A Doctor Too Many

Tan Kee Hian shared with me this highly relevant article in his mail today. The article touches on the flourishing medical education in Malaysia. It is very much a red-ocean scenario - 24 medical schools for a population of 26 million.

Out of his deep concern for Malaysia generally, and Sibu in particular, Kee Hian pointed out that:

It is a very good illustration of a Red Ocean with lots of copycats jumping on the bandwagon of medical schools. As the learned doctor-author pointed out, Malaysia has “. . . 24 medical schools for a population of 26 million!” It is also relevant to Sibu. I understand many people (parents, doctors, leaders, etc) would dearly like to start a medical school in Sibu. Does it make sense to have the 25th “vanilla” medical school located in Sibu? Perhaps yes, if we could create an uncontested space, a Blue-Ocean medical school that offers unique value to society, the students, and the investors. I provided some clues in my “Sibu in the Blue Ocean” Lecture.

This article by Dr. Hsu Dar Ren is pretty insightful and it is worthwhile for you to take your precious time to read through.

"A Doctor Too Many" appears in Malaysiainsider today.

Malaysia, a country with about 26 million inhabitants, boasts of 24 medical schools now.
Just a few years ago, the number was less than 10. In fact, when my eldest son entered medical school 10 years back, I could count the medical schools with my fingers. Now even with my toes and my fingers, I can no longer. Some of the names are so new that I, as a doctor, did not even know they existed until I did some research for this article.
The list is below:
Public universities:
* University of Malaya, Faculty of Medicine
* Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Faculty of Medicine
* Universiti Sains Malaysia, School of Medical Sciences
* Universiti Putra Malaysia, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences
* Universiti Malaysia Sabah, School of Medicine
* Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences
* International Islamic University Malaysia, Kulliyyah of Medicine
* Universiti Teknologi Mara, Faculty of Medicine
* Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia, Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences
* Universiti Darul Iman, Faculty of Medicine
Private Universities and Colleges
* UCSI University, Faculty of Medical Sciences — School of Medicine
* Monash University Malaysia, School of Medicine and Health Sciences
* International Medical University, Faculty of Medicine
* AIMST University, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences
* Allianze College Of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine
* Management and Science University, Faculty of Medicine
* Cyberjaya University College of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine
* Royal College of Medicine Perak, School of Medicine
* Melaka Manipal Medical College, School of Medicine
* Penang Medical College, School of Medicine
* MAHSA University College, Faculty of Medicine
* Newcastle University Medicine Malaysia (NuMED)
* Taylor’s University College, School of Medicine
* Utar
These are the medical schools in Malaysia. These schools, when fully functional, will produce about 4,000 doctors a year. There will be thousands more Malaysian doctors being produced overseas, since many Malaysians are studying medicine in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, India, Indonesia, Russia, Taiwan and even Ukraine.
The sudden mushrooming of medical schools is apparently due to shortages of doctors in the public sectors. This is because most doctors in government service resign after their compulsory services and opt for the supposedly greener pasture in the private sector.
In most other countries, the logical thing to do to counter this brain drain of doctors to the private sector is to find out why doctors are resigning from government service, and then try to address the woes of the doctors, and hopefully, keep them in service. I call this common logic.
The Malaysian solution, like in many other instances, does not take common logic into account but rather uses the sledgehammer approach. After all, we do have Malaysian logic, which is different from common logic practised in most other countries. For example, if we cannot have spacecraft of our own, we can still produce astronauts by sending Malaysians into space, hitchhiking on other countries’ spacecraft.
In most other countries, the common logic will be to try to improve the working conditions in public sector so that doctors will stay back. But Malaysian logic is sledgehammer logic, and is very different.
If the doctors do not want to stay in government service, then Malaysia shall flood the market with doctors, so goes the Malaysian logic. Never mind that setting up of medical schools and training doctors are expensive businesses. We have petroleum and huge amount of development funds.
By building more buildings and buying expensive medical equipment to equip these medical schools, billions will have to be spent and, of course, in the Malaysian context, everyone will be happy, down from the planners, the contractors, the parents and all others involved, since the perception is that projects in Malaysia inevitably will have some leakages and wastages, and many people are very happy with these leakages and wastages.
Never mind that we may have the hardware but we may not have enough qualified people to man these medical schools.
The Malaysian logic seems to be like this: If enough doctors are produced, the market will be saturated with doctors, and thus, doctors will have nowhere to go but to stay in government service.
