By: Karim Raslan
First published: 23 June 04, TODAY

Malaysisa's Second Finance Minister, Mr Nor Mohamed Yakcop, made many
ground-breaking points in his recent policy speech on government-linked companies (GLCs) and the role of Khazanah Berhad.

The reforms of the GLCs will impact - positively - on the broader society and the education system. Briefly, I was impressed with these points.

The first is the need for Malaysia, as the minister described, to remain adaptable to changing economic and political events and trends.

The second is the way he described the country's development as a relay race and not an individual sprint. The third is his emphasis on performance. And the final one is his point about human capital management.

One underlying and extremely important theme was his willingness to recruit the best managers and executives, regardless of race. Hopefully - after decades of neglect - such policies will stem the flow of Malaysian talent offshore.

The challenges facing Khazanah and the various GLCs under its purview are substantial. The scale is stupendous.

Telekom Malaysia Berhad, for example, has more than 30,000 employees and reported sales in excess of US$3 billion ($5.16 billion) last year, while Tenaga Nasional Berhad - another home-grown giant - has more than 25,000 employees and sales of over US$4.3 billion.

Certainly, a successful overhaul of the GLCs will unlock enormous value for the nation and boost the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange. It will help Malaysia reposition itself as a key player in the Asia-Pacific region. The initial buzz - at least internationally - has been positive.

However, I am concerned about the execution of the changes. The agenda set out by the Second Finance Minister requires deft planning and strategising. In this context, change is often more effective when directed by executives with intimate knowledge of, and exposure to, the various companies and industries. Raw appointees could be eaten alive.

Personally, I'm concerned whether or not the tens of thousands of people who work for the various GLCs are convinced about the process outlined by the minister. The existing staff must not be alienated: That would be a disaster.

The minister's speech prompted me to think about the talent required to lead and work in these domestic giants and how these principles will begin to impact on the national education system.

Clearly, he recognises that Malaysians possess sophisticated cultural skills and that these skills are vital to the overhaul of the GLCs. At best, they are flexible and resourceful in the face of diversity and adversity.

He sees these skills as being an important aspect of the nation's competitive advantage - especially as the country's corporate giants venture abroad.

Given the value placed on such cultural and social skills, Malaysians should ask: "Is our education system in fact deepening and enriching the country's multi- cultural ethos?

"Are our students leaving school with a respect for, and understanding of, different languages, cultures and faiths? Do Muslims know enough about Christianity and Buddhism and vice versa? By extension, can Malaysians work effectively in China, India and Indonesia, negotiating the various cultural hurdles and nuances?"

Frankly, the polarisation of Malaysian schools means that the children are not mixing enough. In fact - as they grow up in different racial ghettoes - they quickly lose these skill-sets without which monolingual Malaysians will not enjoy the fruits of Malaysia's growth.

Of course, this in turn has had a negative impact on "national unity". Such grand-sounding ideas are often hard to quantify. The government should explain how "national unity" and these cultural skills have a direct and quantifiable economic value. Certainly, race-blind hiring policies at the country's vast GLCs will set an important trend.

The country has to show parents that children can derive financial benefit from spending time with children of other races and/or religions. It has to demonstrate that bilingual and trilingual children will have better long-term employment prospects.

When parents realise there is value (read: money) in mixing and that children's competitiveness is impaired, if not damaged, by living in single-race cocoons, the pressure for national integration will come from below.

In the years ahead, the demand for English and Chinese language teaching in national schools will boom because parents want the best jobs and opportunities for their children. Similarly, Chinese-language schools will find themselves having to cope with an increased demand for English and Malay language classes - from parents and children.

Mr Nor Mohamed has charted out an exciting path.

What many people don't realise is that an overhaul of the country's GLCs will, in turn, transform its education system because in Malaysia, business always leads the way.

The writer is a Kuala Lumpur-based lawyer and author.