1st Retrenchment Looms

Have not spoken to Dean Miller (my boss before Chase bought over Morgan in September 2000) for a month or so now. He called me in the morning to see him at his office in Capitol Towers building where Chase's offices are located.

Dean started meeting by discussing about discrepancy between the lists of junior staffs who do not have positions in the new organisation provided by me and Christopher Lim (a couple of weeks earlier). Sorted those out with him. A couple of phone calls interrupted the meeting. I told him that I was not happy with the lack of HR involvement although we've requested at few times that the HR rep Jacqueline Teo talk to the staff without a job. Dean then said that he too find that Jackie was not that good - unlike Anne Marie Yarwood (white Australian HR rep for Dean before merger). I told him that Anne Marie was the first HR rep we approached for assistance some months back but she was no better. Dean then gave the excuse that it was because she had a new role in the new organisaction!

During the phone interruptions I noticed that Dean's face was a bit pale and blueish, and told him so and asked how things were with him. He said that his mother was not well and things were not easy within the new combined organisation especially with the Business Management group that is responsible for dealing with support groups like middle office (which Dean is now in charge of) and operations. He said that he sometimes wondered if it was the right decision for him to stay back for a role in the new organisation which led nicely into the topic of my position within the new organisation.

Dean then asked what my plans are and if I've been looking for a job outside. I told him that I've not been looking because I was still holding out hope for a role. Dean said that he believe in being honest and forthright about things, and told me that though he tried he could not find a suitable position for me. He specifically mentioned that positions within Operations (headed by Sabha StClaire, an ex-Chase person) have all been filled - probably meaning that he tried to place me in Operations but to no avail. He suggested that I start looking outside now and he will be happy to help as he has connections that may be able to assist. He said that as far as he is concerned there was no hurry and asked me to work out an appropriate timing for my departure. As to retrenchment package, he said that that will include standard one month per year work and prorated bonus (IC). As to extra retention payment for staying back to assist with integration work, he said there was still no clarity yet. {Kuok Lay Hoon, Singapore country HR Manager for new bank, told me and Christopher Lim a month or so earlier that global guideline for extra retention will be 30% more pay for every month of retention}.

Dean also explained to me that the fact that I was not retained was not because of performance (my role in Morgan at time of merger was as Regional Middle Office and Operations Manager for Treasury business). It is just that it made more sense to have the support managers like Stephen Chang (Chase Middle Office Head who got to retain the job) to be in Hong Kong where the regional business manager Paul Kearhson was located. He then proceeded to say that although Stephen and his group were hard working and efficient, their work were focussed on day-to-day stuffs. The implication I got was that he was not very impressed with Stephen. To avoid commenting on that I merely smiled back and told him that he is the boss. He also mentioned that it is the same with his Singapore middle office manager (Shirley Ng of ex-Chase) but also said that they do have their strength. The example he gave was Shirley was able to have a response or ready output to any request by business by the next morning. Again I did not comment. Our meeting ended there.

Outside I passed by the desk of Cheryl Chan who used to work in the middle office but now working on some projects for Dean. She asked how things are with me and I told her about the meeting I just had about my impending retrenchment.

Mahathir Found Solution to His Old Dilemma

Mahathir May Have Final Solution to His Old Dilemma (May 2001)

30 years ago, in his book The Malay Dilemma Dr Mahathir (now Malaysian Prime Minister) claimed that no matter who the person is, he or she will be able to do a job 'if given the opportunity and the right guidance'. His view though simplistic is the essence of Malaysia's New Economic Policy (NEP) implemented since 1970. Like their leaders, many Malaysians believe that the quota system that ensure places are reserved for the Malays in every aspect of life in Malaysia will somehow improve the well being of the Malays. In fact they thought they could even do it without worrying about having the 'right guidance' - although it was entirely possible that they never knew what that meant. Whatever is the case, Mahathir has finally learnt from the aftermath of the 1997 crisis that his old idea did not work. Also according to him, Malay students were not bothered about their education and were losing out to their peers of other races. They were not interested in the sciences and other technical subjects preferring to do the easier subjects like arts and religious studies.

Now Mahathir may think he has a better idea on how to solve his country's problems. In fact he's probably hitting himself for not thinking of it earlier. This new idea was mooted when he suggested that to show that the Chinese in Malaysia are committed to their country, they (only the Chinese) may be drafted to do national service in the military. Soon, to show that the Malays are committed to improving their own lot, Malaysia will be drafting Malays as engineers, doctors, IT technologists, dentists, heart surgeons, scientific researchers and enterpreneurs. You see, that way they do not even have to study and compete against others in schools.

Finally Malaysia will be proposing to the United Nations to make a resolution that to show that the world is committed to the development of 'developing countries' like Malaysia, they should begin to draft Malays as CEO of all Fortune 500 companies. You see, that is perfectly fair as it is only 500 jobs and well within the quota that should be fairly allocated to the Malays based on the ratio of their population to that of the world.

Mahathir must be patting himself on the back half wondering why no one else in the world ever thought of that!

Why Are Eggs Oval?

QuiZ :

All bird eggs (regardless of species) are oval and pointed at one end (instead of being, say, round, cubical or cylindrical) - do U know why?

A. because the birds wanted them to look like those of dinosaurs' so dinosaurs wouldn't destroy them
B. it was pure coincidence - just happen that all birds like their eggs that way
C. because God made it that way
D. because that shape provides the greatest chance of survival for the eggs - they cannt roll away that way. Since birds that lay eggs in other shapes had lower survival rate, they disappear over time (evolution or survival of fittest?).

Unit Trust Malaysian Style

I wanted to put my MYR money in Malaysia into more productive use, but found that there were very few options available for investing in foreign markets (I guess they don’t think why anyone would need that since Malaysia is such a great investment – if you believe them).

Then I found that Maybank's (the leading bank in Malaysia) Unit Trust for KL Equities charges 5 sen commission for every unit. At the issue price of MYR1 that commission represents 5% which is comparable to rates in Singapore which range from 1% to 5%. But with current unit price of 40+sen, the 5 sen per unit commission rate represents more than 10% of the investment! I thought who would buy a fund if they lose 10% of their money up front?

So I decided to call the Bank. I told their sales rep (a Chinese lady) that that's ridiculous and probably explains why no one buys their fund and suggested that they re-look at the commission structure. She agreed but suggested I talk to her manager (a Malay man). The manager's response was really decisive (if nothing else, managers have to be decisive!): they cannot change the way they charge as 'the practice is the same as other funds in Malaysia. Moreover, funds market is under developed in Malaysia and they cannot follow international practices. In addition, when the unit price goes above MYR1 the commission is lower than 5%!'

With that response, I did not know what to say except ‘good-bye’. My thought: No wonder they are under developed!