History as a documentation Problem

History is said to be written by the victors or those in power. In recent years, they have been many attempts to rewrite history in many parts of the world. When I was in Indonesia a few years ago, there was an account of the Indonesian confrontation with Malaysia at the basement of their National Monument. I was shocked to see how much the Indonesian account differs from ours. The Europeans hailed Columbus as an adventurer, navigator, and a hero. He supposedly discovered America. Native Americans see him in an entirely different light so much so that many states in the US no longer celebrate Columbus day.

To make history relevant, the intuitive suggestions to the historian is that they should be more objective, inclusive and balance in their writings. They should be aware of their bias and mental model in their writing. I don’t think there is any new here as historians know very well of these shortcomings but just do not know how to deal with them.

While historians recognize that there are many problems with the way they write history, what is troubling to me is that history repeats itself. These repetitions mean that we are unable to learn from history. Learning from history is one of the primary purposes of history, and failure here requires us to question the whole purpose and discipline of history.

Institutional strengthening and what it can mean to Malaysia

The chief of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) wants to take on an international appointment, and many people, including those from civil society organisations are very concerned, saying it would be a great loss to the MACC and the nation. There is some speculation he has been removed because of his involvement in certain controversial cases. On top of that, some quarters are using this opportunity to call for an independent MACC to fight graft. The minister in charge of integrity issued a statement that Putrajaya would ensure “his successor should be a person of the highest personal integrity, with intimate knowledge and extensive experience in the intricate workings and methods of combating corruption.”

But wait a minute, is the MACC so fragile that it is highly dependent on the chief of the commission to function effectively? Are the standard operating procedures not put in place such that the commission is a sustainable going concern? Do they not have the technical and management expertise to run the organisation? Has it not got an effective governance structure and operating model? If any of the above is not so, then this commission is a candidate for institutional strengthening.

Understanding KPIs or Indicators

“A performance indicator or key performance indicator (KPI) is a type of performance measurement. KPIs evaluate the success of an organization or of a particular activity in which it engages. “  (From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Performance_indicator, retrieved on May 5, 2016)

Every so often, we hear academics and politicians using the performance indicators to demonstrate the progress the country has made in tackling various problems.  Without understanding what is KPIs and how they should be used; we can be easily misled. As defined in Wikipedia in the opening quote, KPI is a type of performance measurement. When there are too many parameters, a metric is devised to combine these parameters into a single indicator. Applied within reasons, the indicator is useful for benchmarking the relative state of the organization or activity over a period of time or with other organizations.  They are in no way absolute.