Corporate Governance raising its ugly head again

Lee Suet Fern resigned as independent director of CAO. She was unhappy about how decisions were made. It was more like a fait accompli according to a report in Today. And the Chairman doubles up as the CEO and paid an undisclosed sum. And 'the firm is said to be in contravention of the Corporate Governance Code, which requires that at least one third of the board of the directors are independent.' How could a public company be in violation of the Corporate Governance Code when there are so many eminent and highly honourable people in the board? Don't these people know that their actions are illegal? They are the cream of our society, the role models, the people that the public look up to. So what is at fault, the system or the people? A primary school kid will give you the answer immediately. And if Lee Suet Fern would not have resigned, the issue would not have come out in the open and everyone will be so happy continuing what they were doing without any sense of wrongdoing. Another point which I think is very wrong in our culture is that independent directors are there to make sure things are done right and legally. They are not supposed to run away when they see that things are going wrong or when things got foul with the law. Why would our world class infrastructure and system of transparency and accountability allow such things to get by without putting a stop to it? Are independent directors appointed only to collect money when things are ok and quickly runaway when things are going wrong, and thus absolve their responsibility? When will there be a major revamp of the independent directors system to make sure that everyone in the board of directors are held accountable for wrong doings? A parallel report by Esther Fung said SIAS 'did not determine any obvious flaws in CAO governance standards following concerns raised by Mrs Lee Suet Fern in her resignation letter last week.' The report also said CAO board 'comprised 4 reps from CAO's parent company, two reps from oil giant BP and 3 independent directors.' And that this is unprecedented. Now who is right?

Myth 179 - PAP and people disconnect

The disconnect is due mainly to the PAP government’s failure, or refusal, to understand the importance of the affective component in a government-people relationship. Indeed anything outside their sternly pragmatic, rationalist, functionalist framework is viewed as just so much unnecessary emotionalism or ideology. Catherine Lim The above quote from Catherine Lim came about after the Mas Selamat escape. Catherine concluded that the way the govt handled the issue showed that there is a disconnect between the govt and the people. It seems that what the people expected of the govt have not been met. I think this is only a single issue and is not sufficient to say that there is a disconnect. Furthermore the escape is not even crucial if a journalist's comment is to be taken seriously. So my view is that there is no disconnect. The people will likely return the govt to power in the next GE and with bigger majority. That will be the best proof that there is no disconnect between the people and the govt. And the party will go on and on. You want more proof? See, no public demonstration. And the online petition calling for Kan Seng's resignation is not even receiving any support. Neither were there a flood of letters in the ST forum page criticising the way the govt is handling the case. Case proven. Case closed.

Investigative journalism

If our journalists are running out of ideas or what to write, do a little investigative journalism on this case. Many things could be revisited. Many people could be interviewed. And we will have a great strong from another dimension.

Put frugality into practice

Why must people be made to pay for more luxurious things that they do not want? The current mindset is that if you have money, you must spend, pay for comfort or eat sharksfin even if you don't want to. This kind of prodigous thought must be abolished. Frugality is a virtue, thrift is a virtue. There is nothing wrong for people who want to save. Lily Chan-Wong Jee Choo, Acting Dep Director, HDB, replied to a Song Yee Soon who called for a revision of the $8000 income ceiling for HDB buyers. She said there are many choices available to high income earners in the resale and open market. Yes, sure. But why should these people be penalised just because they are earning more? Penalised for being more able? What if they are first time buyers? When the housing problems are almost solved, it is timely to doing away with this policy of higher income must buy bigger and more expensive flats. Why can't higher income earners choose to live in smaller flats? Why must spend everything or hang a millstone over one's neck?

Sorry not enough

Several UMNO Youth Branches are calling for Hishammuddin to resign for his keris kissing antics and causing the lost of confidence from other BN supporters. Kadar Shah Sulaiman Ninam Shah said about 90 branch and 25 divisional leaders made the call after Hishammuddin's apology and admission of his mistake. Actually Abdullah is paying for the sins of Mahathir, Hishammuddin and Khairy. The poor PM is being asked to resign for inheriting problems caused by other UMNO leaders. Now this is definitely unfair. Abdullah is a moderate leader, not an extremist. Given a chance, Abdullah could bring Malaysia forward in a more democratic way. It is time the wrongdoers be made to pay for their sins, not Abdullah.