Congratulations Datuk Shamsul Azhar Abbas, Happy Retirement Tan Sri Hassan

It's out now, officially.

The news that we have been waiting for, especially amongst Petronas staff and oil & gas industry analysts.

Datuk Shamsul Azhar Abbas (image, top), 57, the former Managing Director & CEO of MISC Berhad, has been appointed the new President & CEO of Petronas as well as Acting Chairman of the national oil corporation, succeeding incumbent Tan Sri Mohd Hassan Marican (image, down) whose contract expires on 9 February 2010.

Datuk Shamsul's appointment will take effect on 10 February 2010.

Alhamdulillah, it looks like Tan Sri Hassan is leaving the company in good hands. Datuk Shamsul is a Petronas man and has served the national oil corporation since 1974, in various capacities and key positions including that of Vice President of Oil Business, Vice President Petrochemicals, Vice President Exploration (Upstream) and Vice President Maritime and Logistics. He then went on to become the Managing Director & CEO of MISC Berhad which is also a subsidiary of Petronas, from 2004 to 2009.

I know a lot of Petronas staff will be sad to see Tan Sri Hassan leave. Me included. But I am happy for Tan Sri. He can now retire in glory after doing the country a great service for 21 years since he first joined the company in 1989.

Like what Petronas advisor and former PM Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said "No matter how good you are, there will be a time when you need to leave." That statement was made by the old man a couple of weeks ago, when he was asked about speculation on Tan Sri Hassan's future in view of his contract expiring. Perhaps the old man already knew what was coming.

Bottomline, we have to learn to let go.

It would be too long for me to list down Tan Sri Hassan's achievements as the numero uno of Petronas. It does not have to be justified - everyone knows he did an excellent job. He continued the legacy of the late Tan Sri Azizan Zainul Abidin whom he suceeded and transformed Petronas into what it is today - the only Malaysian company in the Fortune 500 list and one of the strongest and most respectable national oil companies in the world, at par with the supermajors the likes of ExxonMobil, Shell and BP. Petronas indeed under Tan Sri Hassan's stewardship, has been inducted into the big boys league of the oil & gas supermajors.

It is something that we should be proud of despite Petronas being the subject of public bashing and finding itself dangerously close to be thrown into political quagmire of late.

To Datuk Shamsul, welcome aboard sir. May you continue the legacies of the late Tan Sri Azizan and of Tan Sri Hassan.

May the force be with you....

The Months That Was.....

Okay, okay, it has been ridiculously long since I last updated this very, very dusty blog.

In fact, why do I even bother. Who reads my blog anyway?

But then again, that's the actual purpose of a blog. Blog originated from the word weblog, your personal online diary in cyberspace, which is only meant for your eyes only or for people you wish to share with by giving them the URL.

Whatever it is, the break from writing was a cross between intentional and unintentional.

Honestly, (here I go again), I was buried with work. Hahahahaha! The overstatement of the year, which coincidently, is coming to an end in less than 48 hours.

My God, we are ushering in 2010! How time flies (again, an overused expression.)

Where were we? Ah yes, work. You see, I was promoted and transferred to a subsidiary of my company on 1 October 2009, so its been close to 3 months now. As the Head of Department, my responsibility is heavier and job scope is broader by leaps and bounds. Expectation from management is also high. Don't even ask about how I am managing the stress level ever since taking up this new appointment.

But hey, I'm not complaining. I call it progress. I got a promotion which means I get a handsome salary increment (as soon as I pass the higher job grade assessment in April). I got a bigger cubicle now (which is one step away from a proper room if I get one more level of promotion in the next few years) and I have cool colleagues in the department. Well, subordinates actually but I prefer to see them as colleagues (because I am the new generation managers - cool, dynamic and think out of the box, chewah).

The first month (October) was hell. I had to travel a lot and I hardly saw my wife and kids. My new position required me to constantly travel to Kertih, Terengganu and Segamat, Johor as the subsidiary's core operations were located there. October is the worst month to transfer in my company because it is halfway through the fiscal year. That is the time when everyone is busy finalising their departmental and divisional budgets for the next fiscal year and also busy with the dreaded mid-year performance review. On top of that, my department was at the tail-end of a major audit exercise and although the audit period and scope covered a duration well before my time, I was pretty much involved, by virtue of me being the new Head. Let's just say I was unfortunate enough to "inherit" some problems left by my predecessors and them tight-fisted auditors just didn't care or symphatised with me. On top of that, my immediate superior was also new and eager to be up to speed with the current operations of my department which was parked under the division of which he is the head. So, it was a whirlwind first month for me and I tell you, the learning curve was so steep, I felt like crying at times.