Well, the people may be clapping hands and rejoicing that, with more doctors than are needed, medical costs will come down.
Unfortunately, things do not function like this in medical education. Experience in some countries tells us that some doctors in private practice, when faced with too few patients, will charge higher and do more investigations, some of which may not be needed. So instead of medical cost going down, it will go up.
In any advanced nation, the setting up of a medical school requires a lot of planning and is not done on an ad hoc basis. Planning must include where to source for experienced and qualified teachers; where to build new or source for existing teaching hospitals, which are big enough for the placement of these medical students to do training.
Planning such as facilities, equipment, classrooms, curriculum. In the west, it takes many years of training for a medical school to be set up; whereas in Malaysia, we see more than 10 in the last five years.
In Malaysia, due to the sudden “exponential” increase in medical schools, we have medical schools pinching staff from each other, even the mediocre ones. With that number of qualified teachers only, it is unavoidable that many teachers may not have the experience and qualification to be medical lecturers.
The early birds (medical schools) are more fortunate. Their students are placed in bigger hospitals like the General Hospitals of Kuala Lumpur or Penang. Now, some of the medical schools just opened have to send their students to smaller district hospitals to do their training. The smaller hospitals are often manned by more junior doctors who are not qualified to be medical teachers, and these hospitals have only very basic facilities and equipment.
This is just the beginning of the problems. For a doctor, graduating from a medical school is the beginning of a life long journey, and the basic medical degree is more like a license to start to really learn how to manage and treat patients.
The most important year after a doctor graduates is the houseman-ship. If a doctor does not have proper houseman training, then he would face a lot of problems later on. He or she may know all the medical knowledge in the world (just for argument’s sake, since knowledge of medicine is so vast that no one can know everything), but without the proper houseman training, he or she will not get the hand-on experience so crucial and important to doctors.
A doctor without proper houseman training is not unlike a person who has only ever raced in arcade games, suddenly being asked to race in a real life race. He would not have the hands on experience to do well. A doctor without proper houseman training would be like a person given a license to kill, and a disaster waiting to happen.
Now, with 4,000 doctors being produced in a year, where do we find so many houseman positions for these young doctors?
Even now, with some of the medical schools just starting and not yet producing doctors, and the number of doctors being produced is much less than the 4,000, the wards in some of the bigger hospitals are filled with so many housemen that, in some wards, there are not enough patients for these housemen to learn management skills.
About a year back, I was told, in HKL some of the units have more than 20 housemen. Recently one doctor told me that in some units, it may have even more than that. I was aghast. Since with that many housemen in a single unit, and so few senior officers to guide them and so few patients for them to learn from, how are they going to learn the skill of doctoring?
When there is not enough training for these housemen, what do you think our policy planners do? In the typical Malaysian style, they increase the length of houseman-ship from a year to 2, hoping that the longer time will help to give better exposure to these doctors.
Compared to Australia, New Zealand, and United Kingdom, houseman-ship is still one year only. By increasing the length of the houseman-ship, it is a tacit admission that our one-year houseman training is not as good as the above mentioned countries.
A poorly trained houseman will become a mediocre medical officer, and since now most of the specialists are trained internally, it will be a matter of time before future specialists may not be as well trained as presently.
Many parents do not know about the actual situation and still encourage their children to take up medicine. They are not told of the actual situation. The day will come when there are simply so many doctors that none are adequately trained. There will come a day when a doctor graduating from a medical school cannot even be placed in a houseman position.
And that day is actually very near.

Towards A Better Sibu - From UCS To KLT

UCS (United College Sarawak) went into history two days ago. In its place now is KLT (Kolej Laila Taib). It was a take-over deal with Yayasan Sarawak ending up to be the owner now.

Much has been said about the exercise by the various sectors in Sibu. My only concern is: Is it going to benefit Sibu?

That calls for some deeper analysis. But right now, I have seen a ray of hope coming out from KLT.

Let us stay open-minded!

http://www.KLT.edu.my

Photo: Wong Meng Lei

Sibu In The Blue Ocean - Part 51

In response to Councillor Robert Lau's views on the next developmental cycle for Sibu, Tan Kee Hian offered his personal opinions in respect of the points being raised. Kee Hian's reply was posted to MPI Forum Website. I reproduce it herebelow for the benefits of more of my readers.


