Daily commentary on Asian business strategy, management, market research, marketing tips, business prospects, economic and culture news. Market prospects. Economic prospects. Short reviews, links, advice, satire and topical coverage for international and Asian managers doing business in Asia.

The Hari Ini column is available daily on the Asian Business Strategy & Street Intelligence Ezine home page. Sure.. go there now for more of the same. At least it's fresher...

This page contains one month of the archives.

The Hari Ini column documents off-the cuff comments, very odd spots, unsubstantiated rumours, misinterpretations, cruel innuendo, limp jokes, dodgy links, tips lacking in credibility, and other material very roughly related to Asian business, marketing, management, culture, politics, economics and why the earth is round.

Some of the items emerge into sections later on; some are contributed by email or word of mouth by friends of the forum, columnists, editorial advisors, and the Chao Phraya River Rat. ..Most of it just ends up here...

Basically it means we can at least comment on happenings that we wouldn't otherwise have the time to.

"Hari Ini" means "Today" in both Malaysian and Indonesian.

..Which means that everything on this page is already outta date...

As the masthead suggests, this column also includes all the news that doesn't fit..

It also means we can add some lightheartedness and CNN type shallowness to our otherwise more serious content. As CNN proves, such content sells...

Mostly the column just reflects the mood of the editors on the day, and gives a potted summary of key issues in the region. If you want it to reflect your mood as well, email us contributions at chiyo@apmforum.com.

Chiyo Hyiuiki (Webmaster, and on behalf of the editors)

The holy month of Ramadan commenced for the world's Muslims this week. During the month, Muslims focus on the spiritual rather than the worldly. Fasting requirements means that Muslims not partake in eating, drinking or smoking at all during sunrise and sunset, while "buka puasa" (literally translated as "breaking fast") dinners with friends and family mark the "going down of the sun".

Consequently, Malay business, and business and government administration generally in countries with predominantly Muslim populations, takes a second place to religious observations. In our region, this affects most Middle Eastern countries, Pakistan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, and Muslim dominated states in the Philippines. It may well explain why you hear less from your partners there until December 27th.

A significant by-election: Last month the sitting member for Lunas in Malaysia was assasinated, triggering a by-election in the electorate, and voters go to the polls today. Generally small by-elections have minimal implications for business, but this comes during a period where Malay support for Malaysia's ruling Barisan Nasional coalition through the dominant party UNMO has been declining following the Anwar controversy and the rising influence of PAS, the opposition fundamentalist Muslim based party. To add further to the mix, reports are coming in from Lunas that many Chinese are considering swapping their allegiance from the government to the opposition this time after several racially-divisive issues including educational policy. In the last general election, the pragmatic and business minded Chinese saved the government by voting BN amid fears of instablity. Since then however, the BN has been caught between a rock and a hard place, trying to improve their pious Muslim credentials while rewarding the Chinese community that enabled them to stay in power. Dr Mahathir has not helped by first of all accusing Malays of being "ungrateful" by voting for the opposition in the general election, and more recently accusing Chinese of the same, also calling certain groups "extremists". Many Chinese have been disappointed that their assistance to the cause has not resulted in further influence in the BN coalition. The other significant voting bloc in Lunas, the ethnic Indians is expected to have a great influence on the vote. It may a small by-election, but the result is significant for future national policy in Malaysia - and the medium term business implications. More reports as the votes come in. See also the Malaysia prospects section of Asia Market Research dot Com.

Some disturbing goss from Bangkok this week from a close confident and leading public figure that most hospitals in Thailand are on the brink of bankruptcy.

You may be surprised of the list of qualifications required to be a candidate in in Thailand's coming general election. In a country where vote buying and miscellaneous electoral fraud is instututionalised, one needs to have degree or diploma to qualify. Not too much of a problem as there are plenty of hard-up talented students who are willing to write assignments and theses for Baht for their more intellectually-challenged pollies, but it puts a lot of credence on formal qualifications rather than street and pratical experience. The election commission has been busy disqualifying candidates for various failings. Today's Nation Report had a startling sting in the tail:

Those disqualified are Anucha Pitoonpong of the Chat Pattana Party, who has problems about his educational credentials, Visut Kittiwat of the New Aspiration Party, Satja Suriyakul of the Prachakorn Thai party, neither of who is a party member, and Siri Phasak of (the) Seritham Party, who is dead...

We assume Khun Siri wont be appealing..

And lastly from a friend of Hari Ini in the US, a small ditty to be sung, he advises, to the tune of "Every Sperm is Sacred" from the Monty Python flick "The Meaning of Life"...

