Beberapa minggu yang lalu dalam teksi, aku [terpaksa] mendengar sebuah rancangan radio yang ditaja perniagaan 100% ‘dimiliki Bumiputera’. Setelah sekian lama mendaftarkan perniagaan pertama (Aldric Tinker, No. Pendaftaran SA0074231-A), seterusnya diikuti pendaftaran perniagaan kedua (Creating Creatives, No. Pendaftaran 001924814-X), tidak pernah terlintas dalam fikiranku untuk menggunakan label ‘100% keluaran/milikan Bumiputera’.
Mana taknya, aku merupakan antara golongan ‘kecil’ yang tidak membanggakan status ‘Bumiputera’ ini. Betul, saya mendapat pendidikan daripada Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) di peringkat asas dan ijazah sarjana muda. Namun tidak pernah sesaat pun aku terfikir ‘nilai komersial’ yang ada pada nama itu!
Sebenarnya semasa mendengar program itu, dan diikuti sebuah iklan, secara sinisnya aku memberi komen:
“100% Bumiputera konon. Bagi aku ‘Bumiputera’ itu merujuk kepada penduduk pribumi Sarawak dan Sabah! Entah berapa syarikat dan perniagaan orang Sarawak dan Sabah memanggil diri 100% milikan/keluaran Bumiputera.”
Eureka! Apa kata mulai detik itu, aku menggelarkan hasil tulisan & perkhidmatan aku sebagai:
- 100% keluaran Bumiputera;
- 100% milikan Bumiputera;
- 100% keluaran Pribumi; dan
- 100% milikan pribumi.
Sebagai seorang yang berketurunan Iban + Melanau dan seterusnya, aku tergolong dalam kategori ‘Pribumi Sarawak’ seperti termaktub dalam Perkara 153 & 161A, , Perlembagaan Persekutuan, aku menikmati kedudukan istimewa anak negeri Negeri Sarawak!
It’s seems like yesterday when we began our journey in the Men’s Health Refine & Define 2009 Challenge. Heck, it’s been over a year already!
![19954_274344458673_520758673_3300859_3340596_n[1]](http://cramminus.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/19954_274344458673_520758673_3300859_3340596_n1.jpg "19954_274344458673_520758673_3300859_3340596_n[1]")
Today, 8 of the 20 revisit the site where it all began (Celebrity Fitness, Bangsar Village II): John, Alvin, Gary, Nicholas C, Ee Zern, Zamzul, Suffian & I. Unfortunately our friends, the other 12 participants, couldn’t make it because of their respective engagements for the day. But hey, they’ll make up for other get-togethers in the future as we regularly do.
Yep, the journey’s over for us, but for a new batch of 20 Finalist for Men’s Health Refine & Define 2010, the journey had just begun. Passed on invaluable insights about the programme. The common theme of our message was:
Whatever it is, R&D isn’t a competition: it’s about transformation and personal change together with a bunch of 19 other guys.
I remarked to Jac later, as we witnessed their assessment (milder compared to ours!!!) this:
Men’s Health prepares the platform. Ultimately, it’s the participants who would refine and define the 6 months together.
As these new faces get to know each other, I cannot help to wonder whether they would be a strong band of brothers or…
As they carry on with their journey, I can only help but wonder how they will chart its course. Alone and against everyone else, 6 months is a long time. Together, you would never imagine what you can achieve!
If you’re wondering what Men’s Health Refine & Define is, here’s something from Eric the Editor’s annual R&D speech:
It’s not a competition. Refine & Define is not a pageant. It’s about becoming the person you can be through a sustainable and healthy lifestyle. Men’s Health’s aim is to give 20 guys an opportunity to make that change – the rest and beyond is in the hands of the individual Finalists. It’s about the experience of a lifetime. More importantly it’s about the friendship.
Dear friend and reader of Ilang in the Sampan, I invite you to join me in congratulating these 20 men on their selection as Finalists. Let’s also wish them the very best as they make their way until the end and beyond…
Now for some other pictures of our camwhoring session!