Robert,It's really good to see your article, sharing your personal dream and vision for Sibu. Chang Yi (Sarawakiana2), among others, has posted many excellent ideas and comments, and she must have felt rather "lonely". Rather than comment directly on your thoughtful ideas now, I hope your article provides further encouragement to those who have logged on to this blog to also contribute their own ideas and views. Of course, I hope more people will log on to this and Tony Hii's blog as a result of the interesting postings. To those you are shy, rest assured that there are no right answers and no one has the monopoly of good ideas. I do want to comment on the final sentence of Robert - "All the above industries require plenty of capital, time, energy and the willingness to take risk. Can Sibu take up the challenge?" I don't think Sibu has any choice but to take up the challenge. From where we (Sibu) are today, a sunset city/town, business-as-usual will undoubtedly take us beyond sunset, towards oblivion! The risk to the citizens of Sibu, of doing nothing is far greater than any risk associated with change. To me the challenge is not in finding the right ideas and strategies, but in mobilising the leaders of Sibu (from business, political, community, religious, etc) to step up to the plate. I am confident we can succeed if we have with the right leadership and the political will. How can we encourage those people in positions of power, influence and financial wealth to create a brighter future for Sibu? What can we do to motivate them to get out of their comfort zone? I believe the citizens of Sibu have voiced their concerns with the current trend, and nothing much have changed. I have now made three public attempts in the last 12 months to "stir the pot" and will raise the temperature further. Trust me to do it! We also need ideas on how to mobilise resources for Sibu. This need not necessarily be restricted to people currently in Sibu, but includes people living and working outside Sibu - anyone who cares about Sibu! Regards,Kee Hian

The picture shows a light moment we were sharing with Tan Kee Hian at Cafe Palmelia of Premier Hotel. Picture: Liong

Sibu In The Blue Ocean - Part 50

In his response to Tan Kee Hian's forum on "Sibu In The Blue Ocean", Councillor Robert Lau presented his views on the potentials of Sibu in an article "Sibu In The Blue Ocean". Robert Lau's thoughtful presentation of his version of the vision for Sibu is a worthwhile reading.

Besides practising as a lawyer, Robert Lau also sets his feet on plantation. Zeal-driven to serve Sibuians, Robert Lau is rising in his political career, albeit on low profile. Like most of the Sibuians, he believes that there is a way out for Sibu.

Robert Lau's article was originally pasted on the website of MPI Forum. I reproduce it here for the benefits of more readers. You are most welcome to respond to Councillor Robert Lau's views.

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SIBU IN THE BLUE OCEAN

What is our dream for Sibu?
What do we want Sibu to be?
What can we do to achieve the dream?
How to get the sleeping/slumbering Giant to rise again?
Where do we go from here?
Who will lead? Who do we rely on? The Government? Self help?


My dream, my vision for Sibu:

THE PREFERRED PLACE FOR CAREER AND FAMILY


-Career implies the aspiring young adults and the educated

-Family implies safe, healthy and clean environment. It also implies good education system for the young, rewarding employment for the breadwinner of the family and a caring environment for the elderly.



Sibu a hundred years ago was a swamp land with and an outpost of the Brooke Government. It has transformed to what it is today through sheer hard work, innovation, determination and blessing from God. It was mainly based on self help.

Sibu was planned to be the farm that feeds Sarawak. Migrants were farmers. However, the migrants were not successful in farming. Instead, they ventured into rubber and wealth flowed. The teeming jungle was tamed and converted to rubber estates, entirely on the small holders set up. The economy moved into timber and unimaginable wealth ensued. Sibu is now known as the world capital for tropical timber.

Sibu is in fact the tropical timber hub for the world

Unfortunately, industry players do not realize and / or unable to capitalize on this leading and advantageous position. The timber industry created the Dutch Disease – the unimaginable wealth flowed and anything else seemed unattractive.

However, there is hope as citizen of Sibu still has the traits for success - the hardworking attitude, high savings and strong emphasis on education.

