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10 October My Blog has moved.Hey folks, I have moved my blog to http://lilianq-thatwasthenthisisnow.blogspot.com/
Do check out my new blog.
It's not goodbye to Windows Live spaces yet.
28 September Thai Coup and Temasek HoldingAn article by a Fortune magazine writer carried by the Sydney Morning Herald about Temasek's potential loss in the Thai coup. Not something you can expect to find in our nation building media. So read with an open mind. September 25, 2006
The fallout from the Thai coup is yet to hit Singapore's Madame Ho, writes Eric Ellis.
THAILAND'S military junta has gone out of its way to assure that it's business as usual in Bangkok.
The baht has wobbled, likewise the stock exchange, but neither with symptoms to have neighbours sniffling with the contagion they caught here during the late 1990s financial crisis. The coup has been smooth as silk, as Thais like to say.
But there is one woman in Singapore who desperately hopes the generals are as good as their word, the person whose dealmaking with Thailand's ousted Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, precipitated the coup.
Her name is Ho Ching. She is chief executive of the Singapore Government-owned Temasek Holdings, which controls a $100 billion-plus portfolio, including Optus.
She bought Thaksin out of his family businesses, Shin Corp, in March in a highly questionable $4.5 billion transaction that outraged Thais.
The Singapore company bought the Thai leader's controlling half share in Shin Corp and then quickly snapped up most of the rest on the stockmarket. Temasek now controls 96 per cent.
As Thaksin banked Temasek's tax-free cash, Thais burnt Madame Ho's effigy on Bangkok streets, traducing the reputation created for her by Singaporean spin doctors as a safe pair of hands. It was, at best, a spectacular misjudgement.
Far from being the great buy Temasek claimed, the deal ignited six months of political turmoil, culminating in the coup. Thais stopped using the television, airline, finance and technology businesses Temasek bought.
Now Shin buyers wear a $US2 billion ($2.6 billion) paper loss on the deal after less than six months.
As Thai regulators deepen their probe into the transaction and Thaksin's "rampant corruption", Temasek and its partners reportedly face fines of up to $US2 billion if it's proved, as many suspect, that Thai licensing laws have been breached. Or have the deal declared illegal, the assets nationalised.
Coups d'etat tend to arouse shrill demonstrations of nationalism; Temasek is the convenient foreign villain, its predicament entirely self-inflicted.
In these post-Enron days where blameless corporate governance is paramount, if the chief executive blows $2 billion in six months, the bloodletting in the boardroom would be swift and brutal. But even if her Thai adventure worsens, that seems unlikely to happen to Ho, who is the wife of Singapore's Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong; the daughter-in-law of the nation's long-time strongman, Lee Kuan Yew. At 54, Ho is no Singapore Girl. Dour and grim, with a penchant for unflattering grey business suits, she's been Temasek's unsmiling CEO since 2001, presenting as an untouchable corporate dominatrix protected by the formidable Lee family edifice.
The Lees, as compliant Singaporeans famously know, don't make mistakes. Any questioning of their methods - as bankrupted opposition politicians and the foreign press have frequently discovered - hazard libel suits heard in Singapore's courts, where the Lees' history of success is unparalleled.
Not that the Singaporean media does much questioning either. The day's newspapers after the coup did not report Temasek's obvious dilemma, odd given that ultimately it is Singapore taxpayers' money Ho has hazarded.
It was left to a sole letter writer, presciently published a week before the coup, who suggested that an alliance with the much-hated Thaksin might not be a wise risk for the national nest egg. "Hitching our investment bandwagon to the first family is a double-edged sword," wrote Danny Chua in Today.
"We can go higher with their rising star but when they fall, we can fall too. Our investment must stand up to scrutiny in the eyes of the law. There must be compliance with corporate governance and transparency. We must be able to sleep peacefully, knowing that we have done the right thing."
