Happy 光棍节

Weather: Cloudy

Temperature: 12 c

One is a lonely number. It is so lonely that, when 4 of them line up together, they become a day specially dedicated to bachelors. Yes, 11 Nov (or 11.11) is "光棍节" (or bachelor’s day) in China. On this day, the bachelors will organize meetings (or 联谊) with the opposite sex, and try their luck to put an end to their bachelorhood. If they fail, they would have to try again next year.

Of course, my bachelorhood ended without any untoward incidents or surprises 2 years ago. Therefore, though I am on leave today, I was not invited to any of these 联谊. Anyway, even if I have gone to these 联谊, I would not be that stupid to write about it here. Engtee is one of the loyal readers of this blog, remember? Blogging about one’s own indiscretion is outright brainless, if not suicidal. I am not Chua Soi Lek.

Years ago when I was in Klang, out of boredom and curiosity, we did organize a 联谊 somewhere in Bukit Tinggi (to prove how boring I was, Engtee was there). One of my Rotaract Club members promised to bring her female classmates, and my guy friends went crazy. We went to the restaurant with an overly excited heart. Our hearts were pumping furiously. We were imagining what kind of ladies with whom will we be chatting. Were they hot? Were they cute? Would they give us their phone number?

Minutes later, the ladies came, and all bubble burst. Fantasy became reality, and we never organize such kind of 联谊 ever since. I don’t think I have to elaborate further in this regard.



This evening, my good buddy’s sister, Xueyan, was in Shanghai. We managed to meet at one Italian restaurant for dinner. She complained about the food in Shanghai, and she already missed nasi lemak after spending merely 8 days in China. She didn't like the weather too, which is too cold. She will be flying back to Malaysia tomorrow, and one of the first things she will do is - eat nasi lemak!

Who will visit us next?



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Apartment Hunting – Déjà vu

Weather: Light Rain
Temperature: 29 c

In a funny way to show my love for my country, I signed my present tenancy agreement on Aug 31 last year, which will expire on Sep 1 this year.

I love my current apartment: it is neither too big nor too small, just nice for a couple; its gardening is well maintained; its lobby looks like a hotel; and more importantly, it is near my office.

2 weeks ago, I called my landlord to discuss about renewing the tenancy. I wanted to extend for another 1 year. To reflect the appreciation of property value, I was prepared to increase the rental by 5 to 10%. Well, since I was a good tenant, who always paid his rentals on time and did not cause any big trouble for his landlord, I was confident that my landlord would no doubt want me to stay for another year. Apparently, I underestimated my landlord.

According to my landlord, after he rented his apartment to me, someone has offered a much higher price for the apartment, but he had to refuse such offer as he had rented the apartment. Therefore, my landlord said that it would only be fair if he increases the rental by 50%. Yes, 50%. Even though my current monthly rental, maintenance fees and utility bills are much more than my salary in Klang, my landlord still has the cheek to increase my rental by 50%. This is ridiculously unreasonable. Is every landlord in Shanghai crazy?

I certainly could not afford an increase of 50%, so I politely told my landlord to F himself. “Good bye and good luck” I said. If circumstances permit, I would tell him to cut off his 2.5-inch dick and shove it up his ass. 50%??!! He really thinks his apartment is painted with 999 gold.

Anyway, it means that I had no choice but to look for a new apartment – an extremely tiring process – a process which I initially wanted to avoid.

Engtee and I called up and requested the real estate agents we knew to look for suitable apartments for us. Our requirements are simple: somewhere near Xintiandi; 1 or 2 bedrooms/1 living room/1 bathroom; and modest rental.

The Shanghai real estate agents are very efficient and hardworking. They have to be because they know they are facing stiff competition. A few agents wanted to show us some apartments near our area, and we went.

Unlike 1 year ago, this time we have some experience in choosing our apartment. We know what to look for, and that makes things easy in deciding which apartment to rent. Some apartments are lovely renovated but are badly located; some are strategically located, fully furnished, and nicely renovated but your instinct tells you that you just can’t “click” with the landlords.

Like I said, apartment hunting is a tiring process. We have to go to many places in 1 day and see many different types of landlord.

After a few days of hunting, fortunately, we hunted down 1 today. It is a 2 bedroom/1 living room/1 bathroom apartment with 78m2 area (my current apartment is 1 bedroom and 55 m2). The rental is cheaper than my current one. We will move from 1 bedroom smaller apartment to 2-bedroom bigger apartment. But, the new apartment is located farther to my office. So, I am not sure whether we are upgrading or downgrading.

Here are some photos of our new apartment taken this morning:

Living room

Dining room

Kitchen

Master Bedroom

Guest Room

Bathroom

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Engtee is 28 now

Weather: Partly Cloudy

Temperature: 29 c


Let’s forget about the Malaysian sodomites for a while and do some lighter stuff.

Last Friday (July 25th) was Engtee’s 28th birthday. My great friends in Shanghai threw a simple but meaningful party for her. Thanks guys!

Bom booked a table at a Malaysian restaurant somewhere near my office. The food was great and authentic. We felt like we were having dinner in Kuala Lumpur (except that we had to take bus home after the dinner, as opposed to driving our own cars). We even summoned the chef (who is a Penangite) to personally thank him for the great food. It temporarily cured our homesick.