Sibu in a way is suffering from its own success, in particular viewing from the angle of education. The parents put so much emphasis on their children education that there are a high percentage of graduates. There are plenty of talents coming from Sibu; however, Sibu was and still is not able to absorb mist of these graduates as the industry here is very limited and basic. In addition, these talents have become global citizens and they will go to places that offer the best opportunities. The vast majority of graduates that return fall broadly into 3 categories: 1st, the professionals like doctors, lawyers and accountants; 2nd those whose family have very established business where the graduated children return to be groomed to take over the business; and 3rd those who return for family and sentimental reason. The 1st group will return as there is always a demand for them and the opportunities are there. It is a controlled market. However, when there are too many, then some will leave for the bigger cities.

Sibu very rarely attracts outside talents. The only group is the spouses of those who are from Sibu and their other half has to return to Sibu to work.

There is no magical way or shortcut to achieving the aim of making Sibu the preferred choice for our children. Sibu has to compete with the world as our children will be global citizen. That is a high standard no doubt and the burden very heavy. Sibu has to leverage on whatever advantage it has. We have to start with the industry where we have an advantage and employ the talents to work in that industry with the vision of expanding and improving on the existing technology. We have to set a higher benchmark and let others play catch-up with our standard. What are the industries where we are at an advantage? Three come into mind. First is the timber industry. Sibu businessmen control the world tropical timber market. This group can collaborate and protect the market, instead of competing with each other on a zero sum game. Why let the customer dictates the price and terms?

Second, is the ship building industry. Sibu is renowned for building small and medium size vessels. Are we taking advantage on this by improving on technology, R & D? We are doing the subcontracting work. We should be moving up the food chain. Why not be the centre for design and build; financing, repair and services related to shipping industry?

Third is the oil palm industry. Sarawak is a new player in Malaysia compare to West Malaysia and Sabah. There is one area where we are at the frontier and that is peat development. We have plenty of peat land and how to use them sustainably and environmentally is a big challenge. Some see this as a problem. Why not see this as a challenge that holds great promises? Our talented children can work on this area by doing research. The world is trying to learn from us. Let’s lead the world. The 2 seminars organized by the locals on peat soil development have attracted international participation. Have we capitalizing on this?

There is another area which we can possible exploit. Sibu probably produce the most number of doctors relative to its population in Malaysia and that is without a local tertiary educational institution that provide for medical course. Can we tape into this pool by staring a tertiary educational institution on this field and linked it to the industry – a world class private hospital, health care for the old and other related industry.

All the above industries require plenty of capital, time, energy and the willingness to take risk. Can Sibu take up the challenge?

Robert Lau

5th December 2009

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The picture shows Councillor Robert Lau (left) at Tan Kee Hian's forum "Sibu In The Blue Ocean". Photo: Liong

Sibu In The Blue Ocean - Part 49

Tan Kee Hian concluded an evening of Blue Ocean Journey with a challenge to all the Sibuians:

Join the Blue Ocean Journey of Sibu! Together let us make Little Foochow the first in Malaysia to achieve "High-Income" Ststus!

I am thankful to Tan Kee Hian for his much-needed assistance in this series.

It is indeed an encouragement that a total of approximately 168 responses in the form of comments have been received by the series. Most of them are pretty thought-provoking, making them worth your while to give further thinking to.

Let us keep it up!

The picture shows some "newspaper boys" at Market Road, Sibu in 1970s. Photo: Philip Hii of The Star

Sibu In The Blue Ocean - Part 48

The public forum " Sibu In The Blue Ocean" might not drive Sibuians into immediate actions, but it provoked Sibuians into thinking deeper and wider. In a broader sense, this talk by Tan Kee Hian worked towards planting seeds of transformation in Sibu.

I was very much motivated by the 10 Blue Ocean Ideas propounded by Kee Hian in the talk. In the course of blogging "Sibu In the Blue Ocean", I stood to benefit even more from Kee Hian's ideas.

In his round-up of the talk, kee Hian threw to Sibuians what he called "key takeaways" for them to reflect upon:

1. Sibu-a sunset town of diminishing significance in Sarawak

2. Imperative to have courage to "Dream the Big Vision"

3. Ample uncontested market space and Blue Ocean ideas to drive Sibu to achieve renewed glory

4. But, Sibu needs a major transformation to capture the truly reach and thrive in the Blue Ocean

The picture shows the squatters along the Lembangan River in the 70s. Photo: Philip Hii

Sibu In The Blue Ocean - Part 47

Capability (5) "A Conducive Place for Talents to Flourish"

Is Sibu already a conducive place for talents to flourish? Tan Kee Hian listed the following thought-provoking points for Sibuians to have some brainstorming:

1. Home-grown Sarawakians, Malaysians and foreigners

-Attract them to stay back or come here

2. Free and easy to do business

-Is Sibu already providing a free and easy environment to do business?

