The tentacles of the Tingkat 4 seem to be more far reaching then previously imagined.Despite Pak Lah no longer in power, the reminiscence of the ‘mastermind’ that almost ruined the country, foreign policy, self-destruction of UMNO and BN and to the extreme, a serious intra-racial skepticism and distrust still linger on.
Right: Omar Ong during attachment at The Eisenhower Foundation
One of them is trying to take advantage of Dato Najib's willingness to listen and bring in expertise and ideas from outside. The said person, who ambitiously attempted to be inside Prime Minister’s inner circle and worse still, private office, is now strategising himself up the echelon.
Rumours are buzzing that Ethos Consulting co-founder Omar Ong will be appointed as Director of Petronas, the cash-cow on the nation the last 25 years. This was after his attempt to be up in the top circle of Khazanah Holdings Bhd., being busted by bloggers like yours truly.
There is no such announcement yet. But indeed, it is a very dangerous situation for Malaysia, if such appointment slip through. Petronas is the single largest firm in the country and a major source of tax and dividends to the Malaysian Government.
The invisible ‘partner’ Ethos Consulting is Datuk Ahmad Zaki Zahid, the conniving former Head of Policy in Pak Lah’s private office and key player of Tingkat 4.Zaki was instrumental in the dilution of strategic GLC shares to Singapore’s Temasek like Telekom Malaysia, the disposal of MV Agusta, and the creation of economic corridors where Singapore was invited into the planning and execution of policies and plans within Iskandar Malaysia.
His hands are deep in corporate deals such as ECM Libra-Avenue Capital scandal, and the merger of Sime Darby-Guthrie-Golden Hope into Synergy Drive.
On foreign policy matters which are supposed to be restricted within the realm of Wisma Putra, Zaki attempted to discipline Myanmar for ‘democratization’ during the ASEAN summit in Kuala Lumpur November 2005, which clearly is following Singapore's stance as demanded by Western powers.
It was Ethos Consulting that drafted the blueprint for the National Automotive Policy for Government, which saw the certain but slow death of Proton in favour of imported cars. They were roped in for NCER and Sabah Economic Corridor.Omar Ong’s persistent persuasion is believed to have contributed to convinced Najib to exclude MECD from his Cabinet list, announced on 9 April 2009. Incidently, this was the same position expressed by Khairy during the Legasi Tun Abdul Razak seminar. (Look up Utusan Malaysia reports circa June 16-17th , 2007)
The presence of dedicated institution for Malay empowerment and affirmative action does not fit-in with their Western style free market and liberalisation agenda. One wonders why they did not work within parties with similar ideological leaning like DAP or PKR instead.
Najib's reason to disband MECD into several Ministries is likely to make way for his yet to be announced plan for the Bumiputera economic empowerment. However, the Tingkat 4 motive is more inclined to "destroy' such legacies. Thus far, Najib has not closed any agencies initiated by his late father.
Omar Ong's invisible association with Zaki Zahid and similarity in position on MECD with Khairy are indications that serve to disprove Omar Ong’s claim that he has split ways with Khairy. Omar Ong also claimed his original proposals to the Government were often detoured from its noble intention.
Nevertheless, he has been working his way for a position in Najib’s office for a while. His first success step was to handle Najib’s 1Malaysia website, which was verified to be linked to Ethos Consulting. The slogan 1Malaysia first appeared on this website many months before Najib assume premiership. The content still need approval from PM's office.
Omar Ong and Rohanna Mahmood of Ethos Consulting gained public prominence when The Star featured both of them in a Saturday Business Section article dated December 6th, 2008 entitled Who’s the new who’s who? One wonders who got their faces in.
This certainly has worked wonders for Omar Ong in making many Corporate CEOs into believing he is representing Najib. Rumours within the corporate circle are that Omar Ong managed to convince quite a few PLC CEOs that he is doing recruitment for Najib to fill the membership for the revived National Economic Advisory Council (NEAC). Many see it as Omar Ong attempt to fill the NEAC with "his people" to perpetuate his ideological agenda.