After the dinner, we continued our Malaysian chit-chat at another Italian restaurant. Bom’s wife was gracious to arrange a birthday cake for Engtee. It was a tiramisu cake. Not bad.



Yes, Engtee is 28 now. May your wish come true!

World's Brain Factory

Weather: Partly Cloudy

Temperature: 34 c

Last Friday, I found out that another Hin Hua mate of mine and his wife, who is also a product of Hin Hua, have joined the Malaysian community in Shanghai. He previously worked for a Japanese company in Singapore and was recently seconded to work in Shanghai. He is currently staying in a RMB15,000-a-month (approximately RM7,350) apartment, so please go figure out how much he is making per month, and how much tax he is paying to the Chinese government per year.

I did a quick audit on my former Hin Hua classmates and realized that almost half of them are not in Malaysia but scattered across the globe. We are not talking about illegal immigrants who are washing plates in Chinese restaurants; we are talking about professionals. To my knowledge, we have a chemist and a computer scientist in the US, a food scientist in Singapore, a dentist in Taiwan, an accountant and an engineer in China, an architect in Australia, a gym instructor in New Zealand etc. Imagine the total amount of tax these professionals contribute to the foreign countries they are currently living in. Besides tax, imagine the contributions these professional could have made to Malaysia's nation building had they chosen not to leave Malaysia. I am sure you get the picture.

And we are just looking at my classmates, what about the students from other classes? Take my siblings for example (who are all 100% products of Hin Hua). My elder brother is an engineer who is helping the city of Los Angeles to come out with ways to prevent flood (while Klang cannot even endure a 30-minute downpour); and my younger sister is a nutritionist who is making the Taiwanese healthier (while some Malaysians still believe that adding some Tongkat Ali powder in teh tarik will help them perform better at night).

China is labeled as the “World's Factory”. You can't really deny that. It is hard not to find anything made in China in our home these days. Keyboards, DVDs, kitchenware etc are manufactured in some parts of China. However, if China is the World's Factory, maybe Malaysia could be labeled as the “World's Brain Factory”. While China manufactures and exports goods for profits, Malaysia manufactures and exports brain free-of-charge.

The next time you drive pass Hin Hua High School or any Chinese independent schools for that matter, please spend a few minutes to toy on these questions: For which country are these schools built and for which country are these students trained?

The saddest part is, though many Chinese school students provide their services in overseas, the governments of the USA, Taiwan, Singapore, Australia etc do not provide a single cent to our Chinese schools. They enjoy the fruits of the Chinese schools without having to pay for it. The Chinese schools are funded by the generous donations from the local Chinese communities. Every year, Hin Hua has to send out lion dance troops and risk the safety of its students to collect money for the school's operations.

However, once a doctor, a dentist, an accountant, or an architect is fully trained using the hard-earned money of the local people, we send them to serve in other countries. In other words, we are using our own money to train professionals for other countries. Are we that stupid? Apparently, we are.

Not long ago, I remember our government was talking about K-Economy. K in this context stands for Knowledge. I am not sure if the government is still serious about this K-Economy. But, how can we have knowledge when we don't even have brains? When we are shipping out tons and tons of brains to other countries F.O.C?

I would like to end this article with an excerpt from Namewee's (who is also a Chinese school's product) infamous Negarakuku:


独中生毕业了要进local大学西北难。
其实这件事情我们更不需要赌懒。
这个其实是政府的一个伟大计划。
他要我们到处跑，出国自己找希望，然后学习东西回来报答国家。
这个计划真的是好到没有话讲。
世界各地都会看到Malaysia的孩子，好像逃难一样，西北爽.

Melabur di Shanghai

Cuaca: Cerah

Suhu: 30 c

Petang ini, ku jumpa dengan seorang anak guam dari Malaysia yang ingin melabur di Shanghai. Saya dah kenal dia sejak bulan Mac lalu. Syarikatnya besar dan kuat di Malaysia, kalau saya sebut nama syarikat itu, pasti kamu pernah dengar.

Dia berhasrat nak melabur di Cina dengan berpakatan dengan seorang rakan kongsi Cina. Jumlah wang yang dia nak labur di sini bukanlah banyak sangat, tapi juga tidak kecil. RM3 juta sahaja. RM 3 juta tak kira banyak dalam konteks pelaburan di Shanghai. RM 3 juta boleh dikatakan “sap sap sui” atau “chicken feet”. Nak sewa kedai pun sudah kena habiskan berpuluh-puluh ribu ringgit, apatah lagi yuran guaman, kos ubah suai, kos kerajaan dan lain-lain. RM 3 juta nampak banyak saja, tapi kalau kamu betul-betul kira, kamu akan terperanjat bahawa RM 3 juta memang tidak boleh buat apa-apa yang hebat.

Anak guam saya ini bukan tak ada duit nak melabur banyak. Tetapi, memandangkan ini adalah kali pertama dia melabur di Cina dan dia kurang faham dengan suasana pelaburan di Cina, dia terpaksa berhati-hati. Pelaburan kali pertama adalah percubaan. Kalau berjaya, pelaburan seterusnya boleh dibesarkan. Belum cuba belum tahu. So, dia pun try lar. Dengar cakap orang lain, Cina ini mempunyai banyak peluang dan pasaran yang amat besar. Banyak orang telah berjaya menggali berjuta-juta tan emas balik. Dia pun tak tahan nak cuba nasib lar.

