What’s it really like leading a humanitarian organisation under constant pressure? Dato’ Ahmad Faizal Perdaus of MERCY Malaysia opens up about the personal cost of leadership, tough calls during global disasters, and the public pressure to stay transparent.
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00:00Would you say that Mercy Malaysia is leading the pack when it comes to being as transparent as possible?
00:06In Malaysia, I'm happy to say yes, we are.
00:08I say that again, not just because I'm president.
00:10To get teams into countries in Asia has become increasingly difficult,
00:14and it's become increasingly so over the last five to six years.
00:17This is because of two things.
00:19One, good.
00:19Perhaps 80 to 90 percent of our work that gets on the media is actually our work overseas,
00:26because hardly anyone writes about our work in Asia.
00:30In this episode of Life Confessions, another amazing guest joins us.
00:41He is the president of Mercy Malaysia.
00:44With me today, Datuk Dr Ahmad Faizal.
00:47Thank you for joining us, Datuk.
00:48Thank you very much, David.
00:50All right, we are looking forward to hearing what you have to say, of course, in your capacity,
00:54not only as the president of Mercy Malaysia,
00:56you are a full-fledged and active doctor as well.
01:01Yes, I'm afraid so.
01:04How do you, let's start with finding out, how do you balance your life?
01:07Because you've got so much going on in your life, right?
01:10Well, let's say it comes with practice, and I've had a lot of practice.
01:14So, that's to cut a very long story very short.
01:18Though I've always done more than one thing at a time, I think since primary school.
01:22Wow.
01:23So, I don't think I can live doing just one thing only.
01:30I'll be bored.
01:31So, that's an honest confession.
01:34Since this is a confession session.
01:36Correct.
01:37So, that's one thing.
01:39But secondly, jokes aside and also analogies aside,
01:45it's also in a way being forced upon me because of the responsibilities.
01:50You enjoy a full busy life.
01:53I do.
01:54And I guess in a way, I use the word forced upon me a bit because it's real because
02:03on the other hand, if I had a choice of choosing just one,
02:10I would probably be a humanitarian, full-time humanitarian leader.
02:16But that's not possible in Malaysia unless you're willing to take a huge pay cut.
02:28And that's another confession.
02:30Quality of life would change.
02:31And the quality of life would change.
02:33Unfortunately, I had already been in mid-career, sort of, by the time Mercy was around.
02:42So, it would have been a bit difficult.
02:48And even up till today, for example, Mercy Malaysia still cannot afford to pay,
02:55for example, a full CEO's emolument package.
03:02So, although we work, I would say,
03:05both the quality and quantity that the organisation does warrants one.
03:09So, because of that, I still have to practice.
03:12So, in a way, it's forced upon me.
03:16On saying that, I still enjoy being a physician and I still enjoy being a doctor.
03:22So, it's not like I don't like being a doctor.
03:26It's just that if I had a choice though between the two,
03:28because sometimes in life, you can't have everything.
03:31And if it came, if it boiled down to making a choice.
03:35Yes.
03:36And so, if I was in a different place, perhaps, different time, different era, different timing,
03:44I probably would choose being a full-time humanitarian worker,
03:48especially at the leadership level,
03:50knowing very well that I could contribute as much as I can now,
03:54and probably more if I did it full-time.
03:56In fact, you've been at the helm of Mercy Malaysia for some time now, right?
03:59What motivated you to first join the humanitarian organisation?
04:03And how did you rise to this leadership position?
04:07Okay, first and foremost, there was no plan to this.
04:13So, I joined as a volunteer.
04:15I still remember the date.
04:16It was 4th of January, 2003, with a few friends who,
04:23in fact, the ones who came along with me for that particular session on that day were not doctors.
04:29There were a few of us and we signed up
04:32and almost immediately, because you must remember the organisation was only four years old.
04:37So, it was different from what it is now.