3. Convenient and easy to live

4. Dynamic socio-political environment and civil society

5. Tolerance for diverse personalities and preferences

-(Within certain limits)

6. Supportive business eco-system

7. Respect/appreciate knowledge, thinking and creativity

8. Fair reward for knowledge and value

The photo shows the squatter area at Upper Lanang 30 years ago. The site was later developed into a residential area known as Pulau Li Hua. Photo: Philip Hii

Sibu In The Blue Ocean - Part 46

Capability (4) "Sibu Is Not An Island"

Tan Kee Hian provoked the thinking of Sibuians with Capability (4) "Sibu Is Not An Island".

Sibu Is Not An Island simply refers to Sibu as not being isolated. In the observations of Kee Hian, Sibu has the following potentials:

1. Like Singapore, not much natural resources but:
-Resourceful people
-Convenient central location
-Surrounded by rich hinterland
-And favourable track record

2. Become the "orchestra conductor" or "systems integrator" for resources from and activities occurring beyond Sibu.

3. Learn how to work with other cities, towns, and villages.

4. Be comfortable with a win-win arrangement:
-Smaller slice of a bigger pie

The picture shows the 2nd Governor of Sarawak, the late Tun Datuk Patinggi Tuanku Haji Bujang. Photo: Philip Hii

Sibu In The Blue Ocean - Part 45

Capability (3) "Private-Sector-Driven Development"

Having touched on the three aspects of "Private -Sector-Driven Development", Tan Kee Hian then talked about motivating private investments in Sibu.

In Kee Hian's views:

1. Sibu is widely known as the hub of substantial private wealth.

2. Blue Ocean Ideas creates economic value for:
-Stakeholders (investors)
-And the users (customers)
-Simultaneously

3. Additional benefits of:
-"Contributing to the revitalisation of Greater Sibu"
-Addressing social needs (elderly, and local university)

The above picture shows Haji Bujang Sports Field in 80s. The site was subsequently converted to Sibu Town Square and Wisma Sanyan. Photo: Philip Hii

Sibu In The Blue Ocean - Part 44

Capability (3) "Private-Sector-Driven Development"

When Tan Kee Hian touched on Capability (3) "Private-Sector-Driven Development", he gave an elaboration on the following three aspects to take audience on a journey of better understanding:

1. Rightful role of Government:

-As enablers (infrastructure, security, social services, etc)

-Intervening in market failures

2. Belief that "business-as-usual" developmental approach is unacceptable:

-Reliance on Government to develop Sibu

-Would not satisfy the dreams and aspirations of Sibu people

3. Many successful developments driven by private enterprise, and in spite of the Government:

-Silicon Valley in the USA

-Hong Kong

-Formula 1 clusters in England

The picture shows Sibu Waterfront in 1987. Photo: Philip Hii

(Philip Hii has been generous enough in letting me use his good collection of the old photos of Sibu between 1977-1990. Thank you, Philip!)

Sibu Into The future

This is not part of the series that I am covering on Tan kee Hian's "Sibu In the Blue Ocean". Nonetheless, it is along similar line of thinking for the betterment of Sibu.

Amidst Hari Raya mood on September 23 this year when I was still on hectic Raya visiting, I was called up by two reporters of United Daily for an interview on Sibu future. We met up at Cafe Palmelia and the session went on from there.

It was a warm meet over a topic that all Sibuians care about. If you are Chinese-literate, you may click on to read the entire write-up. Or you can choose to pick up a copy of today's (December 29) United Daily for the feature coverage.

Have a good time!

Sibu In The Blue Ocean - Part 43

Capability (2) "Systematic, Error-free Execution"

Tan Kee Hian then moved on to explain the third case example of success story:

Ding Tai Fung Restaurant

Kee Hian said he chose this to show that the concept of systematic, error-free processes applies to even something as mundane and people-based as making a xiao long pau, helping to drive this restaurant to global fame and success.