Dia nak berpakat dengan seorang rakan kongsi Cina. Rakan kongsinya ada kilang di Guandong. So, rakan kongsinya boleh membekalkan barang-barang kepada dia di Shanghai dengan harga yang murah sekali. Dia hanya perlu keluar modal untuk membuka kedai di Shanghai. Kedua-dua pihak mencapai satu “gentleman agreement”.

Kamu tahulah macam mana orang Cina buat bisness. Dengan janji mulut saja tanpa sebarang kontrak, anakguam saya pergi sewa kedai, bayar deposit, upah orang datang ubah suai kedai itu, dan membeli perabot. Bukan sahaja itu, anakguam saya ini mengajak rakan kongsinya datang ke Malaysia untuk melawat syarikatnya, tengok kilangnya, serta bawa dia pergi menikmati “entertainment” tertentu. Kamu tahulah apa yang saya maksudkan. Banyak bisness sebenarnya dibuat di atas meja pub, bukan di meja pejabat!

Pendek cerita, anak guam saya dah keluar banyak duit untuk pelaburan ini. Tapi, dia belum dapat tengok apa-apa janjian yang konkrit. Kontrak pun belum ditandatangani! Anak guam saya rasa tak beberapa betul. Dia tak selesa dengan keadaan macam itu. Mana boleh ada pelaburan berjuta-juta ringgit tanpa sebarang kertas yang sah? So, dia pun cari peguam untuk membantunya. Sayalah peguam itu.

Saya nasihatkan dia untuk membuatkan satu JV contract. Dia setuju dengan cadangan saya. Tapi pihak rakan kongsinya tidak ingin nak upah peguam untuk membuat kontrak. Mengikut rakan kongsinya, yuran guaman amat mahal, kenapa nak bazir wang? Dia cuba nak pujuk anak guam saya supaya jangan guna servis saya. Mereka boleh sendiri sediakan kontrak itu dengan menggunakan contoh-contoh kontrak yang sedia ada. Tapi, anak guam saya tetap ingin mengupah peguam. Tiada pilihan, pihak rakan kongsinya terpaksa mengikut cadangan anak guam saya lar.

Tapi, rakan kongsinya tidak beberapa berkerja-sama. Deraf kontrak hantar kepada dia untuk komen, dia diam sahaja. Saya kena kejar dia tiap-tiap hari, baru dia kata dia nak ambil beberapa hari lagi untuk menyelidik kontrak itu. Bila dia dah tak ada alasan untuk melengah lagi, dia terpaksa memberikan komen-komen yang tidak bermakna. Tak apalah, saya pun ikut komen dia dan menyediakan “final version” kontrak untuk ditandatangani oleh kedua-dua pihak.

Pada hari tandatangan kontrak, kedua-dua pihak datang ke pejabat saya. Saya sediakan 6 set kontrak untuk mereka. Tiba-tiba, pihak Cina ini kata dia nak tanya saya berkenaan dengan satu klausa. Klausa itu tentang kuasa-kuasa dan obligasi-obligasi pengarah. Pihak Cina itu kata kuasa yang diberikan kepada anak guam saya terlalu besar. Ooi! Kenapa sekarang baru cakap?! Memang orang ini tak ikhlas nak sain dokumen ini. Saya cuba sedaya upaya untuk menerangkan maksud sebenar klausa itu. Tapi, Si Cina ini memang sengaja nak buat kacau.

Akhirnya, kontrak itu tidak ditandatangani. Si Cina kata dia nak 2 hari untuk meneliti kontrak itu sekali lagi. Saya pun tunggu lar. Anak guam saya sangat marah tapi tak ada apa-apa dia boleh buat.

2 hari kemudian, saya panggil dia, tak jawab. 1 minggu kemudian, pun tak jawab.

2 minggu kemudian, anak guam saya panggil saya dari Malaysia dan beritahu saya bahawa dia diberitahu oleh kerani Si Cina itu bahawa Si Cina nak batalkan kerjasama di antara mereka tanpa sebarang sebab. Anak guam saya sangat sedih dan marah, tapi dia gentleman. Dia janji yuran guaman saya dia tetap akan bayar.

Hari ini, anak guam saya datang ke pejabat saya untuk membuat bayaran. Dia beritahu saya bahawa dia dah kena tipu teruk. Si Cina itu kini menggunakan kedai yang disewa oleh anak guam saya untuk membuat bisnes. Anak guam saya sudah membayar sewa selama 1 tahun! Tapi malangnya, perjanjian sewa adalah atas nama Si Cina itu. So, Si Cina boleh guna kedai itu dengan sah. Bukan sahaja itu, 2 pekerja yang dilatih oleh anak guam saya untuk membantunya di Cina juga telah melompat ke pihak Si Cina dan kini berkhidmat untuk Si Cina itu. Takut tak?

Anak guam saya cedera parah dalam pelaburan pertama di Cina. Orang Cina kata: tengok hantu, takut gelap. Tapi, anak guam saya tidak putus asa. Dia nak cuba lagi.

Lepas dia bayar yuran guaman, dia beritahu saya bahawa dia akan datang ke Shanghai sekali lagi untuk mencari peluang kedua. Masa itu, kami akan dapat berkerjasama lagi.

