- Short stint at Tik Tok Malaysia before being deemed to be best person to lead MDEC
- Displays self-introspection and humbleness, ecosystem will get behind him to drive success
In a space of eight months, Anuar Fariz has gone from being on a rocket, as he described his Tik Tok Malaysia experience as Public Policy Head in a mid 2024 LinkedIn post reflecting on his first 100 days, to now being in the hot seat as the new CEO of Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC).
His appointment, which has come without a press release from MDEC or the Digital Ministry, thankfully puts an end to the intense speculation over who the next CEO was going to be after Mahadhir Aziz ended his three year contract in Aug.
And if he thinks his Tik Tok experience was intense, the 1,000 messages that he will receive daily for the first one month will reset his bar of what it means to being on a rocket.
The messages will range from:
- Offering to be his informal advisor;
- Suggesting names of senior leaders he should hire to strengthen the leadership team, especially in light of industry shock and dismay over the recent departure of senior leaders Gopi Ganesalingam and Raymond Siva whose contracts expired end Sept (all MDEC C-suite leaders come in on 2+1 year contracts);
- Offering to shed light on purported shady deals and poor performers;
- Advice on how to transform MDEC into a high performance culture;
- Advice on improving programs which are not run as well as they should be;
- Advice on new programs that must be run;
- Complains about MDEC not being nearly as digital in its processes as it should be;
- Complains about MDEC not using enough homegrown technology in its operations;
- Complains on MDEC senior leaders getting drivers, the luxury company cars it maintains, questioning why those cars are not EVs; and so on.
And if he thought the days flew by during his Tik Tok stint, the weeks will fly by now. If China has its 9-9-6 work ethic, welcome to the 8-10-6 reality as MDEC CEO. 8am to 10pm, 6 days a week.
Welcome to being the tip of the tip of the spear, as a former MDEC CEO once described what MDEC was to the country’s digital ambitions.
And that is not even half of it. Along come the endless meetings with various government agencies and various task forces, and dropping everything when he is suddenly called by his minister, Gobind Singh, as ministers tend to do with the agencies under their portfolio. And then there are the overwhelming invitations to attend private and public functions, speak at conferences. On the latter, he should rescind the rule Mahadhir introduced where all speaking invitations to any senior MDEC exec must go through his office. He should put more trust in the leaders he hires.
Despite the pressure Anuar will be under to meet ecosystem expectations, plus the fact that Malaysia helms the ASEAN chairmanship next year with the government planning a number of digital initiatives that will rely on MDEC to execute, he will have one huge advantage that Mahadhir did not have. No one will ask him how long he will last in the role.
Meaning, with the political situation stable now, he will not be facing questions about the government that appointed him no longer being in power and what that means for his job as Mahadhir faced. The latter’s first day at work as CEO in Sept 2021 coincided with a new government in place and a new minister, not the one which picked him months earlier. Imagine the looks and water cooler chatter wondering how long the new CEO is going to last. Thankfully, Anuar will face none of this distraction.
Was the best candidate chosen?
As I have commented in a previous commentary the secretive way the government selects its tech / digital agency CEOs and board chairpersons is unprofessional and beneath the lofty ambitions of a nation and entrepreneur class that is driving towards digital leadership.
It doesn’t do any favors to the leaders appointed as well. We don’t know why Anuar was deemed to be the best candidate, or how many candidates were given serious attention by the government. Who lobbied on his behalf? After eight months in his role at Tik Tok Malaysia and he is deemed ready to be MDEC CEO? To sit in the hot seat. To lead. To drive. To inspire. Did the board have a say?
We know that the MDEC board supported the re-appointment of Mahadhir as CEO but it was rejected by the Digital Ministry and the Ministry of Finance.
I am told that Gobind had his preference as CEO but that the final decision had to come from the Ministry of Finance. Was it Anuar that Gobind preferred?
And without the transparency and professionalism in making such key decisions, there are questions already about whether Anuar can take the huge step up, with no C-level management experience, to managing a 29 year old organization with around 450 staff and another 250 on contract for various special projects such as the De Rantau, which come with special budget allocation.
But change is now afoot. The Digital Ministry, in seeking a CEO for the newly created National AI Office, placed an ad on Jobstreet this week, with job role and expected candidate experience clearly listed. That is so refreshing and welcomed and I hope it sets the tone for how all CEO roles under Gobind’s ministry are made and that eventually the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation follows suit.
This will not help identify the best person for the job, as the salary will not be competitive to the private sector, but, it will attract top quality candidates who also have the right mindset to serving their country. We cannot ask for more.
Can he be the leader MDEC needs?
“His credentials look a bit thin for such a role,” one ecosystem leader remarked after checking out his LinkedIN profile.
I checked it out too, as I am sure many in the ecosystem did. I liked the fact that Anuar spent four years as advisor and aide to the well respected Mustapa Mohamad, when he was Minister of International Trade and Industry. Mustapa is known as a minister who demands a lot from his staff and serving him for four years would have done Anuar good, as can be seen from his career after he left Mustafa’s service.
I also like his self-introspection and humbleness. In his post reflecting on his 100 days at Tik Tok, he shared the bouts of self-doubt he had about the leadership role he found himself in and whether he could grow into the role.
In a professional environment where no executive will dare admit such mental doubt, Anuar shared his thoughts to the world. It shows self confidence and a great desire to seek feedback and grow. This attitude will stand him in good stead in his role.
He also shows a desire for tight, well-planned meetings where everyone comes prepared. He certainly will be with his practise of Bullet Journaling helping him structure his thought process. “I think in ink,” he said. Perhaps DNA should offer him a monthly column.
But what I like best about Anuar is how he believes in collaboration to get thigs done and, borrowing a leaf from the Jeff Bezos leadership philosophy, that “It’s always Day 1”.
This represents Bezos’ belief that the entrepreneur journey must be focused with a relentless hunger on meeting the customer needs, with creativity and a strong focus on innovation and being nimble.
It will be a slam dunk celebrated by the entire ecosystem if Anuar can tick all these boxes in the next three years. Good luck to him and his team. Let’s support him as best as we can.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