If October was hell, November was hell deluxe! Just as I was about to settle down and thought that my travelling schedule has finally stabilised, I was slapped with a major and urgent assignment. It was like my cheek being pushed to the side of an express train! I was instructed by management to handle a ground-breaking ceremony in Sabah for a major project undertaken by the subsidiary which was a joint-venture with a state government-owned entity. And we had less than 3 weeks to pull the whole thing off! Hence I was zig-zagging to and fro Kota Kinabalu as if I had a second wife over there for most of November until the event itself which was on the 26th of November, one day before Hari Raya Haji! It was a miracle me and my team managed to get a flight back to KL on the night itself to enable us to be home in time for Hari Raya Haji. The event went well and I was thankful it was done and over with. For that, I thank my team for a job well done (you know who you are, I don't mention names in my blog).

And finally, December, ah yes, good old December, I would say was the best month since I joined my new outfit. I attended a forum for managers of the company in Kertih (at my favourite hotel Awana Kijal of course which was really a well-deserved retreat) and also presented two major papers to members of the subsidiary's management committee at their monthly meeting held in Kuantan (that was a two-hour ordeal which I thought would never end). I also spent one week alone in KL as my wife and kids went back to Johor Bahru to spend time with my mom-in-law. I really bonded with my house, hehehehe. Accomplished lots of things when I was alone - installed a new ceiling fan in the master bedroom (the old one had its sensor stuck as the slowest speed), cleaned the bathrooms, mopped the floor, vacuumed the carpets, serviced both my car and my wife's car and watched lots and lots of tv. Oh, I also made arrangements for a short vacation to Phuket, Thailand which I'm taking in mid-January 2010. Yeahoo!!!! (This is a solo vacation and my wife is cool about it.) I'm so excited about this trip that I've read two travel books on the exotic island and have mapped out my itinerary for the four days I'm there.

So, there, that's what happened in the past 3 months during which I abstained from writing. I'm going to start writing again, in this blog, in Facebook and also in NST where I'm a regular contributor to the Letters To The Editors section. I have a lot to say actually on current affairs but like I said, I just didn't have the time. I'm certainly going to try and the fact that I wrote this post is already, yes you said it - progress.

So here's to 2009 which has been a great year (for me and my family at least) and let's usher in 2010 with hopes and prayers that it will be better - financially and emotionally.....

p. s. Arsenal is doing so well in the English Premier League! I'm so happy!!

1Malaysia F1 Team - Another Minardi In The Pipeline??

We like to throw away money to satisfy our "Malaysia Boleh" ambitions, money that we don't have actually.

Last time it was the astronaut programme and what do we get? Nothing.

And yesterday, the powers that be has announced that we are competing in F1 next season with a full Malaysian team known as 1Malaysia F1 Team.

Okay, okay, before we get too excited, let's do some homework first before you offer your two cents worth at your local mamak joint.

This is actually the former Lotus F1 team, which once upon a time did compete in F1, between 1957 to 1994. By virtue of the British outfit being owned by Proton, our national car manufacturer, it becomes Malaysia's F1 team by default. That is quite normal for us Malaysians - piggybacking is the name of the game.

Anyway, Lotus F1 was a great team. During that era, Lotus cars were driven to no fewer than six drivers’ world titles by drivers like Jim Clark, Emerson Fittipaldi, Graham Hill, Jochen Rindt, and Mario Andretti. The cars included the type 25, the first monocoque F1 machine; the type 49, which used the engine as a stressed member of the chassis for the first time; and the beautiful, ground effects type 79.

After Andretti’s 1978 title, the team slowly faded away, despite employing the likes of three-time champion Nelson Piquet and Ayrton Senna, although that was before he won his three world titles. Financial problems began to plague the great British car manufacturer and this has hampered anymore hopes of its motorsports division from progressing any further.