Though specific names is not mentioned, but observers believed one position in Najib's office is filled by a person that could later suit Omar Ong's purpose.
Omar Omar’s frequent presence at Putrajaya and Sri Satria has been raising eye brows. He managed to squeeze past protocols since he was seen by few UMNO sources present loitering at Najib’s swearing in ceremony at the Istana and the night’s thanksgiving function at his home.
With all positions filled, many wonder which position he is possibly lobbying for. Could it be he found it in a Directorship in Petronas? Certainly Petronas should not be saddled with such unsavory slick character whose greediness and intellectual ego have done more harm than good for the country.
Just like Khairy Jamaluddin who explicitly expressed his ambition to be the Malaysian Prime Minister by forty, amongst close friends, Omar Ong was rumoured to have boasted that he will be the Petronas CEO by the time he reached the same age,
Omar Ong dream appointment would need the then PM agreement. As it is, the PM aspirant is fortifying all positions in Pemuda UMNO to only his men, suspiciously taken from his 304 voters.
Unlike PAS which gives no guarantee for former Pemuda Chief a place as Vice President, UMNO seemed to guarantee such position for their former Pemuda Chief. Two out of the current three Vice Presidents are former Pemuda Chiefs.
In the meanwhile, Zaki, who is one of the four elected Pemuda UMNO exco from Putrajaya Division, is heard to be slotted for a position as Deputy CEO of MRCB. What is Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop thinking off?
Najib should be able to handle Omar Ong but he should be advised accordingly. Ops “Todak Dilanggar Temasek” is not aborted yet. The only difference is Kalimullah and Brendan Pereira is on standby at Malaysia Insider, and not within the New Straits Times.
As Shakespeare wrote, "To be(lieve) or not to be(lieve)." Be mindful that there are information and sources in this posting not divulged.
21 comments:
Apa punya kokak cita-cita mahu jadi Presiden Petronas, sama la ngan kawan yg sorang lagi tu, nak jadi PM umo 40 tahun
Pada pendapat saya org macam ni jenih yang tak boleh percaya, mereka adalah ibarat parasit kerana tumpuan hidup mereka adalah untuk menghisap darah
saya lebih respek pada mereka yg mahu becita-cita menjadi usahawan berjaya
terima kasih blogger another brick yg memberikan pendedahan sebegini ... keep up the good work
Ahmad Said
Dear Najib (if you are reading this)
As a grassroot and loyal supporter of UMNO,we are already taking the heat arising from your silence and lack of action on the Altantuya case.Don't add another burden on us.
Please stay away from these 'Pirates of Putrajaya'.
Askar upahan mempunyai jadual, seperti sebelum berumur 40 mesti itu mesti ini, yang mesti dicapai ..
Disebalik itu, yang mempunyai agenda, yang dilaksanakan oleh askar-askar upahan tadi, tidak berganjak dari matlamatnya bahawa negara ini perlu kekal di dalam ruang lingkup pengaruh mereka ... seelok-eloknya kekal di bawah telunjuk mereka.
that good
tahniah kerana kepakaan sauDara.
"kita merancang..tuhan menentukan"
"salam ingatan untuk permuda umno...BAHAWA UMNO DI TUBUH DENGAN KERINGAT DAN AIR MATA...MEREKA YANG MENUBUHKAN UMNO KEKAL DENGAN KEMISKINAN"
I am leaving Anti fuglie fatties comments for a while to show the kind of comments I usually reject.
In the future, I will NOT PUBLISH such comments. If you disagree, tell us why you disagree.
Otherwise, comment like this does not deserve the publicity and does not add anything to public discussion. In fact, both side of the political divide at BUM 2009 concur on this.
Hmmm ... me Khir Toyo man? This must be the fitnah perpetuated by one blog whose a ... behind it.
