I first read and wrote an article about ‘paradigm shifts’ in the NST in 1992 premised on such thinking propagated by a paper originally written by the late Tan Sri Noordin Sopiee of the Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS).

I had then also documented my reaction to a book launched by the then chief secretary to the government (KSN) called The Malaysian Civil Service: A Paradim Shift . My article was entitled, \”What Paradigm Shift?\”

I skim-read the more than 500 page book, published by the Malaysian Administrative Modernisation and Management Planning Unit (Mampu) which documented many civil service innovations since the 1980s. The book focused on many small innovative changes which were introduced by the then PM, referred to as ‘paradigm shifts’.

Having reviewed the book, I found that the word paradigm was not only not understood but was used only once in the entire book and that too only in the preface. Actually the rest of the book documented many small projects and initiatives of many others, and in some cases even bordered on plagiarism.

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The works of small innovations in the public services were reported without duly recognising the dignity of the real risk-takers and change-agents who made these changes happen. They all apparently become the successful projects of the authors of the book, namely Mampu and the then KSN.

To me, even then, the contents of the book demonstrated the lack of intellectual honesty. If anything, one thing I had learned in the hallowed halls of science and knowledge was that the integrity of authors and creators must always be protected, because that recognises and rewards the dignity and destiny of the risk-takers who often are not well credited for the change they do in fact initiate. As Shakespeare said, \”The good that such men do is interred with their bones and the evil remains behind\”.

The writing’s on the wall

This past week I received yet another article from the Global Executive Director of the Caux Round Table which declared that \”Wall Street is no more,\” as a direct result of the sub-prime loan crisis. I cannot agree more, but some of us had already seen this writing on the wall too, when the Berlin Wall collapsed, and communist regimes fell like dominoes.

Nonetheless, the American economy and the Washington-New York complex and consensus of politics and economics did not and could not see this writing on their blinkered wall. Their Titanic could not sight their iceberg.

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Therefore when Tun Mahathir Mohamad, the then prime minister of Malaysia refused to attend the \”show-business\” of American capitalism at the then APEC Summit for President Bill Clinton’s re-election bid, I had written another piece which declared that the Berlin Wall was only the military collapse of the then mainstream paradigm of unbridled capitalism, and that the socio-political collapse of the same would happen, beginning in Seattle. And it did, very obviously to me.

Malaysian participation at the APEC Summit was front-paged by the NST and showed Martin Khor of the Third World Network on the front page as an outspoken critic of a totally capitalistic and ugly complex of western dominance.

For the first time in Malaysian history, a Malaysian civil society activist was highlighted instead of the prime minister or the foreign minister. The paradigm had actually begun shifting but Washington’s military-political complex deluded themselves that they were part and parcel of this changing paradigm.

Then 911 happened, and for sure did show up the unprepared-ness of the American national defence systems and challenged the integrity of their national system very good and proper. A religious extremist group had planned and executed the most damning attack ever conducted against the biggest military and economic power in the world.

But, how do all these global events directly affect us in Malaysia, other than through the stock market and in terms of economics? The truth is that we too are falsely driven by a similar modern ugly capitalism of power and greed within a governance complex protected by mainstream crony capitalism.

A game of economic and political gain

Umno, the leading actor within Malaysia, has become the controlling interest and biggest stakeholder of our version of the same politico-economic complex of modern capitalism. As a Steve Young article pointed out, the greatest \”weakness of this modern capitalistic model\” was really the artificial trader value creation from paper transfers of ownership.

Lehmann Brothers had moved from being traditional investment bankers to paper asset traders. As we may be hit hard by this global economic crisis and the uncertainty of the bail-out package, our own political turmoil will cause a major fallout within Umno.

The Malaysia mainstream political leadership too is build on the similar model of \”trader value creation with little or no real value creation on the ground.\”

In Malaysia, I hear, that a project can be traded or contracted out up to two or there times, before the real contractor gets to do the final job. Therefore, real economic value of the work done is inflated and real money in the economy of productive work is far reduced.

I hear that the factoring can be up to 20 to 30 times the actual value of the real project on the ground. I cannot believe it but that is what I am told.

Unfortunately too, the Umno Titanic of Malaysian political leadership has, like their American partners, not seen the lack of efficacy of such inflated models of paper value trading, while the controllers and players extract real value almost immediately for personal gain.

So the deals and trades continue unabated, and Umno leadership appears to be still in denial regarding the sighting of the ‘iceberg’. They are still uncertain as to the real problem of the visible iceberg, and the real problems and economic challenges facing the nation.

Instead they argue, it is not the direction of the Titanic which needs to change but rather the so-called captain who steers the ship. What they may not know is that it was they who prevented the older captains, both of them, from steering the ship in the right direction, because they enjoyed the abuse of their entitlements and privileges too much.

Leadership in denial

If there was no other factor, the March 8 General Election results should have alerted the captain about how manifestly wrong the direction of the ship was. But blur as he is and was, he is still in severe denial and now, all the crew members are also entwined in a similar denial trip to Abilene.

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When the Titanic actually and finally hits the iceberg, there will be severe panic and many acts of distress and desperation. I pray that the nation will then be protected from unsavoury actions of individuals of the May 13 kind, but will see more real dedication of the \”Free RPK & Hindraf leaders-kind\” where Malaysians march for the right to redirect this ship in a new direction, hopefully with a new captain and a totally new crew. That may not even be the Pakatan Rakyat.

True and good leadership in any system can smell trouble and help re-direct the troubled ship through rough waters and in new directions. But, if the pilots and crew are in severe denial and are of the view that \”no one can sink the Titanic,\” then only its sinking \”by the hand of God\” can help send the crew in new direction.

May God help the Malaysian titanic steer through its rough and troubled waters.