the SAKMONGKOL JOURNAL

The 10-points Strategy for UMNO

The 'key strategic policies for future UMNO success', are...

1. Forget the past. Many people persist in the belief that the past will be the future. It won't. The past offers valuable guidance - but strategy derives far more benefit from full and proper understanding of the present. The present is different. The voters are a thinking public. They want to be engaged with reason, respect. They are interested in things that affect their lives. Their priorities are different. They value things like integrity, efficiency, intelligence, credibility. These are the parameters of the New Nationalism. Its love for the idea of Malaysia free from bad governance, free from political arrogance, free from prejudices, a commitment to the rule of law, democracy and so forth. They measure the government by these parameters. The government must recognise these and adapt. If it doesn't adapt, it will become extinct. In the past, these were not priorities. Expectations were lower.

2. Think global. No domestic political market is big enough to support large strategic ambitions - now that boundaries are becoming meaningless, are well advised to look beyond their own shores to bigger markets. The boundaries defined by absolutes such as all things Malay only , all things Chinese. All things Indian and all that, are not sufficient to allow UMNO to exist under the New Nationalism. UMNO's philosophy must be inclusive and can no longer confine itself with purely Malay centric issues.

3. UMNO must recognise that internal change must be drastic. Dr Mahathir says, surgery must be invasive to snip any malignant tumour. UMNO needs transformation, not reformation. Transformation means internal changes. They go deeper than reformasi- which is just reconstituted forms. That's what you would seek in crisis: act radically now, and there won't be a crisis. UMNO must carry out radical reforms. If it changes its constitution, don't do half hearted measures. You want 60,000 delegates to elect their leaders? Do it in a stadium then. If demonstrations can be allowed in stadiums, UMNO Assembly can too. Demand high standards of leaders starting from branch levels. It's discomforting to have a school jagas as the UMNO ketua Cawangans. Why can't we demand higher standards? Do we define UMNO by measures of mediocrity?

4. UMNO must operate its political business based on knowledge and information, not things. UMNO's struggles and achievements should not be defined only in terms of hardware- how many schools, mosques built, how many bridges, how long are the roads etc. PAS didn't build as much as UMNO, yet its support remain constant. Because it leverages on the software. Learn from those in the IT business. Hardware gets outdated in a jiffy. The business endures if you leverage on 2 things- people and intellectual capital. Wake up please, UMNO requires intelligent people to carry its ideals. For too long, UMNO has staked its future on the hail fellow well met types. Good in the past, not for the future.

5. UMNO must be an information-based organisation. You need to be ahead on issues and articulate them across a wide spectrum of audience. Presently, UMNO people don't do this. They think it sufficient to communicate with UMNO members. They ignore the wider public. What are UMNO ideals? What does UMNO fight for? Information on these are not passed on. As a result, people see UMNO as a club for thieves and philanderers. Every single UMNO leader at all levels must be articulate enough to inform the public.

6. But it's important for UMNO to retain and nurture its core competencies. Concentrate on core competencies in its businesses. This is an important element in the writings of management consultants like Gary Hamel and Prahalad. We must ask ourselves: What are we really good at. Ignore those sniggers. Having established that, make sure you're not just good, but the very best at the activities that really drive our business.

7. Reduce organisational levels. We are almost OK. A responsive and nimble organisation should have only three layers: top management, executive management, and all the self-managers below, aided by expertise managers. Can we justify any further layers? If not, axe them. We have the MKT, the Perhubungan Negeri, the Ketua Bahagian, Ketua Cawangan. Perhaps we remove the Perhubungan Negeri. Why do we need them? That would mean voices direct from the base reach the top leadership faster and directly. We don't want sanitised and edited information.

8. This is important. The statement 'empower your employees' translates into empower your Ketua Cawangans because they form the majority of UMNO members at leadership level. The Ketua Cawangans have many times pointed to their superiors, the value created by devolving authority to individuals and teams which have the resources to take decisions and responsibility at the frontline. It's plainly the only sensible way to manage Ketua Cawangans and also by far the best way for them to manage others.

9. Another important step is to provide continuous, lifelong self-improvement programmes. It cannot be gainsaid that the better educated you and your people are - not just in necessary expertise, but in thinking, reading and learning skills - the better our business will be managed. At present, UMNO members' quality is laughable.

10. Enlarge our talent pool and manage talent. Attracting, motivating and retaining the best people you can find is fundamental. Remember, however, they are only as good as their environment, their development and their powers. One in, we nurture them, don't stifle their development. People are tired of seeing the same tired faces. UMNO must begin its transformation into a nimble and responsive organisation peopled by intelligent resources. Again, I say, the age of the hail fellow well met type is over. You don't want UMNO leaders spending time at warung kopis all the time do you? The dangdut dilettantes? UMNO is a political party- not an excuse to party all night.

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