04:40There were perhaps opportunities that wouldn't be so easy to find now that there was then.
04:48So, for example, at that particular volunteer induction programme that we were at,
04:54they were specifically looking for people to be part of a programme called
04:58Drug Rehabilitation and Assistance.
05:01At that time, there was no name yet to the programme, but there was a demand for such a programme.
05:06So, the organisers immediately looked at me, had one look and said,
05:10why don't you join this programme?
05:12And I said, yes.
05:14And before we knew it, by the end of the month, I think, by the end of January,
05:20I was leading the team, partly because there was no one else.
05:24It wasn't because I was so good or anything, or I knew a lot about drug rehab.
05:29To be honest, I didn't know too much.
05:31Seems like you've been quite modest, actually.
05:33Well, I know what any other doctor would have known about drug rehabilitation and assistance.
05:42But I wasn't an expert.
05:43But I was made the team leader because basically, we were all new and young.
05:49Because you were there.
05:50And because I was there.
05:52And so, in six months or so, I was on my first humanitarian mission abroad
05:59to Sri Lanka.
05:59It was a flood relief mission to Sri Lanka.
06:02And after I came back from that mission,
06:07suddenly I got a request or a letter from the Executive Council.
06:11That's the equivalent of a board of directors, if you like,
06:15asking me to join them on the Council.
06:18And here you are managing it all, even until now, actually,
06:21because you've been leading Mercy Malaysia through some of the most
06:25challenging humanitarian crises in recent years.
06:28Mercy Malaysia is involved in both local and international missions, right?
06:32How do you deal with the challenges and needs of Malaysians in crisis
06:38while also addressing global disasters?
06:40Because sometimes it feels like criticism is very interesting.
06:43When you are helping Malaysians in crisis,
06:46you'll see the comments say, what about?
06:48And then they'll mention an overseas crisis.
06:50And then when you're helping people overseas,
06:52the question is always, what about the Malaysians who are in need, right?
06:55So how do you balance this?
06:57I will answer that question in three parts.
07:00The first part is Mercy Malaysia is a Malaysian, but international,
07:07humanitarian, relief, non-governmental organisation.
07:12So we have our focus areas, but we've grown beyond those initial focus areas.
07:17In the initial years, in the first four to five years,
07:21our focus was mainly emergency medical response.
07:24That was the only thing we did.
07:25But we grew out of that into a few focus areas now, more than a few.
07:30And even our medical response has grown wider,
07:34although we still keep to form and we still excel in emergency medical response.
07:40So much so that we are the only NGO in Asia, not ASEAN, not Southeast Asia,
07:45but Asia, which has a WHO certified emergency medical team.
07:53But our work now goes beyond that.
07:56And because we are a Malaysian, yet international,
08:02we benchmark ourselves both against Malaysian standards, like I said,
08:09and international ones.
08:10So just now we were talking more about fiduciary and financial
08:14and perhaps governance accountability and transparency.
08:16But this also goes to operational excellence and operational standards in the field.
08:23So that's number one.
08:25The second part is because we are both Malaysian and international,
08:30we are naturally also in a good position to be the best of both.
08:38And this has been mercy Malaysia's strength, actually, in the last 25 years.
08:44We are 25 and a half years now since 1999.
08:47We were founded in 1999.
08:48There are many organizations in Indonesia and the Philippines
08:51which are much bigger than us, much older than us.
08:54Why we've reached that level is because we've managed to bring together
08:58the best values that Malaysians have and the best values internationally.
09:03So we stick to the humanitarian principles, for example, of humanity, equality,
09:13independence of need, neutrality, impartiality.
09:17On the other hand, good Malaysian values like courtesy, cultural sensitivity, etc.,
09:25we also bring to the fore, which stands us in good state.
09:29So we are very well accepted, for example, in a country like Myanmar,
09:34which does not accept many of the international organizations.
09:38We've been there for the last 16 and a half years without stop.