Must be blind or totally stupid. My support for the last Ketua Pemuda was for Mukhriz lah, dummy! I also took a no KJ stance.
omar ong is a snob with zero malay agenda
Periksa latarbelakang Zaki dan Omar. Apakah jawatan yang pertama mereka selepas graduate dari UK? Jawatan pertama itu lah mereka di latih dan di ajar untuk membuat tugas tugas yang di arah sehingga masa kini. Soalan nya SIAPA yang memberi arahan kepada mereka secara sedar atau tidak sedar???
Mamat ini agen New World Order.
Bapak dia, Mustapha Ong ada biznes dengan Daim dalam Opus Consult yang mengurus projek TNB untuk MRCB.
Uncle A Voice,
I dont want to be a racist, but I feel I need to put my half cents worth.
KJ,
How could Omar Ong hv a 'Malay Agenda'?
He is NOT EVEN A MALAY!
He was born as a Chinese, to a Chinese couple. Later, his father embraced Islam and hence, Omar adopted the Muslim name, as his father did.
Back to the posting......
The issue here is not about his ethnicity. The issue here is that, Omar Ong is an opportunitic b*st*rd! (Pls buy your own vowels)
We cannot hv someone like that, sitting in organisation which is a cashcow to the nation. What value could Omar Ong bring to Petronas, which isn't there yet? Are the existing Petronas BOD hopeless and starting to detiorate, that the govt need to bring Omar Ong (who has no macro management experience whatsoever!)?
Ethos wants to proposed a regional petroleum corridor, is it? Better still, a continent petroleum corridor!
Look how much damaged Omar Ong already cost the nation with his Ethosistically values and solutions!
I am so glad he failed to get in as the Chief of Staff in Najib's office recently. Thanks to bloggers like A Voice who managed to create the awareness.
However, bloggers should do the same with this Petronas appointment. We cannot be saddled with persons of such unsavoury character and personal agenda, at the cost of the nation's wealth.
Congratulations. ABITW should earn the 'expose' award at the recent BUM 2009.
Pls bring us more. See if you dig up anything KJish/Level Fourish/Omar Ongish in Khazanah. That would be interesting!
petronas selama ini diterajui oleh golongan2 professional & peneraju-peneraju di dalam industri petroleum. dan mereka dah buktikan kepada rakyat malaysia yang mereka mampu berdiri sama tinggi, duduk sama rendah dengan taiko-taiko industri petroleum spt shell, esso dsb.
kenapa? sebab gangguan politik dapat ditepis oleh PM-PM terdahulu yang menegah petronas diterajui oleh orang2 politik dan golongan2 berkaitan dengan ahli politik. jadi tolonglah jangan ganggu petronas, petronas adalah periuk nasi malaysia, kalau hancur petronas, hancurlah malaysia. nak harap kat sapa lagi?
petronas was not mismanaged, lagi successful adalah. so why did PM wants to put his people into petronas. kalau omar tu betul2 seorang yang bijaksana, pi la letak dia kat glc-glc yang bermasalah and let him turnaround the companies.
rasanya perlantikan beliau tak memberikan apa-apa nilai tambah. lebih baik petronas ambil professional-professional dari industri petroleum yang mampu menaikkan nama dan kecermelangan petronas ke tahap yang lebih tinggi.
pikir2kanlah. let stand united and protect petronas!!
A Voice,
I'm no longer with Petronas. But my stint there provided me with the opportunity to know Omar. To be fair, workwise, he's not that bad; smart and dependable. However, Petronas has already got better and suitable candidates to replace Hassan Merican, whom I think the best GLC CEO by a long stretch, whenever he decides to retire. That person can either be Wan Zul or Arif Mahmood, engineers with shrewd biz acumen. Until then, let Hassan continues doing his good work.
Mr. Consultant
Need to inform Tun M about this. Once the information printed online in his blog, everybody knows. This will ensure that Najib knows what's he dealing with.
