Due to popular requests, I am posting my application essays for the International Youth Leadership Conference 2009. These essays are strictly mine and cannot be reproduced anywhere anyhow without permission. =)
1. In January 1999, the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan challenged world business leaders to embrace and enact the United Nations Global Compact. The Compact seeks support to ten principles of human rights, labour, environmental sustainability, and anti-corruption, as they apply to business practices and public policy. Since then, almost 4000 members from 100 different countries have joined the initiative. Some experts, however, argue that the Compact is ineffective due to its voluntary nature, as well as lack of monitoring and transparency in reporting progress. In your opinion, is the Global Compact an effective tool in setting higher standards of responsible leadership? Please illustrate your answer with a real-life example.
‘Effective’ is defined by the Oxford Dictionary Press as ‘producing a desired or intended result’. Hence, doing away with jargons, the real question to be asked is, “Is the UN Global Compact producing its intended result?” In my opinion, the Compact by itself is a noble step towards achieving responsible leadership, but it is not bearing its desired fruits in most cases. Consequently, the Compact is only effective as much as voluntary commitment is concerned. Beyond voluntary commitment, the Compact is ineffective.
Voluntary commitment alone from businesses is insufficient to enact the great change that the UN desires. Voluntarily means a business chooses to commit itself to the Compact without any compulsion to do so. More often that not, it is this lack of compulsion to commit that hampers the desired effect to take place.
To illustrate, in the context of developing nations, discrimination against the disabled is rampant. Despite being equally qualified, in comparison with an able-bodied person, the disabled are often disadvantaged in getting a job.
A major public corporation like Malaysian oil company Petronas may choose to commit itself voluntarily to the UN Compact to enjoy the benefits of being perceived as a responsible business. As such, the company may hire without discrimination, achieving the effect of the Compact and rendering it effective.
However, to a small Malaysian company who prefers to employ able-bodied employees for (apparently) higher work productivity, the perception of being a responsible business is outweighed by the need to cut production cost. Without any compulsion for this company to commit, the UN Compact is practically meaningless. As such, the status quo is maintained, the disabled are still being discriminated and the Compact is ineffective.
Lack of monitoring and transparency in reporting progress are relatively minor factors compared to the voluntary nature of the Compact – the primary factor. Before progress can be monitored transparently, a business must first commit itself voluntarily to the Compact.
Without any voluntary commitment, the Compact is a mere proposal. Without any compulsion to commit, the desired effects of the Compact cannot be achieved. Without any desired effect achieved, the UN Compact is ineffective.
The Compact is only effective as much as voluntary commitment is concerned. Beyond voluntary commitment, the Compact is ineffective.
2. The Millinium Project of WFUNA identifies 15 Global Challenges facing humanity: Sustainable Development; Clean Water; Population and Resources; Democratization; Long-term perspectives; Global Convergence of IT; Rich – Poor Gap; Health Issues; Capacity to Decide; Peace and Conflict; Status of Women; Transnational Organized Crime; Energy; Scince and Technology; Global Ethics. Which of these 15 Challenges is the most pressing and relevant in your community? What has been done so far to combat or eliminate the negative effects of these Challenges? Are there ways of transforming these challenges into Opportunities for your community?
In the Malaysian community, the rich-poor gap is the most prominent and relevant Challenge, in the context of the 15 Global Challenges identified by WFUNA through The Millennium Project.
Malaysia is a 51-year-old nation who was once under the divide-and-rule policy by former British colonial masters. As a result of that policy, after national independence from the British, each race was identified by their economic functions – the Malays as farmers; the Chinese, miners; and the Indians, rubber tappers. Then, the lower income group comprised of primarily the Malays who reside in the rural settlements, followed by the Indians and the Chinese who reside in the rubber estates and urban areas respectively.
The New Economic Policy (NEP) was introduced in 1971 by the Malaysian government, and still ongoing, intending to reduce the disparity of wealth between the rich and poor and to eradicate hard-core poverty. It was also meant to erase racial identification based on economic functions.
Since the majority of the poor are Malays, the NEP is somewhat deemed as an affirmative action policy for the Malays. Government-linked banks have been established specifically with the intent of helping to develop Malay entrepreneurs. Malays are also given public scholarships and preference in public universities apart from discounts in housing purchases. Yet, the rich-poor gap is still not being resolved entirely.
With the policy, both the rich and poor Malays are entitled to the same benefits. There exists an intra-race disparity of wealth, in addition to the inter-race disparity of wealth. The local indigenous people Orang Asli and ethnic minorities are sidelined from economic and education opportunities. There still lie Malays, Chinese, and Indians who are still caught in the web of poverty.
These challenges are opportunities for Malaysian youths to be influential in their community. Networking platform such US-based Kiva.org is a good model to channel money from the rich to the poor, online. Often, money for the poor is exchanged by too many hands in the government. Youths can go to ground and highlight real-life family hardships through blogs and forums. Donations from online users can be channelled into a fund for business start-ups for the poor. By cutting intermediaries, money can be channelled to the poor directly. Once the start-ups are sustainable, the money can be loaned to another family.
*These two essays took me a few days to compose. Yes, it was a huge relief that they have accepted me.* Now, how am I going to raise RM10k in a month? Please drop comments if you have brilliant ideas only.
