Getting rich together?

I recently had a debate with my housemate about a statement we saw on Astro. It was a short preview of a documentary which is being aired on the Bio channel on Astro. It was a documentary about Chairman Mao and one of the things was quoted saying a long time ago was "Let's get rich together!". I reckon it was one of the things that sparked the revolution in China.

I shared with my housemate that, the idea of 1 billion people getting rich together was rather impossible and had China succeeded in achieving that goal, the world economy could very well be in jeopardy. Why do I say so? In my opinion, for everyone to live in peace and harmony, there has to be a balance between rich and poor just as there are day and night, left and right as well as long and short. It's all about balance, yin and yang.

Say one day, everyone becomes rich and has a million dollars each. Would anyone want to work hard to make more? I doubt so because when everyone has enough to get by, nobody will have the will and determination to strive and work hard anymore. The services (no matter how big or small) we depend on in our daily lives will come to a standstill and even the providers of such services, such as buses, taxis, food stall operators, cleaners, security guards, nannies and care providers, policemen, fire-fighters would be sitting at home expecting someone else to do their job and provide essential services to them instead.

Furthermore, if everyone in the world became rich and had a million each, I wonder how much money would need to be printed to accommodate such a sudden influx of riches. The more 'millionaires' there are, the higher the demands would be for premium goods and when this happens, every producer in the market would be scrambling to produce goods to cater for this market. When this happens, automatically the price of everything in the market would have to be adjusted upwards because nobody will be eyeing low cost, generic or brandless products anymore. If everyone had a million each, I wonder how much a million would be worth then. It would probably be like Indonesia where a million rupiah is worth USD111. That is probably one of the countries where everyone is a millionaire. The question is, are you considered rich with a million there?

Producers would then have to find other third world (reads: poorer) nations to dump their products.  This would become a problem in terms of product pricing after deducting logistics and handling costs to export these products. But when everyone is rich, where do we find poorer nations to dump cheap products in?

When producers are not able to dump their cheap products, there would be a new problem of consumers being ripped off with low cost products being passed off as luxury or premium products.

Thus, in my opinion, a world where everyone can become rich in the sense of dollars and cents is merely an ideal situation propagated by politicians and leaders to give hope to their people in order to encourage and motivate them to work harder and dream bigger dreams. I am reminded of the analogy of the farmer who uses a carrot tied to a string in front of his donkey to 'motivate' his donkey to keep on walking ahead and pull his wagon along. To be entitled to the carrot, the donkey must put in the effort and time to pull the farmer and his wagon along to the market. Tomorrow he must put in the same effort to be entitled to the carrot again and as long as the farmer does his part in planting seeds to grow carrots and the donkey puts in the effort to pull the produce to the market, can he have carrots to eat everyday.

It is the same for us human beings. We may be motivated by 'carrots' that are being offered as we progress through life but we must first put in the effort, time and another crucial element, intelligence to be entitled to the carrots we see dangling in front of our faces. We must always remind ourselves that the gap in wealth between the rich and poor and all the people in between is there for a reason because if everyone is rich and wealthy then there will be a gross imbalance in the economy and grave consequences may result from it. The gap between the rich and poor is also there to remind us constantly that if we are poor, we have to work harder, invest more time and money or increase our knowledge so that we can put in more effort so that we too can become rich.

There is  no such thing as reaping rewards before putting in the effort. I read somewhere that, for one to receive something without working for it, another person would have to work for without receiving. Wouldn't that be unfair? If you were that person who had to work for without receiving, would you be mad about it? I'm sure you would, just as I would too. The message I want to convey in this post is, don't be that person who always expect to receive in life without first putting in the time and effort to achieve something. There is no such thing as something for nothing as well as everyone in the world getting rich together.

That would be something to ponder about.

Convocation Experience.. yet again!

I reluctantly dragged myself out of bed in the wee hours of Sunday morning because I had to work. It was 4:30am in the morning and I could think of a thousand other things I'd rather be doing at that hour, in that day for the matter. Nevertheless, I got showered, put on a nice expensive shirt and a silk tie and drove myself to the JW Marriots Hotel KL. The college i'm attached to was having their 15th convocation ceremony and like everyone else in the team, I had a role to play in ensuring that the convocation ceremony went along smoothly. Being the newcomer (about 1 year on the job), I was given quite a minimal role to play in ensuring that all the lecturers who was attending (as VIPs) had their academic robes on for the 'grand' march into the ballroom at the start of the graduation ceremony. 

The last convocation I had attended was during my own graduation slightly more than a year ago when I went on stage to receive my Masters cert from Professor Wilson from the University of Hertfordshire at a convocation held in the Nilai Springs Golf Resort in N9.