Kepada semua orang yang nak menggali emas di Cina: Semoga Berjaya!

TOH is HOT

Weather: Sunny

Temperature: 38 c (ooh... I am melting!)


Ok, enough of liwat meliwat in Malaysian politics. Today I will leave the sodomites alone. Allow me to briefly write about something else in Shanghai. The heat

The outdoor temperature now is 38 c (though yesterday the weather forecast predicted that the maximum temperature was 37 c), and it will not get any better. Summer has arrived and is here to stay until early October. Did I say I prefer summer over winter? I am sorry but I wish to retract my earlier statement – taking the cue from the now missing private investigator.

You may think “What lar, Harnniann. Malaysia lagi panas!”. Sorry, you are wrong. Last night it was 27 c in KL, and 32 c in Shanghai. Yes, 32 c at night! Can you believe that?! I have to take a shower before I go to bed, and Engtee has to take shower before she goes to bed and also while halfway sleeping. We were soaked in our own sweat. I have no choice but to walk naked in my apartment. At night, if you listen carefully, you can actually hear the drop of your sweat on the floor.

This morning, I could not walk to my office anymore. I was pretty sure that I would die halfway. When I walked out of my apartment’s lobby, I felt like as if thousands of hair dryers were blowing at me. Engtee called me to advise me to take taxi instead. We all know what is Engtee’s stand on taking taxi – it is a horrendous sin. Yet, she advised me to take a taxi to the office; so you can imagine how hot it must be.

Together with the heat, come the crazy mosquitoes. I don’t have to tell you how irritating these mosquitoes are.

After I complained to my office manager about the unbearable heat in the office, I was given a “private” portable mini air-cond. See the picture below.


According to my colleagues, I should not complain about the heat because I am from Malaysia. True, Malaysia is a “hot” country. But what my colleagues do not know is: in Malaysia, I drove to work. So I did not feel the bite of the morning sunshine. I usually took lunch in a air-conditioning restaurant. When I came out from my office after working hour, the sun has already set and the air was no longer hot. But in Shanghai, the temperature can go as high as 32 c even at night!

Maybe I am spoilt by the spring…Ooh, how I miss the cool breeze…

杜评委，您好

Weather: Cloudy

Temperature: 27 c

Last Friday (27th June), despite the heavy downpour, the bilingual speech competition went on smoothly. As I have said before, I was one of the judges and performers.

I doubt I would have this kind of experience in Malaysia. The contestants are qualified lawyer or notary public. Yet, they all addressed me as “杜评委” or “杜老师”. Of course I was not comfortable with my newly given title.

Initially, I was scheduled to give my comments, but due to time constraint, the organizer had to cut off some of the programs to let everyone goes home early. So, I was not given the chance to give my “two Renminbi” worth of comment. Nevertheless, I still had the chance to satisfy my itchy backside of performing on stage. Further, I was rewarded with nominal cash payment as a token of appreciation. 主任 said he will visit me at my office one of these days to personally thank me for my contribution.

Please click here to see the video footage. Here are some of the photos taken on that day.

主任 and me

China fuel hike

Weather: Cloudy
Temperature: 26 c

Engtee called me this morning to complain that she had problem getting into the subway train as the crowd in the subway station has suddenly swelled. Instantly, I knew the reason for the swelling crowd – petrol hike!

China has recently announced that with effect from 20 June, the petrol price will be increased by more than 15%. The electricity tariff will also be increased by less than 5% in July. The increases represent the largest single increase in fuel prices in China in a decade. The announcement helped push crude oil prices down by more than US$4 a barrel as international investors expected the move to ease Chinese demand.

Want to know how much are gasoline and diesel sold in China? Here you go:

Diesel: RMB 6.03 per liter (RM2.83)
Unleaded 97: RMB 6.42 per liter (RM3.08)
Unleaded 98: RMB 7.00 per liter (RM3.29)

Now you see? The Chinese pays much more than the Malaysian. No! No! No! If you think that the Chinese are loaded and therefore they do not feel the pain, you are dead wrong. Take Shanghai, one of the richest cities in China, for example. The average salary of the people in Shanghai city is merely RMB 2,892 per month (RM1,360). But, not all of them own a car. The majority of Shanghainese use public transport (and some, who previously drove a car, have switched to public transport recently. That was why Engtee had problem getting into the subway train this morning).

Pak Lah was right after all! Despite the recent “unconscionable” fuel hike, Malaysians still enjoy cheaper energy, if compared to some other countries. We should be grateful. So, please do not demo, protest etc. Instead, we should kiss the BN poster 3 times a day to show our appreciation. Listen to the government: Change your lifestyle!

Sell your buggy (also known as Iswara) and drive a 850 cc toy car (also known as Kancil). Stop drinking teh tarik (good for your health and wallet). Get up early to walk to your office (however, if you plan to walk back to home at night, please reserve some money for medical expenses, just in case you are mugged by some illegal foreigners).

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How to measure one's personal growth and improvement?

Weather: Rain

Temperature: 25 c

They said, you are a learner until the day you die.

Since I left my university and started my career, it was very hard to tell whether I was improving and learning.