09:42We are also well accepted in the Middle East for different reasons,
09:47from different perspectives.
09:48And we're well accepted here in Malaysia.
09:50So the third bit is, that's how we do work both in Malaysia as well as internationally.
10:00So the third part is the criteria.
10:03So suffice for me to say that our criteria for response and our criteria for preparedness
10:11and for doing programs in Malaysia, we have a lower threshold for that.
10:16Well, yeah, perhaps it has to be a bigger disaster, the host country cannot cope with.
10:25The host country may have people on the ground already that should be able to cope with
10:28the disaster or that tragedy or that incident.
10:31Yeah, same, likewise for conflicts.
10:33If it's a low level conflict, which has gone on for years,
10:37and yet the humanitarian impact is not huge.
10:41So it's more of a political crisis than rather than a humanitarian one.
10:45So there is a priority list.
10:46Yes, there's a priority list.
10:47But in Malaysia, because this is our home country.
10:52So Putra Heights, we responded.
10:56Now, it doesn't mean, of course, we have to respond in the same way
10:59that we respond, say, in Myanmar, in the earthquake recently.
11:03So during the Raya recently, we were in four or five places at the same time.
11:08So it showed that our staff, our full-time staff hardly had a break
11:13because the earthquake in Myanmar happened on Friday, three days before Hari Raya.
11:20The Putra Heights explosion and fires happened one day after Raya, the second Hari Raya.
11:27So we hardly had a stop.
11:29And we also had teams already in Gaza at that time from Malaysia.
11:35And at the same time, we were deploying another team to Syria on the fourth of Hari Raya.
11:41So we were very active then.
11:44So if you look at all these crises, Palestine, Gaza, Syria, Myanmar,
11:49their magnitude and the level of crisis are much higher than perhaps the Putra Heights crisis.
11:57But for Malaysia, that is enough for us to respond.
12:01And of course, floods, the seasonal and also unseasonal floods
12:05that happen in Malaysia, we respond to annually.
12:07We are part of the national response mechanism.
12:10We're very close partners with NADMA, the National Disaster Management Agency.
12:14And we work with both local as well as state and federal government agencies throughout Malaysia,
12:20both in preparedness and in response and in building community resilience.
12:23Why? Because this is our home country.
12:26We have to give priority to Malaysia.
12:29And in fact, to be honest with you, the amount of work that we do, if you quantify it,
12:33actually in some years, minus the COVID years,
12:3850 to 60 percent of our work is actually done in Malaysia.
12:41But perhaps 80 to 90 percent of our work that gets on the media is actually our work overseas.
12:52Because hardly anyone writes about our work in Malaysia.
12:55And of course, some of the work in Malaysia is more long term,
12:58like building community resilience, ongoing water programs in Sabah and in Kelantan.
13:03But they are.
13:05In fact, Mercy Malaysia is known for its swift response to disasters,
13:09sometimes being the first on ground in many cases.
13:12But of course, like you've mentioned, even no organization is without its flaws, right?
13:17Can you recall a time when you felt Mercy Malaysia possibly fell short of your own standards?
13:24And how did you learn from that incident and move on?
13:28Well, there are three answers to that.
13:36Two are operational.
13:38One is in the realm of management and governance.
13:44So the two, in terms of operations, our ability to deploy to countries with natural disasters
13:55in according to the standards that we've already set, which is within 72 hours.
14:02Now, in the first 10 to 12 years of Mercy Malaysia's operations,
14:07so from 1999 to perhaps 2011 or so, we managed to meet this standard quite easily.
14:16Now, since 2012, 2013 or so, countries around the world, but especially in Asia
14:22and being in Asia, our primary focus area is outside of Malaysia, is Southeast Asia, ASEAN,
14:30and then the greater Asian continent, and then only elsewhere, including Africa.
14:35We are operational in Africa.
14:37So geography plays a part as well.
14:39Geography plays a part.