Every vote is sacred
Every vote is great
If a vote is wasted
Gore gets quite irate

Bangkok: Friday November 24th 2000

The Fugitive: It is now three weeks since convicted felon Tommy "Ronnie Biggs" Soeharto vanished from the face of the earth on the eve of the night Indonesian police turned up to escort him to the big house. Soeharto properties have been searched including islands off Jakarta. The seventh floor of the Omni Batavia near Jakarta's Chinatown was raided a week back to no avail. His wife, brothers and sisters, in-laws and outlaws have been questioned, but it seems nobody knows. Of course Tommy is being protected - the influence of the Soeharto clan spans this massive archipelago as well as overseas. His lawyers insist he is still in Indonesia and everybody seems to believe them. Yet those who know Tommy's affection for aviation say they know better. Remember in old man Soeharto's carve up of his Javanese kingdom Tommy got dominion over the things that fly (airlines and airports) - Bambung got the things that swim (ports and shipping) and Tutup got the things that crawled (tollways). There sure are lots of places to hide in Indonesia (Wiranto knows some good places too he could suggest), but it's a quick flight to Australia, and a border hop to the jungles of Malaysia. So watch out everywhere for handsome Ferrari drivers in sunglasses...

In Thailand, what you see is not always what you get: A beauty queen contest winner in Thailand was "defrocked", so to speak, last week, when it was discovered that "she" was actually a man. Such things are not uncommon in South East Asia however. More startling were the statements from his/her fellow contestants, who complained that s/he had an "unfair advantage"...

Thai Rak Thai Prime Ministerial candidate Thaksin is experiencing some problems on his so far fairly inevitable way to winning the January 6th general election. Australian tellie program Foreign Correspondent featured blatant vote buying on the part of his supporters in Southern Thailand last night, even though the report was fair in underlining that electoral corruption was institutionalised in Thailand, no matter the party politics. Meanwhile the Thailand electoral commission continues to work harder than a US Democrat county polling station, unearthing new charges daily, the latest again involving Thaksin family and employees. The sad fact of life is that which ever party is eventually voted in, it continues to be impossible to lead a strong challenge if one refuses to accept patronage in return for Baht. While many are predicting a transfer of power to Thai Rak Thai (translated literally as "Thai Love Thai"), there is less agreement on the implications for business. Thaksin is an unknown quantity, having served only for a short time in the buffoon Chevalit's administration in 1977, the rest of his credibility based on his successful local business record as a media tycoon. Certainly he has been sucessful at "persuading" butterfly pollies to switch sides. Thaksin still fails to outline a clear vision for Thailand, other than negative pronouncements about reducing foreign ownership and influence. He will most probably win, if not for any positive reasons, but for the fact that Thai's are just plain bored and impatient with Chuan's Democrats, and that he is willing to buy political talent. The pity of course is that Thai politics is more about personality and favours than policy. Business will have to wait well beyond his honeymoon to find out what maketh the real Thaksin.

Bangkok: Sunday November 19th 2000

An interesting week in Asian power politics beckons with Japanese PM Mori facing a no confidence motion Monday, Estrada playing his own numbers plan in the Philippines in buttressing his senate support before his defence against his impeachment, and Chen still facing a rough time in Taiwan. The pressure on Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid is intensifying as Tommy Soeharto remains at large and he defends himself personally against corruption allegations. Add Thai PM Chuan staring a January electoral defeat straight in the face for his Democrat party with key challenger Thaksin broadening his support... and the full breed of new Asian leaders since the crisis may well not be with us come mid January. Most Asian stock markets extended their losses last week and most Asian currencies remain shaky. The sky ain't falling quite yet, and it's worth noting that the old timers in China, Singapore and Malaysia remain firmly in control.

This train... don' take no sinners: The Malaysian religious police were busy on the weekend, raiding 28 Kuala Lumpur nightclubs, closing several down, and arresting a couple of alleged Muslim backsliders. Following on a purge of all video game outlets last month, based on reports of illegal gambling in a few, rises in alcohol and tobacco taxes in the budget, sin is notably out of fashion in today's Malaysia.

China continues to regulate Internet content, as the middle and educated classes go on-line at fast speed. Top Chinese Websites are listed here. AsiaWeek's take on the management implications of the SQ006 crash. A good article explaining how damage to SIA's reputation will be limited. Our researcher readers may be interested in The Journal of Business in Developing Nations.