Enter the 90s and to everyone's surprise, Malaysia's national car maker Proton decided to make a bold move by bailing out the ailing Lotus. The move was spearheaded by the late Tan Sri Yahya Ahmad, the CEO of Proton then where the national car maker acquired a controlling 63.75% stake in Lotus.

I actually had the privilige of visiting Lotus' facilities in Hethel, Norwich, 300 km north east of London when I was a journalist way back in 2000. It was a trip organised by Proton, in conjunction with the then Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's visit there.

Now, back to the present - the 1Malaysia F1 Team.

The new organization is backed by a consortium of Malaysian entrepreneurs and of course the Malaysian government.

The car will use a Cosworth control engine—which will also power the cars of several other new teams, among them the USF1 outfit—and will be headed by Mike Gascoyne, the mercurial engineer who has worked for the likes of Benetton, Toyota, and most recently, Force India. Gascoyne is a star designer, but is notoriously difficult to get along with, so it will be interesting to see how he copes with other Alpha males in the consortium, primarily Tony Fernandes, the head of Air Asia.

Let's get real here. Honestly, we are being too ambitious. The powers that be when making the announcing yesterday said that the team will be based in hot and humid Sepang where the cars will be designed, manufactured and tested there. "Made in Malaysia and by Malaysians". Even the 200-member technical and pit-stop crew will be an all Malaysian outfit managed by Gascoyne. Wow!

I’d be surprised if the new 1Malaysia F1 Team can scale the heights that Colin Chapman’s outfit managed. For one, Chapman was a maverick who pioneered technologies in racing. The new F1 seems to be hell bent on becoming a spec formula, with the emphasis on parity rather than innovation. Second, while Cosworth will no doubt produce a decent engine, the likes of Mercedes and Ferrari will spend inordinate amounts of cash to gain a few horsepower over their opposition. And finally, while Gascoyne is a brilliant talent, he hasn’t exactly stayed in any one place for long enough to suggest that he’s in it for the long run.

Having said that, remember the Australian Paul Stoddart who owned the now defunct Minardi F1 Team? He conned the Malaysian government big time in the early 2000s to back his financially troubled team. As a result of direct endorsement by the powers that be at that time, he managed to rope in several Malaysian companies such as Magnum 4D, PC Suria and Asiatech to come in as sponsors, renaming the team Go-KL Minardi F1 Team featuring Australian driver Mark Webber and our very own Alex Yoong. I don't think I have to mention what happened to the team after that. Didn't even complete one season.

And at the same time, Petronas was faring much better with the Sauber-Petronas F1 team. Now that's the thing with Petronas. The national oil company had a fool-proof plan when it entered the F1 foray in the mid 90s. It was mainly for fast-track branding, transfer of technology and also a platform to test its lubricants. Petronas did the job well and they progressed from Sauber-Petronas to the BMW-Sauber F1 Team as premium partners. Very, very focused and they knew well enough to let the specialists do the job. "We pump in money, you do what you do best." Something like that. It's a pity that BMW is pulling out from F1 next season. But I guess it is a beautiful ending because if I'm not mistaken, Petronas' partnership with BMW-Saubers ends this season. Just nice.

But I foresee the 1Malaysia F1 Team as being a PR stunt by the usual suspects. Perhaps they feel it's their turn now to bask in glory, to enjoy what Petronas has enjoyed for the past 15 years or so.

As a Malaysian, I wish the team all the best. But I have this nagging feeling that a repeat of Minardi is bound to happen.

But still, I am willing to give this one the benefit of the doubt, furthermore Proton was kind enough to give me the opportunity to travel to England to see first hand how Lotus develops and manufacture cars.

If the team fails, I will be among the first to say this : "Told you so....."

Moving On

As I signed in for work today, I realised that I'm down to my last 20 days at my current department in my company.

If all goes well, kalau tiada aral melintang, I will take up my new position at a subsidiary of my company on 1 October 2009.

I look forward to it of course because it's going to be a whole new adventure for me. But I am well aware that being promoted means greater responsibilities, broader job scopes and a significant escalation of key performance indicators (KPIs). Furthermore, the subsidiary where I'm going is public-listed, on the main board of the stock exchange, and as the new head of public affairs there, I know there are bound to be headaches in managing the company's shareholders and stakeholders. Nonetheless, I welcome the challenge. And I know I have a capable team over there.