14:40Now, since 2013 or so, to respond, to be able to respond,
14:47especially to get teams in, into countries in Asia has become increasingly difficult.
14:52And it's become increasingly so over the last five to six years.
14:57This is because of two things.
14:58One, good.
15:00The good thing is vulnerable countries like Indonesia and the Philippines,
15:04which sit on the Pacific Ring of Fire, for example,
15:08and even Bangladesh, which has an annual cyclone season, are now better prepared.
15:14And Indonesia, for example, as opposed to 21 years ago now, 20 years ago during the tsunami,
15:22is, I would say, even more prepared than we are, Malaysia,
15:28and have both government as well as non-government organizations and teams,
15:34both government and non-government, which are more ready and more well-equipped.
15:38And because they are more experienced, because they have almost annually small earthquakes,
15:44small storms here and there, both Indonesia and the Philippines,
15:47their accumulation of that experience and integrating that knowledge is far greater than us.
15:56So much so that it's now more difficult to get our teams into these countries.
16:02In fact, for the last three or four disasters in Indonesia and the Philippines,
16:08they haven't requested and they haven't needed international aid.
16:13So that's good.
16:15Yes, because it means it's less on your plate.
16:18Yeah, and actually, if humanitarian workers globally, including us,
16:23but also those in the West especially, were to be honest with themselves,
16:27this is what they were aspiring for, or at least what the rhetoric was.
16:32The independence of dealing with their own...
16:34Yes, so people shouldn't be upset about this.
16:38But then of course, some people are, because now they lose one avenue of their raison d'être,
16:48for their reason of being.
16:51Justifying your existence.
16:52Justifying your existence, yes.
16:54But on the other hand, that's where Mercy Malaysia,
16:58as not just an organization in the sector, but also looking at ourselves as a leader in the sector,
17:06we try to innovate and improvise.
17:10So how we do it is we have more local partners.
17:13We also establish more local teams.
17:15So for example, in Myanmar and the Philippines,
17:19we have local Mercy Malaysia organizations there,
17:24which then can respond double quick time,
17:27without having to wait for us from KL to go there.
17:31So that's one.
17:32Oh, these are manned by locals?
17:34Mostly manned by locals.
17:35Of course, there will be times when there will be expatriates from Malaysia,
17:39from our HQ who go there as well.
17:42But they are mainly manned by local staff and volunteers.
17:47So that's one way.
17:48The other way, of course, is to enhance humanitarian diplomacy
17:53and position Mercy Malaysia as, shall we say, both favoured and accepted partners.
18:00So the EMT-WHO certification, for example, is very important.
18:04Because then we have a certification that is universally, internationally recognised.
18:10So it's not just talk, it's work, it's walk.
18:14So because there's something to show that we are really qualified to do this.
18:20Second is forgotten crises and more complex emergencies.
18:25So this is the second area where I feel Mercy Malaysia still has not reached,
18:30say, the levels of, for example,
18:32Medecins Sans Frontieres, MSF, which recognises us as a full partner.
18:38So like I said, that's how much we have achieved as Mercy Malaysia,
18:43our positioning internationally, but still.
18:45MSF is like Doctors Without Borders.
18:48Yes, so likewise.
18:49So MSF in the humanitarian sector is like the gold standard.
18:53The gold standard humanitarian organisation.
18:55And there are many reasons for that.
18:58The first and foremost reason is because of their credibility.
19:01Their credibility is because they are financially independent.
19:04They're financially independent because the bulk of the billions of dollars they get each year
19:10as an international network is from the general public.
19:14That means from the small person, instead of from one or two donors,
19:19from one of the governments, which the other international NGOs realistically depend on.
19:27So we have not reached that level yet.
19:29So, for example, we have for even now requests from certain countries
19:34and certain theatres of operations.
19:38For example, Sudan, from the Darfur years of 2004, which I mentioned earlier on,
19:44right up till 2013.
