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.

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"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. 

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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. 

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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.

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