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The launch of L4T
22
By Zafrul | August 22, 2008
“Leaders for Tomorrow” or more popularly known as L4T was launched on 19th August. We had a small event to mark this occassion. I gave a brief speech, followed by presentations by my L4T colleagues. For more info, visit www.l4t.org.
Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen and welcome to the launch of Leaders for Tomorrow, otherwise known as L4T.
Don’t worry, I promise to keep this short. Firstly I am very pleased to see so many of you here today. All this interest and enthusiasm means we are off to a promising start. Which is good, but not good enough. We need to have the follow through to see that all our noble objectives are met and this organisation is able to make a positive contribution to the nation as we grow and adapt to changing times.
Why L4T? Good question. Basically, we think the time is right for an apolitical, multi-racial vehicle that actually affects policies. As my good friend Bun and many others have said, there are at least a thousand policies in the country that could use some improvement. The problem is, whenever you try to make a change, people want to know whose side you are on - The Government or the Opposition? At the end of the day, does it really matter?
We don’t think so. What matters is how we provide input to improve these policies for the betterment of Malaysians to ensure the greatest happiness of the greatest number, as that old British philosopher, Jeremy Bentham would have put it.
So basically, L4T aims to develop youth into leaders. But not just leaders in the traditional sense. Leaders for tomorrow. And tomorrow is a very uncertain entity. The world is changing so quickly that you have to run to stand still. It is not enough for a leader to know how to lead. They have to know how to lead with heart, with passion, how to bring in values into the workplace. Some of this can be taught. Others are intrinsic. We want to identify these potential leaders and get going.
Between coming up with the idea for L4T and today, we have talked to many, many people about it. I can tell you that quite a few are sceptical. They say how are you going to make a difference when nobody else seems to have? They think trying is a waste of time and energy.
Now, there are two ways to approach challenges. One is to be fatalistic which basically means lying down and accepting defeat without a fight. The other is to keep on trying to make a difference even when your efforts seem futile and there is no end in sight. Personally, I opt for the second. I think it is important to keep trying and any effort, no matter how insignificant, frees you from the yoke of stagnation. It helps you move forward. And little by little, you change the world.
This is our country and this is our future. Being part of it doesn’t just mean showing up for the polls and electing leaders. It also means directly participating in the policies that govern this nation. Everyone bandies about the word democracy without even knowing what it truly means.
In a mature democracy, like Switzerland, for instance, they vote on all issues whether large or small – whether to ban absinthe, whether to join the United Nations, whether to increase their own taxes.
To be part of a direct democracy like this we would have to keep abreast of the issues, read up about them, discuss them and form coherent opinions. Which brings me to my next point. The quality of discourse in Malaysia. How do we form our opinions? Most times, I notice, our opinions are simply knee jerk. We read the mainstream media or a couple of blogs and react emotionally without even understanding the underlying issues.
To form a mature and informed opinion, you need to read, absorb, internalise and express. We skip the middle two steps. We read or hear about something and react. This gives rise to emotional outbursts rather than rational discourse. Do you know where your opinions actually come from? How much information do you require before you react? How reliable do you need the information to be? If you’re honest you will see that this is no way to come up with a point of view in a modern and educated society. This is one of the things that L4T seeks to address.
The last thing I would like to touch on is the notion of contribution. I know many people who want to contribute to society but do not know how to. They want to make a difference in the lives of those around them or even a special interest group, but do not know how to go about doing it.
The renegade economist E. F Schumaker once said that the richer the society, the more difficult it becomes to do worthwhile things without immediate payoff. We can already see signs of that in Malaysia as we become a richer nation and I think we need to guard against it.
The thing I’ve found is that contribution is more than just a matter for politics and CSR. It is a simple human need. In fact, when neuroscientists set out to locate the part of the brain linked with altruism, they found it to be in a more primitive part than originally suspected – the same part associated with our cravings for food and sex. That suggests we are hardwired for altruism and not just faking it.
So, with hard science behind me, I would like to suggest that people who make a positive contribution to those around them are actually happier. And one of the things the L4T will be aiming to do is create more opportunities for youth to make positive contributions to those around them.
As I said, I will keep this short. This is just the broad overview of what L4T is all about. My colleagues will be giving you a clearer picture in the presentations to follow. I hope all of you will buy in and participate to make this work.
This is our country. This is our future. We can either work together to make it a better one or do nothing. You decide.
