LIKE many Malaysians, I often have to remind my colleagues, neighbours and friends that chat groups are not the best place to discuss politics, especially topics on race relations and religion.
Some of us often forget that participants in chat groups may not necessarily share the same sentiments and enthusiasm. Chat groups are created for specific agendas and purposes, but we do go off-track sometimes.
The workplace is no different. Divergent opinions can lead to creativity and better ways of doing things once a consensus is reached. However, it can also result in strong disagreements and even conflict, potentially breaking a team.
As managers, we are familiar with such situations. Managers must always think about how best to manage divergent opinions in professional settings.
As we come to the end of 2024 and brace for an uncertain 2025, in times of political upheaval, such as the new US president and increased geopolitical tensions affecting every region in the world, it is also a good time to focus on managing our backyard.
With 2025 on the horizon, it is a good time to focus on managing our backyard
The bigger challenge requiring managers’ attention in 2025 is the march of AI
AI will impact every department and section, with no exceptions
Being respectful and professional is always key, according to the Chartered Management Institute’s (CMI) tips for managers – be brave enough to shut down conversations if they make some colleagues feel uncomfortable.
It is important to remind teams that the workplace is not always the best place for heated political discussions, especially if they prove unproductive and inconsequential to work.
The bigger challenge requiring managers’ attention in 2025 is the march of artificial intelligence (AI) in the workplace. Forget about scheming and untrustworthy politicians.
AI is the number one priority – the better it is managed, the more likely organisations are to adopt it successfully and avoid potential pitfalls. The good news is that the Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) believes that a significant portion of companies in Malaysia are proactive in this regard.
MEF president Datuk Syed Hussain Syed Husman cites the Cisco AI Readiness Index survey conducted in November last year, which revealed that 46% of Malaysian organisations are prepared to adopt AI technology in line with the Fourth Industrial Revolution (IR 4.0). The study indicated that 13% of these entities are fully ready, with an additional 33% classified as partially ready.
For AI to take off, the positive impact of management and leadership on organisational performance is well-documented, including by Haskel et al (2007) in the United Kingdom and Bloom et al (2010), which found better management led to productivity increases of 13% to 17%.
Data from the UK’S Office of National Statistics shows that companies with high management practices are significantly more likely to drive tech and AI adoption. The research found that companies with top-tier management scores are significantly more likely to adopt AI (37% in the top decile compared to just 3% in the bottom) and to recognise its relevance.
While only 32% of top-performing companies see AI as inapplicable, this figure rises sharply to 74% among those with lower management scores.
However, CMI research reveals that anxiety around AI technologies remains widespread, with over two in five (44%) UK managers reporting concerns raised by colleagues and direct reports about new and emerging AI tools within their organisations.
Alarmingly, fewer than one in 10 managers (9%) believe their organisation is adequately equipped to work with AI, with most receiving little to no training on how to manage or integrate these technologies effectively.
Researchers have found that managers will increasingly play a critical role in interpreting Ai-generated insights, ensuring these align with organisational goals, and making judgment calls that require human intuition and ethical consideration.
AI will impact every department and section, with no exceptions. For the human resources manager, they will need to determine whether AI is writing recruits’ curriculum-vitae and cover letters.
If so, should this be a cause for concern? Are graduates making themselves more attractive to employers by demonstrating a willingness to use AI? Or does this come across as lazy or lacking in creativity?
What does it tell potential employers? Is it deceitful or clever? And should employers be using Ai-detection software?
For news editors in TV studios and newsrooms, shouldn’t they be leading the charge to use AI to eliminate tedious work, allowing staff to focus on creativity and more purposeful tasks?
As we end the year, some companies are still struggling with hybrid working.
It is safe to say that most Malaysian employers have insisted their staff return to the office physically.
This will also be the last year when public listed companies are allowed to conduct annual general meetings for shareholders solely online.
Beginning next year, public listed companies must have physical annual general meetings, with online participation as an additional option.
As we approach the fifth anniversary of the pandemic, the challenge for 2025 will be for managers to ensure they get it right.
For Malaysian managers still holding on to the hybrid workplace, they would know by now if it is still effective. - WONG CHUN WAI Award-winning veteran journalist and Bernama chairman
Sim succeeds Chow as state party chairman after polls at ordinary convention
GEORGE TOWN: A wind heralding change has blown through the halls of power in Penang.
