A poison pen letter is making its way into the cyber space. It's about The Star and it's about power play.
Is the Star ship about to sink? It looks like a possibility.
With MCA winning just one Parlimentary seat and its President Liow Tiong Lai lost in Bentong, it's an obvious proof the newspaper has become irrelevant and lose the trust of the Chinese voters.
Let's take a look at the poison pen letter.
Dear Mr. President (Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai) and Deputy President Datuk Seri Dr Wee ka Siong
What might be the end of the Star Media Group Publications because of Dato Fu Ah Kiow and his blue eyed boy Roy Tan kong Wang . Please bear in mind that we are writing to both of you with no interest in any personal glory and neither to cause any harm, as we are already at the tail end of our carrier in The Star. We wish to highlight to both of you what is happening in the company is definitely going to cause a very bad impact to the party and The Star if its not addressed and attend to immediately. With the current tides of change and demand both in the business and political environments has come to see both of our beloved organizations whose names we already mentioned is in very challenging critical and turbulent times. We strongly believe that the actions of Fu Ah Kiow and Roy Tan will only bring about the end to The Star in a matter of time. This is going to further bring down the party and the public perception towards the party.
To all our surprise, Fu Ah Keow and his team hired an external consultant to think for us before the general election. By doing this begs the question as to how well these external consultants are familiar with our long standing traditions culture and ways of businesses that has for so long seen the survival and excellence of The Star. The worst part of the exercise was Roy Tan who is the blue eye boy of Fu Ah Kiow was put in-charge of the transformation project . The moron and heartless bastard has no knowledge about the culture of this wonderful organization. The Star always rated its people as its assets but as far as Roy Tan and Fu Ah Keow are concerned ,employees are at the very bottom and are treated like toilet papers. Our benefits, increments and ex.gratia are stopped in the pretext of cost cutting measures but then all the stolen money from the staff of The Star are used in ways that both Fu Ah Keow and Roy Tan wishes which has no return on investment .
Datuk Seri Liow and Datuk Seri Dr Wee ka Siong, external consultants can help but only by consulting and not by redesigning our whole future for in which that we believe has to be decided by ourselves as a team to see how well those ideas can integrate with our long standing traditions culture and ways of businesses that has seen our survival and successes all this while. The hastily and irresponsibly change now pushed by The Chairman Dato Fu Ah Kiow overnight will only spell disaster, to both the party and The Star. Fu Ah Kiow is unconcerned about the welfare and well being of the employees of The Star, he is hard – hearted, mean -spirited and ruthless. He does not even give a damm to Datuk Wong Chun Wai and bulldoze through whatever he wants in a very brutal and disgraceful methods in the name of cost cutting measures.
Until recently the Star has been successfully challenging the changes of times through its hard earned knowledge skills and wisdom in its areas of print whilst carefully moving with the changes of times into electronic/internet based prints and news TV and etc, as we are after all been established by our past and present hard work to be the number 1 Media company. Believe us all these did not come overnight, these are all only successful and seeing positive returns as they were all well researched studied and planned endeavors by the existing efforts of the older and younger generations of the Star team. In which we see is likewise wisely done in MCA our parent Company.
The employment of Roy Tan Kong Wang who is now said to be taking over as the Managing Director from Datuk Seri Wong Chun Wai and the appointment of Dato Fu Ah Kiow as the chairman of The Star has brought about a severe case of unfolding disasters for the Star Media Group. Both these heartless morons whilst initially promising to work together with the existing team to propel the organization forward have actually been disastrously propelling us altogether backwards.
As a members and observers of our beloved organization and strong believers in its previous well thought off studied researched planned and profitable endeavors, we sadly find both these disgusting morons together with some existing and hired back retired staffs alienating themselves from the others in our organization and are seemed working together in their newly formed closed group towards the enrichment of themselves with positions of power and high paid salaries. Whilst making very haste care less irresponsible decisions at the expense of our beloved organizations overall traditional and profitable wellbeing ,Fu Ah Kiow claims that The President and the Party are supporting him and are behind in all his actions and decisions.
We have no means to cause harm to anyone but these few people and their confidants have been hurting our beloved organization tremendously that we have no choice but to be blunt and mention their names, they are Chairman Dato
Fu Ah Keow (the worst ever chairman Star have ever had) along with his blue eyed boy Roy Tan Kong Wang.