Topics: Speeches |
I am currently the Group Director of K & N Kenanga Holdings Berhad. Prior to this, I was the CEO of Tune Money. Before trying to be an entrepreneur, I was Head of Investment Banking in Citigroup Malaysia and before that, I was Group Managing Director of Avenue Capital Resources (now ECM Avenue).
August 22nd, 2008 at 4:19 pm
Great!
It reminds me of the original Promuda, not whatever it is today.
August 26th, 2008 at 2:35 pm
Hi TZ!
I hope somebody can reply to this mail with a good answer since I am very dissappointed with the Tune Money Customer Services.
My apology for writing this comment here as I can find nowhere else to write. Do you know that your email contact mailbox is full?
Anyway, I deposited RM 50.00 at CIMB on 09/07/2008. After having to call your customer services many times, I finally got the card on 07/08/2008, which was almost a month later. I tried to activate the card online but your website was down. I called up your customer services and a person there promised to activate but did not do so.
The next day, I called up again and I was told that the there was a glitch in the system and I need to fax over the deposit slip. On 12/08/2008 I faxed the deposit slip and Farah confirmed the receiving the fax.
One week later I called back and the status and according to Farah, has been forwarded to IT department for adjustment.
Today 25/08/2008, I called again and your Customer Services by the name of Raja told me that the card had been sent back to Tune Money.
What is his problem? I have to explain to him about this thing and then only he checked. The status was not updated and my RM 50.00 was
not updated until now.
What is going on at Tune Money? Don’t you train your customer services people so that they do not appear to be stupid to the customer? They do not seem to know what is going on most of the time. Not only that, they like to promise to call back but most of the time they did not!
So I waited for Raja who promised to call back before 8 yesterday and he never did. That is so typical of your Customer Services rep no matter who they are.
I hope you can personally looked into this matter as this is taking too long and your Customer Services Reps have not being helpful at all.
My card no is 4179 2300 1278 8014
Thanks and I hope to hear from you or your rep soon with the matter resolved accordingly.
August 30th, 2008 at 10:23 pm
Hi TZ
I’ve been satisfied with Tunecard ever since i used them nearly a year ago. But lately i have problem entering the tunemoney.com . Is it because of something on your side or mine? Just to be assure..
Thanks
September 1st, 2008 at 8:01 pm
Selamat Berpuasa, TZ…
September 1st, 2008 at 8:22 pm
oh yeah and… HAPPY ANNIVERSARY www.tengkuzafrul.com … time sure does pass eh?
September 2nd, 2008 at 9:59 am
CM
hi darl, wishing you a peaceful ramadhan…
September 2nd, 2008 at 11:42 am
hey mm
Thanks babes. Hope you’ve been well.
September 3rd, 2008 at 2:32 pm
Tie Wednesday for your blog? heh…
September 5th, 2008 at 6:22 am
Good job on this L4T thingy. Now you have to make sure that it doesn’t become a personal vehicle for anyone to promote themselves. Promuda was perceived by people outside it as such, and look what’s happened to it.
September 6th, 2008 at 5:46 am
happy belated besday tengkuzafrul.com
wow cool layout, now it’s more like a ceo blog
September 6th, 2008 at 3:48 pm
hey bro…
it’s been a while since the L4T launch.. keep it coming. when’s the next discussions, launch, event meeting etc? let me know.
September 6th, 2008 at 9:20 pm
Hi Zafrul,
Its sivanesh from MMU Cyberjaya. Pleased with the launch of L4T. Just signed up for it. Anyways, thanks to TuneMoney as the Platinum Sponsor of the MMU Career Fair 2008, our event won the entrepreneurship award in MMU Awards 07/08. Thank you!!!!
September 9th, 2008 at 6:49 am
Salam TZ, where do I fit in the L4T? Am above 40 already? Hahaha… I need to pass down my military expertise to the youngsters! Not to mention how to finish Ironman too! Salam Ramadhan…
September 15th, 2008 at 3:07 pm
Hmm, I still have not received my Tune Prepaid card applied and paid for on Aug 2 during MSLS 2008 - I wonder what took you guys so long to mail out a simple prepaid card?
Well Dear TZ, think you should work on delivering the real “tomorrow” (next day service), not next month or many2 months ahead for a simple delivery. Be a leader! (leading, trusted company here in Malaysia)
No so in tune at the moment… ;(
September 16th, 2008 at 9:32 pm
Wow,reading your posts really improves my English.