Over the years, I have joined the bandwagon of hate against the West. It’s no secret: a strong number of Sarawakians and Sabahans – oh, and the people from Labuan – dislike West Malaysia that parents warn their kids of the evil things West Malaysians (or Orang Malaya) does. I’m no alien to these stories – to a certain degree, I have experienced them.
As I carry on, you wouldn’t be surprised that I’m a Sarawak Nationalist. Similar to ‘our counterparts in Scotland and Quebec’, I would love to see a strong, independent Commonwealth of Sarawak as a nation in the mainstream of South East Asia and the Asia Pacific region. If there is a sort of Party Kedaulatan Negeri & Rakyat Sarawak, chances are you may find me signing up as a member.
But hey, this post isn’t about Sarawak sovereignty or bashing up Malayans. Instead, it’s a reexamination of my position as a Sarawak Nationalist. To paraphrase Pres. John F. Kennedy’s famous speech:
Ask not what Sarawak can do for you; but ask what you can do for Sarawak!
Defining Sarawak’s Elite
For the purpose of this discussion, I’m putting politics, race and religion aside. Well, naturally for the last two. In accordance to it, for the purpose of this entry, the term Sarawak’s Elite, should refer to:
Sarawakian citizens, by birth or naturalisation, who demonstrates:
- An ability to reason, read, write and converse in their natural mother tongue in addition to mastery of the Malay language, and English, or a combination of the two and other foreign language;
- The ability to amass wealth to sustain them and their family;
- The ability to use the Internet and social media tools available on it; and
- Enjoys a steady stream of income with the ability to spare at least 10% of their income from their own business or from being a professional or being salaried.
What you may conclude from this, and rightly so, is that Sarawak’s Elite is composed of the Middle and Upper classes in the State. To a certain degree, it would also include businesses and companies based in Sarawak.
Before we begin to toss the weight around, we should all realise that when it comes to the State of Sarawak, we are all equally responsible to her and her People, our fellow Sarawakians.
Roles of Sarawak’s Elite in the Economic Sense
Pardon my Liberalist view: I distrust the government irrespective of which party is in power. To me, the general role of the government is solely to identify, protect, and enforce the natural rights of the individual while attempting to assure just remedies for transgressions which [generally] includes:
- To protect the safety and security of the people within its jurisdiction;
- To provide basic amenities for the people – equally and unreservingly, blind of race, religion, creed, custom, political ideology, income status, educational status; and
- To properly and effectively manage the resources of the State, including land, to ensure maximum efficiency and growth.
Yes, I reject the idea that the Government’s role:
- To regulate any religion as well as its propagation in addition to personal liberties that does not transgress the rights of another person;
- To provide economic intervention such as subsidies, tariffs and any protectionist mechanisms in order to manipulate the level of price of consumer and industrial goods;
- To regulate and encourage affirmative action of any kind to any class of citizens that are fully sound, capable and able who does not suffer from any form of physical or mental disability;
- To politicise issues and turn it polemic for whatever reason;
- To act in any way contrary to transparency or denying the rights of the citizens to information; and
- Any policy or regulation which will see one group benefiting more than the other or promoting hate crimes and discrimination.
So now, we turn our attention to Sarawak’s Elite. In a capitalist society, the citizens of Sarawak ought to, in their own free will, support produces and products made in Sarawak. If it is not made on Sarawakian grounds, the businesses in Sarawak should do everything it can to ensure that such produce or product can be manufactured here.
Instead of begging for government alms, the local businesses should seek out ways and means that will give it a competitive edge. The aim here shouldn’t just be for local consumption. Go regional or global. Serve a larger and competitive market!
Before giving up on our fate, especially where agriculture, education and technology may be concerned, we should attempt to do so by sending out Sarawakian students. Give them the incentives to pursue training in science, technology and liberal arts. The people should contribute to foundations, not the Government allocating an annual budget.
