“Do you have money to go down to Singapore?”

KUALA LUMPUR: Former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad toyed with the idea of exchange controls as early as May 1998 but was met with resistance from within the National Economic Advisory Council, the Cabinet and the central bank.

This was revealed in Notes to the Prime Minister, a new book that chronicles one of the biggest challenges and triumphs in Dr Mahathir’s 22 years as Malaysia’s Prime Minister.

Notes to the Prime Minister: The Untold Story of How Malaysia Beat the Currency Speculators was launched yesterday in Kuala Lumpur by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop. Tun Dr Mahathir was not present as he was advised by doctors to rest at home.

The book, published by MPH Publishing, is based on 45 sets of notes written between Oct 3, 1997 and Aug 21, 1998 by Nor Mohamed when he became Dr Mahathir’s unofficial and unpaid economic adviser.

The Asian financial crisis, which first engulfed Thailand in the middle of 1997, hit Malaysia soon after. Selective capital controls were imposed on Sept 1.

The book is written by veteran journalist Datuk Wong Sulong, the former business editor and group chief editor of The Star.

In an excerpt from the book, Dr Mahathir told Wong that he decided on foreign exchange controls “after Nor Mohamed explained to me how currency trading works ... millions and millions of ringgit can be transferred from a domestic account to a foreign account by a stroke of a pen ... I realised that foreign currency trading can be stopped by stopping this balance transfer.

“But I must say it was not as easy as that. We needed to do a lot of background work and monitoring and Bank Negara (needed to) set up many committees to do that to ensure that the controls were effectively implemented. (Tan Sri) Dr Zeti (Akhtar Aziz, then deputy governor of Bank Negara) did a lot in that respect and also in the economic recovery.”

Notes to the Prime Minister is not only a valuable lesson on how Malaysia took unorthodox steps to solve the Asian financial crisis but it is also a story of how two Malaysians met halfway around the world and came up with the Malaysian solution to the Asian financial crisis.

It is an intriguing story of how Nor Mohamed, then chief executive officer of Mun Loong Bhd, was summoned by Dr Mahathir to meet him in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Oct 2, 1997. The first set of those notes was written a day later, on Oct 3.

Prior to this unique flow of notes, Nor Mohamed was a Bank Negara adviser.

His expertise in foreign exchange landed him and then Bank Negara governor Tan Sri Jaafar Hussein in trouble. Both of them resigned to take responsibility for Bank Negara’s speculation on foreign exchange losses that went into billions of ringgit in the early 1990s. Nor Mohamed joined the private sector after that.

Said Nor Mohamed at the launch: “We learn in history that sometimes the lives of individuals and the fate of nations hinge on a millimetre’s difference in the trajectory of a bullet, a road not taken on a whim, or the random stray of a shrapnel.

“In my case, my fate was sealed ... by the turn of a head – Tun Dr Mahathir’s ... It was a sunny afternoon in September 1997, when the PM’s motorcade was speeding along the streets of Kuala Lumpur.

“At one junction, as the motorcade slowed, Tun Dr Mahathir turned his head to look out. And he saw a forlorn-looking man walking towards a row of shops for lunch. That forlornlooking man was me!”

Nor Mohamed was summoned a few days later to go to Argentina. In April 1998, Nor Mohamed resigned from Mun Loong to concentrate on being Dr Mahathir’s unofficial adviser.

During that period of assessement, Nor Mohamed went to Singapore to observe the operations of Central Limit Order Book (CLOB), a board on the Singapore Stock Exchange which dealt with a great number of Malaysian shares. Dr Mahathir felt that Malaysia’s currency crisis could not be solved as long as CLOB exists.

Dr Mahathir, aware that his adviser was unemployed, asked: “Do you have money to go down to Singapore?” Nor Mohamed laughed and assured him that the trip would not cost a lot of money. The rest, as they say, is history.

As for Wong, who shares a deep liking for Nor Mohamed, he was asked by his friend to write the book.

“I felt a sense of excitement and a heavy responsibility. These notes had never seen daylight and it shed a new light (on more than just the economic and political aspects of this country). 

You have to tell a story as honestly as possibile, but not technically, because it has to appeal to the average reader. So that was my dual challenge.”

• The Star Malaysia
 
• 3 Jun 2011
 
• By THEAN LEE CHENG leecheng@thestar.com.my

Ini baru pulang dari umrah, bukan dari US pun

KENAPA DAP (1)

KEMASKINI: MINUM KOPI DENGAN DAP LEBIH BAIK DARI MINUM BEER (MAKSIAT) DENGAN UMNO

Thank you Tun.

Two days ago, I had the good fortune to spend some time in the company of the Honourable Former Prime Minister of Malaysia.  He joined us at the 11th edition of Frost & Sullivan’s Malaysia Excellence Awards.  It was one of the most inspiring moments of my career.  

He was very punctual and came exactly on time along with his wife Tun Dr. Siti Hasmah.  We spent some time in the holding room discussing the event, the traffic in Kuala Lumpur, GST and its implications.  As I ushered him to the event room, the historic nature of the moment dawned on me.  He is today the only remaining of the many incredible leaders of the modern era.  

