Robert Kuok slams cronyism, says Tunku never had cronies
In Malaysian tycoon’s new memoir, he relates how first prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman ‘had friends, but never adopted cronies’.
(FMT) – An autobiography by Malaysia’s richest man, Robert Kuok, hits the shelves in Hong Kong and Singapore today, and will also be released in Malaysia and Indonesia on Dec 1, 2017 and Jan 1, 2018, respectively.
Among other things, the book entitled “Robert Kuok, A Memoir” details the Malaysian tycoon’s relationship with the nation’s six prime ministers, and the growth of his business empire.
The South China Morning Post is serialising parts of the book, and in today’s edition of the daily, Kuok talks about the issue of cronyism.
“Cronies are lapdogs who polish a leader’s ego. In return, the leader hands out national favours to them.
“A nation’s assets, projects and businesses should never be for anyone to hand out, neither for a king nor a prime minister.
“A true leader is the chief trustee of a nation,” Kuok writes in his book, alluding to allegations of cronyism linked to the nation’s leaders over the past few decades.
He added that any good leader could also rely on their fiduciary sense to set them on the right course, if the nation lacks an established system to guide its leaders.
“A leader who practices cronyism justifies his actions by saying he wants to bring up the nation quickly in his lifetime, so the end justifies the means.
“He abandons all the General Orders, that is the civil-service work manual that lays down tendering rules for state projects.
“Instead, he simply hands the projects to a Chinese or to a Malay crony,” Kuok said, adding that government-owned banks are also forced to lend to the projects.
“Some of these cronies may even be fronting for crooked officials.”
The 94-year-old Malaysian tycoon also compared the latter prime ministers in the country with the nation’s founding father and first prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman.
“Tunku would do favours for his friends, but he never adopted cronies.”
Kuok then related a story about how Tunku had asked then finance minister, Tun Tan Siew Sin, to help out in the matter of the former’s friend being investigated by the income tax department.
“In his letter, Tunku wrote, ‘You know so-and-so is my friend. I am not asking any favour of you, Siew Sin, but I am sure you can see your way to forgiving him,’ or something to that effect.
“Siew Sin stormed into Tun Dr Ismail’s office upstairs and threw the letter down, saying ‘see what our prime minister is doing to me!’
“However, Ismail read the letter and laughed. He then took the letter, crumpled it into a ball and threw it into the waste-paper basket.
“Ismail said, ‘Siew Sin, Tunku has done his duty by his friend. Now, by ignoring Tunku, you will continue to do your duty properly’,” Kuok shared of the incident from the 1960s.
“That was as far as Tunku would go to help a friend. Cronyism is different.”
Kuok also imparted some advice on how capitalism is not a bed of roses for all.
“Capitalism is a ruthless animal. For every successful businessman, there are at least 10,000 bleached skeletons of those who have failed,” he said, calling it a sad commentary on capitalism.
He added however, that this only applies to real capitalism, not crony capitalism.
“I’ve always believed that the rules of capitalism, if properly observed, are the way forward in life.
“I am just stating facts, capitalism is a wonderful creature. Just don’t abuse its principles and unwritten laws.