19:46For nine years, we were there actively, mainly in Darfur,
19:50and we maintained a presence until 2015.
19:53Then our money ran out.
19:55So now, they actually, both the international system, the UN,
20:00and as well as people in Sudan, have requested us to go back in.
20:05But we do not have enough resources, both financially,
20:08but also resource-wise in terms of human resource,
20:14to actually, given that we are already heavily engaged in Gaza, in Myanmar, etc,
20:21to deploy to Sudan in a meaningful way.
20:24Because you want to be able to make a difference as well.
20:27You just don't want just to go and go sightseeing.
20:31So this is the thing.
20:33So we're still not there.
20:34There are other areas, there are other places in the world.
20:38Although, yes, Gaza needs us, Myanmar needs us,
20:40and we have prioritised and put them at the top of our list.
20:43But there are other areas like Sudan, like Yemen, which also require us to go there.
20:49And even in Bangladesh, in Cox's Bazaar,
20:52where the biggest, currently where the biggest refugee camp is in the world,
20:58the refugee camp for Rohingya refugees, which we are involved in,
21:03actually requires a bigger presence from us.
21:05But we are unable to, again, because of the financial limitations
21:11and human resource limitations.
21:12So this is where, while we're there, we're not there yet.
21:17So to rise to that challenge of being able to deploy
21:22anywhere there is a need, and to give priority to humanitarian needs
21:30more than anything else.
21:31So it comes down to two things, it would seem.
21:33Money and manpower.
21:34That's it.
21:36So we still need to build these two things.
21:38So these are some of the challenges.
21:41Now these two, the third challenge, or like you said,
21:47where is it that mercy has come short?
21:51From purely a management and governance perspective.
21:55Well, like I said, from a Malaysian benchmark,
21:58financially, financial accountability, etc.
22:01I'm happy to say from both, we've been audited many, many times.
22:04We've been circumspectly looked at by various Malaysian regulatory bodies.
22:12And to be fair to us, regulatory bodies like the Register of Societies,
22:17like the IRB, LHDN, Income Tax,
22:23look at us not just for audit, but also to learn from us.
22:28Because we are the pacesetters, if you like, the industry leader, if you like.
22:33The vanguard.
22:34So they learn from us sometimes on what the processes are,
22:38in terms of finances, etc.
22:40So from the Malaysian angle, we're quite happy that we are there.
22:47But like I said, internationally, we still have some way to go.
22:50So we still need to be able to, for example, track our finances better,
22:58in terms of how much is being spent in a real-time basis.
23:02Meaning I should be able to just click a button and see how much is being spent.
23:09Transparency.
23:11So that one we are still working on.
23:14And both in terms of systems, but also in terms of reporting and the skill set, I guess.
23:23Because that is something that the public has been more vocal about from all
23:29non-governmental organisations to see the transparency and how the money is spent.
23:34Would you say that Mercy Malaysia is leading the pack
23:39when it comes to being as transparent as possible?
23:41In Malaysia, I'm happy to say, yes, we are.
23:44And I say that again, not just because I'm president or because again, I'm here with you.
23:53Again, you can ask them.
23:54I've just mentioned two or three of them, the regulatory bodies.
23:59And I'm not just saying it when I say that they also learn from us.
24:03And it's very true.
24:04Bank Negara, LHDN, ROS, Registrar of Societies actually learn from us because sometimes they
24:14ask us, so this money is for what?
24:17And what's this percentage for?
24:19What's that for?
24:20So because, for example, we have a tax exam status.
24:23So even now, as we speak, we are undergoing, we have undergone a very thorough audit from
24:30IRB, from LHDN over the last two years.
24:33And we're in the process of, we had our tax exam status very early on when we were first
24:40founded in 99.
24:41So in about the year 2000, we were accorded that status.
24:45I must say that over the last three years, if you've not noticed, the last three years,
24:51it's been even more so that the government especially and also agencies like LHDN have
24:58been more stringent.