When I was in school, it was easy to judge if I was improving and growing. For example, 2 months ago, I could only do “Exercise 2 A” of my mathematic workbook; 2 months later, I had advanced to “Exercise 3 C”. Obviously, I had improved.

Further, I could also tell whether I was improving and growing by looking at my result card. Last semester, I got 85 for Biology and this semester I scored 90 – another clear sign of improvement.

However, I was not given a “result card” once I finished my academic studies and stepped into the real work. Unlike schools, there is no well-tested “learning program” in the real world; I would have to figure how to learn things in the real world.

I can’t really tell with reasonable precision how much have I improved since I started my legal practice 5 years ago. One thing for sure: I am no longer the rookie who had problem addressing the judges. I had 2 extraordinary masters – one sent from heaven and the other one from hell. Both had been very generous in sharing their knowledge and had taught me about the legal practice from different perspectives. They opened up my eyes and made me realize that legal practice is not all about citing the relevant laws and authorities in the courts, but also includes making sure that we are paid by the clients for our services, so that our firm’s employees could get their salaries.

And, I am still learning.

I still remember when I started my work in Shanghai, I almost cried and wanted to throw in the towel and go home. I was asked to prepare a memo for a multi-national company, and was given a few precedents to follow. I did not know what to do and was so afraid to ask. My colleagues expected me to know what to do, but I had no knowledge on the subject matter. To rub salt into the wound, the deadline was “close of business” that day. I only had a few hours to figure out what to do, and do it. In the end, I survived the ordeal and somehow managed to pull it through. But the pressure was tremendous and unforgettable. I wanted to call my wife and tell her that if she does not like Shanghai, we can book the next flight to return to Malaysia. Amazingly, she fell in love with Shanghai. From that day onwards, I knew I have to work like a hamster running the wheel.

Time flies. A few months have passed by since then. But, am I improving and learning? I wasn’t sure until one evening I stopped and observed the work scattered on my desk. Oh gosh! I had 2 memos, 1 contract, 2 checklists and a dozen of emails waiting for me to complete, and I went home at around 12 midnight that day. A few months ago, I wanted to go back to Malaysia because I could not handle 1 simple memo. I wanted to go back because I thought working beyond 8pm was both sinful and crazy. Certainly, I have grown up.

Shanghai has toughened me up. I am not sure if that is a good thing. If I had stayed in Malaysia, I would definitely have an easy and enjoyable life (of course, until the recent "unconscionable" fuel hike that ruined everything). Well, life is fair: you win some, you lose some.

My ex-boss sent me this picture after he knew about my status in Shanghai

Bosses should be on high alert

Weather: Rain
Temperature: 28 c (it's hot!)

Sorry for harping on the issues of fuel hike and inflation, but these issues seems to be the topics which are widely discussed in Malaysia now, be it in the political arena or coffee shops. Therefore, my today’s article is still centered on the recent “unconscionable” fuel hike and its radioactive impacts.

During this difficult time, human’s survival instinct will tell us to make more money. If you are earning x amount of money a month and that x amount of money is insufficient to cover all your necessary expenses, there are 2 things you have to do: 开源 and 节流 (increase income and cut down expenses). But these 2 things are easier said than done.

Cutting down expenses is definitely easier than increasing income. If you drank 2 teh tarik a day, now you can only drink one. If you enjoyed watching movies in the cinema, now you have to buy pirated DVDs with funny subtitles. If you smoked, now you will have to quit. But there are other expenses that you can’t simply cut, for example, your baby’s diapers, your children’s education, your health insurance premium, your car loan, your housing loan etc.

How to increase one’s income? Take the cue from our civil servants – get a part-time job. But not everyone enjoys working for 2 bosses – 1 boss is already a pain in the a**, imagine having 2.

A good friend of mine sought my advice recently. He secretly went for an interview (using the common trick of applying for personal leave or medical leave) and secured a better offer. He wanted my opinion – should he cross over?

Under usual circumstances, I would have advised him to stay loyal to his current boss. I would have talked him out of that idea. I personally dislike rolling stones. If he is happy with his current working environment and the present job provides him with ample learning opportunities, why risk everything just because of a mere few hundreds increase in salary? Further, I personally know his current boss, who is also my good friend. Do you think I will backstab my good friend by advising his best employee to jump ship?

But now, Malaysians are not living in “usual circumstances”. When a Malaysian needs to think twice before having a teh tarik at a nearby mamak store, something is definitely and seriously wrong. Malaysians are living in difficult time, and every sen counts. If by switching job, he could earn more and work less, should I not ask him to leave his current job ASAP? Yes, as an employee, his must be loyal to his employer; but doesn’t he owe a duty of care to his family and himself too? If he could spend more money on and more time with his family, is he not duty-bound to look for greener pastures?

In the end, I did not give him my view. I stayed neutral. I just told him, if he really wants to move, he should serve a notice ASAP; otherwise, please erase that thought and move on.

This brings me back to the title of this article. As far as an employee is concerned, the fastest and most direct way to increase one’s salary is looking for a new job. Say, if your salary is increased by RM200 each time you change your boss, your salary will be RM1,000 more if you change your job 5 times.

For the above reason, bosses should be on high alert: the next time one of your employees applies for sick leave or personal leave, he/she might be going for interview at your competitors’ office. If that happens, there is really not much a boss could do: match the offer given by the competitor or let the employee go. Both choices are painful and the boss needs to pick one which inflicts less pain.

