Hingga Ke Menara Gading....

I’m planning to pursue my post-graduate study. Ayu is about to finish her MBA. She is now struggling to start her thesis and I hope she can complete it on time. I envy her because every time she gets her results, it has been nothing short of straight A’s. My ego ‘terganggu’ further when her accumulated CGPA is just 0.03 point from the full mark. I think I will sabotage her thesis to bring down some points. This would be much easier than trying to beat her current result! Hehehe. What ever it is, I’m glad that she’s been scoring. We finance the tuition fees ourselves and so far, I feel very satisfied with the return. I would encourage her to continue with her PhD. She’s got the potential.

Would I like to be left behind? I don’t think so. I told Ayu that I’m currently doing my Master’s and it is a lifelong course. This Master’s program costs me only about RM5 a year and I can choose to major in any subject. Just go to the National Library and you have access to thousands of books. There’s so much information that you can absorb under one roof. All you need to do is read. Don’t just read romance novels. This is how I usually pacify my ego whenever Ayu come’s back home with her examination transcript. But no matter how much information or knowledge I can gain from reading, I can never substantiate it with a certificate.

What to do? People don’t really judge your qualification by the number of times you visited the library. Recognition must be earned by means of a piece of paper which I think in today’s standard, valid only for a couple of years. What we learn today in class can be obsolete in matter of years. Furthermore, certificates or transcripts today can be forged! Hmmm..

So I’m contemplating to register myself for an MBA course. Which university I want to go to is not an issue. My biggest concern has got to be with time. Doing the course on a part time basis requires me to sacrifice my weekends. Attending seminars, sitting for exams and completing assignments would be very time consuming. Even today I’m complaining to myself for being too busy and not spending enough time with the kids. What else if I start my post-graduate studies? Raidi is going to be in standard one soon and Zidani will have two more years before he starts schooling. In Zidani’s case, I’ve got only 2 years to prepare him. Much attention is needed to help him catch up with his development which is delayed. If I start my MBA, I don’t think I can give him the amount of attention that should be given.

Still, I have set a target for my self. I’m determined to complete my MBA before the age of 35 and if all go well, get a PhD by 40. This one incident occurred at the HUKM cafeteria inspired me to do my PhD. While I was paying for the food, the cashier actually charged me with the staff rate. She really thought that I was working in that hospital. I felt guilty so I told to her that I don’t work in that hospital. "Takpelah Doctor, saya dah punch ni” she said. My colleagues who were queuing behind me heard the whole conversation. The look on their faces was priceless!! Hahaha. What a feeling! Since that day, I always thought I should continue my studies and get my PhD..hehehe

Knowledge is not only power. To me, more importantly, knowledge enriches the soul, broaden your perspectives and act as a mental protein that will help you to develop into a more cultured and respectable person. The Jews are known to be the smartest people. Their race constitutes less than 0.5% of world’s population and yet, they have world geo-political and economic control. We Muslims represent a quarter of the world’s population and thank Allah that many Muslim countries have access over the world’s major oil reserves. But what happen then if the oil wells dry up?? Even today, when Muslims have control over these energy sources, we are being subject to continuous oppression. Without the black money (oil), can you imagine the fate of our future Muslims generations?

I choose to continue my studies not only because I want to be recognized professionally, but basically, I just want to be knowledgeable. If I don’t get to pursue my studies, I hope my kids will strive hard to achieve this. But remember kids, be sincere to yourself and to Allah in your quest to gain knowledge. You study because you want to develop yourself into a better person. If you have a brain of a genius, remember to be humble because Allah can anytime take that away from you. Remember your roots. It doesn’t matter what paper qualification you have, as long as you live as a good human being, people will remember you for a long time. I cannot stress more on the importance of knowledge so please continuously feed your mind with them ok? Don't stop until you reach the 'Menara Gading'. Go beyond it!

"The Fortune At The Bottom Of The Pyramid"

I just finished reading this book written by C.K Prahalad. It’s about how Governments, NGOs and the corporate sector can work together to eradicate poverty. We think that serving the low segment of the markets brings little or no profits. The poor are always not the targeted customers; our usual assumption is that they can’t afford our products or services. On the contrary, with innovation, companies can make lots of money from selling their products and services to the so called Bottom Of The Pyramid ‘BOP’ customers.

The fact is there are 4 billion people in the world who live on far less than $2 a day. And this 4 billion people actually represents 80% of humanity! We always see call for money to help the 4 billion poor and the cry is so constant. Most of the time we think that various aid agencies and governments should tackle this issue. However as we enter the 21st century, poverty remains one of the world’s most daunting problem.

The book changed my perceptions that the very poor actually represent resilient entrepreneurs and value-conscious consumers. The key towards eradicating poverty is to achieve a sustainable win-win scenario where the poor are actively engaged and, at the same time, companies providing products and services to them are profitable. This collaboration between the poor, NGO’s, governments and large firms can create the largest and fastest growing markets in the world.