25:00For example, the formation of foundations now, yayasans in Malaysia is now not as easy
25:08as it was before, simply because there have been so many unfortunate incidences of people
25:15misusing foundations.
25:18So likewise, with regards to tax exam status, so what's the news is, this may be news to
25:25some of your listeners and some of your viewers, that tax exam status is no longer easy to
25:30get nowadays.
25:31And even for those organisations which are enjoying that status now, well, it was indefinite
25:37before.
25:38So the government has made a decision a few years back that that will no longer be the
25:43case, that the government now is reviewing all organisations and persons with tax exam
25:50status and rather than indefinite, the status now will be on renewal basis.
25:59Does that mean an organisation needs to prove that they are worthy?
26:04That's it.
26:05Worthy, deserving and adhere to, say, regulations and that will allow them to continue to be
26:13tax exempt.
26:14So even now, as you speak, like I said, we are in the process of making sure that our
26:19tax exam status remains.
26:20So we are working professionally.
26:22We're not doing it ad hoc.
26:24So we've engaged one of the, for example, one of the big four accounting firms to actually
26:30assist us with this.
26:32And of course, we had to spend some money on it, but it's money worth spending.
26:36Right.
26:36So you're making steps to gradually become, like you said, reaching a point where a person
26:43would be able to click online and see all of, ideally, see all of the expenses and reaching
26:49that.
26:50That's the goal ultimately, right?
26:52Interesting, because I'm sure people who are listening to you now here, say this, might
26:56be even inspired to actually want to work in some sort of capacity, championing something
27:03themselves, right?
27:03For someone looking to make a difference themselves in their own community, what do you think
27:07is the one piece of advice that you could give them to stay motivated and focused on
27:12their mission, even when things get tough, which is, of course, times that you've been
27:17through as well?
27:17How does a person maintain and stay on the course?
27:21For someone who wants to go into this area of endeavour, we must always understand and
27:28remember what the money or the funding or the aid or the material that's given to you
27:34is essentially for.
27:36It's not for you, for your own personal enjoyment per se.
27:40Right.
27:40You want to have that?
27:42Go build your own business and have your own company.
27:45Yeah.
27:46And sometimes the line is thin because if you have money, who is to say that you cannot
27:55use it for purposes that will be more, shall we say, rewarding to you or your staff on
28:05a personal level?
28:07But that's where you have to remain true to your ethics.
28:10Yeah.
28:11And I've said this because we've been asked to as well by other NGOs to perhaps share
28:19our experiences and our experience and our knowledge with them.
28:23So I've spoken at a couple of events where I've said, you know.
28:28What got you into it?
28:29What got you into it?
28:30Was it the money, the fame, the glory perhaps?
28:38Or was it because you wanted to help people?
28:41So on an organisational level, I can say that we remind our people, both staff and volunteers,
28:47this almost ad nauseam.
28:51That when times are tough, when they have to work beyond hours, for example, when we
28:57can't afford to give them, for example, bonuses like they would get in the corporate sector.
29:03Right.
29:03Yeah.
29:05Sometimes we do give when we do exceptionally well financially for that year.
29:11But never again.
29:12So even if we can afford to give a few months bonus, we don't as a matter of principle.
29:20Yeah.
29:21Because we shouldn't.
29:24Because we can't.
29:25Because that money was initially not meant for us.
29:28Right.
29:28Not meant for the staff.
29:30Right.
29:31Yes, we can reward you because you've done well and the organisation has done well.
29:35But not to the point as the same as it would be if you were in the private sector.
29:39Right.
29:41And this is why I think even in Malaysian business, in the Malaysian business sector,
29:44I would think or I would have to settle a problem, which ideally I shouldn't have to.
29:51Yeah.
29:51Because problems do occur from time to time.
29:53Yeah.
29:54So.