You can’t really blame the employees for jumping ship during this difficult situation. Even a BN component party has just announced that it will support a vote of no confidence against our PM. No one would want to bet on a losing horse. When it is time to make a move, it is time to make a move. There is no room for hesitations.

Speaker of Selangor State Assembly

Weather: Cloudy

Temperature: 23 c

When I went back to Malaysia recently, I had this rare opportunity and honor to meet with the Speaker of Selangor State Assembly at his official office.

Before I went to Malaysia, I sent an email to YB Teng informing him that I will be back to Malaysia and whether it would be possible for me to meet and have a brief chat with him. If he answered “NO”, I would understand and wouldn’t blame him for his is now a Speaker of the state assembly and therefore has every excuse in the political world to refuse seeing someone like me. But, being a humble gentleman as he has always been, I was invited to visit him at his official office.

Initially, knowing that he is presumably a busy man, I only asked for 10 to 15 minutes of his time. However, I enjoyed our conversation so much to the extent that we spent almost more than 1 hour talking about so many issues. Obviously I learned a lot from my conversation with the Speaker. After all, it is not every day that you have the chance to chat with the Speaker!

Life is indeed full of surprises and promises. When I came to China last year’s August, YB Teng was still an opposition leader who was suspended from entering into the state assembly. Now, he is the Speaker of the state assembly and the former Menteri Besar is “demoted” to the position of an opposition leader. What comes around goes around.

The people of Selangor should really feel fortunate to have such a Speaker who has the interest of the state and the people in his heart. I have met with a few politicians before and I can tell that YB Teng is genuine and sincere.

I can’t remember how and when did I know this gentleman. 君子之交淡如水. Our friendship took off without us realizing it.

子曰：圣人，吾不得而见之矣；得见君子者，斯可矣。《论语 • 述而篇》

Me and the recent fuel hike

Weather: Rain

Temperature: 26 c

Some of my friends were of the view that I was lucky to have escaped the impact of the recent fuel hike in Malaysia. According to them, I should not have complaint because I am not living in Malaysia now. While I could nearly smell the burnt in my Malaysian brethrens’ wallet and feel the pain inflicted upon them, with respect, I disagree with their view.

Yes, short term wise, I will not feel the immediate impact of the fuel hike. But, in the long run, I am also a victim of this unfortunate event. I am not an economist; therefore I will analyze things from a lay man’s perspective.

Say, one day, I bring back from China RM100; if a glass of teh tarik is sold at RM1 at that time, I would have the ability to buy 100 glasses of teh tarik. But now, with the fuel hike, I don’t think teh tarik will be sold at RM1 anymore. It may be increased to RM1.40 per glass (40% increase inline with the fuel hike). Now, my same RM100 could only buy me 71 glasses of teh tarik. In other words, when a glass of teh tarik is increased by merely 40 sen, my RM100 becomes 29 glasses of teh tarik less valuable.

I am talking about teh tarik only. What about rice, bread, electricity and other essential items which we could not live without? It means that I will have to work longer and save more in China before I am “allowed” to go back to Malaysia for retirement.

Talking about retirement, assuming I have enough money to retire, will I be able to retire peacefully?

Together with the price increase, crime rate is also expected to increase. I am going back for “retirement”, not for “excitement”. I don’t want to sleep at night with my mind wondering if a burglar is coming down from my roof. I don’t want to get worried every time my wife comes home 10 minutes late thinking that she might have been robbed, mugged, or even r*ped (touch wood touch wood!). My worries are not without basis. Since I started working in Klang, I have stayed in 2 places: one in Jalan Meru and the other in Kampung Jawa. Both these 2 places were broken in by burglars. So, my current record of house being broken in is 100%! And almost all my Malaysian friends can tell me at least one experience about car theft, burglary, snatch thief, robbery etc. Do you think I can call that a retirement?

Now you see my point? I am a victim of this fuel hike too.

Sorry, maybe I should make it clearer: I am a victim of this incompetent government too!

Good Evening, Ladies and Gentlemen...

Weather: Rain

Temperature: 28 c

The Justice Department will be organizing a bilingual speech competition some time end of this month. The competition is targeted at the legal firms with the aim of encouraging the use of English language.

I was approached by my office manager few weeks ago. The Justice Department wanted a bilingual speaker to be on the panel of judges, and asked our firm to provide one. My office manager immediately thought of me. I happily accepted the challenge without hesitation. Later, when the Justice Department found out that I could play guitar (I do not know where they got this information), they insisted that I perform a few songs. This, I also happily accepted. Anyway, I was looking for a small stage for me to satisfy my itchy backside of performing on stage. The opportunity just materialized.

To show the sincerity of the Justice Department, last Friday, 3 officials came to my office to pay me a visit. They called it a 礼貌拜会 (or a polite visit). I was there alone in the meeting room, faced with 3 Chinese officials. They asked me what made me wanted to work in Shanghai, and I fluently told them 10 things I love about China. I noticed that they wanted to be polite and said something good about Malaysia too, but unfortunately, they knew nothing about Malaysia apparently. One younger official tried, “光良的歌很好听”.

