Sunday, October 06, 2013

O Mama! Obama! How does your garden grow?

With Silver Bells, And Cockle Shells, 
Sing cuckolds all in a row.
It is just our cynical expression to the overzealous attitude of some slavedriver high above to push the whole civil service to do a great reception to receive US President Barrack Obama for his visit to Malaysia but was announced cancelled due to their budgetary restriction. To understand the nursery rhyme, read Wikipedia here.

Some psychoptic dude drove the whole civil service to forget about the transformational plan at work,  annual budget preparation for 2014 (Realise hardly much discussion and dialouges heard?), Aditor general report fuzz, and KIV everything else to focus at receiving Obama.  

At one time, we almost signed TPPA secretly to please Obama. Yet this man is leading a government that can't afford to pay their bills without borrowing more money.

And we want to and giving him a platform to talk? To give us inspiration for his calmness on the verge of bankruptcy?


The government seems to be in a hysteria that no cost is spared to please Obama and listen to him dream selling of pot of gold at the end of the rainbow and preaching how great his ideas in leading a country living on triple deficit for half a century!

The government actually organised a so-called seminar for entrepreneur as the event for Obama to speak. The cost itself is heard to reach as much as RM25 million. Participants are brought in from abroad but not sure how many Malaysian will get to particpate.

This is not talking about the cost of other compulsory for official state visits and other side events.

That is no. 60 for our government wastage list (read here) that saved rakyat the suffering of price increase arising from subsidy rationalisation.


The event is called 4th Global Entrepreneurship Summit 2013 (GES 2013).

Maybe it is relevant to send TERAJU CEO to learn a bit or two about entrepreneurship other than what the textbook say about good entrepreneurs have audited accounts.

According the event website fact sheet here, GES 2013 is "a platform to facilitate the exchange of views and ideas between global business leaders and entrepreneurs and strengthen alliances among entrepreneurs around the world.

The GES is a follow - through on President Barack Obama's emphasis on entrepreneurship as a pillar of U.S. global engagement, underscoring the importance of entrepreneurship as one of the most powerful ways for individuals to improve their own economic circumstances, and in turn, their lives.


The first GES was held in Washington D.C. in 2010 and has since been held in Istanbul, Turkey in 2011 and Dubai, United Arab Emirates in 2012. The Summit is now in its 4th Year and will be held in Kuala Lumpur, the first time it is being held in East Asia."

There is no issue there. Anything to promote entrepreneurship and benefit the nation is good but is it really beneficial?

The organiser claim there will be 100 speakers talking to give insights and view of entrepreneurship. [Read here.] Among the notable ones are Prof Chan Kim, author of Blue Ocean Strategy, Richard Barton, founder of Expedia, Don Tapscott, author of Wikinomics, and Joel Barker, author of Future Edge and Five Regions of the Future.

Why are the Malaysians talking only government officials? Why only Job Street talking?

This is the time to showcase Malaysian entrepreneur to Obama ma...
 


Heard Larry Farrell  of The Farrell www.TheSpiritOfEnterprise.com is supposed to come and he is willing to come without fee but the event organiser botch it up with their inflexibility.

The manner they treated him is shocking and rude.

With 30 years in researching and teaching entrepreneurship, Farrell is much more prominent that any of the other speakers in the field and have taught more than 5 million students worldwide!

It shows the event manager do not know much about the field of entrepreneurship. We happen to subscribe to several American entrepreneurship foundation portals. 


Wait the minute, did we say it is the event manager that decided to cancell Farrell?
 
The organiser is Ministry of Finance, the Prime Minister's Ministry. It means the Prime Minister's officers and staff are not the one making decision on the event.

This is a national official event but government officials are being dictated by the event manager who require that government officials make submission to them for their approvals.

It is the event manager that make decision on speakers, venue, logistics, involvement of students, etc. Otherwise no payment is assured for any arrangement made by government officials. Yet government is the paymaster and these decisions need to adhere to government circulars, requirement and bureaucrasy.

