Tan Sri Abdul Wahid Omar Ex UBER Driver/ CEO of Maybank / Ex Minister at the Prime Minister Department and now Chairman of PNB : Tabek Tuan!

Reflections by
Tan Sri Abdul Wahid Omar Ex UBER Driver/ CEO of Maybank / Ex Minister at the Prime Minister Department:

Assalamualaikum & Salam Sejahtera,

It has been eight weeks since I completed my term as a Senator and Minister on 4 June 2016. 

Many friends, relatives and acquaintances have asked what I have been up to since then and what my plans are for the future. That is until the announcement of my appointment as
Chairman of Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB) yesterday, 29 July 2016. 

Since then, I have been receiving hundreds of well wishes, prayers and words of support & encouragement from friends & family members. Thank you all. I hope to get your continued support in my new role and I pledge to carry out my duties to the best of my ability with honesty and full integrity.

Alhamdulillah, over the past twenty eight years, I have had the privilege of working in many organisations. KPMG, Bumiputra Merchant Bankers, Kumpulan FIMA, Amanah Capital Group, UEM Group, Telekom Malaysia (including Celcom), Maybank and the Government of Malaysia. 

Apart from my first two jobs at KPMG and BMB, I did not apply for the other positions. They all came by invitation. 

The key lesson learnt for the young people is to focus on the task at hand, do your job well and your reputation will precede you. Even your competitor will acknowledge your achievements. A case in point is when I was the CEO of TM, I was approached by the then Chairman of Maxis (TM/Celcom's competitor), who is now Maybank Chairman, to lead Maybank as CEO in its transformation into a regional financial services group. The rest as they say is history.

In all the previous moves, I would normally join the new organisation either on the next day or over the weekend. This time though was different. I decided to take a two-month break to reset my priorities, catch up on some 'lost time' with family and do some of the things I always wanted to do for a while. It has been one of the most fulfilling period in my life.

The first two weeks were largely spent on clearing up my work and preparing the office at the Economic Planning Unit for my successor. Physically & contextually. I didn't realise we had accumulated so much documents in three years. I guess it is a reflection of the volume of work packed within the three years. Thank you to my team members at EPU, UKAS, DOSM, TERAJU, TalentCorp, EKUINAS, Yayasan Pendidikan Peneraju Bumiputera and others for your support.

The latter part of second week was when I registered as an Uber Partner. I wanted to experience personally what it is like to do ride-sharing, how easy or difficult it is to earn a living using the latest technology, and to provide input to policy makers. Something I could
not do when I was still a Minister. 

Since my personal car was ten years old, I could not register it for Uber. Proton was kind enough to lend me their new Perdana demo car on condition I would help to promote it. Since then I have personally bought a new Perdana 2.4 in support of the national car. 

And I got my friends to pledge to top up my ride-sharing takings for charity. What was meant to be a private affair became public after one passenger, Firdaus from Axiata, posted a selfie with me on his Facebook page. That single posting (by the only passenger who recognised me) became viral in social media and was picked up by mainstream media. I even received invitation from Harith Iskander to appear on his OHI talk show! So AWO the former Minister and Banker was more known as an Uber driver.

Anyway in total I earned RM210 from 17 trips over 11 actual driving hours spread across 3 days. I paid RM10 in toll charges, Uber took 25% or RM50 commission and I was left with RM150. Had I been more diligent and drove or remained 'online' continuously in blocks of four hours, I believe I would have been able to generate income of approximately RM300 per 10-hour driving day. That means approximately RM4,000 to RM6,000 net income per 25-day month. This is consistent with feedback from many Uber/Grab drivers. My only hope is for Uber/Grab to reduce their portion of the takings so that a much higher proportion will go to the drivers.

Anyway, I will leave it to the Government and SPAD to come up with the appropriate policy for ride-sharing and transformation of the taxi industry. In any case,

Alhamdulillah I managed
to raise some RM20,000 in funds for Rumah Jagaan & Rawatan Orang Orang Tua Al Ikhlas,
Pulau Meranti, Selangor. Thanks to all my donor friends.

