Malaysians Should Emphasis More On Quality Of Life

By Yong Soo Heong KUALA LUMPUR, March 14 (Bernama) -- The Chairman of the Federation of Public Listed Companies Malaysia, Megat Najmuddin Megat Khas, says it is high time Malaysians start emphasising more on the quality of life than the quality of goods. Taking a tongue-in-cheek but hard-hitting approach in his presentation on "Corporate Leaders and Corporate Governance", he remarked that many Malaysians were now too pre-occupied with brands. "If the brand is not too well known, they won't buy it," he said amidst laughter from the audience during the Napoleon Hill International Convention at the KL Convention Centre here Wednesday. Megat Najmuddin urged Malaysians to take stock of life in the long term and reiterated that there was more to life than just branded goods, especially with current unhealthy developments like the emergence of the so-called "Ugly Malaysians" in the form of "monster" drivers and "Mat Rempits" ( individuals who participates in illegal street racing), usually involving underbone motorcycleson the highways, illegal moneylenders, credit card cloners and match-fixers among bookmakers. He cited the need for social cohesion, racial unity, integrity, accountability, effective leadership and decision making, and good governance as some of the vital ingredients for the country's transformation and well-being over the long run. He also said that the reward system in the country must reward honest people and not crooks. He also cited Warren Buffet, a celebrated billionaire investor who listed integrity, intelligence and energy as the three prerequisites for hiring people, with integrity given the highest importance. Megat Najmuddin said even if an employee had the intelligence and energy, it would be disastrous for the organisation if he or she did not have integrity. He commented on the importance of integrity in political funding by describing it as the "mother of all corruption". He said political funding must not be opaque as it might give rise to potential corruption. To support his point, he went on to quote Sir Winston Churchill, "Politics is not a game. It is an earnest business." Megat Najmuddin, who is also a member of one of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and Malaysia Institute of Integrity committees said the public should also participate in combating corruption and the quest for greater integrity. Saying that Malaysia needed good public governance and that there was no room for corruption in this respect, he also asked the public to give the "fine young men and women" at MACC a chance to prove their worth in tackling corruption, especially in detaining the "big fishes" among the corrupt. Good governance, he said, was about leadership with efficiency, probity and responsibility, as well as about leadership which was transparent and accountable. Earlier on, Dr J.B. Hill, the grandson of Napoleon Hill, a noted author and motivator, described Christina Chia, founder and chairman of Napoleon Hill Associates (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, as the "Napoleon Hill of Asia" for her leadership and tenacity in promoting leadership values and motivating personal growth in this part of the world. On Thursday, celebrated speaker Dr Deepak Chopra, will speak on the "Soul of Leadership". -- BERNAMA