Singapore loves to control and, when it can't, to quietly work its power relationships behind the scenes. Temasek claims to be independent of government but often seems to follow government policy in its investment portfolio, spending to boost neighbours.
And in Thaksin, Singapore found an autocrat after its own heart, rare in a region where mostly-Chinese Singapore isn't much liked, derided though grudgingly admired as rich and arrogant.
Thaksin was a big fan of the Lee's long-ruling People's Action Party and its compliant "Singapore System". Thaksin and Lee were allies in pushing EU-style ASEAN integration and there was resentment in Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur of a supposed Singapore-Bangkok axis within the group. Not any more.
Serious questions abound for a Singapore that likes to lecture the world about "best practices" of corporate governance it supposedly employs.
Temasek is suspected of funding Thai partners in the Thaksin deal, the implication being to avoid breaching foreign investment laws.
And where did Temasek pay Thaksin? Thailand's central bank limits personal cash transfers to $US1 million a year - thus it would take about 2000 years to transfer Thaksin's pile - and needs special permission from the central bank to go higher. But Thailand's central bank governor is seen as a cleanskin, and a contender to be appointed caretaker prime minister by the generals.
Thaksin presumably knew that so it raises questions whether Temasek paid some of the funds offshore, in a foreign tax haven perhaps, avoiding Thai rules altogether.
And then there's impact beyond Bangkok. Economic contagion seems to have been contained but the bloodless ease in which Thaksin has been removed, the popularity of the coup, has been noticed in Jakarta and Manila, both struggling to secure their own democracies.
Temasek is in serious trouble in Thailand. It's suddenly friendless, losing its main political ally in Bangkok and his cronies, and runs the risk of having its assets seized as the Thaksin probe deepens. The deal itself is a fait accompli; Thaksin banked his $US2 billion months ago and, now in gilded exile in London, is unlikely to offer to return Temasek's cash.
If Temasek and Thaksin fall out, the legal implications are fascinating. For the moment however, the silence from Temasek has been deafening. It simply says it is "monitoring events". With $4 billion of other peoples' money in the balance, it might've added "anxiously".
Eric Ellis is South-East Asia Correspondent for Fortune magazine. 25 September Remember, remember, Sept 22ndSept 22 - A great day to remember as another dear friend of mine trodded down into the enclosed 'chamber' and as she took her first oath on saying 'I do', tears almost whelmed up in her eyes. Yes, as her maid of honor, I was glad to see her walking down that marriage path and begin another journey of her life. It was quite inspirational and touching when the JP (Justice of Peace) read out the oath, but then again, the JP pronounced my friend's name wrongly and this brought some giggles to all of us.
Yes, congratulations to Mr and Mrs Seet (I can finally call you that last name now) 19 September Something to ponderPeace of Mind If you were to ask your neighbor, "What would give you peace of mind?" he might tell you, "A vacation in Bermuda!" or "An extra hundred grand would give me peace!", or "A new Ferrari would make me content!" But going places and getting stuff is usually a temporary solution ... Let's say you buy a lottery ticket and by some miracle you win your dream Ferrari. Today you are content. Tomorrow you are saying, "If I could just catch that little punk who scratched it in the car park!" Peace of mind rarely comes from getting more stuff. Getting more stuff usually leads to wanting even more stuff! Peace of mind starts with being grateful for what you have right now. GRATITUDE is POWER, and here's why ... When you are thankful for what you have - for the friends you have, and for the things you've got, you attract more good people and good things. People who always complain about what they DON'T HAVE, stay stuck. Complainers attract more things to complain about! It is a law of life. It's hard to explain, but you can observe it around you. We get more of what we dwell upon. That's why all the spiritual masters have taught the same lesson ... "Start by being thankful. Be happy with what you have now, and more will come your way." It's practical advice. IN A NUTSHELL Every time you say a silent "thank you" you become more peaceful and