The collective force of the 1,500-odd delegates of Penang DAP who cast their votes yesterday indicated a shift away from the powerful “Lim family” in the party.
Not all candidates known to be aligned with party chairman Lim Guan Eng scored enough votes to win a coveted seat in the state party committee – a sign that there are complex workings in the party that outsiders cannot measure.
Human Resources Minister Steven Sim became the new Penang DAP chairman from now until 2027 after scoring the second highest number of votes from state party delegates (1,237 votes).
Sim was asked to comment on the fact that assuming the post meant he could be the chief minister designate.
The Bukit Mertajam MP picked the middle ground: “We focus on the working on the ground first, make sure we win the next election and establish the government together.
“All that can be discussed later; we focus on working on the ground. Thank you,” he told the media in a minute-long press conference.
Penang DAP had its ordinary convention yesterday, requiring 1,500-odd delegates to vote in 15 out of 31 nominees to be in the state liaison committee.
After their votes were tallied and the 15 members were determined, the 15 then enter closed doors to thrash out who would be the chairman, deputy, secretary, treasurer and other office-bearers.
When the doors were opened, reporters got the news they had expected: Sim would take over from Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow as the new chairman.
Sim’s deputy is now Ramkarpal Singh, a son of the late party stalwart Datuk Seri Karpal Singh, who actually gained the most number of votes from Penang DAP delegates (1,247 votes).
Guan Eng’s sister Hui Ying, who is Deputy Finance Minister and Tanjong MP, retained her post as Penang DAP secretary. But she only garnered 827 votes.
Komtar assemblyman Teh Lai Heng, who used to be Chow’s political secretary, climbed up and became state party treasurer.The combination of Sim and Hui Ying as the chairman and secretary had earlier received open endorsement from DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke.
Among biggest casualties were Deputy Chief Minister II Jagdeep Singh Deo and state Tourism and Creative Economy Committee chairman Wong Hon Wai.
Other state assemblymen who did not make the cut were Heng Lee Lee (Berapit), Joseph Ng (Air Itam), K. Kumaran (Bagan Dalam) and Ong Ah Teong (Batu Lanchang).
These were among personalities believed to be attentive to Guan Eng’s opinions.
Guan Eng, who was Penang chief minister from 2008 to 2018, had never been the Penang DAP chairman. But a convention exists in that the “chief minister designate” is usually the chairman of the leading party in a given state.
State exco member Zairil Khir Johari (fourth, 1,166 votes) and Datuk Yeoh Soon Hin (third, 1,225), a former state exco member, were appointed as the state party vice-chairmen.
State party assistant secretary post went to H’ng Mooi Lye, the Penang local government executive councillor.
The assistant treasurer post will be held by Lay Hock Peng.
The organising secretary is now Phee Boon Chee, the younger brother of Penang DAP veteran Datuk Seri Phee Boon Poh, while the assistant organising secretary post will be held by both Lee Wei Seang and Lim Siew Khim.
The state DAP publicity secretary is now Joshua Woo and the assistant publicity secretary is Datuk Soon Lip Chee.
The director of political education is Daniel Gooi, who is the Penang state exco member for youth, sports and health.
The six committee members are Datuk Seri S. Sundarajoo, RSN Rayer, Phee Syn Tze, Ooi Yong Woi, Teh Chuann Yien and Foo Yu Keong
Leading the pack: Tan beats Cook, Musk and Zuckerberg in the analysis by the WSJ. — Photo from Broadcom Inc
Tan tops list of highest paid executives in the US last year
PETALING JAYA: The highest-paid chief executive officer in the United States is neither Apple’s Tim Cook nor Tesla’s Elon Musk, but Malaysian-born businessman Tan Hock Eng.
Tan, 71, also surpassed Meta Platforms’ Mark Zuckerberg by earning US$162mil (about RM760mil) in compensation last year, according to South China Morning Post, which quoted an analysis by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) this week.
“Tan, who is a US citizen, is the CEO of semiconductor company Broadcom Inc and has been topping the pay charts since 2006, receiving US$103mil in 2017,” said WSJ.
However, the pay package comes with several conditions, including the company’s stock hitting a certain level by next year. Tan must also remain as CEO for an additional five years, and he will not receive any more equity or cash bonuses during that period.
