Firstly, it goes without saying that my first wish for the next 50 years is that
there is no protection of any kind in Malaysia. That we are truly a free market.
History has shown that protection of any sort benefits no one, not even the
protected. AirAsia had no protection in its business turnaround, but look at us
now. AirAsia has revolutionised air travel in Asia and has carried 40 million
people and grown from two to 60 planes, from 200,000 passengers a year to 18
million (more than SIA, Emirates and Cathay), built a brand that’s bigger than
SIA, created jobs for 5,000 people, developed new technology, established the
most advanced training school, and is involved in developing the first
independent MRO (maintenance, repair and overhaul) in Malaysia.
Malaysia has to be confident in its people and its institutions to stand tall
and go out there and compete with the world. We must rid ourselves of our chip
on our shoulder and prepare to compete.
Globalisation is here and the quicker we realise that, the better.
I hope that we have, once again, a world class civil service; a civil service
that is there to help the people and help business, to supplement and grow the
economy, to cut down on bureaucracy and to find ways to help entrepreneurs.
We must again be world class as a police force and a judiciary. Law and order is
fundamental to a successful economy and we must have the best and the most
respected, as we did before.
I hope that Malaysia is a driver in the economic integration of Asean. We must
integrate and utilise each other strengths.
With India and China powering on an economy of 600 million that will stand up
much better to globalisation, I hope we have one currency and one standard
across many areas. That will lower the cost of business and open up so much
opportunity. The free movement of labour and the identity of Asean will be
crucial to growth.
We should not be worried about this. Look at Europe and Nafta (the North
American Free Trade Agreement). Both have been resoundingly successful.
One day, maybe Senai will be the low-cost airport of Singapore and Malaysia. And
maybe Tiger and Lion Air will be flying domestic. Why not? We should give more
choices to consumers.
One Asean bourse. One Asean railway. The list is endless. And within Asean,
there would be no borders, and there would be Asean banks. Wouldn’t that be
great?
AirAsia has been very clear that it’s an Asean brand flying to more than 80
destinations and carrying 40 million people all over Asean.
And what of sport and culture? Would it not be great if we had sporting and
cultural functions that were truly Asean?
But there are few opportunities to promote ourselves at Asean events. Would it
not be great if we had an Asean league for football or basketball? A league in
football where there are clubs all over Asean. Imagine Kuala Lumpur vs
Singapore. Or Bangkok United vs Jakarta City.
All off the above cannot be possible without great people. So, I hope in 50
years time, well honestly, in 50 days time, we start a blueprint to have world
class education.
We must have people with creative thinking who are capable of intellectual
debate, and provide our kids with an all-round education. What do I mean by
all-round education? I mean institutions that not only promote academic
excellence but encourage students to excel in sports, drama and music.
It’s in sports that kids have their first taste of management and teamwork. It’s
in music and drama that kids have a chance to express themselves and exude
creativity.
And it’s from there that we will get creative business people, civil servants
and entrepreneurs.
I hope we have institutions which are multiracial and comprise people from all
corners of the world; institutions that not only attract the best academia but
also the best students. Institutions that have all kinds of societies so our
kids have diversity.
That’s my hope and dream. As I always say, believe the unbelievable, dream the
impossible and never take no for an answer.
Datuk Tony Fernandes is AirAsia chief executive officer.
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Talk on Summary Judgement (25 May 2012) Organised by the Selangor Bar Committee, this talk will take place at 5:00 pm, at the Selangor Bar Committee Auditorium, on 25 May 2012 (Friday). The talk will be conducted by Ramesh Supramanian. Click on the link above for more details.
Seminar on Tax Issues in Financial Transactions (25 May 2012) Organised by the Kuala Lumpur Bar Professional Development Committee, this seminar, featuring S Saravana Kumar, will take place at 3:00 pm, at the Kuala Lumpur Bar Auditorium, on 25 May 2012 (Friday). Click on the link above for more details.
Dialogue with Criminal Law Practitioners (26 May 2012) Organised by Bar Council, this dialogue will take place at 10:00 am to 12:00 pm, at the Raja Aziz Addruse Auditorium, Bar Council, on 26 May 2012 (Saturday). Click on the link above for more details.
Conference on Competition Law (31 May 2012) Organised by Bar Council with the support of LexisNexis, this conference will take place at 8:30 am to 4:00 pm, at Renaissance Kuala Lumpur Hotel, on 31 May 2012 (Thursday). For more details or to register, please contact Vilashini Vijayan (03-2050 2095; vila@malaysianbar.org.my). Click on the link above for more details.
Talk on What Clients Want (7 June 2012) Organised by the KL Bar Practitioners' Affairs Committee, the talk, presented by Ong Eu Jin, will take place at 5:00 pm, at the KL Bar Auditorium, on 7 June 2012 (Thursday). Click on the link above for more details.
4th LAWASIA Family Law Conference, Penang (13 and 14 July 2012) Supported by Penang Bar Committee and the Malaysian Bar, this conference, themed “The New Global Family: Emerging Trends and Challenges to Family Practice”, will take place at Traders Hotel, Penang, on 13 and 14 July 2012 (Friday and Saturday). Click on the link above for more details.