Kedahan
A voice
Thks for the posting. Can I make a suggestion here? Well, first u have expose who is this Omar Ong and his background and why u feel that he is unsuitable for the job.
Fine, let's say we agree to agree that Omar Ong is too wet behind the ears to do the job, who are u proposing? There must be an alternative candidate.
Since there is a vacancy there, then we must put ou own proposal who that person should be. Do u have anyone in mind?
A Voice, thanks for another expose - and how horrifying and damaging this is to the country if the appointment really do go through!
I agree with Hanuman & sarkasmalaya - why saddle and spoil a well-run company (who lest we forget, has contributed and hopefully will continue to contribute, so much to the country) with political interference? Think we could all concur that the company is doing well, and is a major contributor to the country's economy and government's revenue too - and this would not be possible if we do not have people who values integrity (with no political self-serving agenda) involved in its management. Politics should stay where it should be, strictly in the political arena.
As sarkasmalaya so rightly pointed out, perhaps Omar Ong would be better suited in one of the poor performing GLCs, where his consultancy skills would may be come in handy in turning around these companies.
Should petronas go down the drain, who/ what could we turn to, to champion our country and prove that we could do as well as other major international corporations? Who could we hope for to support our nation's economic survival?
Let the people who knows the business well do their job, as they've proven all these while that they DO know what they're doing despite not winning any CEO of the year award etc...
TFJ
Omar Ong does not have the relevant qualifications to become the Director and possibly later the President of Petronas.
In any oil company, the sucession plan is already in place although many does not made it explicit.
In BP, when Lord Browne had to resign due to allegations by his ‘toy boy’, Tony Hayward was swiftly appointed to his place. Prior to his appointment, Tony was the head honcho of BP’s upstream operations and has been working with BP for more than 25 years.
Similarly in Exxon, when Lee Raymond retired, he was replaced by Rex Tillerson, who was then Exxon’s No. 1 man for its E&P operations. Rex, had more than 30 years experience in the E&P industry.
I can quote many other examples – TOTAL, Conoco Phillips etc, but I think many of you have already absorbed the gist of my reasoning, that, to be a Director and possibly an heir apparent of one of the Top 10 oil companies in the world, one needs more that a PPE degree from Oxford.
Thus I’m puzzled and disturbed by the decision to appoint a 38 year old executive who had no relevant experience in the petroleum sector to be a Director of Petronas.
They are many other Malaysians who are more than qualified to hold the post, namely, Tan Sri Megat Zaharuddin (ex- Shell upstream director), Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz, Tan Sri Mohd Nor Yusof (ex-Mas & SC), Tan Sri Nik Mohamed Nik Yaccob (ex-Sime) & Tan Sri Ahmad Mohd Don (ex-Bank Negara).
Even ex-politicians such as Tan Sri Sanusi Junid and Dato’ Seri Syed Hamid Albar could also be considered.
I hope this appointment is not a fait accompli and the Prime Minister would re-consider this decision.
We do not want Petronas to end up like another Pertamina.
Salam all,
I was browsing this bloody ethos-mythos' website and found out 1. that Omar Mustapha:
Omar co-founded Ethos in 2002 after working at the global strategy firm McKinsey & Co in London and Kuala Lumpur. He joined government for two years in 2004 as Special Officer to Deputy Prime Minister Dato’ Sri Najib Tun Razak where he focused economic, corporate and foreign policy issues. Prior to his consulting career, he worked in the energy and ICT sectors – he was as a corporate planner with Petronas and a member of the pioneer management team at the Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC). He is a founding committee member of the Young Muslim Leaders Network of the World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF), a former Director General of the Pacific Basin Economic Council (PBEC) and senior staffer to the Malaysia APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC). He graduated with a BA/ MA in Politics, Philosophy and Economics (PPE) from Oxford.
"Economic", CORPORATE, &, "singapore" POLICY Issues - I Can See Clearly NOW Najib's STUPIDITY & HASTINESS in ALL of his guilty conscience "decisions"!! Astaghfirullahal'azhim.