After my short ride-sharing stint, my wife and I managed to spend our third week in Madinah & Makkah. Very spiritually fulfilling indeed. The fourth and fifth week were spent celebrating
Ramadhan & Aidilfitri with extended family members including those in Johor Bahru, Kota Tinggi and Pontian, Johor. The sixth and seventh week were spent visiting friends and
attending Hari Raya Open Houses. We also took the opportunity to visit several resorts in
Malaysia. Starting with Belum Rainforest Resort on the shores of Lake Temenggor, The Banjaran Hotsprings Retreat in Ipoh and Mulu Marriott Resort, Sarawak .

Sometimes we
always take things at home for granted. Indeed, these are beautiful resorts / places to visit.
At 130 million years old, Belum Rainforest is one of the oldest rainforests in the world. Even older than the Amazon and Congo. The Banjaran with natural hotsprings piped into your
private villa is world class. And the Gunung Mulu National Park with its network of caves and streams is simply breathtaking. The highlight is to watch some two million bats streaming out of the Deer Cave just before dusk. These are some of many beautiful places we have in Malaysia. Kota Kinabalu, Langkawi, Penang, Malacca to name a few. So please start planning for 'Cuti-cuti Malaysia' and take advantage of the great deals Malaysia Airlines, AirAsia and Malindo offer from time to time. I do that online all the time.

But that does not mean we should not explore places beyond Malaysia's shores. As I write this note, my wife & I are on our last day of 'honeymoon' in Maldives. Yes, vacation with family including your parents and extended family is important. We do that annually. But from time to time, it is good to rekindle that 'magic' with your spouse only. It has worked well for me. I'm sure it will work well for you too.

Well, what looked like a long eight weeks have passed by very quickly. Come Monday, 1
August, I will begin a 'new life' with PNB. 

What are the mandates given to me? 

Let me just
outline three :- 

1. Improve the corporate performance of PNB and its Group companies ;

2. Enhance Bumiputera participation in business and corporate sector; and

3. Support the Government in providing more affordable homes for Malaysians. 

Thank you for all the support you have given to me in my previous roles. I look forward to your continued support in my new role as Chairman of this very important national institution PNB.

Thank you and with best regards,
Abdul Wahid Omar

What then of the Malays...for am I not a Malay too?

This last week, my time was spent on reflections. Reflection of times gone by, of the people I have known and know of, of the life I had lived and the life still in front of me and how, either by choice, circumstance or design we become who we are today.  The words of Marlon Brando in "On the Waterfront" haunts many of us.



Especially the Malays! 

By now, after over six decades of unbroken Malay dominated government, we Malays should have attained parity with other Malaysians in a country many of us mistakenly call our own. 

We Malays should have, by now, caught up with the many hundreds of years of business acumen that the Chinese seems to have been gifted with, by their ancestors who dabbled in business from as far back as any one of us would care to remember. 

We Malays should have by now taken up the many professions dominated by the Indians.

And there, but for the grace of Umno, we Malays would by now have earned the right to stand at par with the other Malaysian who too call Malaysia their home. 

Instead today we Malays are told that we still need Ketuanan Melayu. We are told that we must have political power in the guise of Umno. We need Sultans, Governors and even a Prime Minister to be a Malay or we would never survive past the next general election...always it is the next general election that is crucial to the future of the Malays. 

Always it is Umno that must be elected to government for the good of the Malays for Umno insists that without Umno, disaster looms for the Malays. The Malays will be in disarray, disadvantaged, disabled and will soon disappear from the face of this country we mistakenly call our own. 

Who could we Malays have become today if not for Umno? 

Yes there are Malays in every walk of life in Malaysia today. 

Today the most magnificent mansion in any suburb more often than not, will belong to a Malay...a corrupt Malay politicians probably...but still a Malay 

The latest most luxurious car on the road will belong to a Malay.....a corrupt Malay politicians probably...but still a Malay 


It is no idle boost for me to say that the Malays decide on the laws of the land, the decisions made by the authorities in government and being a Malay is a much sought after commodity that confers upon its owner many privileges and profit. 

