By Murale Pillai
First things first. The co-author, P Gunasegaram, and I have been friends for half a century now. “I write, therefore I am” is how I would best describe him.
On the other hand, I came to know of the Bario Highlands and the Kelabit, Idris Jala’s people, long before I heard of him, reading Tom Harrisson’s “World Within: A Borneo Story” decades ago.
Then, onto the national stage, like a whirlwind, came the man himself with his now-proven mantra of turnaround and transformation on a scale never before witnessed in this country. But for most Malaysians, the uppermost question on their minds was, “Who is this man from Sarawak?”
I must also applaud the second foreword (unusually, there are two in this book) by Garnette Jalla Ridu, Idris’ sister. She brilliantly captures the pain, progress, and passion of her community (I disagree with the use of the word “tribe”) and their spiritual awakening and transformation through Christianity.
Life in the dense jungles of Borneo, the enigmatic heart of the Nusantara, was extremely challenging given its isolation, but it was also richly rewarding and full of adventure. And it was always anchored in community and a strong sense of self, nourished by faith and the courage of individual conviction.
Now to the book itself. There is nothing like a stretch of holidays, like the most recent one, to read a book in one go. Even one that is essentially a book on management. Well-written, it’s an easy read, though long and structured in a way peculiar to books on this subject.
I read some parts twice, proving the adage that a book worth reading once is worth reading twice, at least in parts. And especially one filled with stories, surprises, anecdotes, and first-hand accounts. I readily admit to being partial to its many quotes and case studies, all based on personal experience.
The makings of a transformer
For a sense of what this book is all about, imagine you are a senior manager in a large corporation where SOPs and well-worked guidelines are the order of the day.
And you, too, have become like the old stuffed dummy of Jeremy Bentham, the revered founder of the University of London, introduced at senate meetings to this day with the words, “Present but not voting”. That is, you are there but not there.
Then, for drama’s sake, imagine also a grey morning when you are summoned by the big boss and told that a long-failing subsidiary needs to be turned around as soon as possible.
He adds with lowered gaze: “It’s been a festering sore. Twenty-seven bloody years in the red. I understand your fears of knowing nothing about this business or the country. Give it a shot and let’s see what happens.”
You turn things around in double quick time in Shell, Sri Lanka. Your “Big, Fast Results” bowl your bosses over. And much more than that, you did it your way.
You also now have a taste for the “impossible”. Like a man-eating tiger, the “impossible” is now your game of choice. Enter the “Game of the Impossible” and Idris! The tiger of transformation is now on the lookout for ever larger “impossible” prey.
But even more astounding was the backdrop to this “impossible” transformation. Sri Lanka was engulfed in a brutal and bloody civil war. There were assassinations and deadly suicide bombings. The unions were intractable and militant while the government routinely intervened in business decisions.
Shell, Sri Lanka, was selling LPG at a loss because of government pricing. The story of Idris’ success in circumventing all these challenges and difficulties makes for fascinating reading.
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Recognition within Shell came quickly. The feather in his cap was now as large as the ones on a hornbill, the burung kenyalang. But “big business” and the federal government had not taken notice of him.
The MAS miracle
Meanwhile, our flag carrier, the bleeding behemoth MAS, was all at sea, keeping herself barely afloat. Once the pride and joy of all Malaysians, MAS was now fighting for dear life even as AirAsia was becoming the darling of the flying public.
The then-prime minister, Abdullah Badawi, cut through the red tape and appointed Idris to helm MAS. If there was a singular lesson he had learnt from his Sri Lanka experience, it was this: tweaking and tinkering is not transformation.
Real transformation begins by setting the direction for true north, and that can only be done by playing the “Game of the Impossible”. And once the “impossible” goal is agreed upon by all stakeholders, it becomes a non-negotiable do-or-die mission!
And to the surprise of even his severest critics, he delivered a massive turnaround in MAS well ahead of schedule. How did he achieve the “impossible”?
Briefly, he looked at everything with a fresh pair of eyes, insisting that the nuts and bolts of the airline business, its lowest common denominator, must surely be the profitability of every flight between two points.
Not sectors, not routes, not planes. The profit and loss (P&L) account of every one of these flights was pinned down.
Thousands of these P&Ls were the basis of deciding whether to fly or not to fly; whether to be or not to be. And the devil was not just hiding in the details; it was also hiding in plain sight. Staff strength was trimmed down from 18,000 to 15,000 through a mutual separation scheme.
Morale was now at an all-time high. Not one to sit on his laurels, Idris was on to bigger things, to doing more “impossible” things. Like a potential merger with Qantas.
And just when things were looking up for MAS, he was poached or as Idris remarked slyly elsewhere, the once head-hunter was head-hunted by the government itself. Reading it, I put the book down and chuckled.
The irony of ironies! The government had just admitted to its citizens that it needed a turnaround! And who better to do the “impossible” than the man himself, Idris? The age of Pemandu had come, and we watched the government as much as they were watching us!
The management guru emerges
Today, Idris is consulted by countries, corporations, and companies on how “Big, Fast, Results” can be achieved using his patented methodology of transformation anchored on the “Game of the Impossible”.
Syabas to Malaysia’s first management guru! But to return to the book, a piece of advice, if I may, read it to grasp its sense and its essence. There are useful lessons to be learned and good tips on how best to transform your company. And there is also much that is entertaining and enlightening.
But method and methodology alone cannot take one to the promised land of transformation. It also requires exemplary leadership and personal sacrifice.
Idris’ success story is as inspiring as they come. And surely there must be many more talented and aspiring pribumi like him in Sabah and Sarawak, which may explain why they are now chafing at the bit. Politicians beware! They, too, have developed a taste for the “impossible”.
This book is also a timely reminder that management is above all else – a wholesome philosophy encompassing processes, people, and power.
A unique putting together of these elements to bring about astounding, if not “impossible” transformation, is a high-stakes game, hence the title of this book. And in reading it from cover to cover, I was reminded of a line by the Greek poet Archilochus, circa 600 BCE.
He said, “The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing”. That is, the hedgehog sees the world through a single lens or viewpoint, while the fox understands the world through many lenses, many viewpoints.
Without a doubt, Idris is one smart fox, seeing every problem, every challenge through many lenses, thus achieving the “impossible” over and over again.
Isn’t it time the government calls upon him to fix our “impossible” problems like Felda, like MRT/LRT, like our infernal traffic jams, like systemic corruption, like racial polarisation? There is plenty of work here!
I thank you in advance, Idris!
Published by Penguin Random House SEA, “The Game of the Impossible” by Idris Jala with P Gunasegaram is now available in bookstores.
MURALE PILLAI is a former GLC employee. He runs a logistics company.
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