BY DR TARCISIUS CHIN                                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                                      
In a period of one week, two close friends passed away. Raja Tun                                                                                      
Mohar Raja Badiozaman died on June 7, followed by Datuk Dr                                                                                            
Mokhzani Abdul Rahim on June 15.                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                                      
Mohar was president of the Malaysian Institute of Management                                                                                          
(MIM), a position he held for 32 years. Mokhzani was an academic                                                                                      
at the Faculty of Economics and Administration of Universiti                                                                                          
Malaya in the 60s and 70s, and was a Fellow of MIM from 1975                                                                                          
until his death.                                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                                      
Mohar and Mokhzani personified two different faces of Malaysian                                                                                       
management.                                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                      
In Mohar we saw the best of traditional management, the genteel                                                                                       
manager whose priority was national development whose                                                                                                 
versatility of commitments was incomparable, whose devotion to                                                                                        
duty was second to none and whose ethos reflected the very                                                                                            
essence of good citizenship.                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                                      
Many of us knew his public profile as economic advisor to three                                                                                       
Prime Ministers and as chairman of numerous public enterprises.                                                                                       
But there is also a part of him that was passionately devoted to                                                                                      
special causes in organisations as diverse as the National                                                                                            
Productivity Corporation, the Japan-Malaysia Economic                                                                                                 
Consultative Association, the Tun Razak Foundation and the                                                                                            
Malaysian Institute of Management.                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                      
And he led all these organisations with a remarkable ability to                                                                                       
forge consensus and bright dissent. Above all, Mohar was a                                                                                            
gentleman par excellence, never ever given to harsh words in the                                                                                      
most trying situations, cool and, level-headed At all times and                                                                                       
very approach able and friendly to all he came in contact with.                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                                      
Mohar's death is more than just the passing of a man. He                                                                                              
represented an older generation of enlightened Malaysian                                                                                              
patriots and traditionalists, among whom can be counted the late                                                                                      
Tun Tan Siew Sin, Tun Mohamad Suffian and Tun Ismail Mohamad                                                                                          
Ali. These were men of substance, upright in character, utterly                                                                                       
disciplined, hardworking and committed to the cause of the                                                                                            
nation.                                                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                                      
There is much that good traditional management can teach us. It                                                                                       
teaches us to think and behave in the most holistic way by                                                                                            
striving for intellectual, emotional and spiritual well-being.                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                                      
Younger managers seem to have lost the balance as they strive                                                                                         
for wealth accumulation as the sole purpose of their work. The                                                                                        
traditionalist would remind us that the pursuit of wealth                                                                                             
without justice, ethics and a concern for the less able is not                                                                                        
the best way forward.                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                      
There is also much to preserve and promote in good traditional                                                                                        
management.                                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                      
The study of management as a discipline is largely imported and                                                                                       
we tend to look outwards to gurus like Peter Drucker, Aldo                                                                                            
Morita and Michael Porter for inspiration.                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                                      
We have our own icons of management whose distinctive quality is                                                                                      
not to practise intellectual but holistic management.                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                      
We have the heritage; what we need are researchers to document                                                                                        
and disseminate the wisdom of our own heroes who have made a                                                                                          
lasting contribution to management thought and practice.                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                      
And in Mohar, whose management experience crosses Government,                                                                                         
the private sector, international negotiations and NGOs, and                                                                                          
whose management style is most attractive, we truly have a man                                                                                        
for all seasons.                                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                                      
His legacy to management is the creation, formation, growth and                                                                                       
development of MIM as the national management organisation                                                                                            
committed to national development through promoting, maintaining                                                                                      
and enhancing the highest standards of management practice in                                                                                         
the context of intellectual, emotional and spiritual well-being.                                                                                      
His is a story waiting to be researched to yield most valuable                                                                                        
management lessons.                                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                                      
Mokhzani, on the other hand, epitomises another brand of                                                                                              
Malaysian management.  He belonged to the new breed of modem and                                                                                      
savvy Malaysian managers; highly educated, articulate and adroit                                                                                      
at exploiting economic opportunities.                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                      
A small but growing number of these managers have strong                                                                                              
academic roots as exemplified in Tan Sri Arshad Ayub and the                                                                                          
late Tan Sri Hamzah Sendut.                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                      
Mokhzani was dean of the Faculty of Economics and Administration                                                                                      
and deputy vice-chancellor of Universiti Malaya before his                                                                                            
second career in corporate leadership. But he was not solely                                                                                          
committed to wealth creation as the driving force behind                                                                                              
Innovest and Powertek.                                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                                      
As with Mohar, Mokhzani used his influence to contribute to                                                                                           
national service as president of the Malaysian Economic                                                                                               
Association and the Malaysian Employers Federation for many                                                                                           
years.                                                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                                      
Also, like Mohar, who died as chairman of Perodua, Mokhzani died                                                                                      
with his boots on as chairman of the Human Resource Development                                                                                       
Council.                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                      
The distinctive quality of modern Malaysian management is the                                                                                         
ability to move and operate in different sectors and industries                                                                                       
with ease, and with equal effectiveness, as economic                                                                                                  
opportunities are identified, assessed and exploited.                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                      
This reinforces the principle of the universality of management,                                                                                      
although its practice is invariably affected by specific                                                                                              
cultures.                                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                                      
In Mokhzani we have a management case study waiting to be                                                                                             
researched so that newer generations of Malaysian managers can                                                                                        
truly learn from someone who has learned how to apply management                                                                                      
in different settings. This, after all, is what multi-skilling                                                                                        
is all about and we have the wisdom and experience of our own                                                                                         
mentors to enrich us.                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                      
Mohar and Mokhzani have lived rich lives. Their lives revolved                                                                                        
around service, fellow ship, ethical behaviour, hard work,                                                                                            
enterprise and the quest for excellence.                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                      
It is the stuff of good stories waiting to be recorded and                                                                                            
retold to the younger generation of Malaysians who seek to be                                                                                         
good managers with heart and soul.                                                                                                                    
	                                                                                                                                                     
In this, Malaysian traditional and modem management share a                                                                                           
common platform.                                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                                      
With the passing of Mohar and Mokhzani, we are made poorer by                                                                                         
the silence of their wise counsel and the absence of their                                                                                            
indomitable spirit of service to the cause of good management.                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                                      
They have shown us the way to behave and to manage with dignity,                                                                                      
sensitivity and commitment to the greater good. We salute them                                                                                        
for the fine men they were and the admirable qualities of                                                                                             
management leadership they displayed.                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                      
Prof Dr Tarcisius Chin is a Fellow of the Malaysian Institute of                                                                                      
Management (MIM). He was charmain and later CEO of MIM during                                                                                         
the time Tun Mohar was President of MIM.