>> MIM Speaks
GLOBAL CALL FOR SMART PARTNERSHIPS
DECEMBER 3, 2000 -
THE STAR
THE recently concluded Langkawi International Dialogue has
been cited as a model for success of the smart partnership
idea in Malaysia and Africa. A move by United Nations
Secretary General Kofi Annan, in the 1999 World Economic Forum
in Davos, to involve businesses in smart partnership
development activities will certainly elevate the idea on to
the world stage.
Known as the Global Compact, it envisages businesses coming
together all over the world to develop sustainable projects in
three areas: human rights, industrial relations, and the
environment. To start it off, several world-class
entrepreneurs were invited to New York in July to announce
their pledges to push the idea forward.
At the heart of the compact are nine principles:
* SUPPORT and respect the protection of international human
rights within their sphere of influence;
* ENSURE that their own corporations are not complicit in
human rights abuses;
* FREEDOM of association and the effective recognition of the
right to collective bargaining;
* ELIMINATION of all forms of forced and compulsory labour;
* EFFECTIVE abolition of child labour;
* ELIMINATION of discrimination in respect of employment and
occupation;
* SUPPORT a precautionary approach to environmental callenges;
* UNDERTAKE initiatives to promote greater environmental
responsibility; and
* ENCOURAGE the development and diffusion of environ mentally
friendly technologies.
UN officials will be approaching their local business
counterparts in the next few months to try and fashion out
effective dialogue sessions in order to cement the compact.
Whatever form this will take, much will depend on local
conditions, and how the idea will be accepted by businesses
generally. No single formula can be expected to work in all
parts of the world. Cultural factors will also impact the
success or otherwise of a particular approach.
The UN will have to deal with the same problems faced by
governments the world over, when they decided to reinvent
themselves and bring in business practices to prop
productivity and enhance effectiveness. In most cases, the so-
called borrowings had only served to complicate government
machinery.
In other instances, it has cause the public to throw
accusations of collusion on the exercise. Suggestions of new
avenues for corruption and bribery have also been brought in.
According to UN officials, the focus of their efforts will be
on three levels. The global level will attract coalitions of
companies and other stakeholders to work together on
development issues like reducing corruption and strengthening
the rule of law.
At the national level, the action will be on organising
dialogues with business, civil society organizations and
government, to promote a policy environment conducive to
broadbased economic development.
Locally, selected business entities will be brought together
to discuss local priorities, such as small business
development and urban environmental issues.
For a start, the UN is drawing upon their earlier experiences
in developing sustained relationships with business in other
parts of the world. Examples include the formulation of an
Enterprise Law and Customs Reforms in Vietnam, training in
human rights in Venezuela, transparency and anti-corruption in
Fiji, improving the policy environment for private sector
development in Mongolia, and supporting micro and small
enterprises in Kazakhstan.
But approaches will vary from place to place. The different
intricacies of how business is conducted in a particular place
will have to be taken into account.
In Malaysia, they will firs t have to deal with the top-down
approach in business dealings. There are also factors
involving the different play of ethnic pulls and pressures
that have continued to characterise the Malaysian business
climate.
For instance, there is very little contact between MNCs and
local enterprises. Building a long-term relationship is
usually a frustrating exercise, in that any initiative will
always be suspected of containing a hidden agenda.
Likewise, on the part of the local business entities, the
nature of their management organisation will not be opened to
outside contacts. Top management will fight shy from being
seen in public with foreigners. They fear that the actions of
the foreigners will be seen as attempts to bribe them.
on the part of the MNCs, there is a reluctance to treat their
local counterparts on par with them, since it is their
perception that their opposite number does not possess the
same credentials and, in many cases, has been put into
positions of influence by the Government.
There have been moves to bridge this gap. A series of
dialogues has been held between the various chambers of
commerce. but to no avail. Perhaps there is merit in pursuing
the UN idea as the world body is regarded as a neutral party.
To succeed in Malaysia, the Global Compact has to consider
Malaysia's trading competitiveness and business environment.
The record of human rights and labour has been satisfactory,
if not better than some other countries.
Most recently, one such dialogue between the local UN office
and business in Kuala Lumpur attracted more than 40 corporate
figures. Their discussions on building partnership generated a
lot of interest, and several ideas were exchanged.
One approach that was considered effective in bringing the two
parties together is by identifying a core group of corporate
players to initiate future dialogues. Other meetings, to which
other players known to members of the first group can be
invited, can follow. The circle can then be enlarged when
necessary.
The Langkawi International Dialogue has adopted the above
model, and it has shown that it could work for the mutual
benefit of all parties involved.
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