Perhaps Sarawak’s Elite can encourage the acquisition of skills, knowledge and technology in the service sector first, and then later on move to physical industries.
Thus, this demands that Sarawak have her own university or institute of higher learning. Perhaps it could come in a form of a cooperative? Encourage research and development so it may draw investments from the private sector – foreign and local.
When it comes to the media, Sarawak should not rest on its laurels and be content that RTM would do justice. RTM is the Federal Government’s propaganda arm. Now it airs the ideals of UMNO. If Pakatan Rakyat takes over, it will air their ideals. While initiating our very own Sarawak-centric channel may be ideal, it would be hard to fit into the globalised world concept.
If we can pause and recall the purpose ad function of the media: it is to disseminate information and preserve the cultural identity of a society.
Now we have the Internet! No government can block out the information superhighway, not even a great power such as China. Indonesia tried to block one website once. It managed to do so only for 3 days before having to open it. In today’s day and age, Netizens are advanced. They will find one way or another to overcome a hurdle. For better or for worse, it’s better off if Sarawak’s Elite embrace the possibilities that the Internet brings and uses it to their advantage!
Besides using the Internet to disseminate information, Sarawak’s Elite should begin investing in production companies that aims to sell Sarawak-centric content to International channels. To sell it to international channels like Discovery, History, CNN and more, you must be of world standards. This is, after all, along the way. If ‘Malaysian-based’ stations can air Pilipino, Indonesian, Singaporean, Thai, South American and Spanish and U.S. content, certainly foreign stations are more than willing to air locally produced serials that would boost their ratings!
To summarise this chapter of this entry, it’s worth saying that it is the role of Sarawak’s Elite to develop the economy. The State Government is responsible in building roads, checking building standards, erecting telecommunication poles and basic amenities; it is the responsibility of this class of citizens to take it from there to the moon and the last frontier.
Roles of Sarawak’s Elite in Charitable Causes
For the purpose of the elimination of poverty, it comes as a responsibility of the Citizens, not the government, to help our brethren. The role of the government should only be confined to highlighting the plights. Period. Non-Government Organisations and charity should take the lead when it comes to identifying the lesser fortunate class of citizens.
Aids, assistance and contribution should come from the other well-off citizens of the State by donating to their preferred charitable cause. In terms of tax exemption, the State Government should lobby to the Federal Government to give an exemption when citizens donate a portion of their income to charity.
Out of pure love for the State, assistance should be rendered irrespective of race, religion and ideology by these organisations. To ensure that funds are properly managed, the citizens who donate to a cause must have the right to examine accounts and procedures of these organisations. Transparency, again, is vital when there is an opportunity to act in trust.
In these charities, no person directly involved in the government should be made patron or sit on the board of trustees of such NGOs and charitable organisations. Heads of States may be permitted but when it comes to the affairs of the organisation, he shall act with and in accordance of the advice by the chief administrator of that organisation, not from any Government minister or agent.
Development is People Driven
The purpose of limiting the powers and roles of the government is to prevent the abuse by people in power – intentionally or otherwise. A vital component which needs to be in place for this to take place is the realisation by each and every citizen of his or her responsibilities to the development of the State.
Enough politics.
Enough polemics.
People First, Rakyat Driven Sustainable Development.
An entry I found from Malaysia Insider:
Borneo’s Grinch
JAN 28 — The thing that caught my attention during my time in Sarawak the past week was that I kept referring to my home in Selangor as Malaysia. Actually what I probably meant by that was that the Semenanjung, the 11 states in it, is Malaysia.
I could not help it. Therefore, I must find remedies within me.
I’ll start the self-healing by examining the nature, the causality of my predicament. That it might be more than just a series of linguistic blunders.
So the Peninsula (west) is Malaysia: is it just me, or is it a notion held by most of us on the west?
When we here, in KL, talk about western imperialism, we inevitably conjure images of the US army, Coke (old and new) and the next new Fox super serial.
