MBA lesson on leadership and power that still rings true today

When I was doing my MBA some years ago, there was one local lecturer everyone paid close attention to his words. 

Mr Lai was not your typical academic. He was a hands-on corporate man  — then a COO in one of the key subsidiary companies of Genting Group. He had war stories from boardrooms, high level  negotiations, crisis meetings and corporate planning. He did not teach from slides. He taught from scars.

One afternoon, during a class on strategic management, someone asked whether a brilliant strategy was enough to guarantee success. Mr Lai smiled, paused, and said something that has stayed with me ever since:

“The most critical stage of any strategic plan is implementation. And the most critical decision in implementation is choosing the right CEO.”

He explained that once the board approves a strategy, everything depends on the clarity of the chief executive’s role. 

The CEO must know his mandate. He must know what he can and cannot do. His KPIs must be clear. There must be no duplication of authority, no shadow decision-makers, no conflict of interest that paralyses execution.

Click Here to Read More..

"Teleng", Corporate Mafia targetted by Bloomberg

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) was created to champion integrity and combat graft in public and private sectors. 

Yet a Bloomberg investigation published on February 11, 2026 alleges that elements within MACC may have been complicit in helping certain business figures exert undue influence over corporate control, using intimidation and legal leverage to pressure executives into selling or surrendering their shareholdings.

This controversy echoes an earlier episode that first surfaced in The Corporate Secret blog throughout 2023, centered around Dato’ Sri Andy Lim Kok Han, widely known in corporate and criminal circles as Dato’ Teleng. 

In that saga, Lim emerged as a substantial shareholder in GIIB Holdings Bhd, later being implicated in a highly publicized altercation where he allegedly brandished a pistol and issued threats to then-CEO Tai Boon Wee to force board appointments — an incident that spurred police reports and raised questions about the intersection of enforcement agencies, shareholder activism and corporate power struggles in Malaysia.

Together, these narratives paint a troubling picture of how enforcement mechanisms, corporate ambition, and allegations of impropriety can intersect, challenging perceptions of transparency and fairness in both regulatory institutions and the boardroom.

Yesterday's Bloomberg news on Tan Sri Azam Baki is but mere teaser to what unfolded today. His short-term holding in Velocity Capital Berhad and Awanbiru Berhad is just prequel to the real target, the Corporate Mafia. 

Click Here to Read More..

Modi’s Visit to Malaysia: Strategic Stakes Beyond Local Noise

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s official visit to Malaysia should be understood as a strategic milestone rather than filtered through the prism of episodic domestic controversies. 

In a rapidly fragmenting global order, where middle powers must navigate between economic uncertainty, geopolitical rivalry, and regional security pressures, the Malaysia–India relationship has regained strategic relevance that extends well beyond day-to-day political noise.

This visit also marks a deliberate reset following a period when bilateral relations lost momentum. During Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s second premiership, ties between Kuala Lumpur and New Delhi became strained. Indian media narratives largely attributed this to Mahathir’s public criticism of India’s position on Kashmir. 

Within Malaysian corporate and diplomatic circles, however, there was a quieter interpretation—that the chill reflected accumulated elite grievances, including dissatisfaction over how the late Ananda Krishnan’s business interests were treated in India. 

Click Here to Read More..

Thaipusam: A Malaysian Celebration, Beyond Geography and Theology

One of the least understood facts about Thaipusam is also the most revealing: it is not widely celebrated in India, including Tamil Nadu, the cultural homeland of Lord Murugan. 

Outside India, Thaipusam finds significant expression only in Malaysia and Singapore—and even then, the contrast is telling. 

In Singapore, the celebration exists but is highly regulated, sanitised, and technocratically managed. In Malaysia, by contrast, Thaipusam has grown into something far larger: a deeply emotive, public, and unmistakably national cultural moment.

This alone should prompt reflection. How did a festival that is peripheral in its land of origin become so central here? The answer lies not merely in religion, but in history, migration, politics, and the uniquely Malaysian art of cultural adaptation.

Click Here to Read More..

Is There More Than Meets the Eye?

The IJM–Sunway Puzzle and a Corporate Intrigue Unfolding

Every so often, Corporate Malaysia produces a story that refuses to sit neatly within the usual boundaries of market logic. The proposed Sunway–IJM transaction appears to be one such case. 

On the surface, it is framed as a conventional consolidation move in construction and infrastructure. Beneath it, however, lies a convergence of political anxiety, market anomalies, whispered investigations, and institutional silence that raises an uncomfortable question: 

Is there more here than meets the eye?

The issue was reignited after UMNO’s recent General Assembly when UMNO Youth Chief Dr Akmal Saleh publicly voiced concerns over IJM. While his remarks were quickly interpreted through a racial or political lens—particularly anxieties over Sunway’s Chinese ownership and IJM’s strategic highway concessions—the substance of the concern deserves a more sober examination. 

Strip away the rhetoric, and what remains is not about ethnicity, but control, valuation, and accountability over national infrastructure assets.

Click Here to Read More..

Petronas vs Petros: When “All Is Well” Masks a Deepening Federal–State Contest

Publicly, both Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and Sarawak Premier Abang Johari Openg have been at pains to project stability and cooperation in relations between Petronas and Petroleum Sarawak Berhad (Petros). 

The official line has been consistent. Discussions are ongoing, misunderstandings will be resolved, and there is no crisis in federal–state relations. Within the oil and gas industry, however, the picture has been far less reassuring.

Industry insiders speak of tense, sometimes acrimonious meetings, strong words exchanged behind closed doors, and operational frictions that contradict the calm public narrative. Allegations have circulated — unverified but persistent — that Petronas operations in Sarawak, including facilities in Bintulu, have faced disruptions, and that work permits for Petronas personnel have been delayed or withheld. 

Whether fully accurate or not, these accounts underscore a reality that the dispute is no longer merely theoretical or political; it has begun to affect operational confidence.

Click Here to Read More..

Not time yet for chest thumping

Light at the End of the Tunnel — But No Victory Lap for Madani Yet

For the first time in years, Malaysia feels investable again. 

The ringgit has strengthened, foreign capital is returning—albeit cautiously—Bursa Malaysia has clawed its way past 1,700 points, and macroeconomic panic has given way to guarded optimism. 

After the political chaos of 2018–2022 and the economic trauma of Covid-19, this alone is no small achievement.

Yet it would be premature—perhaps even dangerous—for the Madani government to engage in chest-pounding. Markets may be calmer, but they are not yet convinced. 

What we are witnessing is not a ringing endorsement of Anwar Ibrahim’s reform agenda, but a conditional reprieve: confidence in stability, not yet belief in transformation.

There is light at the end of the tunnel. But the tunnel is long, narrow, and politically treacherous.

Click Here to Read More..