29:55What do you tell yourself?
29:57Well, for me on a personal level, it's so easy because I just remember the people we
30:04help.
30:04That's all.
30:05Right.
30:05That's great advice right there to remember the people that you help.
30:08So I guess for everybody else, if you're in broadcasting, if you're in whatever business
30:17you're in, yeah, like I said, just remember that true north, what got you there in the
30:22first place?
30:22Yeah.
30:23So if you're going to be a DJ, be a good one.
30:25It applies to every endeavour that you take on in life actually.
30:29Wow.
30:29We've come to the point now for the rapid fire questions where you just give the one
30:34answer that comes to your head.
30:36There's no good.
30:36Yeah.
30:37Ready?
30:38OK, here we go, Dato.
30:39What's the most rewarding part of working with Mercy Malaysia?
30:44Seeing beneficiaries who have nothing smile.
30:47Right.
30:48Nice.
30:48If you could instantly solve one global crisis, just one, which one would it be?
30:53It'll have to be Palestine because it will not only solve the current Gaza crisis, it
30:59will reduce a lot of tension and perhaps avert what is for some people, and when they
31:08look at it, an inevitable clash of civilisations and perhaps a terrible war sometime in the
31:15future, yeah.
31:16Right.
31:17What's the hardest lesson you've learned as a leader?
31:19You have to walk the talk.
31:22What inspires you the most outside of the humanitarian field?
31:26Justice.
31:27Oh, interesting.
31:28In a broad sense.
31:30Right.
31:30Justice means also not just justice in the legal framework kind of perspective, but social
31:37justice, equitability.
31:39Right.
31:40You can, the world has experimented with basically hard communism and shown that it doesn't
31:49work.
31:50So you can have your Elon Musk and Warren Buffett.
31:53On the other hand, I was also in Malaysia, involved at the strategic and management level
32:01because I was president of MSC and I was involved in many discussions with both government
32:08as well as interagency collaborations.
32:11So if there, again, my one person would have to be still the beneficiary, would have to
32:18be still the people in need.
32:20Wow, yeah.
32:22Because the monolith is the people in need.
32:27Yes.
32:27The monolith is the symbol of the people in need.
32:29Yeah.
32:29Because like I said, I'm not, because we have developed, we have 70 odd staff now full
32:37time in the office.
32:38Yeah.
32:38But because we have 70 odd staff, we still cannot afford a full time CEO.
32:43So I don't draw any salary from MSC.
32:47Right.
32:48So I have no, I don't have any such reward if you like.
32:54Right.
32:55So if things get tough, why should I stay on?
33:00Correct.
33:01Final question for you now.
33:03It's our closing signature question that we ask everyone actually, right?
33:07If you had the opportunity to make one change as prime minister of Malaysia for a day, your
33:13prime minister for a day, what would that one change be and why?
33:18I would actually make a drastic change to the national education system.
33:25Why?
33:26Because we need an education system that is both high in quality, but also inclusive.
33:36And while I appreciate and I understand there is in the country so that it is a system of
33:52choice.
33:53The preferred system.
33:53The preferred system for the majority of Malaysians, including those who can afford it.
33:58Right.
33:59They would rather send their kids to the national education system because it is the best.
34:05And the best here means not just in terms of quality of the syllabus.
34:10Right.
34:10But also the quality of character building and personal development.
34:19A holistic approach.
34:20A holistic approach that the kid, once he or she graduates from that system is so well
34:28equipped to face the challenges of the 21st century.
34:32Right.
34:33That's number one.
34:33Yeah.
34:34But also so that we can regain the Malaysia that we have lost.
34:39Right.
34:39Thank you for being so, so candid with us.
34:42You know, we've gotten so much insight into not just the work that you do, but you as
34:45a person as well.
34:47And we look forward maybe to catching up with you in the future as well.
34:50We appreciate you so much.
34:52Yes.
34:53President of Mercy.