I fear when Sarawak and Sabah (east) think of western imperialism, it would be images of Putrajaya, oil, gas and electricity being funnelled back to power “our” industries and watching “our” shows, since we’ve made them speak “our” language over them speaking theirs.
Eddie works and lives in Brunei and makes the short drive to Miri on weekends since he is Miri-born. The curious thing about him is that, while holding a Malaysian passport, he prefers to put his nationality as Sarawakian and is not really sure who the current deputy prime minister is. But he heard the education minister made a trip to the region that week. He was heartily surprised to hear from me that the bloke was also the deputy prime minister.
A bunch of “new” friends sitting in a side café noted to me cynically, does it really matter what happens in Peninsula, since they do not have a say in how the west is run? But they could not hide their resentment that the west gets only too much say in how the east should be run.
Perhaps that is where my inclinations have been built. The idea that we had to have the east dudes in our federation, and in exchange, we will have to govern them. That is the wrong impression, of course.
But every textbook I had in school had the east as appendices to our main learning. It was almost an afterthought. We never had a discussion about the impact of the Malaysia Agreement in my form six history classes. Did you?
On our TV screens, there is presence of only those from the west, even if the channel is federally funded.
If those in the west are not obliged to know about the east, and do not get to see them with the same regularity as those from our side, are we not likely to assume that they are subservient to us, or somewhat lesser in importance to the mighty Peninsula?
This is a human predilection, but one that occurs when things are projected so one-sidedly.
When we make poll analyses, we tend to only break people down by their ethnicity, and therefore, every peninsula assembly or parliamentary seat has a percentage of Others, Indians, Chinese and Malays. But when we get to look at the east seats, they have a myriad of identities. Dayak, Iban, Kadazan, Murut, Dusun, Melanau, Ulu and the list goes on.
And then you hear about the arguments of having only those from the majority race to be candidates in the seat or otherwise risk losing. Plus, every other year some party splits, dissolves, or forms to represent a more specific constituent group.
Therefore, from the vantage point of the west-born, those in the east must really be driven by sectarian-think. They must be obsessed by differences rather than commonalities.
Yet I found that supposition falling several times. There is a great level of integration without the fear of assimilation in the community I saw. Being together to them did not mean giving up their present identity, and neither did it mean being hostile to all things different.
It did not matter that you were of a different race, all that mattered was whether you brought your manners along with you. Rude you are, then out you go.
The most glaring evidence is the way the Chinese over there are not seen as a group of outsiders. The person would be referred to as a Chinese by a group of Iban, but the statement is not made to denigrate the person or to emphasise the difference, but just as a matter of recognition.
The Chinese coffee shop was a shop anyone should go to whether they liked good coffee or not. Coffee does not become better based on the ethnicity or religion of the owner. However, the type of coffee does make a difference to the taste.
This is clear as day to many of them, but somehow it escapes many of us in the west.
But perhaps the most striking thing about everything: Every time I say I’m going back to Malaysia — when all I am doing is taking a domestic flight within the Malaysian federation — the east people don’t really mind.
They don’t blink or feel offended that we think or feel like that. Probably they don’t think being Malaysian is a big deal. Perhaps it’s never been Christmas being Malaysian for them, or is it that the Peninsula is trying to steal Christmas from them?
Anyway, they are people from the east and they read the Borneo Post, hopefully building their The Malaysian Insider page views.
*The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist.
Source: http://themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/opinion/praba-ganesan/51103-borneos-grinch
Let me begin with a story:
Johan is a 21 year old undergraduate who wants to make it big in business. He’s read all the business books – from Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad Poor Dad to Adam Khoo’s Secrets of Building Multi-Million Dollar Businesses. Like his peers in university, his laptop is filled with business games and simulations. Of course, he also has the trainers and cheat codes for all of ‘em!
At that age, though, Johan aspires to be a person well-liked by all. His intentions were good. Besides wanting to be rich through his own capitalist effort, Johan wants to create jobs and opportunities for his fellow countrymen.
Big dreams he had indeed.
