Appalled by the state of corporate governance

Theresa Goh was so appalled by the reports on corporate governance at CAO that she wrote to Today with 7 pointed questions. 1. Is it right For CAO not to appoint a CEO after the fiasco 3 years ago? 2. Is it decent for the Chairman to be given an above average remuneration in director's fees, assuming that he is de facto CEO? 3. Is it right for the CEO to appoint independent directors from his network? 4. Is it decent for Wang Kai Yuen to accept more than 14 directorships? 5. Is it right for David Gerald, Chairman of SIAS, to endorse CAO's governance standards, based on seemingly misleading statements given by them... 6. Is it decent for him to say 'There is no law that prevents them from taking up more positions so long as they can discharge their duties and make sure that the shareholders are not disappointed? This is the sad state of affairs of corporate governance.

I am so angry....and so helpless

I used to be the one that called the shot. I decide what people should read, should know and what I think they need not know. I set the agenda on what people should be thinking about, should be talking about or should not be thinking about. You see, I decide what is in the people's mind. And sometimes I tried to be generous and invite people to say what they want to say. Then I went through them and chose what was agreeable to me and allowed it to be said. And those that I did not like, I threw them in the waste paper basket. And they were so helpless. Some felt very frustrated as their pet topic would not be given a chance to be aired. Whew! I was that powerful. Not that I could not do the same things now. I am still doing the same things. But people are not listening to me anymore. They simply ignore me. They went to cyberspace and say whatever they want and to whoever they want. Things that I do not want them to say they keep on saying. And I can't do anything about it. They now set their own agenda. They think what they want to think and decide want they think is important and what is not. And there are things that I do not want them to talk about for good reasons but they keep talking about them, and fanning them. And I am powerless. I cannot throw them into the waste paper basket any more. Neither can I ignore them. It is they who are ignoring me. And they even criticise me. They dare to criticise me. My god! What is happening?

Is there a disconnect?

Just a few months before the Malaysian GE, UMNO did not see any disconnect with the people. UMNO believed that it was in an unassailable position, that the bumiputras would be strongly behind them and the opposition could not do anything about it. They kicked their BN partners on their arses. They kissed the keris in a threatening manner. They tore down temples and places of worship of non Muslims at will. They cut down education grant for schools for the non Malays, and they took and took, to fill up their bank accounts. They never saw it coming. They believe there was no disconnect. Is there a disconnect south of the causeway? No, no signs of any disconnect. The govt is with the people and the people all behind the govt. All the decisions and policies and explanations were well received by the people. So where got problem? The third pay rise for the ministers will be coming soon. All is well.

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.