Having attended some of the management classes in the past few months, I now appreciate better how the first 90 days of taking office can make and break a management career. My name card still reads “engineer”, so quit talking to me about management. I was coerced to attend the management classes.

With the recent articles about Koh Tso Khoon vs Lim Guan Eng, I can add my 2 cents on why the new Chief Minister is having so much more support than the previous one. It all boils down to the first 90 days (or so).

From my point of view, the new chief minister did 2 things right. He created a vision that the people of Penang can associate. His CAT ( ) motto hits well with the people, especially after the negative perception of the existing government. The people want opposite of what they already had (whether it is for good or bad). So the first think LGE did right was to create a vision.

Next, we went for the easy win as soon as he can. Although some call it is fiasco and disaster, he was able to “handle” the Kampung Buah Pala issue. Not everyone was happy but at least the villagers had something and the developer gets to build their apartment. Win-Win if you ask me. Everyone agrees, the RM100 for every senior citizen is a fantastic idea. RM100 does not mean a lot to most of those receiving but the fact is that they GOT something. Most of them remembers paying for taxes but never getting cold hard cash from the government. It is sending them a message that the government is doing something for them and it is something that they can see, feel and spend.