Kee Hian added that every xiao long pau has 18 folds. Why must it be precisely 18 folds for each and every pau? It is part of the culture and values, and systematic of everything they do in this restaurant.

The picture shows the premises of Sibu Supermarket at Kg. Nyabor Road, Sibu. It was the largest supermarket in Sibu in the 80s. It was short-lived and has since been closed down. Photo: Philip Hii

Sibu In The Blue Ocean - Part 42

Capability (2) "Systematic, Error-free Execution"



Tan Kee Hian quoted some familiar examples of systematic, error-free execution. "Some people might claim Sibu can never be able to learn this sophisticated capability," Kee Hian said. His answer to this sort of claim is "rubbish". See these simple examples:

1. AirAsia

A Malaysian success story based on great execution. The airline manoeuvres fast turnaround of the planes from landing to takeoff, which requires that the entire process to be systematic, documented and error-free, and that all people involved are properly trained and motivated.

2. Immigration Department of Malaysia

Since Pak Lah embarrassed the department when he showed up on his first day as PM, we have all seen how much more efficient Immigration has become. To quote Kee Hian in his exact words: I am not saying they are the most productive yet, but most would agree with me that the change was quite impressive.

The picture shows Rajang River being heavily choked by tons and tons of wood debris, demestic and industrial wastes. Photo: Philip Hii

Sibu In The Blue Ocean - Part 41

Capability (2) "Systematic, Errot-free Execution"

(2) "Imperfect execution" is a serious national shortcoming of Malaysia
Tan Kee Hian explained further as follows:

-Malaysian government and businesses (on average) place low emphasis on error-free execution, unlike MNCs and successful countries and companies.
-We seem to be quite content with imperfect execution, and rather proud of it.
-Remember Pak Lah's comment about Malaysian having First World capital and assets, but Third World operations.
-While there is execution in capital and assets, you can generally buy capital and assets as a package from foreign suppliers, at a price though. But operation is really all about day to day execution. Even the former PM Badawi realised imperfect execution is the norm in Malaysia, and a major shortcoming.

This black-and-white photo shows an operator roasting coffee at an alley behind Kiew Siong Coffee Shop at Central Road, Sibu. He was an expert in this trade and his coffee was popular among the old folks. This valuable photo is from Philip Hii's album.

Sibu In The Blue Ocean - Part 40

Capability (2) "Systematic, Error-free Execution"

A good strategy needs efficient execution to carry it through. When covering Capability (2), Kee Hian made it clear to the audience that execution actually forms an integral part of the Blue Ocean Ideas.

Two of the points covered in Capability (2) by Tan Kee Hian particularly stood out. The following is the further elaboration on the points:

1. Not just fast - a well-known trait of Sibu people

-In the exact words of Kee Hian, Sibu people are proud of being able to do things very quick. But speed is pointless unless the output is of the right quality. Remember the "Right First Time" which is now embedded in most high performance organisations.

-Tan Kee Hian quoted some high-profiling projects in Malaysia as real examples.

-The key lesson is that being fast is not sufficient to create an enduring future. It must be of the right quality, based on customers' and design specification. In fact, too much emphasis on speed can be negative, as it drives people to produce only superficial, cosmetic products and services.

-Unfortunately, one of Sibuian's pride, doing things fast, can be a major stumbling block to the transformation of Sibu, as systematic, error-free execution is a key driver of blue ocean and future success.

The picture shows logging in progress in Sarawak in the early days. This is a rare black-and-white photo from Philip Hii.

Sibu In The Blue Ocean - Part 39

Tan Kee Hian's Capability (1) involves change of Sibuians' mindset. In short, in taking Little Foochow to the next developmental cycle, we need to adopt a Critical Blue Ocean Mindset.

Having touched on Changing Mindset, Values and Beliefs, Kee Hian then moved on to Capability (2) which is Systematic, Error-free Execution.

Tan Kee Hian in the previous two talks in Sibu ("Outlook for Sibu" at MPI in 2008 and "The Future of Sarawak from A Christian Perspective" at The 9th Methodist Convention in June this year) that I attended laid great stress on execution. During the teh tarik meet with some local bloggers, Kee Hian particularly quoted Singapore as a fine example of having excellent execution.