Powerful as they seem to be, but everything done by the event manger is tentative without any confirmation, minutes of meeting, and any verbal and phone discussion was not followed up by written e-mails or letters. 

So unprofessional... we've done event management but never did we ever dream of doing such ridiculous things like this. What more for a major international event?

MOF had decided to show the via satellite many months ago but to execute, government official is subjected to event manager's scrutiny and approval.


It turned out there is an instruction by the event manager to not allow the broadcasting of an invited speaker by the name of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed's speech via satellites.

Are we back to the days of Kalimullah again?

Government organised hundreds of events with universities and world agencies and bodies, including  international events every year but never have they experienced such a confusing, chaotic and unprofessional way of managing this GES. 

Something is really funny here. It seems MOF had paid advances to the event manager but budgeted money to be spent for the event have not reached the government officials involved.

The profit making entity gets the money first but government get no money to spend. That is a new concept!

Does it mean the PM as paymaster cannot decide but need prior approval from the event manager before committing to any statement or position?


It can't be someone psychotic and overly smitten by Obama doing this railroading of government officials and empowering the paid event manager. Hmmm ... or could it be Ethos Consulting or related subsidiaries have interest in the event manager?

Only Omar Ong can be so insidiously intrusive and rude.

There are inefficiencies, leakages and sabotages in and on the government. 

However, it should enter someone thick skull that it is the government officials that is responsible to ensure and protect the good image of the Government and the country. Let them do their job and if they fail, we screw them in the media, parliament, online and audit report. So lay off!

Be mindful of the fact that government have established set procedures for organising of events so the event manager should adhere and not be so arrogant.


This is absolutely ridiculous ...

No wonder these days government servants are dissatisfied and big complainers. One can expect much dissatisfaction by government representatives, be it the Ministries and government agencies with such treatment and unprofessional conduct. The opportunistic ones gets fed-up and just want to feather their nest by taking bribes and kickbacks.

In the course to welcome Obama, it is heard that US officials are inside many of the organising meetings and in typical orang putih bureaucrat fashion throwing the names of White House officials and they are "pleased", "agreeable" and blah blah padded words.  

Why no one complained on their continued presence really beats us?

Upon digging up, we were told that the Director of Event is someone by the name of Aldia Lai. The event manager is AOS Conventions and Events (AOSCE).


Wonder if the smitten one made her equally cocky and inflexible.

Syed Akbar and Husin Lempoyang wrote that the smitten one almost cried when Obama cancelled. His career must have depended on it.

In the process of trying hard to please the US, ever thought the country we are trying so hard to please is on the verge of bankruptcy and can't even pay the salary of their state park workers.

And we want to hear and be inspired by him?

Chinese President Xi Jinping came without much fanfare but he has more value to our economy than that bankrupt country of Obama. Read here. China is not in the TPPA roundtable and US do not want them.

Aren't we looking foolish?

Thank gawd we did not seriously wanted to sign the TPPA for Obama's visit. Maybe that is why he did not come.

Kesian O! Smitten ones.

6 comments:

IT.Scheiss said...

During my 19 years writing about the ICT industry, one of the most psychologically torturous tasks was to cover these "entrepreneurial," and "technopreneurial" events where speaker after speaker would fart through their mouths on stage and I had to report on them "he said that..." "she said this...." etc.

It's sickening how slavish the Malaysian government is to these foreign speakers and how keen the Malaysian government is so keen to brown nose President Obama by making Malaysian civil servants concentrate on welcoming this "hero,' "celebrity," etc from the U.S. They just went from being anglophiles in the past to americophiles today.

Singapore is no different. Back in 1981, Prof. Ezra Vogen, author of Japan as No 1. Lessons for America visited Singapore to launch his book there and the Singapore government made it required reading for senior civil servants there. Now I have no issue with Prof. Vogel's ideas or his book and as Singapore wanted to emulate Japan's success, Prof. Vogel's book was a useful resource.