All WITHIN his FIRST 8 weeks which is expiring THIS Friday!! Apa lagi dia Nak CEPAT2 UNscrew???2. their website sikit2 KPI, "Based on our experience working with Malaysian companies, we find that many of them have in fact, implemented KPIs in the past, however, they have not been able to see tangible business results".
3. Also, "National Auto Policy
Ethos advised the Malaysian Government in developing a National Automotive Policy (NAP) launched in Marche 2006"
4. And like Sime Darby, etc... USING KPI again & again as their "Weapon/Tool", To "JUSTIFY" Whatever.Corporate Strategy Review and KPI Design and Implementation
A large, listed plantations group (~ RM 4 billion revenue) was challenged with strengthening the execution of its strategy to venture into new, higher value add segments in the edible oils value chain
Ethos’s Contributions:
- Reviewed the Strategy for the company’s key businesses, identified gaps and validated the Strategic Thrusts in moving forward
- Conducted a Strategy Mapping exercise, that clarified the cause-and-effect relationships (customer value proposition, process improvements, and capabilities) required to execute the Strategy
- Identified key areas that needed to be strengthened (including information systems, talent management and key processes)
- Developed Strategy-aligned KPIs for the Group Chief Executive and Heads of Divisions
- Benchmarked the targets for KPIs against best practices
- Benchmarked senior management compensation against other edible oils, consumer goods and plantations companies
- Designed a performance-linked compensation model
- Developed business performance management and employee performance management framework for the KPIs to be internalised
- Developed implementation plan and timelines for the cascading down of Senior Management KPIs to executives group-wide
- Facilitated workshops and conducted training to build internal capability to sustain the new performance management model
HAHA!!.. & Najib kunun applying "KPI" is just something that ethos-menthos MOST Definitely SUGGESTED to him!And so did the other stuffs which were simply to satisfy non-natives/non-Bumis and non-Malaysians (Kiasu singaporkeans); I bet all came from them!
And again, TAMBAK JOHOR opened up ALL Malaysians' tired eyes!!! WALLAHU'ALAM. Na'udzubillah.
God Save Malaysia. May HIDAYAHs are showered upon UMNO & ALL Melayu (of course ISLAM) yang IKHLAS demi Negara (NOT like anwar/nizar-puppet/husam-type), so that the great, honest & responsible Tun Hj. Abdul Razak is not "Turning dizzy" in his grave; WAllahu'alam. So, help us god... Amin ya Rabb.
ABITW,
1. Suppose for a moment you are related to this Omar Ong fella. Just as you point out that both Khairy and Omar Ong were from Oxford (and therefore providing irrefutable and conclusive evidence that they are lifelong partners in crime), does this mean you are also guilty by association? Surely you too must be in cahoots with them? How do we know if you have not gained from your family relations, no matter how distant they may be? Blood must be thicker than water, or in this case, thicker than a common scroll of paper? You see my point?
2. And this linkage to the infamous 4th Floor – what exactly is the issue – guilty by association again? Did the 4th Floor boys commit criminal acts or simply give unsound advice? If they broke the law, for God’s sake, please investigate, charge and hang them! If they gave bad advice, shouldn’t the blame lie squarely with Pak Lah for listening to them? After all as Prime Minister he was accountable to the Rakyat. Which is which now? To equate Omar Ong with the power of the 4th Floor is to say that Najib is as intellectually challenged, gullible and incompetent as his predecessor.
3. I fail to understand this: if Omar Ong was good enough to be hired by McKinsey, and later, entrepreneurial enough to start his own firm, why is he not good enough to join the Petronas board? After all, he was a Petronas scholar and served in Petronas for a few years in the mid 90s (in Corporate Planning and was later posted to Vietnam on international assignment). I was told when Omar Ong was in McKinsey, he worked with energy clients in Europe and the Middle East. Isn’t all this relevant experience, or is there some other criteria for board membership that Omar Ong does not meet?