more powerful. Rare Sight!In a zoo in California, a mother tiger gave birth to a rare set of triplet tiger cubs. Unfortunately, due to complications in the pregnancy, the cubs were born prematurely and due to their tiny size, died shortly after birth.The mother tiger after recovering from the delivery, suddenly started to decline in health, although physically she was fine. The veterinarians felt that the loss of her litter had caused the tigress to fall into a depression. The doctors decided that if the tigress could surrogate another mother's cubs, perhaps she would improve. After checking with many other zoos across the country, there were no tiger cubs of the right age to introduce to the mourning mother. The veterinarians decided to try something that had never been tried in a zoo environment. Sometimes a mother of one species will take on the care of a different species. Take a look at the attached pictures...PRICELESS !!! 18 September The BanquetIf you are into arty-farty stuff, you will love the 'The Banquet' starring lead actress and Empress Zhang Ziyi and lead actor and Emperor Ge You, of course not forgetting the dashing prince played by Daniel Wu. (The reason why I watched the show is partly because of him). In 'The Banquet', Ziyi plays a ruthless scheming queen in ancient China and she has got the men eating out of her hands. Ge You, of course is the 'Huang Shang' (emperor) who at the end died in the laps of lovely Ziyi. The whole thing, you see, looks like it was filmed in a very high class chinese restaurant, with the fancy and bright costumes and low lightning. It kinda give me a creepy and cold feeling as one steps into the cavernous halls. But still, Zhang Ziyi has given Hollywood leading actress a run for their money!!!
I especially love the bath and spa scence where the long regal hair of Daniel Wu's gets washed and combed by Ziyi and the strange jade massage that Ziyi gets from the Emperor Ge You. It looks quite absurd and I couldn;t help but giggle at it.
The ending was not what I have expected, but I think base on my instinct, I am placing my bet on the 'Guess who is the killer'.
11 September Aftermath - TechEd SEA 2006Well, let's just said it was a different experience as compared to the previous TechEd Asia 2005 we had last year. This year, TechEd SEA 2006 was held in KLCC, just a stone throw away from the hotel which most of us were residing in. Great accomodation, good food and last but not least, great people. Yes, TechEd SEA 2006 was the long awaited event for most technie junkies. I especially like the Mystical passion night organized by the Singapore subsidary for the Singapore delegates...boy was it a fun -filled night of laughter, jokes and more comical actions as we saw some of the folks acting out scenes taken from 'The Matrix', 'Star Wars' etc....I am pretty sure they could be rope in by Mediacorp very soon for their comedy nights show! Not to mention the highlight of the event which showcase the hot Nadia doing her belly dance to the crowd and got the guys moving and grooving with her....:)
The thank you and appreciation dinner on the 2nd night was a great night of booze and party and particulary for everyone to mingle just with everyone! We got to sample some good local food (a different taste cooked by the locals), had some great conversations with the MVPs and best of all, the games that followed after that was definitely 2 thumbs up. Not to mention the tequila shot (I swear to never touch that liquor) which I had that perpetually caused my sorethroat to erupt the very next day!! (hiya)
Yup...3rd day of TechEd SEA 2006 and down with a bad sorethroat. I think the tequila shot just got the better of me and I was pratically a dead-duck for the entire day. I was trying very hard to forget about the sorethroat and stay focus on interacting with the attendees...boy, it was hard, but when you got to do it, you just had to do it. It's all in the mind I told myself. We were playing the MVP/RD Tic-tac-toe game and Malaysian MVPs game at the booth...well, response wasn't that great, however, by the afternoon, we had 2 attendees who submitted in the completed form for the tic-tac-toe and about 5-6 completed forms for the Malaysian MVP game. Not too bad I must say based on the fact that the tic-tac-toe game was a hard nut to crack...well, may the best man wins!!! That night, I totally cranked out from the inflamed sorethroat and fell into a deep sleep whle the rest of the folks were out partying at the so called 'Geek Night'! .....where did they get the energy from???
