Disaster Readiness: Malaysia vs Japan?



Assalamualaikum and Greetings all,

The above "poster" has been making a round on the net for the past few days. Two distinct photos portraying huge differences on how temporary shelter is being prepared in Japan as compared to the one in Malaysia. Temporary shelter in Japan looks very organized, comfortable and offer some degree of privacy too. But the one in Malaysia is over crowded, disorganized, and uncomfortable (I dare not say anything about privacy level... duhh).

When I first saw it... I would have to say that I'm not surprised at all. Considering that Japan is very well know for being "the most advanced societies, with almost obsessively meticulous safety backstops". They have been very well prepared for practically any disaster mother earth can throw at them (but... the Fukushima Earthquake in 2011 have proved otherwise). The Japanese government have invested billions of Yens for disaster prevention and recovery. While every Japanese as young as a kindergarten kids knows what to do, where to go and how to react in the event of emergency.

While some would love to put all the blame on the government and its agencies, considering all the above... I would have to give some slack to our fellow Malaysians. Hey... we have to admit that we are not as ready as those Japanese. In fact we are not as responsive as them either.

We have a lot to learn from Japan on the topics of disaster awareness, disaster prevention and disaster recovery.We may need to spend billions of Ringgits if we want to make Malaysia as well prepared as Japan (in terms of building the infrastructures and facilities), and I bet if the government need to spend such a massive amount of money it may take years of never ending debate in the Parliament.

But there is something that the Japanese has that we can learn and adopt without the need to burn  our hard earn money... which is the way they BEHAVE and THINK. It is the culture of caring and respect that we should inculcate into our society.

Japanese queuing for ration in Fukushima

Japanese kids are trained for emergency response from an early age

This may be "cheap" but it will require a very long process. It may takes generations before those required behavior and thinking can be inscribed permanently into our mind.

So should we wait more... or shall we start NOW?

I would like to end this entry with short story of a Japanese boy during the aftermath of the Fukushima earthquake which I found from SandraC Blog:

Last night, I was sent to a little grammar school to help a charity organization distribute food to the refugees. It was a long line that snaked this way and that and I saw a little boy around 9 years old. He was wearing a T-shirt and a pair of shorts.

It was getting very cold and the boy was at the very end of the line. I was worried that by the time his turn came, there wouldn’t be any food left. So I spoke to him. He said he was at school when the earthquake happened. His father worked nearby and was driving to the school.

The boy was on the third floor balcony when he saw the tsunami sweep his father’s car away.
I asked him about his mother. He said his house is right by the beach and that his mother and little sister probably didn’t make it. He turned his head and wiped his tears when I asked about his relatives.

The boy was shivering so I took off my police jacket and put it on him.

That’s when my bag of food ration fell out. I picked it up and gave it to him. “When it comes to your turn, they might run out of food.

So here’s my portion. I already ate. Why don’t you eat it?” The boy took my food and bowed. I thought he would eat it right away, but he didn’t. He took the bag of food, went up to where the line started and put it where all the food was waiting to be distributed.

I was shocked. I asked him why he didn’t eat it and instead added it to the food pile. He answered: “Because I see a lot more people hungrier than I am. If I put it there, then they will distribute the food equally.”

I'm praying to Allah to give our fellow Malaysians, currently affected by the flood, strength and courage to braved through the disaster. May Allah ease their suffering and speed up the recovery. Amen.



Your BCM Mentor,

SHARIMAN AZEZE OTOH
(aka CYBERAZEZE)

DRI KL2013 Regional Conference... A Reality Check on Crisis Management

 

Assalamualaikum and Greetings,

The annual DRI Malaysia regional conference has just concluded yesterday. This is the kind of event which new and seasoned BCM practitioners will flock to, not only to meet new and old friends of the same interest, but most importantly to stay up-to-date on the latest trends and standards/regulation, and to learn fresh and innovative best practices out there. Experiences and knowledge that you gained from event like this are something that you will never find in a class room or in a professional course. 

From left Trevor, Al Berman (President of DRII), En. Wahid and Murari during the second day plenary session

This year's theme was "Emerging Issues & Challenges"... but strangely enough (a presently good kind of "strange" though) the papers presented mainly revolve around the importance of an effective Crisis Communication. Mr. Trevor Murphy of Société Générale for example had creatively shared how communication with media should be handled via a very interactive simulation of a tabletop exercise. Mr. Craig Paterson of JLT Risk… had opened up our eyes on the importance of a well coordinated multi-parties communication in the event of an incident.

It is as if they know that I’ll be focusing a lot on Crisis Communication in 2014… and is actively seeking the best way to roll-out the program. Alhamdulillah (all praises to Allah)… the conference had given me many great ideas which I can implement. The experience that I gained as a “spokesperson” (volunteer) during Mr. Paterson interactive role play is priceless!

Aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan in Tacloban City

This year’s conference had also hit us hard on the reality of Crisis Management. Mr. Antonio A. Grageda, the Director of Crisis Management Office, Central Bank of the Philippines… shared with everyone, up-to-the-hour update on the situation in Tacloban which is hardest hit by the Haiyan Typhoon. The city of Tacloban is no stranger to typhoon as such it is one of the most well prepared cities in the country… but, as Mr. Grageda puts it… “you can never know how hard it will hit you until it actually did”. In this case, the crisis plan simply failed because everyone in Tacloban was hit by the calamity. They have no one left to carry out the Crisis Plan. All our prays to the victims… may Allah ease their suffering and make them stronger to rebuild their tomorrow.