4. Isn’t it true that the President of Petronas answers only to the PM, and not even to the Board? It is widely known that Ministers and even the Minister in PM’s Department (who is supposed to oversee Petronas), have always made noise that the Petronas President hardly ever acknowledges them but deals direct with the PM. It has been like this since the days of the late Tan Sri Azizan. Do you expect this to change with one non-executive appointment to the Board? Will be board suddenly become relevant again, led by the all powerful Omar Ong? It would be interesting to see Najib giving up this exclusive power by making Petronas actually accountable to the board. Yeah, when pigs fly.
5. Some have argued Petronas should be shielded from political meddling as the prized asset of the country. Shouldn’t we then be demanding that Petronas becomes accountable to Parliament rather than argue over who should or should not be on the board? In any case, let us not forget that UMNO has always been represented on the Petronas board until recently. No less than the former UMNO Legal Adviser until he stepped down to join the bench. Bet you didn’t realise that huh? Should we reject Omar Ong because he’s not an UMNO member then? Not to worry, the way to solve this is for Najib to appoint one of the recently dropped UMNO Ministers as the new Petronas Chairman. Mike Tyson, Rafidah Aziz, Syed Hamid – take your pick. They are all UMNO loyalists who have served the country with dedication since even before Omar Ong was born.
6. The other argument has been that Omar Ong is a businessman and should therefore not be on the board. This is such a simplistic view of the corporate world. If one cares to examine the Fortune 500, independent directors of boards often are made up of people who are active in industry and business, and professionals e.g. lawyers, accountants, consultants. There are established ways and mechanisms to deal with potential conflicts e.g. disclosure of related party transactions, abstaining from commercial decisions where a particular board member may have an interest, etc. This is precisely why in the past, people like the late Tan Sri Bashir and Tan Sri Ananda Krishnan could sit on the Petronas board even though they were not only businessmen, but were actively doing business with Petronas!
7. So in Omar Ong's case, the relevant question to ask is whether his firm Ethos – has any dealings with Petronas, and if so, are there mechanisms in place at the board level, to ensure he does not participate in any decision involving his company. I have no reason to doubt that Petronas as a world class company will have world class corporate governance mechanisms. To argue that Omar Ong should not be on the board because he makes a living somewhere else, is simply absurd!
8. Maybe in the end, there’s a simpler, less sinister explanation for all this attention with Omar Ong’s appointment. It has something to do with what happens when you have a lot of a particular species of crabs in one basket, and one of them tries to climb out. The rest will instinctively try to pull that lone crab down. Sounds familiar?
Ethos must really be good, to go from KPI-crazy company to being a website developer (do a check with Mynic). Point is, why is Ethos awarded the web development project of the Prime Minister of Malaysia? Normally, as I know, things that are of high importance to the nation is tendered. Jawapan mudah nya, ialah because Omar proposed it to Najib. Of course their relation is good, personal assistant la kata kan.
I'm not going to mention too much about Omar, all has been said in this blog. The thing is, it is so damn obvious that Najib is still listening to Omar and his crazy-nation-destruction theoretical plans. If Najib continues this behaviour, it'll be Pak Lah era all over again. This country is very small. Words get around very easily, sorok lah macam mana pon, we'll know.
Najib must show that he listens to people who know and have done what was good for the country. Since Pak Lah came and went, Malaysia almost dropped out from the world economic map. Its going to be a tough climb back. It will be even more difficult now that the opposition is getting bolder. It will be almost impossible if national development is sourced out to some one-man show company like Ethos.
Najib must start with a clean slate. Don't worry, we will know if the slate is not clean. Its a small country.
And as for Omar (can't resist it), he was never an entrepreneur. He was once given a position to head a company, and he drove it to the ground. Real entrepreneurs don't depend on political connections. Real entrepreneurs do it their way, all the way.
Well Done Omar !!! We are proud of you.
BobbyNZ
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