The semiconductor company’s shares rose 106% over the past 12 months, bringing its total market capitalisation to US$655bil (RM3 trillion).
Tan is also a board member of Meta Platforms, the US-based company that owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp among others.
Tan, who hails from Penang, completed his undergraduate studies in mechanical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
He also has a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the National University of Singapore. He then earned a Master of Business Administration from Harvard University. After returning to Malaysia, he was involved with Hume Industries between 1983 and 1988.
He then moved to Singapore as managing director of venture capital firm Pacven Investment.
He reportedly relocated back to the United States in 1992 and assumed the role of vice-president of finance for PC maker Commodore International.
People celebrate the 100th founding anniversary of the Communist Party of China, in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, on July 1, 2021. Photo: VCG
A survey released on Saturday at the 2023 Global Times Annual Conference showed that more than 62 percent of participants around the globe believe that China's influence is rising, double the number that believes the US' influence is rising, and more people expect that the China-US tension is likely to turn into "conflict" rather than "easing."
On shared global issues, concerns over inflation, war, energy and the food security crisis have surpassed concern over the COVID-19 pandemic, with analysts saying the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the following serious impact to the world economy have brought more urgent problems and impending dangers to the world, while most countries and people are showing less worry toward the impact brought by the pandemic, which is into its third year, as the virus has become less harmful.
The survey is released annually and conducted by the Global Times Research Center. This year, from October 29 to December 6, the survey which covered 30 questions related to China-US relations, global security and development, received more than 36,000 effective samples from 33 countries all over the world including China, the US, Russia, France, the UK, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt, Nigeria, Kenya, Pakistan, India, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Japan, Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia and South Korea.
Analysts said the survey reflects that the world welcomes and has strong confidence in China's development and Chinese modernization, even though the US and some of its allies are trying to spread the China threat theory, still more and more people are losing faith in the US and globalization that is dominated by US hegemony.
Which is more influential?
On the question "How has the US or China's international influence changed in the recent year?" more than 30 percent among all participants worldwide believe the US' influence is rising, while a similar number of participants believe the US' influence is declining. More than 62 percent believe China's influence is rising.
In countries like Kenya, South Africa, Nigeria, Austria, Poland and India, more people believe that the US' influence is rising rather than declining. In the US, 32 percent of participants believe their country's international influence is rising while another 32 percent believe the US' influence is declining, while 56 percent believe China's influence is rising.
"Judging from real national strength, the US still has the upper hand in terms of military, economy and science and technology, but if viewing 'international influence' from a perspective of being a leader to represent values shared by humanity, or the popularity and favorability among other countries, the US' influence is certainly decreasing," Shen Yi, a professor at the School of International Relations and Public Affairs of Fudan University told the Global Times.
Lü Xiang, an expert on international relations and research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times there are two main reasons why the majority of the participants worldwide believe China's influence is rising - first, China's sustainable and fast development as well as the powerful national strength are most convincing evidence; second, China's ideas for global development and security have been accepted well worldwide.
China's principles of not seeking hegemony and non-interference, as well as standing with developing countries forever, have been set very long ago. When China was a weak and undeveloped country, other countries did not really care about what China said, according to the expert. Today China has become a major world power with undoubted national strength, and more and more countries have found that China keeps its promise of not seeking hegemony, Lü said.
The China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative have continually brought benefits and development to China's partners worldwide, comparing the destructions and instabilities caused by the US hegemony around the globe, it's very natural for the countries around the globe to be more favorable on China's rising influence, Lü noted.
Although more people in African countries like Kenya, South Africa and Nigeria, as well as some European countries like Poland and Austria believe the US' influence is rising rather than declining, the vast majority in these countries (from 56 percent in Poland and 70 percent in Austria, to 78 percent in South Africa and 76 percent in Kenya) also firmly believe that China's influence is rising.
For China's rising international influence, Shen said it could be interpreted from two perspectives. One is that countries around the world do have a better impression about China and they hope China will play more important roles in the future as they have benefited from ties with China, or they want China to be more powerful to balance the negative impacts brought by US hegemony, Shen said.
But in some Western countries, especially the US' allies that follow Washington closely, the reason why they believe China's influence is rising is because of the long-existing hyping of the "China threat" theory in their countries, and they are afraid of the rising influence of China as US propaganda tries to shape an aggressive image of China around the globe, Shen noted.