Malaysia's trade minister Rafidah is still paying penance from perceptions that she was in the Anwar camp pre-Anwar ousting. Being a good Malaysian she of course was one of the first (and it was a rush to avoid being trampled by all the others) to publicly state her disdain for the miscreant Anwar when she realised who was really the boss. An intelligent woman, she almost matches Mahathir for anti-Western rhetoric and fragile egos. Nicknamed now as Madam Rapid Fire, Rafidah got great publicity for her statements at the pre APEC foreign minister's meeting attacking the US and engaged in an exchange with US Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky which according to a Taiwanese in Brunei included "words that can be considered not polite".Previously she called Gore's speech in KL where he praised "brave reformers" as "...the most disgusting speech (she) has ever heard..." and subsequently engaged Albright in a debate that was entertaining if not useful. Malaysia wavers on free trade - one reason being to support the national car industry which produces the Proton and Perodua cars, run on Petronas fuel and largesse when the Ringitt runs out. Malaysians on modest incomes have little choice to buy the national car, with prohibitive import duties. Unfortunately, according to Malaysian purchases of the latest budget models, little bits on the cars seem to fall off after a few weeks. Insistences that these import taxes are retained pisses off fellow Asian exporters - the Thais especially - who are nonetheless too polite to jump up and down too much. Interesting article from the FEER on the Malaysian car industry this week.

Bangkok: Saturday November 11th 2000

The centuries-old Thai Loy Krathong festival, celebrated this Saturday night offers thanks to the Goddess of Water. By the light of the moon, and during the high river season Thais launch their Krathongs (small lotus shaped vessels traditionally made of banana leaves featuring a lighted candle) on any available waterway. They apologise for misusing water and polluting waterways. If the candle remains lit before it floats away from view your wish will come true. The following Loy Krathong song, playing endlessly on the wireless as we speak, reflects the sentiment better than us...

Happy Loy Krathong from the Asia Pacific Management Forum and the Asian Business Street Intelligence Ezine

November full moon shines
Loy Krathong, Loy Krathong
and the water's high in the river and local klong
Loy Loy Krathong, Loy Loy Krathong
Loy Krathong is here and everybody's full of cheer
We're together at the klong
Each one with his krathong
As we push away we pray
We can see a better day

Bangkok: Friday November 10th 2000

AmBUSHed with Dud Data: Any self respecting Asian research company would summarily sack those responsible for providing the dud data that caused TV networks to incorrectly call the result of the US election several times. Small mistakes maybe, but the result was invalid data on which very short term strategies were implemented as world leaders shot off their congratulations to Bush. Thankfully none outlined what an idiot Gore was and how grateful they were to deal with the temporarily anointed.

On the other hand the networks themselves put too much faith in research companies. As providers of entertainment rather than authoritative news, the rush to be the first to call an election resulted in many more dunces. We are used to the cable networks getting things wrong in Asia, with inaccurate and sensational portrayals of politics and riots in Asian nations, so it is no surprise that they get things wrong locally as well. How can a country which has the best of everything materially cock up an election with such style? And that said, where to go from here?

Buffoons and Celebrities: An election this close can be due to at least two major cases. Firstly, people are equally divided or polarised on issues represented by the candidates. This would cause major problems for the next administration where a moral mandate is unclear, and already many are predicting such. Secondly, voters couldn't really decide between the two.

We tend to favour the latter, which is probably better for Asian countries relationships with the US. The US is still experiencing their best economic times ever. Many voters cannot remember hard times, when life was anything but easy. Their standard of living (at least for the white middle and upper class such as the blue rinse set in Florida) continues to rise and there are no immediate external threats. Even crimes of violence are down. Most Americans mistakenly believe that it would take a real buffoon to stuff it up (hence the quality of the two candidates). Whether the candidate represents a continuation of a soft-liberal and successful though human-flawed first baby boomer administration, or a return to the politics of their fathers seems moot. In a country whose image overseas is defined for most by the most immature "froth and bubble" film industry in any country at any time, celebrities run the place not real politicians. Need we mention the current situation in the Philippines - another case where just over 2 years ago celebrity was the decision criteria for many?

Premature Ejaculations: The American people have more or less said they can't see much difference between the two candidates vying for leadership of the most high profile Western democracy. As of writing the result has come down to just over 200 votes, from around 100,000,000 votes, though we suspect that postal votes, generally accepted world wide as favoring the conservative candidate through well heeled world travelers and business travelers, would tip Bush over the line. But in any election this close, there are accusations of voting irregularities. It seems sensible however, to forget recounts and just have a new Florida election altogether. In Thailand's gubernatorial election earlier this year we not only have 5 recounts but also 5 completely new polls in some provinces until we got it right. Then again, why don't they just start again nation wide? Plenty of new advertising revenue for the fourth estate without having to look for new stories. The carnival need not be over, and CNN/FOX/ABC can make their same youthfully excitable premature ejaculations all over again.