Anyway, I will miss my current department. I've been there for more than 4 years now, since day one of me joining the company. I have cool colleagues and cool bosses - there is one Senior Manager and two Managers in my current department. I report directly to one of the Managers and of course to the SM as well.

Honestly, I would have prefered to be promoted within the department because I think I'm pretty good at what I do there. But you can't have it all. There are no more managerial positions in the department. That is why I have to leave in order for me to be promoted to Manager. If I could be promoted where I am now, it would have been perfect. It is like a couple being madly in love with each other for years and they finally decide to tie the knot because they know they are perfect for each other. Something like that.

But like I said, you can't have it all. Hence, I will have to move out, for the sake of career progression opportunity. It is normal, people go through it all the time. My father was a government officer for 32 years and he moved around a lot as he climbed the ranks until his retirement in 2001. So, yeah, in my case, it is a small price to pay. Furthermore, it's not like I'm being transferred out of KL to some far flung corner of the country. I'll just be moving 17 floors down from where I am now.

I am thankful to Allah s.w.t. for this promotion. Ini rezeki anak-anak. My prayers have been answered. Last year, when I missed the round of promotions within my division, I was quite down. Not that I expected to be promoted but more of frustration because I think I worked hard, I think I possessed leadership qualities and I think I delivered my KPIs. But then again, everyone else would claim they deserve promotion. It is very subjective and it is not surprising that every now and then, it could create unhappiness especially among those who missed the boat.

That is why it's best that I leave if that is the price I have to pay to go one notch higher in the corporate ladder. I am thankful because at 36 and as an average joe, I think I have accomplished quite an achievement. I know there are a lot of people here in my company who would only get managerial position way into their 40s, sometimes even close to retirement.

Of course there are the super elite bunch known as the High Potential Staff (HPS). These are the creme de la creme of the company - brilliant, articulate, dynamic and exceeds all requirements. These people can become Senior Managers, General Managers or even Senior General Managers as early as 33! I can't compete with these people. I'm way out of their league.

So there. I am going.

To my bosses and colleagues at my current department - thank you so much for bearing with me for the past few years. I am sorry for any shortcomings, for any acts which could be deemed as incompetent, for offending any of you in any way. I am only human and God knows, I gave my best to the department.

See you around.

French Spiderman : Unfair To Just Blame Petronas Security Personnel

As someone who works at the Petronas Twin Towers for some years now, I beg to differ on the media's and public's blatant accusation that security at the headquarters of the national oil company is loose.

First and foremost, I noticed many newspapers refered the security personnel at the towers as security guards. They are not your normal “pak guards”, okay? The Petronas Twin Towers are guarded by the highly-trained Petronas Auxiliary Police and I can vouch in any court of law that these fine men and women are highly competent. After all, they were all trained by the Royal Malaysian Police.

Those who have been to the towers would appreciate this. To enter the towers, either Tower 1 or Tower 2, a visitor would have to go through stringent security screening, from the reception counter to obtain their visitors’ pass, through the metal detectors and further subjected to body search if necessary. Visitors are only allowed up to a certain level only for meetings and if the visitor needs to go to the higher levels, he or she must be escorted. The same security procedures applies to tourists for the Skybridge Visit. Tourists are only allowed up to Level 41 of the Skybridge.

Alain Roberts aka the French Spiderman did not enter the towers. He scaled the towers from the exterior, at 6.00 am when it was still dark. And this was his third attempt. Doesn’t his first two failed attempts in 1997 and 2007 count? Who managed to foil his first two attempts, was it not the Petronas Auxiliary Police?

We are being the typical ill-informed finger-pointing Malaysian. It is so easy to accuse without doing your homework. What about the Immigration Department? Why didn’t the media question their incompetence in detecting Roberts when he entered the country? Are we not going to question the French Embassy as well, who were well aware of Roberts’ presence in Kuala Lumpur days before he conquered the Petronas Twin Towers? And what about the irresponsible foreign media who knew all along what he was up to?

We should also bear in mind that this man has also successfully eluded security at other high-profile highly sensitive buildings including the Empire State Building in New York, Sears Towers in Chicago, Jinmao Tower in Shanghai, Sydney Tower and the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. He managed to bypass security but was always apprehended in the process. He was apprehended twice by the Petronas Auxiliary Police before this, so please cut Petronas’ finest some slack here.