In his elaboration of Systematic, Error-free Execution, Tan Kee Hian pointed out:

1. Not just fast - a well-known trait of Sibu people

2. Not just "Malaysia boleh"

3. But also smart, precise (error-free) and reliable

4. "Imperfect execution" is a serious national shortcoming of Malaysia

5. Case examples:
-AirAsia
-Malaysian Immigration Department
-Din Tai Fung Restaurant

The picture shows the float of Xin Fu Yuan Methodist Church at Ecumenical Christmas Carolling.
Photo: Wong Meng Lei

Sibu In The Blue Ocean - Part 38

I met up with Philip Wong and Melvin Goh this afternoon at Cafe Palmelia for exchange of views over teh tarik.

Philip Wong is my long-time buddy. Way back in 80s, we were active in Sibu championing consumer rights. Philip is a developer now with his base in KL. Despite that, his heart is still tied with threads of passion for Sibu.

Melvin Goh is Business Editor of Eastern Times, a local English daily. Soft-spoken, Melvin Goh has his heart set on Sibu also, albeit in another way. He is currently on a project writing life story of a prominent entrepreneur in Sibu.

Melvin asked for my views on the subject which I obliged.

I grabbed the opportunity to share with them in greater detail "Sibu In The Blue Ocean". Sibu being close to Philip and relevant to Melvin (by virtue of his book -writing project) drew the three of us into a good moment of sharing.

Let's keep "Sibu In The Blue Ocean" moving!

The picture shows (left to right) Philip Wong, Melvin Goh and me.

Sibu In The Blue Ocean - Part 37

In working towards building up a Blue Ocean environment, Sibuians have to adopt a Critical Blue Ocean Mindset which, in addition to the points listed in Part 35, involves shifts in culture, values and beliefs. In the observations of Tan Kee Hian, this entails the following:

1. On motivational drivers
-Sibuians should move from cold economics & reality to dreams & aspirations

2. On purpose of education
-We ought to shift our focus from qualifications (dual majors) to knowledge & competence

3. On tenure of learning
-Emphasis should be moved from schools & universities to lifelong

4. On careers
-Our mentality should be changed from proven paths to free to experiment

5. On risk appetite
-From adverse to high tolerance

6. On problem solving
-Sibuians have to move from prescriptive to exploratory

7. On lifestyle
-From pragmatic & utilitarian to creative & artistic

8. On value of people
-From units of production to human beings

The picture shows Wisma Sanyan standing tall in the heart of Sibu. Sibu certainly needs much more than just being proud to have the tallest building in Sarawak. Photo: Wong Meng Lei

Sibu In The Blue Ocean - Part 36

Education has been at the core of Sibuians' concern. From pre-school to tertiary levels, Sibuians have never let education be compromised. The flurry of comments/feedback on Tan Kee Hian's "Polytechnic" University Strategy bears testimony to this point.

The first Key Capability for "Sibu In The Blue Ocean" is "Changing Mindset, Values and Beliefs". The critical Blue Ocean Mindset involves the following:

Get out of the comfort zone
-More of the same is not good enough, "Business is not usual"

"Execution and transaction" is not sufficient for breakthrough

Inveast in thinking and innovation

Find and create your own space

Development is about creating economic and social value first......Not just building more houses and shops

Creating exceptional value for customers
-Outside-in, know your customers

Control your own destiny

The picture shows Sibu Lantern Festival 2009. Like what Kee Hian said, Sibu needs to invest in thinking and innovation to bring in tourists. Photo: Wong Meng Lei

Sibu In The Blue Ocean - Part 35

When moving on to touch on Key Capabilities for "Sibu In The Blue Ocean", Tan Kee Hian actually took the audience for a journey to see "the qualities which Sibuians have for bettering Sibu but which may not have been fully developed".

As pointed out, the Key capabilities are parallel in degree of importance to the Blue Ocean Strategies. Together, they compose 10 Blue Ocean Ideas which shed lights on the future for Sibu.

The 5 Key Capabilities propounded by Kee Hian are as follows:

1. Changing mindset, values and beliefs
2. Systematic, error-free execution
3. Private-sector-driven development
4. "Sibu is not an island"
5. A conducive place for talents to flourish

The picture shows the glittering fireworks over the sky of Sibu on the night of Chinese New Year's Eve in 2009. All the glamour seemed to belie a bleak outlook for Sibu. Photo: Wong Meng Lei