Never would I imagine that, a year later I would attend someone else's convocation as an academician and march into the ballroom on the red carpet to the boisterous cheers and thunderous claps of hundreds of graduates adorned in their graduation robes and mortarboards! The ceremony was graced by the guest-of-honour, Mr. Mike Cogger, the Associate Pro-Vice Chancellor and Dean of Faculty of the University of Gloucestershire, Datin Irene Gan and family, the owners of the Reliance Pacific Group of Companies as well as the Reliance College (which I am attached to)

Above is a picture of me (in the middle) flanked by 2 other lecturers, Mr Alex Chang to my left and Ms Teresa Lo to my right. The ceremony which started at around 8:30am lasted till around 11:30am. The guests then adjourned to the foyer to be treated to a luxurious buffet spread. 

Here are my 2 cents on graduating. Imagine a marathon where a few hundred runners are participating. They all line up at the starting line and when the pistol goes off signalling the start of the race, every runner races forward with much enthusiasm and vigor. Halfway through the race, only half the runners who had eagerly started earlier are still running. Three quarters through the race only bout 25% of them are still running and towards the finish line, maybe only 5-10% are still running. At the end, there are only 3 shiny medals that really matters, a gold for the runner that finishes the race in 1st place, a silver for second and a bronze medal for third place. Everyone can start a race but it takes one that has the same determination and perseverance as when he/she started off will be the ones who will complete it.

In my life's journey, I have observed this. 95% of people quit what they started out doing due to lack of determination. Another 4% soldier on despite the odd and obstacles they face and another 1% actually finish as winners. I believe that, this 1% are winners because they envision themselves as winners even before the race began and manifested this vision throughout their journey (or race for this matter) and had made it their absolute mission to succeed no matter what it took. 

So who are these 95%, 4% and 1%? Honestly, I'd say that, I fall in all these 3 categories at one time or another. Sometimes I'm really determined to succeed in spite of the odds, sometimes I just want to give up and quit and sometimes I want to finish as a winner and show people how good I am and what I am capable of achieving. 

So the advice I give to my students during their orientation programme or during lessons is, before you embark on a new journey, have your goals in mind, write it down and refer to it every time you feel like quitting and give up. In every journey you undertake, or every new task you plan to accomplish, you will always find yourself in one of the 3 categories I had mentioned above. I'd be honest to myself what I want to achieve, my abilities and the time I have to accomplish the task I set out to do because we only have that much time on our hands and being human, we try to multitask and try to squeeze as many things as we can so that we have a 'back up plan' in case something goes wrong. 

To the class of 2011 who graduated on 4/12/2011 at JW Marriots Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, I congratulate you on a job well done to arrive at where you are today. You truly deserve whatever you have earned through your hard work, perseverance and determination. I wish you all the best in your future undertakings and if you like to, you may take this little advice I humbly give you in this blog posting.

David Geh

Farewell dinner

I was invited to a farewell dinner today at a fancy chinese restaurant opposite KLCC. It was the senior class in the college I'm currently teaching at and today is their last day of school. I was invited as one of their lecturers. I taught them Research Methodologies as one of their final year subjects. There were few other lecturers there too and the air there wasn't filled with sadness and tears that stemmed from the thought of not being able to sit in the same classroom with each other again. It was instead a joyous one celebrating the end of 2 years of classroom education and the beginning of a 6 months industrial training stint at either a hotel or travel agency and then onward to a new chapter in their lives!

Students were taking pictures with each other and the lecturers way into the end of the dinner. There were mini games planned with prizes to be won as well as karaoke crooning all thru the night. The food and company was great and I must say I really enjoyed myself despite knowing the fact that I may not see this bunch of students around the college again.

Memories of my college days came flooding back to my mind. When I first went to college back in 1995, not many of us could afford handphones although some of us were lucky enough to be given one by our parents. For cameras we still used those drop in film roll type. It's a whole world of difference today with the advancement of technology. Back when I was in college, I never took many photographs, mainly due to the hassle of getting it developed and keeping physical copies of it which would end up fading or damaged as time goes by. Come to think of it, most of the memories of my college days today are only fragments I can remember from the past. Not the ones painted in colorful pictures.

I did take alot of pictures when I was in Uni though, back then (in 1998) I was still using analogue still cameras but maybe because of the crazy fun time I had, I probably made it a point to take pictures to remember those times. Come to think of it, I really miss those good old days when I was in college and uni.

Today I'm lucky to be a lecturer and a undergraduate degree programme head who can reminisce on the good old days because I have students all around me everyday when I go to work in a private college in KL. Many of my friends ask me why I choose to work in a small college with a student population of maybe around 200-300 when, with the same qualifications, I can pretty much choose where I want to work at. I don't know... I do ponder on their question sometimes but again, when I go to work the next day, I am still able to convince myself that for now, I am still making the right decision. Why? It all boils down to the work environment and people around you. I feel very comfortable with the knowledge that, as long as I am making a difference in the future of a young person, I am doing the right thing. Isn't that what being a lecturer is all about? Also I kinda like people calling me Mr David and Sir.