I had tears in my eyes as I walked beside him, receiving a standing ovation and welcome.  There was a very genuine sense of respect, admiration, gratitude and love being showered on this man and his wife for his admirable leadership in leading a country for 22 years.  Allow me to share three inspiring personal lessons / moments in the company of this incredible leader.

• We presented about 42 awards over 2.5 hours. He and his wife listened to all the 42 citations and speeches from the recipients.  It did not matter if the speaker was good or bad, he was genuinely interested in them and the success of their company.  He wanted to know more, he wanted to learn.  Both he and his wife made it a point to applaud every single award recipient.  Most of the others in the room were distracted in other conversations or food or social media as the evening progressed.  
• We got to know that he will be attending our event only at about 2 pm that very day. He attended the event to collect an award on behalf of Proton.  Proton received an award for the Value-for-Money Car of the Year (1.3L & below).  I was amazed at his continued dedication for his favourite project (National Car Maker Proton).  He had found out earlier in the day that Proton was receiving an award and made an instant decision to come and celebrate that success with his team.  He received the award on stage, with the same enthusiasm and excitement that I saw in many young CEOs who were receiving an award for the very first time. 
• I had an opportunity to ask him a few key questions on leadership on what makes him a great leader. He mentioned he was personally inspired by the Prophet and by Nelson Mandela (whom he regarded as the greatest leader of all times).  His parting message was that “A leader is all about his followers”.  The only focus of a leader is to ensure the wellbeing of his followers.
• 
  
  

As the evening came to a close, we escorted him back to his car.  It was selfie time.  He patiently reciprocated every single request to pose for a selfie.  There were several hundreds of them that evening.  I would summarise his leadership attribute in the short time with him in three words – He was interesting, interested and humble.  Thank you Tun. 


sumber: MM

SEMOGA YANG MENZALIMI GUGUR SENDIRI

*📢🔴Doa Ku untuk keluarga dan sahabatku*:

Bismillahirahmannirrahim
Ya Allah Ya robulalamin.

1. Ya Allah jika di saat ini, ada keluarga dan sahabatku yang sakit, sembuhkanlah dia.  آمِيّنْ

2. Ya Allah jika di saat ini ada  keluarga dan sahabatku yang bermasalah, beri lah jalan keluar untuk dia.  آمِيّنْ

3. Ya Allah jika di saat ini ada keluarga dan sahabatku yang kesempitan rezeki, kau lapangkanlah rezekinya. آمِيّنْ

4. Ya Allah jika di saat ini ada keluarga dan sahabatku yang bermasalah diantara satu sama lain damaikan lah mereka.  آمِيّنْ

5. Ya Allah jika disaat ini ada keluarga dan sahabatku yang sesat duniawi, kurniakan Nur kepada dia.  آمِيّنْ

6. Ya Allah jika disaat ini ada keluarga dan sahabat ku yang lalai, kurniakan lah Hidayah Mu kepada dia.  آمِيّنْ

7. Ya Allah jika di saat ini ada keluarga dan sahabatku yang bersedih hati... kembalikan lah kecerian diwajahnya.  آمِيّنْ

8. Ya Allah jika disaat ini ada keluarga dan sahabat ku yang berada di persimpangan jalan yang  berliku, tunjukkan lah jalan yg diridhoi oleh Mu.

Berikan kami semua kesempatan untuk berjumpa kembali...

آمِيّنْ  آمِيّنْ  آمِيّنْ  يَا رَبَّ العَـــالَمِيْن

RCI FOREX BNM SUDAH DITAMATKAN, KENAPA MASIH BANYAK PAHAT PENUKUL BERBUNYI DILUAR..

Apa lagi yang tak puashati..
Apakah ada agenda lain..

Tun, Anwar. Daim telah menjawab semua persaolan secara relevan..

Nor Mohamed Yaakop mengaku bertanggungjawab sepenuhnya dan tidak pernah memaklumkan kepada Tun. Anwar dan Daim..

Apabila kerugian diketahui, satu kertas putih dikeluarkan.
Gabenor BNM Jaafar Husin dan Nor Mohamed dikena tindakan.

Itulah fakta dan kronologi yang difahami oleh rakyat dan orang kampong.

Apalagi yang nak dipusing dibelit.

BILA PAKLAH NAK TURUN PADANG SOKONG NAJIB

                                                                                                                       
Ketika umno Johor dilihat goyang dan umno Selangor hilang kudrat, bererti umno pusat sedang tercekik susah bernafas kalaupun belum nazak.....
N

Semua perancangan backfire..

Golongan muda yang tak berapa kerat, Kj pun dikhabarkan dah hilang minat, ustaz golf dan doktor kecantikan sudah tentu tidak mampu merawat penyakit umno...

Tidak dapat tidak, paklah kena turun.

Selangor dah mula...

Jamal jamban, zein isma tak leh diharap..

AS SALAM BAGI MEREKA YANG MAHU BERHIJRAH

1.