It has happened and I’m sure Petronas is not amused. However, many Malaysians are amused, in fact excited about it. Yes, it is free publicity yet again for the Petronas Twin Towers but the damage has been done.

Perhaps Petronas should cease operations of the Skybridge Visit for tourists too. Shut out the towers totally from outsiders. Perhaps that would satisfy these critics. I’m pretty sure the Petronas Auxiliary Police can turn the towers into a fortress like Fort Knox in Kentucky if they want to.

But is that what we really want?

At 36...

Today I am 36 years old.

Not getting any younger and definitely one day closer to death.

Let's see now, what have I achieved so far.

I graduated with an honours degree from a reputable institution of higher learning 12 years ago.

I got married 10 years ago and still married to the same woman.

I got two bright and lovely daughters aged 8 and 5.

I am driving my dream car (the one which I've always wanted since varsity days), in fact its brand tagline is The Power of Dreams.

I am living in my own double-storey terrace house in a nice residential area, 15 minutes away from where I work and 5 minutes away from my parent's.

I have a small apartment which I rent out, making me a lord, a landlord to be exact, for the past 8 years.

I am working in my dream company and this is where I will end my career at 55, InsyaAllah.

I am pro-establishment and I am thankful for the hands that fed me, thankful to a system which has worked well for me and a lot of Malaysians for the past 52 years although many young punks and not-so-young punks nowadays doesn't think so, despite them benefiting from it whether they realise it or not.

I am a consistent fan of Arsenal, since I was 12 years old, and proud of it.

I am a consistent hater of Manchester United, since the beginning of time, and proud of it.

I am a consistent fan of the German national football team, since I was 13 years old, and proud of it.

I am a consistent hater of the over-rated and over-hyped English national football team, since the beginning of time, and proud of it.

I have performed the Umrah twice and Insya-Allah, my next trip to the Holy Land would be for the Haj.

I love my country and will not tolerate any attempts to destroy it. I will do what I have to do, to defend it from any threats, foreign or domestic.

I am proud to be a Malaysian and will not abandon my homeland for the so-called greener pastures in the "usual suspects" nations - America, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia or New Zealand. Grass is always greener on the side but at the end of the day, a lot end up doing the dishes in some restaurant in Midtown Manhattan. And for what? Just so you can send a postcard to mom from New York?

I am very prudent in my spending. I spend on my wife and kids and whatever is left goes to savings. I don't really go anywhere, buy anything. I can count with my fingers the number of times I went to Starbucks in the past 4 years.

I regularly workout at the gym nowadays, not really to lose weight but to stay fit and healthy. I even go during Ramadhan, no sweat. So to those who like to take potshots at me, joking at my expense - "tak kurus pun" "makan tu kena control jugak" - cut me some slack okay? At least I am doing something about it. Can you do 5 laps non-stop at the KLCC Park totalling 6km in 30 minutes? I can. And I have seen men half my size panting for air and it's only their second lap.

I am up for a promotion in a few weeks time, InsyaAllah. I guess my prayers especially the ones I uttered in front of the Holy Kaabah in Mecca has been answered.

Itulah rezeki anak-anak sebenarnya. They are my life and I love them to death.

So, for a 36-year old, I think I'm doing okay. Okay sangat.

Syukur Alhamdulillah. Syukur. That's what a lot of us need to do. Bukannya asyik complaining and whining.

Selamat Meneruskan Ibadah Puasa.

Demo ISA : Orang-Orang Bodoh & Bangang Yang Menyusahkan Orang Lain

It happened yesterday, causing total chaos in the city of Kuala Lumpur. Walaupun dah diberi amaran, tetapi kerana rasa besar kepala dan kurang ajar, mereka meneruskan juga niat mereka sehingga menganggu ketenteraman awam.

Because of a bunch (or two bunches) of self-centred, ignorant, stupid and ill-informed bastards, the federal capital was paralysed from as early as 11 am yesterday until almost 8 pm due to illegal street demos by two opposing groups, namely Gerakan Mansuhkan ISA (GMI) which is calling for the abolition of the Internal Security Act (ISA); and Majlis Gabungan Badan Bukan Kerajaan Pembela Negara (Magaran) which wants ISA to be maintained.