Today, I was invited to the Justice Department office to join a preliminary “screening process”. The Justice Department received 15 application forms so far but they do not have time for 15 contestants. So, they organize this “screening process” to filter out those which are obviously “hopeless”. I have the honor of selecting the right candidates for the contest. This is something which I have never done before – I doubt I will have this opportunity in Malaysia.

I heard 15 contestants delivering their speeches in Chinese and English. I made (or pretended to make) notes about their performance. After all the 15 gave their speeches, I was invited to give some comments (or 指教指教). What do I know about giving speech? I am not a good orator. But since this is China, and everything is possible in China, I have to say something (and say it professionally). I guess the officials and the 15 contestants were very impressed with my comments. After I finished my 3 minutes of bull-shitting, the Justice Department 主任 even told everyone: 这就是专业. I was speechless. Maybe I was good, or maybe what a professional does is bull-shitting. I don’t know.

The speech competition will take place on the 27th of June. I will be one of the judges, and performers too. I did not expect all these when I came to Shanghai. This is literally putting my talents (whatever they may be) into good use. Ooh, I love Shanghai!

Harnniann, the idea is not to pocket the ball; but to pretend you know how to pocket it!


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坚持，再坚持！

Weather: Fair
Temperature: 31 c


Written by Engtee

“地震了！上海的你还好吗？”电话筒传出成都同事的问候。“你在胡说什么？我一句话都没听懂。”当我还没回过神另一端的电话就断了。“铃。。铃。。”公司电话陆陆续续的响起来，隐隐约约听到同事们的谈话中提到四川在14时28分发生8级地震。我真的不敢相信自己的耳朵。

当时事情来得真的太快太突然了，在还没有得到全面详细报道我们显得不知所措。“上海会不会遭殃，待会儿会不会有余震，下班后该不该乘塔地跌。。”种种的疑问浮现在脑海里。

网上陆陆续续的报道有关事情虽不全面，但至少有了头绪略知一二。下班了，我也赶紧的回家给家人报了平安。

至今，地震已造成四川的死亡人数从8千多人至今天40,00余人遇难。我每当看到或听到有关报道我眼眶就会积满泪水，说真的心里特别不好受，感触特别多。

汶川约三分之一房屋倒塌，境内大部分地区通讯中断，公路完全中断，无法通行。供水、供电、等都受到很大影响。

虽然这次的抗震救灾工作遇到了种种困难，但坚强的中国人都不因此而退缩都一一的克服了。有钱的出钱有力的出力。各大商家也为地震灾区捐款。温家宝在第一时间飞到灾区进行指挥工作和安抚民心。人民齐心连夜的把道路打通运输粮食及医药品。有些青年还纷纷组织了青年志愿团。我的同事就是其中的一名青年志愿者，不顾自己的安危拯救受难者。有些大学生自得知四川灾区急需大量血浆，纷纷行动起来。上海也准备领养受难失去亲人的孩童。多感人的一幕。

五月19日至22日为全国哀悼日。19日14：28 全国人民向遇难者哀悼3分钟。此时此刻全国人民一道默哀3分钟，汽车、火车、舰船鸣笛，防空警报鸣响，全国下半旗志哀，停止了公共娱乐活动，报刊、网络则全以黑白色示人。

我佩服他们的勇气，他们坚强的意志力，他们的团结。他们让我体会到中国就是他们的家，感情就像亲兄妹一样团结可亲。我为他们感到自豪。

1 night in Nanjing

Labor Day used to be a golden week in China but it has been reduced to a 1-day holiday. Though I would love to enjoy a 7-day holiday, I supported the government’s move to reduce Labor Day holiday and to replace it with Tomb Sweeping Day holiday, Duan Wu Festival holiday, and Mid-Autumn Festival holiday.

1 May to 3 May is China’s public holiday. But, don’t envy us; we have to work on Sunday (4 May) to replace 2 May (Friday).

On 2 May, the Malaysian gang went to Nanjing (南京). I went to Nanjing 3 years ago with my family but I was with the tour group last time; this time, Nanjing gave me a different feeling.

I do not have the time to write a long article here so I will cheat by publishing some of the photos we took. Hopefully I will find the time (and inspiration) to write something about the trip. It was awesome!

A Stateless Malaysian

Weather: Cloudy

Temperature: 14 c

Scene 1

Time: September, 2000
Place: Cardiff, Wales

It was the university’s orientation week. Many clubs and societies were busy setting up booths to recruits new members.

A few of my friends and I discussed about which club or society to join. We were nerds (though I really hate to admit that), so aggressive clubs like Latino Club, Basketball Club or Boxing Club were out of the question. We were searching for something mild, gentle and which did not require any physical capability. In the end, we picked one which showed how unimaginative and uncreative we were – the Malaysian Society. We filled up the application form, paid the membership fees, and were officially the members of the Malaysian Society.

The first meeting of the Malaysian Society was held in one of the small lecture halls. My friends and I were there early. However, we were so shocked to find out that almost 99% of the members of the Malaysian Society were Malays. We were the only Chinese there, and of course, we received funny stares. No one approached or greeted us. We surrendered into one dark corner and observed the whole event.

The president of the Malaysian Society gave his welcome speech (in Malay) and (to our shock and disbelief) followed by “baca doa”. We, the only non-Muslims, felt so awkward. What were we supposed to do? Pray along? At that moment, we felt like we had come to the wrong place or joined the wrong club. That was not a Malaysian Society; it was a Malay Society.