4th day and also the finale day. It was server fest day and also the day whereby we will hold our lucky drawn to announce the winners for the tic-tac-toe game. Boy, I received 8 completed forms for the game, but alas only 2 attendees turn up for the lucky draw. Well, at least each of them has a 50-50 chance of getting the grand prize - MSDN Premium Subscripition worth USD30,000 to the winner!!! Server Fest took place at 2pm and continue the whole day...lotsa games and prizes to be won which got the crowd in the exhibition hall going chaotic over it. For me, I was glad that everything went smoothly. The hard work and months of preparation and coordination for most of us finally paid off and yes, I can finally have a good and sombre sleep today before I bid Malaysia Goodbye and Hello Singapore.
Like a good book left unread over the weekends, I must said TechEd SEA 2006 has left me lingering and wanting more (but spare me the tequila shot please...hehehe) :) 26 August Great Advice from BGGreat Advice from the multi-billionaire, Bill Gates Bill Gates recently gave a speech at a High School about 11 things they did not and will not learn in school. He talked about how feel-good, politically correct teachings created a generation of kids with no concept of reality and how this concept set them up for failure in the real world. Love him or hate him, he sure hits the nail on the head with this! To anyone with kids of any age, here's some advice: Rule 1: Life is not fair - get used to it! Rule 2: The world won't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself. Rule 3: You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both. Rule 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss. Rule 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping: they called it opportunity. Rule 6: If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them. Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parents' generation, try de-lousing the closet in your own room. Rule 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers but life HAS NOT. In some schools they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life. Rule 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on your own time. Rule 10: Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs. Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one. It's nearly here......It's nearly here. Just 1 more week to go to Sept 5 when TechEd SEA 2006 takes place in Kuala Lumpur. TechEd is the largest Microsoft technie event that most technie junkies and enthusiasts are waiting for. And of course one of the main highlights will see my SEA MVPs speaking at this event and proctoring the Hands-on-labs, not forgetting that 'all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy', we will be having the 'let-your-hair-down' party which will be taking place every night from Sept 5-8!!! Of course, there will be games to promote the MVP awareness at the various MSDN and UG booths with attractive prizes to be won for the lucky winner! So, if you have yet to sign up for TechEd SEA 2006, click here -www.microsoft.com/malaysia/techedsea2006 to secure your seat.
I can't wait to see all my SEA MVPs soon.....hot and sizzling activities await you at TechEd SEA 2006, so be there or be square! :)
23 August 8 Monkeys w.r.t company policiesEver wondered how company's policies ever get established? Well, read on and it's somehow true...
Management : *8 Monkeys* ... ..*really** very interesting* (This is based on an actual experiment conducted in U.K.)
Put eight monkeys in a room. In the middle of the room is a ladder, leading to a bunch of bananas hanging from a hook on the ceiling. Each time a monkey tries to climb the ladder, all the monkeys are sprayed with ice water, which makes them miserable. Soon enough, whenever a monkey attempts to climb the ladder, all of the other monkeys, not wanting to be sprayed, set upon him and beat him up. Soon, none of the eight monkeys ever attempts to climb the ladder. One of the original monkeys is then removed, and a new monkey is put in the room. Seeing the bananas and the ladder, he wonders why none of the other monkeys are doing obvious. But undaunted, he immediately begins to climb the ladder. All the other monkeys fall upon him and beat him silly. He has no idea why. However, he no longer attempts to climb the ladder. A second original monkey is removed and replaced. The newcomer again attempts to climb the ladder, but all the other monkeys hammer the crap out of him. This includes the previous new monkey, who, grateful that he's not on the receiving end this time, participates in the beating because all the other monkeys are doing it. However, he has no idea why he's attacking the new monkey. One by one, all the original monkeys are replaced. Eight new monkeys are now in the room. None of them have ever been sprayed by ice water. None of them attempt to climb the ladder. All of them will enthusiastically beat up any new monkey who tries, without having any idea why. This is how any company's policies get Established.
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