My ex-room mate has been a lecturer for almost 10 years in a private college. I used to think why he can have the staying power and go to work with the same kind of passion every single day for the past 10 years. Even my mother had been an educator for the past 30 years of her working life. After becoming one only did I realize that, it can be a bit addictive. Addictive how you may ask? Addictive in the sense of the level of respect you get as an educator, from both parents as well as students. Also in the difference you are making for the student.

I know that alone, I may not be able to change the world but I believe that I am helping to change the world by helping to make a difference in the life of one person at a time, starting with the students I teach and those who come to me for guidance and counselling.

About me being ignorant!

My 88th blog posting! You know I don't usually blog about myself being ignorant or foolish, although sometimes I do! Today I had some guests over at work from the UK. They were actually university staff of the university that our college had a collaborative partnership with who were down here in KL for a meeting with us.

There were 3 of them, a Dr Michael and 2 ladies. We had our meeting throughout the day and then adjourned to lunch. After lunch, my boss asked me to go get the dessert, which was Tapioca with some coconut shredding on top of it. It was served on a rectangle flat serving plate and cling wrapped so when I brought it to the dining table, both me and one of my female guests from the UK (I think she's Irish from her surname) were both staring the dish down equally baffled and trying to figure out what on earth that thing was! It was chunky,yellow in color and had a texture which was somewhat similar to a pineapple. The moment I set eyes on it, I concluded straight away that it was slices of pineapple!!! Big chunky slices of pineapple but again, I was kinda baffled as to who would serve pineapple for dessert after a main course of pineapple fried rice?

Well, a few seconds later my boss and our British guests caught me staring the odd looking dish down and asked me what's wrong. Humbly, I said, I've got no idea what that thing is... seriously. What followed was the typical what-an-idiot-you-are unfolding before my eyes. A short moment of deafening silence before a roar of laughter from everyone, even the lady who wasn't even sure what was being served on that serving dish! It was the moment of truth that made me wish that at that very moment, I was sleeping nice and quietly at home. I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT A TAPIOCA WAS OR HOW IT LOOKED LIKE!!! o.O"" Forgive my blatant ignorance cos even with a business degree from a reputable business school in Australia and a Masters degree from the UK, I didn't know what a tapioca was! ZZZZZzzzzz

And so, as our 3 British guests were savoring the dish for the first time in their lives, topped with coconut shredding and syrup and all, so was I... So was I!

This kinda reminded me about the argument I had with my girlfriend and sister a few years ago about the difference between a peach and a plum, again my ignorance proved me to be less than smart individual by mistaking a plum for a PEACH! zzzz...!

Take Yr Time

The sound of low buzzing air condition compressors fill the night air. Besides that, the night is generally quiet in this small little village. Who would guess that a village right in the centre of a bustling metropolitan city would be so quiet in the wee hours of the morning like this. I inch my window open a little wider and grabbed a stool  and sat there for the next 20 minutes enjoying the fresh air and quiet night. Living in the moment was never my thing. I was always on fast forward mode, always planning for and anticipating event of the future.

My moments were not small moments, they had to be big moments like, getting the keys to my new apartment, or the keys to my new car or the graduation ceremony for my bachelor's and master's degree. I was on fast forward mode so long that, I can't even remember the last time I actually slowed down and tried to live for the moment before. 

Our loved ones and family members are the only ones who will be around us when all the dust clouds of glamor, stardom and popularity amongst peers has settled but yet some of us rarely acknowledge that fact. I for one am guilty of that crime. I seldom take the time to appreciate small gestures or the little things in life. They were always too insignificant for me to fully appreciate or respond to.

Now, as I grow older, I realize that speeding through life on the fast lane all the time is really taking a toll on my health and well being. Throughout my 20s, the dominant thought that I had was the fast pace of the city (KL) was the only way to live and the city was the only place on earth I'd want to be in for me to realize my dreams of becoming rich and famous. Today, at 34, although I have achieved many things in life, I am neither rich nor famous yet. However, I have came to take a different view of how my life is going to be like moving forward. Now I have even considered the idea of living in my hometown, Penang or even places like Sarawak!

I don't want to be Adam Sandler in the movie 'Click' with a remote control in his hand and he's fast forwarding through life until the point where his wife leaves him and he leads a meaningless life. I want to slow down my pace and try my best to enjoy the little things in life cos if we keep planning and anticipating for the future so much, we may wake up one day and realize too late that, the future probably won't come for you and as you look back at your life, you'd probably see a war zone pretty similar to                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Pakistan after the Al-Qaeda bombed the heck out of them in retaliation for killing their boss. 

How did Old Town sell so many cups of White Coffee to city folk? It was probably because they were asking people to 'take your time' and many of us kinda bought the idea.