Singapore: Wednesday November 8th 2000

Which is Chinese teenager's most disliked country according to a recent NewsWeek poll? Forget about the evil US. By a long way, Chinese teenagers chose Japan.

At 9am Singapore time it's neck and neck in the US Presidential race. Sentiment in Asia is that it's also a race between Tweedledum and Tweedledee. Foreign policy, especially that towards Asia has been a non-issue in campaigning, apart from Bush's stated policy that China should be "seen as a competitor" in contrast to the previous administration's féting of the Chinese, especially in relation to WTO entry. Bush is also expected to stronger on Taiwanese sovereignty. However China's views from such notables as Jiang, is they don't really care. In Thailand, disappointment in the slow reaction of the US to the crisis, who assisted only after Japan and Australia jumped in to help, has translated into a belief that a Bush administration would be more in Thailand's interest. It's a "devil you don't know" preference. The view of Malaysia's political rulers is predictable - ... We don't really care who wins - as long as it isn't that rude Al Gore person.... After all they are still both Americans who are at the vanguard of the conspiracy against small developing countries such as Malaysia. Gore's Jewish running mate is also a problem for Malaysia, which thinks that no country should criticise another, unless it's Malaysia doing the criticising of course, and especially when it comes to issues involving fellow Muslim nations. (Malaysian passports are still stamped "Not valid for entry to Israel" - the only country now to which entry is prohibited for Malaysian citizens after South Africa was pardoned.) Singapore is playing it tightlipped and pragmatic as always, while Japan (with PM Moro returning his lowest approval and highest disapproval rates ever), the Philippines with a President facing impeachment procedings, and an Indonesia where their own PM was called yesterday to offically account for a financial scandal involving his masseur, there are far more pressing matters of state.

Just how many protestors turned up at Sunday's gathering in Kuala Lumpur where police turned chemical laced water cannons on their fellow Malaysians, smashed in car windows and headlights and left scores with injuries? Estimates range from "...over a thousand..." by government owned papers to "..maybe 50,000.." by Asia Times. MalaysiaKini suggested at least 10,000. Malaysia's ruling élite are between a rock and a hard place on their strategy for silencing dissent. Their "...scare and propaganda.." strategy which has discouraged many from participating in marches and gatherings had so far succeeded in reducing public displays of dissent since the 100,000 turned up to express their displeasure at Anwar's arrest (mostly "interested on-lookers" according to Mahathir) a couple of years back. Malaysians traditionally shy away from conflict, and those that run Malaysia have used this knowledge to their advantage by predicting violence at rallies. When it doesn't occur, the policing arm of the government makes sure it does. It had been a strategy that diverted attention away from Malaysia's political situation. Malaysian law now prohibits meetings of more than 4 in public places and the Education minister has lumped attending demonstrations as an "unhealthy activity" along with attending video arcades. Of course the Education minister is spot on - ask those languishing in hospital, (one allegedly suffering blindness) how healthy such an activity is. Yet Sunday's police violence must remind many of Anwar's black eye, inflicted by the Chief of Police by a king-hit while he was blindfolded and tied to a chair. If Malaysia's élite wishes to continue their so far highly successful strategy, they still have to work out how to keep their coppers under control.

Singapore: Sunday November 5th 2000

The Rat's key Manila correspondent Raoul was in the thick of the political typhoon all weekend... Here is an extract from Sunday's report...

Mar Roxas waited far too long to make his move, he sat on the fence and brown nosed Erap longer than he should have. His resignation would have had more impact a week-10 days earlier. Still important, but not as explosive or influential if it had been done earlier.

His letter of resignation was convoluted and unclear that some columnists are calling "wimpish." His decision to resign was made the evening of October 31st in a family caucus (led by Judy Araneta Roxas, the grand dame of the Liberal Party), attended by various congressmen . . . they were going to announce it the next business day, Monday 11/6, but given the pace of events he went to Malacañang All Souls day and quit.

He lost credibility with key groups -- he has been such a "star" (given his political lineage, grandfather was first President of the Republic, scion of old line political family etc.) that everybody thought he walked on water -- but the bottom line is he is a political animal looking ahead to 2001 (he still has time to file for Senate race early in the year) and of course 2004 (God knows the country needs infusion of charismatic and (ESPECIALLY) capable leadership) -- he was stuck between a rock and a hard place, in that he owed a lot to Erap, who has given him ultra-high visibility the last year (like the trade mission to the states, where he was the key spokesperson for bringing FDI here) and wanted to remain loyal (utang na loob, "debt of the heart") -- yet it was clearly becoming a sinking ship. Anyway, he did it, and there's still a pretty good chance others will soon follow.