We want to see The Star to be a global company but please safe guard the jobs of the staff. The Star should be allowed to manage its business without the interference from the board and political meddling.
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However it should be placed under the jurisdication of the party President in order to avoid irregularities. Fu Ah Kiow even appointed a 70 years old donkey Loo Phan Kooi as the special officer to the Managing Director. Loo Phan Kooi’s contract was terminated by Vincient Tan but however when Fu Ah Kiow became the chairman of Star he was rehired again. Loo Phan Kooi was an executive with the company but was rehired so many times after his retired and now under Fu Ah Kiow ,he is even given a room.
Just like the heads of department and a staff . Its now Loo Phan Kooi who decides who stays with the Company and who leaves the company. He is basically the informer of Fu Ah Kiow. Loo Phan Kooi is so powerful that he gives orders to the news desk the stories and pictures that are to be used in the papers. He is so badly arrogant and manipulates always. He proudly tells everyone in the company that he has no retirement age and can work in The Star as long as he wants because he is a party man & Fu Ah Kiow wants him around to do the check and balance in the company. If we are talking about being over staff and cost control measures are taken , then why was Loo Phan Kooi employed by Fu Ah Kiow since he became the chairman. What kind of a chairman is Fu Ah Kiow and isnt it abuse of power?
Many other senseless high paid appointments that include Ho Wah Foon brought in by Fu Ah Kiow from The Edge with a very high salary, Fong Pex Yee and Jocelyn Tan, all three whom have passed their retirement age but given employment contract. So what are we talking about employees being redundant and having too much fat around? Look at the number of legal suit that we have got into because of Jocelyn Tan, yet she is being employed year in year out even though she has passed her retirement age. Fu Ah Kiow claims that Fong Pex Yee must be around as
the deputy president wants her for his coverage, so why does the question of redundant arises for other employees?
Datuk Seri Liow Tiang Lai and Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siang the question here is Fu Ah Kiow and Roy Tan talks about cost cutting measures and other craps that involves employees livelihood and welfare but why then rehire and keep staff who have passed their retirement age in the expenses of employees who are still within their retirement age. One of the worst thing that is happening now at The Star is the ploy of getting rid of employees in the pretext of ” REDANDCY ” and TRIMMING THE FAT AROUND, which is the buss word of Fu Ah Kiow and Roy Tan.
In the pretext of transforming The Star Media Group Fu Ah Keow and Roy Tan the came up with a business operations unit called Dimsum which is now located at the lavishly and newly renovated 6th Floor, at Menara Star. They employed senseless high paid staffs for their Dimsum dept whereby in the last two years of its existence ,have only come up with buying Chinese , Korean, Thai and other Oriental dramas for subscription in which they have been manipulating the numbers to show that they have been having positive ROI’s where in actual fact it isn’t true.
Almost thirty million ringgit has been invested into DIMSUM but till today they are way off from their target.
The one’s whom are really paying for their high salaries and covering their losses are all the incomes generated by the hardworking lesser salaried editorial and print depts. A begging point to note here is that what Dimsum is trying to do has already been achieved by organizations such as Iflix, You tube and other more established video on demand services.
We can understand if one has dreams but that one has to do it as a responsible matured thinking adult and not as spoilt child whom wants to have what his neighbors have at the expense of all his other sibling and his parents having to face and have consequential losses. Dimsum is the pet project of Fu Ah Keow and Roy Tan and they will do anything to defend it and to show its making money but in actual fact Dimsum is a loosing business and everyone in the organization is well aware of it and even in the next 5 years it will not bring in any ROI .
Its very sad to see that staff from Dimsum are paid very high salary and every effort is taken to keep them going by Fu Ah Keow and Roy Tan but all and immediate efforts are made to get rid of employees from the print segment
despite the fact that print is still the cash cow of the company. Mr. President and Deputy President the staff from the print segment have given their life for the Organization and is this how they should be treated and is this how MCA treats people? Freedom of Managing the busniess should be allowed but aggressive methods such as making employees redundant and getting rid of employees by way of VSS,MSS, EARLY RETIREMENT AND REDUNDANCY should not be tolerated by the Party.
The current leaders in The Star and the employees are passionate about making changes and taking the The Star forward. Dato Seri Wong Chun Wai and his team are fair to the employees but not the bastards Fu Ah Kiow and Roy Tan.
