Thursday, June 28, 2012

My new promo video for charity book. Group Lotus suspend 3 Managers.

Whilst waiting for things to come together on the Motorsport University project, I have made a short video.
This video promotes the book 'Innocence lost in the ice cream forest'

I hope you enjoy it. It's a webcam video I made at home. No professional
studio, no script. Just truthful and to the point.
BUY THE BOOK!
I am due to speak on radio on Thursday 12 July. You can get the broadcast in America.
I hope it helps sales.

This morning (Friday 29 June 2012) I see that Group Lotus have suspended 3 more Senior Managers from Group Lotus.
http://www.edp24.co.uk/business/three_group_lotus_managers_are_suspended_1_1425520

The suspended managers are believed to be part of the legal, human resources and finance teams at the Hethel-based car maker.
The decision is thought to have been made by DRB Hicom’s board in Malaysia and not by the firm’s new chief operating officer Aslam Farikullah, who took over the day to day running of the company following the departure of Mr Bahar.
It seems Lotus is in the eye of a storm. Sad to say, nothing new there!

DRB-Hicom assemble cars for several OEM's. Here is a picture I copied from Paul Tan. Here you can see the Hicom MD (middle) Dato Kamil at the release of an Audi model in KL Malaysia.
With him are Alex Yoong and Dr Mahathirs son, Dato Mukhriz.

Alex works for Caterham as a talent spotter/trainer. He also works for ESPN as an F1 pundit and still drives competitively. I attended 2009 ASLI Automotive conference with him. He is a big personality in Malaysia. I have never been photographed so much in life!
I used to have a commendation from Alex supporting my MUM project on my webpage. He asked me to remove it. Obviously, a misunderstanding.

DSC_0329

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Friends

Friends.
Here are some of my friends in KL. Hanis, the lady in the front on a wheelchair and Sofie the girl behind her run a small hostel in KL. The tall blonde far left is Tilo, he is a partner in the hostel, and helped with Innocence lost in the ice cream forest. The girl in front of him is his new wife Curtney. Siti, front beside Hanis is the working help. A lovely hard working girl.
These are the people I choose to visit when I stay in KL.
I enjoy their company.
Yesterday, I got an email from Ginny in Detroit. Ginny and Herbie are the people I stay with when I'm in Detroit. Sadly, Molly their dog died yesterday, and more importantly Herbie spent the night in A&E. Happily he is now home recovering from a severe bladder infection.
Herbie and Ginny made sure I had a roof over my head when I needed one.
Lovely people.
I have good friends. I am lucky. I wish them well.

Thursday, June 21, 2012

"There is nothing more powerful than an idea whose time has come" - Victor Hugo

  The motto I use on all my emails:
 "There is nothing more powerful than an idea whose time has come" - Victor Hugo

This rings ring true.


Powerful and positive.

The book Innocence lost in the ice cream forest has been well received. ROKPA will be featuring it on their webpage.

I will be on a horoscope radio show promoting it soon. Quite looking forward to that! The Astral Baglady is a friend of mine. She lives in Royal Oak Michigan and co hosts a show on Thursday. She's a bit wacky, but nice.

All royalty payments from the book go directly to charity

To read the story behind the story:
Innocence lost in the ice cream forest

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Charity book.The paperback version of Innocence lost in the ice cream forest hits German streets! MUM its not just about the money, I want the project to succeed.

The Author, Illustrator and book in Borna Town Square, Germany.

This weekend I visited Claus Werner. Claus is the illustrator of Innocence lost in the ice cream forest.We had our picture taken in Borna.
The book is now available in paperback on Amazon and Createspace.
ALL ROYALTY PAYMENTS GO DIRECTLY TO CHARITY
For the story behind the story go to:
http://www.samasama.de/innocence-lost-in-the-ice-cream-forest/

I have been invited to go on a radio show. The channel is available in America. 11pm-1am GMT Thursday.
I will promote the book.

I wrote to the top brass at Proton last week. If they are looking for someone with a plan, I would be happy to take a leadership role.
As yet NO REPLY.

I worked in Malaysia for Lotus. Socially, I have not kept in touch. We are not personal friends. One or two are probably the opposite. Lots of corporate self interest.
This is not about going back to Malaysia and working with my mates.
It is about unfinished business. Corporate business. Nothing more.
When I look at MUM I see potential. It is my aim to realise that potential. When I am satisfied it is on track and going forward, I will happily walk away.

I don't require Western CEO wages. A generous package would obviously be fair and much appreciated.

At the end of the day, I have been promoting this project at my own personal expense for years, so obviously it is not just about the money.


Thursday, June 7, 2012

Dany Bahar dismissed. Bad for Dany. Good for MUM?

I have just read a report in the Norfolk paper:
http://www.edp24.co.uk/business/lotus_boss_dany_bahar_dismissed_1_1404053

Group Lotus confirmed this evening that chief executive Dany Bahar has been dismissed with immediate effect.


 All change.

I sent my proposal to Dany. He passed it on to his underlings. Nothing.

I assume DRB-Hicom will now review how to move Group Lotus and Proton forward.

This week I have asked Dr. Mahathir to ask his management team to look at the proposal. Dr. Mahathir is the adviser to Proton and Petronas.

He is very influential. I offered to take a lead position if required.



Let's see what happens.

Dany is a millionaire. I'm sure he will be OK.

I'm more interested in getting my MUM proposal off the ground.

Monday, June 4, 2012

Group Lotus need a miracle...Thursday is Proton Day.

I read an article today:
http://www.thesundaily.my/news/397054

No Lotus for Sarah