Almost every thing you read in the main stream media, on television and even most of what is on the Net have been put there by Malays. 

We must not forget too that the most corrupt are the Malays. 

PDRM that routinely shots unarmed Malaysians and have people in custody die on them are full of Malays and headed by a Malay.

The tainted Judiciary and the insanely wealthy lawyers that represents the corrupt political elites from Umno are Malays  

So then why are the Malays restless?    

Whether by choice, circumstance or design all that is wrong with the Malays can be lumped into two lots - the politicians and the Malays who tells us that they are doing Allah's work on earth. Do not, even for a moment, think that those corrupt Malaysian national leaders, politicians and religious nuts do not know what they are doing. They do know. 

For these corrupt elites, who are almost exclusively Muslims, the getting of insane wealth is a preoccupation that they pursue with as much dedication as their many trips to Mecca where they "cleanse" themselves in anticipation of more looting, pillaging and plundering of our nation's wealth. Islam, they say, allows them that privilege.

An orgy of religious rites that defies logic!

And in the process, they are beside themselves in pronouncing to all within earshot, that what they do is for the advancement of the Malay race and of course, Islam.

And following a close second are those ostensibly doing ALLAH's work on this earth but getting their instructions from their political masters who pay them their salaries. Together these politicians and religious nuts think that they can do with us what they like. And by us I mean not only the Malays and Muslims but any one else who call Malaysia home.

Let us fast forward to today.

Today Trengganu is, for all intents and purposes, already lost by Umno. The Inspector General of Police's daughter sells guns and ammunitions!  The lure of more money and political power lures even Ku Li to flirt with Najib who is on his way out. Today too the buying of Sarawak with an embarresment of financial inducements from Zahid continues the legacy that Taib Mahmud burdened Sarawak with. 

All this and more I have been reflecting upon these last one week or so. 

Not out of any concern for me or my family. Nothing that happens in Malaysia today or in the forseeable future can ever have any bearing in the manner I live or want to live my life. 

No, far from it...my concern is the same concern I feel for others who are the victims of life injustices and for others who have to bear the burden of being governed by politicians who are corrupt and of others who have to deal with government servants and the authorities who are equally as corrupt as their political masters. 

There seems to be no end in sight to more of corrupt politics and self serving religious nuts  if I am to continue to blog....and yet in spite of all that, there is hope.

There is Rafizi. He has stood up and taken all that Najib, Umno and BN can throw at him and he is still standing tall. "Do your worst"...he tells them. He has already prepared himself for one year in jail with six months off with good behaviour if he is convicted for going against the OSA. 

How does Najib deal with a man who is prepared to go to jail for his beliefs? What does Najib has to do to NOT make Rafizi a warrior? 

Ignore him and you will only encourage Rafizi to test the government's resolve to silence him. Does Najib understand that Rafizi is determine to go to Jail if that is what it takes to put his point across that the OSA is just a means to hide the misdeeds of a corrupt government?

What of those who are following Rafizi's exploits in real time? There is already an army of followers who, if and when he is jailed, will wait for his return and to once again take his place at their head with more vigour and intensity. I am one of them!

There is also Clare of Sarawak Report. Day in and day out she works ttirelessly to expose Najib Razak and what his ministers and cohorts are doing in the name of government. I wonder sometimes what drives her? What is her agenda? What is her end game? If truth be told, I only know that what Clare has told us so far, and what she is still going to tell us and the World, will be the death of Najib and his government. Soon...very soon. And all done in that clear, crisps and irrefutable manner that tightens the noose around Najib's neck day by day.

There are many others who are keeping the fire against Najib raging within them and I am encouraged and inspired by what they do. 

As much as the times favors Najib Razak because he has all that he needs for now to remain in government I know that there are enough of us around to make Najib look over his shoulders every time he leaves Seri Perdana. I wish that I was in KL myself because only by being in KL can you see for yourself and feel for yourself if the election two years away will mean the end for Umno. From what I see from here I have no doubt that Najib and corruption shall be the death of Umno. 

Is so, what then of the Malays...for am I not a Malay too?