I read today in bernama quoting Prof Ungku Aziz how he considers the current PM different from his predecessors due to his ambiguous priority for the dejected rural people. "Abdullah has also come out with a noble aim with the help of his Cabinet members in redressing the imbalance of rural poverty," said Prof Ungku Aziz. In a way, this is an example of how we put the whole burden of alleviating poverty in this country on the Governments shoulder. Governments can provide various grants, training opportunities, conduct business programs and other noble ways to bring them out of the poverty cycle. But what about the role of the corporate sector? Surely they have a part to play in the fight against poverty? I don’t think the corporate sectors contributions to the poor should only be reported as part of their CSR initiatives. In fact, with the right business models and processes, the BOP could be a major contributor to the company’s bottom line.

The truth is, at the ‘BOP’ the so called demand and supply economic curve haven’t really intersected. The corporate world never treated this segment as profitable and the customers in the segment never really trusted companies as they think that the companies are only interested to make profit out of their subsistence income. Furthermore, they always feel that companies are only interested to serve customers at the top of the pyramid where the profit margin is. They feel that they haven’t got any opportunity to access the products and services consumed by the middle class with better purchasing power. Now if they have access to products and services equal to the developed world, we are not only enabling dignity and choice through markets, but we are opening up opportunities for this segment to evolve and climb up the pyramid.

The book tells readers how we can equate the demand from the BOP markets and the supply coming mostly from the 1st world markets. The organization structure, business model and processes today are developed to serve the segments with better purchasing power. So the trick in doing business in the BOP market is to innovate. It is interesting to read how a private eye hospital in India had made tremendous profits from providing eye care services. A cataract operation may cost $3500 per operation in the US, but in India, it only costs the patient a mere $50. The Aravind Eye Hospital uses the most modern equipment available in any facility in the world and still with only 40% paying customers, the hospital remained profitable and debt free. They managed to cut down their costs by its ability to use the equipment effectively, as it specializes only in eye care and every doctor and nurse team performs an average of 50 surgeries per day. Other success stories ranging from micro-financing facilities, energy resources, agricultural services, information technology, health care, retailing are well illustrated. Now I know how we can bring these services to people who earn less than $2 a day and the company can still make a hefty profit.

The underlying impact is great. With collaboration from all sectors, the market oriented system can be used to develop wealth in the BOP market. Alleviating poverty doesn’t rest on the governments shoulders alone. Social transformation of the very poor is about the number of people who believe that they can aspire to a middle-class lifestyle. The question is how we can bring this middle-class lifestyle to the poor. C.K Prahalad wrote that our best allies in fighting poverty are the poor themselves. Their resilience and perseverance must give us courage to move forward with entrepreneurial solutions to the problem. He believes that with bold and responsible leadership from the private sector and civil society, world poverty and deprivation elimination is possible by the year 2020.

Very interesting book I must say. It gives fresh thinking about emerging markets. The private sector can be put at the center of development, as a real engine of services for the poor. It all boils down to innovation. Read this book if you want to know more about fighting poverty with profitability.

Raidi's Graduation Ceremony

Dear Raidi,

Today Abah and Mama would like to congratulate you. Last Sunday, both Abah and Mama attended your graduation ceremony held at the Damansara Utama Multipurpose Hall. That day, you woke up very early in the morning and made sure that Abah and Mama got prepared early as well. You did not want to be late for this important event. I saw how happy you were and you just can’t wait to go to the hall and meet up with all your friends. You looked very handsome in your purple baju melayu suit.

Abah and Mama got to see you perform on stage with your friends singing a Nasyid song about Nabi Noh. You kept on looking towards Abah (I was standing by the side of the stage, busy taking photos) when you are supposed to look towards the audience! But it was really fun watching you performing on stage though.

The best part was when I had the opportunity to talk to your friends Raidi. I would like to put on record that a girl by the name of Shafiqah turns out to be your first crush! All your friends that I met talked to me about this girl that you admire (all caught on video, see them below). You even asked me at home whether I managed to take a picture of Shafiqah that day!! Hmm.. to tell you the truth, it reminded me of my crush that I had when I attended my pre-school in Bangsar! I wonder what happened to that girl..emmm. Anyway, I can see how close you are with your friends Raidi. I understand now why you even want to go to school on Sundays! I’m really glad that you are enjoying your pre-schooling days. You would certainly miss your friends nanti but not to worry, Abah will keep their contact details. Maybe we can invite some of your friends to come over to your future birthday parties.

In January you will be attending your primary school at SKTTDI(1), the school behind our house. For your information, I attended this school too! It’s common when parents and the kids go to the same boarding school, but what about primary school?? I think it’s seldom. Aunty Tasha, uncle Harris and uncle Helmi studied at the same school! Only Uncle Husni went to SKTTDI(2). I hope your brother Zidani will join you in 2 years time, when you are in Standard 3.

One thing for sure, I want to be active in PIBG and contribute in anyway that could bring good education to my kids. It’s a way for me to give back to society. Not only Raidi is going to study there, the father is also an ex-student. So I think I’m more than compelled to contribute something right? Anyway, you going to SKTTDI(1) would certainly bring back old memories of my own schooling days. One day I would give you a tour in that school and tell you about my own experiences. Hehehe, I can’t wait to have lunch with you at the school canteen!

Pictures of graduation: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mafiz/sets/72157594365698367/

Interview 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sit2b6hZRp4

Interview 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6c4A89P4rxQ

Interview 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mQOnE3qJkg