There are a lot more about the conference that I would like to put down here... but that may make this entry too long and may qualify to be published as a book... haha!!! In short... the event had opened up my mind to a lot of new ideas, giving me fresh perspective on crisis management, and charged me up to be the best in this field. Thank you to all the speakers (there were 10 of them coming from various industries and backgrounds) for sharing your precious knowledge. [Click HERE to view profile of all the speakers]

 

Last note… congratulation to all DRI Award of Excellence winners. This year I only got to the finalist stage… I guess I have to work harder for 2014… hahaha. And also my big congratulation to the organizing committee too for a very well organized event.

See you again in DRI KL2014…!!!

 

Your BCM Mentor,

SHARIMAN AZEZE OTOH
(aka CYBERAZEZE)

You are a BCM Pioneer

Assalamualaikum and Greetings,

Ready to start your BCM adventure? Awesome...!!! Allow me to show you the starting point to your 10,000 miles journey (pssttt... this is not the First Step yet).

Don't be surprised that many people do not know or ever heard of BCM -  Business Continuity Management. Even for those people that asked you to enroll into a BCM related training (and willingly pay for the fee)... may actually knew very little about what BCM is.

Unless you are in a financial or banking industry, BCM is a fairly new thing to many organizations, especially in Malaysia and the region. They are more familiar with Emergency Response, Risk Management, Disaster Recovery... but not BCM.

The good news is that BCM is gaining interest by the industry mainly due to two (2) main reasons:

• Customer start asking for BCM and insisted that BCM to be clearly spelled and included in the business contract
• Requirement by regulators (and customers) for an organization to be certified (or in compliance) to international standards such as the ISO27001, ISO22301, BS25999 etc

So you see... to many organizations the implementation of BCM is mainly business driven, and not about ensuring continuity of the company in the event of disaster.

I will show you how you can take advantage of this fact when presenting your case to the top management. But for now...

STEP #0: TO REALIZE THAT YOU ARE A PIONEER OF BCM

You attended a professional course, and came back to your office... voila... suddenly you are the MASTER of BCM. Within days or weeks, you start to realize that people start to point at you whenever there is a task, no matter how small as long as it has some flavor of crisis management, or disaster or business continuity... you are the man (or lady) for the job.

Management team will start to hound you for BC Plans, DR Plans, Crisis Plans etc... and it will get worst if any of your customers are coming to assess/audit your company's BCM readiness. At this point of time you might start to think... "what kind of mess you had yourself in... arrrghhh!!!"

Hey... relax!!! Take a deep breath and smell the roses (or hot pizza or anything that might comfort you).

Pssttt... listen to me... "you are a BCM Pioneer!". It is very important for you to realize and accept the fact that as a pioneer, not only you are the most knowledgeable person in your organization on BCM, you may also be the one and only person that are responsible of the topic.

I'm not trying to scare you out. What I'm trying to tell you is that while you might be all alone there... DON'T BE AFRAID. Because there are many of "us" in this universe that are willing to help and hold your hands throughout your BCM journey.

I will tell you more on the advantages of being a Pioneer in my next post. But for now, take time and look around (or ask Mr. Google) on how other people or organizations are implementing BCM. It will open up your eyes of what you have learned in theory may not be the same in a real world application.

Oh... You might also want to check related topics too such as: Risk Management, Business Resiliency, Crisis Management, Disaster Recovery etc.

Don't worry... be happy!!! I'll be back soon...


Your BCM Mentor,
SHARIMAN AZEZE OTOH
(aka CYBERAZEZE)

My First Entry...

To be successful... you MUST know your GOAL

Assalamualaikum and Greetings all,

First off all thank you for visiting this blog. I've been thinking to start a blog specific on BCM topics for quite sometimes. Alhamdulillah (thanks to Allah), I finally got the courage to put down my first few words on this blog.

FYI... I've been doing BC and DR related work since 2000, but only got serious about the BCM in 2008 when I was hired to join a local telecommunication company which provides a high-security and high-availability communication infrastructure to the government agencies.

I got certified as an Associate Business Continuity Professional (ABCP) from DRI International in 2011 and completed (and passed) my professional course of CBCLA (Certified Business Continuity Lead Assessor) six months later. I'm also a certified ISO9001 Internal Auditor and a certified professional in Cloud Computing Essential (CE) from CompTIA, USA.

I've been developing BCM Program for various industries, both in private organization and government sector. I'm also actively giving consultancy service and training on various BCM topics.

Why am I starting this blog? I think it is time for me to share my experience in BCM with you (especially those newbie in this program). I understand the frustration of not knowing how to start, where to begin and when to do what... which at the end stall the entire process of BCM in the organization. For a beginner in BCM, not able to deliver or to show something of significant in BCM to the management will leave a bad impression on our capability to develop and establish the program.

I hope through this blog I will be able to guide you, the BCM Manager/Coordinator, on starting a program right first time. Deliver quick wins which will impress the bosses (hahaha...). And make a successful and sustainable BCM program for your organization.

Stay tune to my next entry...


Your BCM Mentor,

SHARIMAN AZEZE OTOH
(aka CYBERAZEZE)