"The US is not in its prime of life, no longer the protagonists of Hollywood action movies who are handsome, elegant, quick in action and reaction. Today's US is like 'a mafia boss in his later years who can barely walk but still holds particularly large power among the gangsters. Today, the US' position is largely determined by the system it built long ago," said Jin Canrong, associate dean of the School of International Studies at the Renmin University of China.
China-US relations
The survey also shows that the world is concerned about China-US tension. More of the participants in 19 countries, including the US, expect China-US relations to "maintain the status quo."
In China and the US, the survey results show that 45 percent of Chinese participants expect the China-US tension to ease, and 39 percent expect to maintain the status quo, but only 11 percent in the US expect the two sides will see an easing of tensions in the future, and 44 percent of American participants expect the status quo to remain unchanged.
Lü said China does not have an anti-US propaganda now, while all news reports about China-US relations are objectively introducing the facts and also trying to guide the public to understand the China-US relations based on good will. "But in America, the two major parties are trying their best to make China look like an enemy," and to use Sinophobia to cover their incompetence in internal affairs.
"If you read US mainstream media, you will see their reports are hyping and inciting conflict between the US and China every day, whether in politics or the economy, so US politicians and media should be held accountable for the worsening China-US ties that make the world concerned," Lü noted.
Among the samples collected from the 33 countries, 23 percent of them believe that the most likely cause of a potential conflict between China and the US is that "China imposes more retaliation against the US," about 22 percent believe it would be "troublemaking by Taiwan secessionists" and 19 percent consider it would be "the US strengthening its containment strategy against China."
Chinese analysts said it seems like the most realistic task for China and the US in the future is to keep managing their differences and competition to keep the current situation from losing control, and it would be very difficult to completely ease tensions in the short term.
The US elites should be aware of the danger of China-US conflict, especially on sensitive affairs like the Taiwan question, and to what extent the two major powers can avoid conflict depends on the US' attitude toward China. If the US stops its containment strategy, China does not need to retaliate the US at all, experts stressed.
Future globalization
The survey result also shows that the world is increasingly worried about the danger of conflict between the two biggest economies, while most participants around the globe believe that the world needs to find a new or better way to develop globalization. Chinese interviewees are very confident in "achieving satisfactory globalization in the next 10 years" and they are less concerned than other countries' participants on the problems like "war," "prices rising" and "food and energy crises."
Experts said this shows that China has protected Chinese people well when the world is suffering from the turbulence in recent years, so Chinese people have sensed less negative impacts of the current globalization. This also proves that China is qualified to share its wisdom and experiences to the world to overcome common challenges, and the people around the globe expect China to be more active in providing public goods to reform the problematic world order.
China will eye rapid economic growth next year, said economists when attending the 2023 Global Times Annual Conference
UN biodiversity deal adopted at COP15 at watershed moment
Pushing forward deal highlights China’s leading role in preserving biodiversity: experts
Chinese Minister of Ecology and Environment Huang Runqiu (centre-rignt), Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, David Ainsworth (centre-left), Executive Secretary of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, Elizabeth Maruma Mrema (2nd right) and Inger Andersen Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Program (right) during a plenary meeting at the 2022 UN Biodiversity Conference, known as COP 15, in Montreal, Canada on Monday. Photo: AFP
Nearly 200 countries adopted a landmark deal set to reverse environmental destruction and preserve global biodiversity over the next decades at a marathon UN biodiversity summit on Monday.
The successful adoptionof the deal, under China's presidency, signals the country's leading role and commitment in converging and pushing forward global efforts in protecting the world's biodiversity at a watershed moment, said experts.
Now that the targets have been set, what matters most is whether nations follow through, said experts. The thorniest issue is still finance, and experts have called for this burden to fall largely on developed countries, which are equipped with technology and funds to help developing countries.
A UN biodiversity deal, entitled Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and aimed at reversing biodiversity loss and setting the world on the path to recovery, was adopted on Monday at the UN biodiversity conference, COP15, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Monday.
"The package is adopted," Chinese Environment Minister Huang Runqiu, the chair of the COP15 nature summit, declared at a late-night plenary session in Montreal as he struck his gavel, sparking loud applause from assembled delegates, the AFP reported.