After over 2 years, Johan is starting to grow weary. Business seems to be dull. With the lack of funds coming in, he’s more than happy to trade in the plaguing cashflow problems with a more steady and stable job…
In a deep conversation, you come to a question, “Johan, who are your competitors?”
Johan would look at you in disbelief and say, “I don’t have any enemies! Besides, what I’m doing is new in Malaysia!”
If you’re in your first five years of business, or saw your business flop within the past 5 years, you’re not alone. It’s a learning process – globally. From this story, you should know by now that the competition are people you need to identify.
As an entrepreneur, you also need to understand that competition is not enemy. They are your rivals and your adversaries, but not your enemies. For a start-up, a competition can also be your benchmark. Someone or something you want to surpass in the future.
Where possible, identify key players that share your industry. From my findings, however, it’s not really industry-based, but the emotional connection your product or service has after your customer or client has used it.
For example, take the following advertisements by perfumes:
They’re all selling perfumes, no doubt, and all three are meant for women. But what did you get from each of the different commercials? How does it make you feel? Think how it makes women feel. What ideas does it plant into your head?
The idea, let’s speculate, may be:
- 1st Video: Independence and freedom for women if you wear this. Your confidence has no bounds.
- 2nd Video: Sexiness enhanced – even in a terrible setting, you will stand out.
- 3rd Video: Living every women’s dream.
Although the three products are selling chemically concocted non-consumable alcohols, what are these commercials trying to associate the respective products with when you use it?
To know your competition, you can easily identify what’s lacking in the market as well as where you would like to end up at the end of the day: where are you taking your business.
Let’s take for a moment:
If you are competing against a hypermarket, would your strategies and efforts be the same as when you are competing against a sundry store? Would the systems in it be the same?
Running alone can be fun at times; all of the time, you’re alone. You wouldn’t know if you’re breaking a world record, or moving at 0.5 km per hour.
Plus, engage in healthy competition…
I’m sure that you can ‘appreciate’ spam. With the many invites and offers to invest or claim a certain prize money, you can tell spam apart from legitimate emails. Of course, there are the ‘hot’ emails offering sexually arousing and hot one-time offers. This spam phenomenon has left the cyber world and our mail boxes and invades our mobile phones.
At 05:35:23 pm today, I received this text message:
Sunyi? Anda dipilih utk menikmat modal kami yg panas. Utk mendapat Koleksi Video Peribadi yg hangat tersebut, sila balas Ya. Warning! Hanya untuk umur 18 Keatas.
(no name) +6 013 457 1183
It’s translated to:
[Feeling] lonely? You are elected to enjoy our hot capital. To have hot Personal Video Collection, reply Yes. Warning! Only for 18 and above.
As a copywriter, I’m just tempted to correct it to the following:
Sunyi? Anda dipilih utk menikmati model kami yg panas! Dapatkan Koleksi Video Peribadi hangat ini dgn membalas ‘Ya’! Amaran: 18 tahun ke atas sahaja!
First and foremost, menikmat and menikmati carry different meanings! Until this text message, I’ve never seen anyone use menikmat before. Menikmati means ‘enjoy’ or ‘use’.
And then, model means people used to model stuff. Modal, on the other hand, means capital for business! :-p In the Malay language, it also means something to talk about.
Finally, people confuse ‘di’ with ‘di-’ and ‘ke’ with ‘ke-’. Di and ke are both words in their own right. Respectively, it means on, at or in and to. In this case, ‘keatas’ does not exist. ‘Ke atas’ means, literally, to above. Contextually, it means from x and above. x can be a number describing age, distance, height, weight, price etc.
Far from being turned on, I’m turned off by the gross indecent use of language!
Baba –
(Malay, ‘local born foreigner’) Term of respectful address to a senior Chinese (Usually in public service): CIP.
Aldric’s Note: Bedau kala agi aku ngangau apai tuai Cina baba! Nyelai amai jaku nya ba aku. :-p
Baas. For BAS, bars.