Both groups had the same intention - to march from Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman all the way to Istana Negara (the national palace) to hand over memorandums to the King. Of course the march would pass by key and favourite landmarks such as Dataran Merdeka, Masjid Jamek, Central Market and Masjid Negara. These are typical assembly areas for these illegal street demos since the days of Reformasi back in the late 90s.

The organisers of the demo have made known their intentions for quite some time, at least two weeks in advance. The police have warned them not to do it. No permits have been issued by the police, meaning it was deemed illegal. But they think they are above the law. And because of that, close to 600 protesters were arrested. I personally think that the police should have arrested more, wipe them all out. Perhaps Prime Minister Dato' Sri Najib Tun Razak should have even deployed the army to handle this, using tanks and armoured vehicles. Crush 'em all.

The bastards knew pretty well the chances for them to reach the gates of Istana Negara were slimmer than an anorexic. Don't they know by now that our police are one of the best in the world? Our Federal Reserve Unit (FRU), the riot control division of the Royal Malaysian Police has an awesome reputation among its counterparts in other parts of the world. A friend of mine who is an Assistant Superintendent of Police attached to the FRU told me that when he attended a regional police conference in Bangkok, his counterparts from other countries only had praises for our FRU.

Dah tau FRU kita memang terror, lagi mau buat sreet demo. Memang kena tear gas and chemical-blended powerful water sprays le jawabnya.

Police were forced to close down a number of major roads in the city, causing a horrible traffic jam which is beyond describing. Businesses along Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman, including Sogo departmental store were forced to shut down. Street traders suffered huge amount of losses due to damages inflicted by the protesters and also by stray tear gas canisters fired by the FRU. A lot of business goods were soaked with water sprayed by the FRU's powerful hydro cannons. They cursed the protesters for their losses. Cab drivers also cursed. Bus drivers cursed. Motorists cursed. By-standers cursed. People who were late for wedding receptions cursed. People who missed funerals cursed. People who missed visiting hours at government hospitals cursed. We all cursed.

I chose not to go out in the morning and afternoon. But I had no choice in the evening because I had to head to Muzium Kesenian Islam Malaysia (opposite Masjid Negara) at around 6 pm for the rehearsal of a friend's wedding reception as I was the emcee. I was lucky because I wasn't stuck in a jam. I took the Duta-Ulu Kelang Expressway (DUKE) which rocketed my car straight to Jalan Duta (near the Indian High Comm) and connected me to the Lake Gardens road that took me to the museum in no time. I was lucky because the traffic police just removed the barrier cones to enable traffic, including me, to enter the Lake Gardens road. On the way there, I got a first hand look at the horrible traffic jam on the opposite side of the Mahameru Highway. I can bet if it was a scene from a comic book, all the dialogue balloons would say all sorts of profanities.

Mereka yang membabitkan diri di dalam demo haram semalam memang tidak memikirkan perihal orang lain. It's always about you and what you think you are entitled to. No one else matters. Those whom are not with you are deemed as cowards. Deemed as not cool.

Hello, it is not cool when you cause the city an estimated RM200 million of losses. It is not cool when your 10-year old daughter accidently gets hit in the forehead by a stray rock. It is not cool when your wife and teenage son is also dragged into the police lock-up because they happened to be with you while you are protesting.

It is not cool when an innocent asthmatic child of a by-stander or shopper suffers an attack after inhaling tear gas fired by the FRU. What do you expect, that the FRU will aim carefully before firing during a riot?

Pernah terfikir tak semua consequences ni? Of course le tak kan? Yang penting, hati puas sebab dah protes. Orang lain boleh pergi mampus. Elok sangat le perangai macam tu.

The foreign media loves reporting incidents such as these. Visuals of riot police firing tear gas and hydro cannons depicts a nation in distress lah konon-kononnya. And that's what the protesters want pun. They want drama. Bila kena tangkap, kena pukul dengan belantan FRU, hah tuduh le police brutality lah, draconian law lah, democracy is dead lah.

What about those who suffered losses on Saturday because of these protestors? Where is justice for them? And don't even think of pinning this on the police. Kuala Lumpur's finest were just doing their job to ensure public order.

It is the protesters' fault. Hook, line and sinker...