ONE-EYED
JACKS
by
TV Smith
13/04/05
| DPM:
Rapid development due to good leadership KUALA
LUMPUR: Committed and responsible leadership played a role in Malaysia's rapid
development, said Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak. Using
Ghana as an example, the Deputy Prime Minister said it had also gained its independence
in 1957 but the two countries had since taken different routes. Najib
said while Malaysia now has a per capita income of US$3,000 (RM11,400), Ghana's
per capita income was just US$300 (RM1,140). “I
want to emphasise that we are thankful and lucky to have leadership – then
and now – which is not only responsible but also committed. The
Star, Friday 8th April 2005 |
It
may be good to take stock of our success periodically, be grateful for our good
fortune and leadership. It may be even better, if we also give ourselves a reality
check occasionally, to get back into a competitive frame of mind.
The DPM's
speechwriters probably didn't notice that there are some 85
countries ranked above us. No offense to Ghana but the point is we Malaysians
have the habit of benchmarking ourselves against losers.
Whether in sports,
education, business or record-breaking; we seem contended being the proverbial
one-eyed jack. In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.
It
is the same mentality plaguing many of our GLCs where CEOs pride themselves on
being the best of the worst. Lackadaisical work attitude and poor service exist
because these companies are effectively run like (previous) government-owned monopolies.
Some
of our manufacturers reportedly compete by relying solely on the undervalued ringgit
or protection instead of product quality and efficiency. As Thailand becomes the
"Detroit of Asia" we are still trying to figure out how to make reliable
power windows. As proverbs go, are we also becoming the jack of all trades and
master of none?
Perhaps the DPM was alluding to his earlier candid
remark that it’s fortunate Vijay Singh was not granted PR status,
otherwise he would not have become the world’s number one golfer.
So
we did Vijay a favour. Lets start by doing ourselves a favour. It's time we compete
with winners, not losers.
| Independence | Rank | Country | GDP
- per capita (USD) | | 1993 | 64 | Slovakia |
$ 13,300 | | 1991 | 46 | Slovenia |
$ 19,000 | | 1991 | 70 | Lithuania |
$ 11,400 | | 1991 | 77 | Croatia |
$ 10,600 | | 1984 | 48 | Brunei |
$ 18,600 | | 1981 | 75 | Antigua
& Barbuda |
$ 11,000 | | 1973 | 57 | Bahamas |
$ 16,700 | | 1971 | 32 | UAE |
$ 23,200 | | 1971 | 36 | Qatar |
$ 21,500 | | 1971 | 55 | Bahrain |
$ 16,900 | | 1968 | 71 | Mauritius
|
$ 11,400 | | 1966 | 59 | Barbados |
$ 15,700 | | 1966 | 83 | Botswana
| $
9,000 | | 1965 | 30 | Singapore |
$ 23,700 | | 1964 | 51 | Malta |
$ 17,700 | | 1962 | 81 | Trinidad
& Tobago | $
9,500 | | 1957 | 86 | Malaysia | $
9,000 | | 1957 | 165 |
Ghana |
$ 2,200 |
Compiled
from The
CIA World Factbook
©
2005 TV SMITH
Link to this article: http://www.tvsmith.net.my/duasen/130405_jacks.html
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