Interview | Dr. Farid Al-Mulla the simple route or you can go the complicated route. Sustainability requires the characteristics of a society. To take one example, the Americans have this DNA in them, they love challenges, they stand up to challenges. As Churchill said about them, “You can trust the Americans to get it right in the end after trying so many options. But this is the way they go about it, they have the courage to try. We don’t. We are held back by our society, we are held back by our morals, we are held back by so many things. I think this characteristic of meeting a challenge with courage is important. When you see the global situation around you, with problems that nations face, you look for the mettle of the people. I look at people and understand them through reading their history, and through interaction with them. I find there are people or nations that have got strong backbones, I think the Russians would also be in that category, as would the Germans. In their way, the Chinese would also, and in their way the Indians. Because I have interacted with the Indians, I think there is inner strength in the nation, and it is simply a question of tapping that inner strength to move forward. I am a strong believer of an old fashioned theory, and that is, my heart and mind are with my country. I think one of the most important attributes is education. With education comes tolerance, tolerance of other opinions. We live in a world, which is contradictory. You have to allow people to break the boundaries of what’s acceptable. I don’t think we can ever say that should be a world or a society without any boundaries because of course there are boundaries, because you need to protect the weak or disadvantaged in a society. Here we are talking about boundaries that limit thought and progress. Education gives you that tool, that ability to say, “I can solve the problem, whatever that problem is.” You talk about a more open society, but do you think as far as banking is concerned, more regulatory changes would be an answer? A simple answer is no, because there is the regulation and there is the adoption. When you go with your car in the street, you know there are rules, because the road is for everyone, but does everyone adopt these rules. I think not. We believe that once we put out an issue as a law, we solve the problem. The law is a policy and has a long term effect. You need to keep it simple and you have to educate people about why they should adopt it, that it is for their good. So now we are talking about understanding the spirit of the law rather than the world of the law itself? I will give a very good example. It starts at school. We used to make a joke that when you go to the West you have to line up all the time, and you see it actually everywhere, right from the airports. There are however, people who would love to jump the queue. You see this on the highway, somebody steps in front of you because he is very busy and his time is more precious than yours - that is his mentality. The rules are for you, not for him. So you start teaching children from the beginning, at school itself, what discipline means. You tell them that what you see in the world is often wrong; and this is not the example to follow. As a CEO what is your vision and strategy? Vision is a long-term view so for us, we want to build up this enterprise and make it from a boutique to a larger institution. We want to create quality investments that people feel they are With education comes tolerance, tolerance of other opinions. comfortable to work with and which will be remunerative. Our focus at the moment is on investing in Europe and North America. I would love to invest in this part of the world. As our Business matures, we would like to focus on the region. The focus is to establish Oasis Capital as a top tier regional private equity platform. To become a reference point for the best-in-class private equity solutions for GCC based family offices, high net worth(HNW)individuals and institutions. Behind this vision lies a strong conviction that in spite of the many challenges facing Bahrain and the region, that we will come back, reinforced and prevail. Do you feel a place like the Capital Club is a place where one can exchange opinions and confer with like-minded people? It plays a role definitely, and I think that role can be enlarged even further. I am an unusual member in a number of senses. I am next door to the Club, I simply walk across the road and I am here. The convenience outweighs everything else, the service is good, the staff are very attentive even when I give them a hard time at times. But I appreciate their work as well. I see the Capital Club evolving, I see it a place for meeting people and meeting personalities. Lots of times when I have a guest from outside, they prefer coming here rather than to the office. I too prefer to have my business meeting here, rather than in a prominent hotel. I feel I can have a private meeting here, although it’s an open space, somehow it feels very private. I think the Capital Club has done a great job. I think it has done very well. 34 May <strong>2016</strong>
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