in deciding on a change to the language policy, leaders should consider the present socio-economic situation in Malaysia and establish whether the lack of direction and uncertainty the country is facing are really not the result of a population that is unable to listen, speak, read, and write proficiently in one common language. Marisa Demori Ipoh

Cut down on foreign workers I REFER to a news report of “70,000 Bangladeshis set to work here”. How come? Do we need so many? I do not think so. Can’t we do with a few hundred, if at all? Foreign workers have caused many problems yet we continue to welcome them. Isn’t this baffling? I think we need to think again here, as some things do not add up. To me this is no way to solve or mitigate the financial crisis. Let us think straight. We need to give jobs to locals, not others. See how many have been laid off.

Taking foreigners now is in bad taste. Many working here should be asked to go home. That should be the logical step. Let us cut the coat according to the cloth. And on the Bangladesh High Commission’s statement on the “rare involvement of their workers with our local girls” I think the data show otherwise. Perhaps they need to check their facts. Bulbir Singh Seremban

professions need to have a sound grounding in maths and science. If the pupils are continuing their education in Malaysia, then Bahasa Malaysia should be the medium of instruction, but do we have the expertise, facilities and reference books to teach these disciplines in Bahasa Malaysia? Alas, we have not reached that sophisticated level as yet and so we send the students to universities overseas, where English is the language. Common sense dictates

that English should therefore be used in the teaching of maths and science. It will only benefit our students when they pursue their tertiary education overseas. The cabinet’s decision should not be one of political expediency ... the right choice should be the one that is most beneficial to the future of the country and its people. C.H.Yap Kuala Lumpur

SMART strives to meet expectations

Deflation grips China as economy struggles pg 17

WE would like to thank Terence Fernandez for highlighting our statement on SMART functions and roles during the recent KL floods, in “When it’s not from the heart” (Down2Earth, March 6). SMART being an infrastructure costing RM2 billion is partially borne by the government, ie RM1.3 billion while the balance is borne by a private limited company namely SMART (a 50-50 joint venture pact between MMC and Gamuda). We strongly agree that the public’s expectation of SMART’s effectiveness is very high and we will always strive to meet those expectations. However, it is also important that public awareness and understanding of SMART’s functionality are accurately given to keep them abreast of what can and can’t be done by this unique system. We at SMART will continuously put more effort on the awareness programme to educate the general public. Your assistance in disseminating the information to the public is highly appreciated. SMART is keen to work closely with all media practitioners to educate and enhance public awareness of its functions as part of the various facilities available for all Kuala Lumpur citizens. Mohd Noor Mohd Ali Head of Operations and Public Relations SMART