Please send your own auditors and team to find out about DIMSUM’s performs and find out yourselves on all investment & recruitment that has been done for digital segment. Please investigate the possibility of embezzlement and misappropriation of funds by Fu Ah Kiow and Roy Tan in running the lost making DIMSUM operations. Please act on it asap to slove this once and for all.
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Millions of ringgit has and still is being spent for the digital segment however the returns are far off and for sure the digital segment is not going to give us the ROI even in the long run as the competition is great out there. Mr President & Deputy President, The Star has to look at other investments and not spending all the money and resources on digital . The Print is being killed by Fu Ah Kiow and Roy Tan and the rest of so call higher management dare not put a stop to this merely because Fu Ah Kiow and Roy Tan are just too powerful even compared to the Party President and Deputy President. If any business unit is to be closed and staff made redundant ,it should be DIMSUM. We need to stop all the unnecessary mega and lost making projects like dimsum immediately to reduce deficit.
Recently the so called transformation committee led Roy Tan was all over the editorial floor & other departments ,messing up operations , ongoing processes and staff emotions by their actions. Everyone knows that Roy Tan intention ,as he is now covertly planning to take over the overall management of the Star by eliminating the existing management team and replacing them with his associates and close quarters all solely with the intention of having his own people to manage The Star after the elections. He even mentioned this to many of us in the editorial floor during the night of the general election that this is the best time to get rid of people and bringing new faces. We are willing to testify this in front of the President and deputy President.
Fu Ah Kiow wanted the new plan to be shared before the elections. It was shocking to see many senior names were missing and no discussion or chats were held with the relevant stake holders. Its very clear that Fu Ah Kiow and Roy Tan are going all out to ensure that the new structure is adopted before the MCA elections . Mr. President and Deputy President what both Fu Ah Keow and Roy Tan are doing will bring down The Star Media Group , we appeal to both of you and the central working committee to put a stop to this plans, The Star Media Group needs Datuk Seri Wong Chun Wai , Datuk Calvin and the senior teams members to further propel the Star Media Group .
Its very shamefully and ruthless to throw away people and replace all that we have built with some directly copied bogus failed unsuccessful endeavor. Its very saddening ,heartbreaking and disastrous to see what is happening to the Star and MCA sorry to say. What is worse is that Fu Ah Kiow and Roy Tan has been telling everyone in the organization that they are doing this with the support of the President and the central committee.
Even Ministers in the cabinet will have to learn their new job scopes, so what more about us employees of The Star. Mr President and Deputy President we should find ways and mechanisms to prepare staff for the new challenges rather than making staff redundant or employing disgraceful tactics by saying too much fat around and getting rid of them. These were the same fat that had transform Star to what is it today.
Mr. President and Deputy President , from the time Roy Tan was hired by Vicient please check how much has he contribute in terms of revenue and digital segment products . He is supposed to be the COO of Digital but what has he done besides causing problems to the employees of The Star? He has hired so many staff in the digital segment with fat salary and big titles but where are the results and nothing solid has happened so far.
So why are we keeping him and paying him a huge salary for not doing anything but creating problems for all of us at The Star. How can he be made the Managing Director of The Star when he cant even speak any Chinese dialect. Worst still he does not even have any high level business networking and relationship. How is he going to bring in revenue and business deals to The Star when is does not even have simple requirements?
Please don’t allow this bastard to kill the company that has been laying the golden eggs for all of us including MCA. The spirit of offering VSS or any form of separation is to further manage operational cost but sad to say this is not what Fu Ah Keow is doing. Three VSS and one early retirement exercise was conducted in the name of cost cuttinG measures. Mr. President & Deputy President please check how many digital and dimsum staff was hired after these exercise , so what are we talking about savings and cost control measures. Now in the name of transformation Fu Ah Kiow and Roy Tan have come up with another scheme termed as “REDUNDANT EMPLOYEES” to get rid of staff.
Mr. President & Deputy President this whole episode has created so much of distress and agony among staff.
Dato Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong , you urge Tun Mahathir our PM to have mercy and to reconsider his decision to end the contract of civil servants but what are you doing about your very own people the employees of The Star , who are now left hanging and restless not knowing if they have a job within the next few months. The Public’s opinion has changed about our paper and more people are buying our papers after the general election, this is a very good indication for the print segment. To bring back our readers, restore the independence of reporting ,
report what the people needs & want and not what we want the people to hear.