The framework sets the target of effective conservation and management of at least 30 percent of the world's lands, inland waters, coastal areas and oceans, with emphasis on areas of particular importance for biodiversity and ecosystem functioning and services, according to the final release the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity sent to the Global Times on Monday.
The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework prioritizes ecologically representative, well-connected and equitably governed systems of protected areas and other effective area-based conservation, recognizing indigenous and traditional territories and practices. Currently 17 percent and 10 percent of the world's terrestrial and marine areas respectively are under protection, according to the release.
It also called for the progressive phasing out or reform by 2030 of subsidies that harm biodiversity by at least $500 billion per year, while scaling up positive incentives for biodiversity's conservation and sustainable use. The scheme is set to raise international financial flows from developed to developing countries, in particular the least developed countries, small island developing states, and countries with economies in transition, to at least $20 billion per year by 2025, and to at least $30 billion per year by 2030.
After the adoption, EU Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevicius tweeted, "DEAL Tonight, we make history at#COP15. The Kunming-Montreal deal for Nature & people all over the world. 30% degraded ecosystems on land & sea to be restored by 2030;30% terrestrial & marine areas conserved & managed by 2030."
A statement the UN Development Programme (UNDP) sent to the Global Times on Monday said it welcomes the historic agreement reached at COP15."This agreement means people around the world can hope for real progress to halt biodiversity loss and protect and restore our lands and seas in a way that safeguards our planet and respects the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities," reads the statement.
The agreement reached today in Montreal is a significant breakthrough for biodiversity. It reflects never-before-seen recognition from countries at all income levels that biodiversity loss must be stopped through high-ambition changes to our society's relationship with nature and the way our global economy operates. It also reflects a determination from political leaders around the world to make this happen, Carlos Manuel Rodriguez, CEO and Chairperson of the Global Environment Facility, said in a statement sent to the Global Times on Monday.
After four years of negotiations and 12 years since the last biodiversity targets were agreed in Japan, the Chinese president ofCOP15put forward its recommendations for a final agreement after two weeks of intense negotiations among 196 countries.
Reaching a consensus on global environment issues, such as protecting biodiversity and climate change, were never easy, as nations' interests on those topics always conflicted, Lin Boqiang, director of the China Center for Energy Economics Research at Xiamen University, told the Global Times on Monday.
"That is why China put forward such a draft that had won wide applause among delegates from so many countries," said Lin. "This can be seen as a remarkable first step toward global biodiversity protection for the next decades, and this has highlighted China's leading role in this field."
Implementation matters
Speaking at a Saturday conference, Huang admitted that the most challenging remaining divergences lie in the financial mechanisms, resource mobilization and the goals of the framework. "Targeting these three problems, we have invited minister-level officials from Rwanda, Chile, Egypt, Germany, Norway and Canada, and have set up three coordination working groups," Huang said.
The final release said by 2030 at least $200 billion per year in domestic and international biodiversity-related funding from all sources - public and private are to be mobilized.
Developing countries previously pushed for half of that̶$100 billion per year̶to flow from wealthy countries to poorer nations, Reuters reported on Sunday.
Lin pointed out that the proposed targets show China's ambition and pragmatism in pushing forward a workable scheme, as setting the financial targets too high may backfire as many developed countries may refuse to pay.
"Setting up an agreement is for everyone to work on. Yet judging by developed countries' blustery promises on climate issues, whether they will pay the money on biodiversity remains questionable, so the final release lowered the target for developed countries to pay at least $20 billion per year by 2025," said Lin.
The developed countries still haven't fulfilled their pledge of providing $100 billion per year for developing countries to tackle climate damage.
Developing nations have limited capacity to achieve goals set at the current stage, thus the financing onus falls largely on those developed countries that have the technology and money to help, said Lin.
Huang Runqiusaid at a conference last week that the most important factor for a successful COP15 is reaching a framework of protecting biodiversity. What kind of framework is successful depends not only on how much we have agreed, but also how much we will realize, said Huang.
As presidency of the conference, China hopes that all the goals and promises are acceptable to all participants, and will endure the test of time, said the Chinese environment minister. He hoped that both developed and developing countries will feel they have fulfilled their promises by 2030, and only those goals and promises can be counted as a real success.
Xinhua file photo of a B-52 strategic bomber After a series of failures, the US Air Force on Monday nnounced that it has finally succe...
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