However, Singapore TV and newspapers covered the book launch well and what sickened me was how then Singapore President C.V. Devan Niar was running after Prof. Vogel to get his copy of the book autographed by him. What kind of decorum is that for a president of a country.

Anonymous said...

Well, for a nation that's hovering on the verge of default (and that's different from bankruptcy), the US still carries a pretty big stick.

And the current lovefest with China notwithstanding, the region's leaders are a pretty canny lot.

So they "balance" their ties with the US and China.

And they are not about to tell Obama, Kerry, Hagel etc to go take a running jump in the lake.

Unlike what the dawg seemingly wants to do!

Anonymous said...

POM office only recognized power point presentations made by graduates from wharton & sloane business school

IT.Scheiss said...

This rather long article provides some insights as to why Obama has decided to stay at home. Basically, a popular revolt is building up, which could lead to an American Spring.

"The winds of change are blowing across America. The following events, detailed below, mark a dramatic shift in the relationship between the federal government and the people not of the federal government. We are at a definitive crossroads in history and I can scarcely believe what I am witnessing.

After reading the following accounts which have transpired in the past few days, it will become clear to the reader that we are moving into times of unprecedented change. These changes are promising and exciting, yet are very frightening."

http://thecommonsenseshow.com/2013/10/06/america-is-rapidly-approaching-its-date-with-destiny/

Kg Oren said...

I always made a joke to friends that if i just select one homeless guy in the US, shave his beard trim his hair give him a pair of nice suit n shoes, a briefcase might be then ask him to speak in front or audience full of Malaysians, he might even able to sell belacan to us. Thats how taksub we were with mat salleh. Walhal, these mat salleh actually pun byk temberang je n very calculative in terms of working hours.

Anonymous said...

Sir, here is the red-hot headline on the TPPA which is now confirmed as 100% inspired by Singapore to kill the Malays, the UMNO, the non-Malays, the Malaysian Democracy with the Royal Sultanated. Today's Star 9th October 2013 Page 4 Column 4 Para 2 quote " The TPP proposed by Singapore,Brunei,Chile and New Zealand in 2005 gained a strong momentum after the United States gave support three years later." This confirms without doubt that the TPPA is a creation of some devious mind in Singapore to finish off the Malays, the UMNO, the non-Malays, the Malaysian Democracy and the Royal Sultanates and our unique life-style to save the failed legacy of the brilliant Lee Kuan Yew with his 10 failed Policies for Singapore.THIS IS THE DEATH WARRANT FOR OUR BELOVED MALAYSIA AS WE KNOW IT AND A NEW BIRTH CERTIFICATE FOR THE BORN AGAIN SINGAPORE AT OUR EXPENSE ! How ? By signing the TPPA and permit the free entry of manufactured goods into the Malaysian market, all Bumiputra and non-Bumiputra businesses will shut-down affecting the middle income groups which support UMNO. Unemployment shoots up UMNO loses the 14th General Elections. We will be enslaved to import manufactured goods from other countries forever. The efforts of UMNO to build up 750,000 Bumiputra businesses are wiped out overnight because of the imports from Singapore. Amongst the 12 countries only Singapore is the one with the MOTIVE and the sole beneficiary.
The Second Confirmation of Singapore's Intent. Channelnewsasia. 7 October 2013. TITLE. US must stay engaged in region. PM Lee. His Excellency the Prime Minister of Singapore said in front of the President of China......'China cannot be the only story in Asia.' Straight from the horse's mouth that Singapore wants the US to engage via the TPPA at our expense IF WE SIGN THIS DEATH WARRANT FOR OUR BELOVED MALAYSIA AND A NEW BIRTH CERTIFICATE FOR THE BORN AGAIN SINGAPORE. As we Malaysian say, "We die standing!"
All Rakyat must ask the Government who is the sole beneficiary, SINGAPORE ?

My Say