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Implement meritocracy and zero tolerance of power abuse that is happening now. Moreover the print segment has been and will continue to be the cash cow of the company so please don’t kill us. Definitely the staff of The Star are not as bad as what Fu Ah Kiow and Roy Tan claims, they can be retrained and redeployed in other areas within the group subsidiaries instead of making them so call redundant. Mr. President and Deputy President please put a stop to this , we have no where to turn to other than you and the deputy President. Both your intervention is a must in this whole tragic REDUNDANT exercise.
If this gets out of hand it will make the headlines in all the media in and out the country , all relevant agencies and authorities will be notified of unfair practice that employed by Fu Ah Kiow and Roy Tan. However before it comes to that stage we want the President , the Deputy President & the central committee to put a stop it. There are lot of discrepancies in the manner so called VSS, RIGHTSIZING ,MMS,
EARLY RETIREMENT & now the REDUDANT exercise being carried out. Its now up to the party to put is right . Abuse of power by Fu Ah Kiow and Roy Tan is the problem here.
Fu Ah Kiow has also created a special tier called Chiefs besides the heads of department. This was solely done to move up Roy Tan to take over from Datuk Seri Wong Chun Wai and to cover it up a few others were also promoted to the level of chief . The chiefs don’t come in cheap but yet the employment of chiefs are still on going so what are we talking about cost saving and cost cutting measures.? Recently a chief technology officer was appointed above the head of IT services department which is absolutely crazy and please don’t tell us its done based on the business requirements .
There is no need for the tier chiefs in the Star after all when we were at the peak we only had a Managing Director and General Manager to run the entire operations. This was also done during Vincent Lee’s time but as soon as Fu AhKiow and his team came in they got rid of the title chief and redesignated those who were given the title chief and some were even force out but however after sometime this tier was reintroduce again just to accommodate Roy Tay.
Mr. President and Deputy President the tier (CHIEF) is not relevant, please do away with the chief culture and there should be only the MD, COO & HEADS OF DEPARTMENT tier and nothing else . These are the fundamental reasons for us to bring up to both of you, to see, think and investigate the chaos that has been happening recently in The Star and to save our beloved organization . Fu Ah Kiow is already lobbing and talking to people in the central committee to allow him to continue as The chairman of Star for another year after the party AGM which is now brought forward for gods sake please don’s allow it as it will be the end of The Star.
From the time Ong Tee Keat became the President of MCA the party failed to play its role effectively and ignored the welfare of the employees of The Star. Ong Tee Keat buried The Star by removing Datuk Steven Tan and bringing in his own people to manage The Star. The down fall of The Star and MCA started since then. Now Fu Ah kiow and Roy Tan are burying The Star and if they are allowed to remain in The Star it will be the end of The Star. Its in public interest The Star should be managed by its own people and not instructed by the morons, Fu Ah Kiow and Roy
Tan
Its time the leadership of the party to be humble in listening to the voices of employees of The Star, stand by us and observe things from the employees perspective. Its just not about making money which then will make MCA irrelevant to the Rakyat. Thank you for your time and please realize that Mr. President its you and your deputy who are the only one whom can save and change the situation at The Star.
Please don’t treat this matter lightly or just treat it as any other matter and please don’t turn a deaf ear to our cry to both of you. You should retain Datuk Wong Chun Wai as the Managing Director and Datuk Calvin Kan as the COO for The Star to be relevant. Both Chun Wai and Calvin should be given full autonomy, so that they can make the company more financially independent and self- sustaining. There should be no political interference please. Nonetheless with the new government emphasizing meritocracy, transparency and press freedom, it can only mean the lowest cost of doing business, maximum profitability and best growth potential in the print business.
We need leadership with heart to change the landscape of The Star and to prevent the practice of unprincipled leadership of Fu Ah Kiow and Roy Tan. Both Datuk Seri Wong Chun Wai and Datuk Calvin Kan are able to fulfil the trust, responsibility and hope of the staff in ensuring that The Star moves forward and free of abuse of power.
Yours sincerely
From All OF US IN THE STAR.
SAVE OUR JOBS