The key right now is the remaining economic group (Pardo at Finance, Buenventura at Central Bank, Diokno at Budget, Medalla at Socio-Economic Planning, and Laguesma at Labor) -- if they fly the coop, hard to see how E. can hold on. during Erap's weekly radio/TV program yesterday (Saturday), Diokno, Medalla and Laguesma reassured the Pres. of their support -- Pardo was conspicuously absent. The rumor mill says Diokno is lying and will resign before the week is out. Pardo is wavering from what I hear, and the key guys will definitely be meeting in a smoke filled room as the week begins (You MIGHT also note that this last week was a dead one here, with All Saint's day Wed-Thursday having been holidays and a typhoon here Friday -- indeed, having as much going on as was going on during such a week here is pretty amazing, it goes to show how important and pressing this mess is).

Go here for more of Raoul's inside dope on each day's political manouevering in Manila, and stay tuned all week. He is promising exclusive inside intelligence later this week...

The US Department of Commerce offers an Export Portal. Primarily useful for US companies and taking a general rather than country/region specific approach, some of the information however is useful for non-US entities. Lots of links to guides, information and agencies relating to trade, export, and statistics.

China's Churn, is a PDF format article from the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, examines China's changing economy, or its churn, which is defined as "creative destruction." Filled with photographs, this easy-to-read piece thoughtfully illustrates China's changing economy with case studies of several Chinese cities including Guiyang, Wenzhou, and Shanghai. The paper also offers exhibits in which charts and graphs show some of the changes, including The Changing Face of Rural Employment, The Exodus of Urban Workers from State-Owned Enterprises, and Bounty of Market Reform. Be forewarned, although this document is only 20 pages long, it's a whopping 3226K. [EM] (Thanks to the Scout Report for this item)

Singapore: Thursday November 2nd 2000

Singapore Airlines, featuring strongly in our Great Asian Brands survey, and praised for many years in APMF content as a model of successful management, is blotting their record just a touch with their handling of the Taipei air crash disaster this week.

First of all, early media reports quoted the LA office saying that there were no fatalities. Today there are 81. Secondly, a passenger list was posted which caused major confusion with grieving relatives.

While Silk Air, a SIA subsidiary suffered a fatal incident two years back, this is the first major fatal crash for the Singapore National Airline. We are not saying things are bad at SIA, although some SIA pilots, along with those from other Asian airlines, have been complaining of increasing management pressure to increase efficiencies - (read faster turn-around times, fuel efficiencies) post-crisis. Rather that the handling of the disaster does prove that even the best managed companies will only show flaws during a major crisis. In an industry where safety is everything, this is a crisis of a scale that SIA has never before encountered. Previous experience with SIA suggests however that these incidents will be thoroughly investigated and changes implemented vigorously as a result.

At present the more reliable indications are that a key cause was taking off on the wrong runway which was under repair, suggesting problems at Taipei Air Traffic Control. As in any aviation incident though, the causes are rarely found to be solitary but are the result of several breakdowns throughout a complex system of backups and communication, and due to both human factors as well as technical. You may find this PRUNE discussion provides useful analysis from aircrew professionals themselves. (Please note this board is not an official airline industry site and PRUNE stands for "Professional Pilots Rumour Network".)

Paint it Black: International marketing types have for years been advised against the use of the color black amongst other No-No's of Asian marketing, advertising and promotion. To the Chinese for example, black is the color of death, and suggests bad luck and foreboding.

One of the fastest growing cosmetics items in Asia are skin whiteners, especially in the many countries where white is linked in the mindset to prosperity, purity, and beauty. Even Western color psychologists have demonstrated exposure to the color black can cause depression. Indeed we smartly changed the color design of our discussion groups when one poster suggested the black background was "intimidating". ...Which makes it all the more startling to find Pacific Century Cyber Works - glamour puss of the Hong Kong Chinese Cyber-puppies - sporting an ominous black front page on it's Web Site.

On the other hand, the younger generation have moved quickly to adopt black as a high fashion color, which in the West and now the East for some has come to suggest elegance and style. Wander into a top disco in Shanghai, Singapore or Bangkok, and sometimes 90% of patrons are seemingly courting eternal bad karma.

It may be trendy and all that, and yes we agree the times are a'changin' - but given PCCW's latest stock performance, if we were Richard Li, we would be changing the design pretty bloody quick and calling in the Feng Shui guys. Then again - I guess old guys can't tell young guys much at all in this Cyber-Age... (Eds...)