Immediately after the “baca doa”, we quietly sneaked out of the lecture hall and never came back.

Feeling lost, we really did not know which other club to join. Some of the senior Malaysian students suggested we join the Chinese Society. They were organizing a party at a restaurant and the tickets were not expensive. So, we went to the Chinese Society. We thought we would not go wrong this time; after all, were we not Chinese?

The Chinese Society was dominated by Hong Kees. Consequently, the whole party was conducted in Cantonese. I have no problem speaking Cantonese, but I would prefer Mandarin if given a choice. Further, why Chinese must speak Cantonese? Shouldn’t Mandarin or Putong Hua be a more suitable alternative? Anyway, I was the minority, I’d better keep quiet. If you can’t fight them, join them.

But, later we found out that those Hong Kees had some prejudices towards the Malaysians. For instance, they called us 马来仔 and 马来妹. We tried to argue with them that it was not appropriate to call us that. Nevertheless, the Hong Kees were not convinced. In their eyes, we were 马来仔 and 马来妹, and we came from a country stuffed with jungles and monkeys. 梁静茹 and 光良 were not famous then, so they knew very little about Malaysia. We concluded that we could not click with the Hong Kees, so we decided to move on.

In the end, we joined the club which we were really reluctant to join: the Singaporean Society. I do not need to elaborate further about the Singaporean’s attitudes towards the Malaysians. They have every reason to look down upon us.

We felt as if we were “stateless”. So, we ended up not joining any club but spending time on our studies instead (what a loser we were).


Scene 2

Time: February, 2008
Place: Shanghai, China

It was our company’s annual dinner. Everyone in the company had been talking about the annual dinner because the lucky draw prizes for this year were extraordinarily magnanimous. The grand prize was a 41’ LCD TV!

We were trained by an external instructor to waltz. Of course, we did not really pay attention to the dance instructor; we just wanted to have fun.

The annual dinner proceeded as planned with music, dance and great food. Everyone was enjoying the light evening. However, somewhere along the line, someone creatively came out with an idea of asking all the foreigners (老外) to perform on stage. Obviously, the American and Australian could not escape. They have to go on stage to either sing a song or tell a joke.

After that, they asked the Malaysians to perform. Wait a minute! We are not 老外, we screamed. We are Chinese, we are not 大鼻子 (big nose), so we should be spared. Nope, too bad. In the eyes of the locals, we are still 老外. Regardless of how well our Mandarin is or how we all look exactly alike, we are still stamped with the chop of “alien” on our foreheads and we have to walk up the stage to be ridiculed – because we are not “Chinese”.


Scene 3

Time: April, 2008
Place: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Kelantan Crown Prince Tengku Faris Petra said that Malays had been coerced into giving non-Malays citizenship and the latter should therefore not seek equality or special treatment.

"Therefore, the rakyat must unite and never raise issues regarding Malay rights and special privileges because it is a quid pro quo in gratitude for the giving in of citizenship (beri-paksa kerakyatan) to 2.7 million non-Malays into the Tanah Melayu federation.

“Thus, it is not appropriate for these other ethnic groups to have citizenship, only (later) to seek equality and privileges,” said Tengku Faris.







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A super weekend

Weather: Fair
Temperature: 15 c


This weekend was a super weekend for me. I wanted to write about my fantastic weekend until I read about one sad and disappointing news on the website (I will deal with it later).

In the course of my work, I did a lot of agreements for companies which host various types of event, including concerts. Not to say that I know much about contract drafting or my contract law was good; in fact, I seldom prepared any form of contract in Malaysia. Only when a contract (which was prepared by other lawyer) went wrong, then only was I involved in the following litigation between the contracting parties. But in China, the majority of my job scope involves contract drafting. Well, you do not need to be a rocket scientist to figure out how a contract works; most of the time, it is just common sense.

Hard work does pay. Last week, I was offered 2 tickets to Celine Dion’s Shanghai Concert, free of charge. The organizer is our client and we assisted them to prepare various legal documents for that concert. As a goodwill gesture, they gave us 6 complimentary tickets and I got 2 out of the 6. The seats were not bad.

Last Friday, Engtee and I enjoyed a free concert, again. It was our second concert in Shanghai. It always feels good to go to a concert, and it feels even better if you do not need to pay for it. However, I must admit that I am not a fan of Celine Dion. Further, we rushed to the stadium straight from our office on Friday evening, without dinner. We were therefore tired and hungry throughout the concert.

Anyway, the whole event was worth it when Celine Dion sang “My Heart Will Go On”. It was superb!

The next day (Saturday) was our office outdoor outing. I was the organizer. It was an unprecedented outing because my company has not done that before. My colleagues are serious and dedicated workers and you do know how hard the Chinese works. They can spend 8 hours straight in front of their computers without stretching their bodies; they can come into the office at 9 am and leave at 3 am the next day, then come back again at 9 am. But, going to a park to have fun? That’s way beyond their imagination, something unthinkable.

Here is where I want to thank Rotary and Rotaract Club. It seemed like I have not forgotten all the trainings I got from Rotaract.

I sensed that the firm will work better and more efficiently if all the colleagues could work as a team. But, before you create a team, you must first create a strong bond between the members. How do you create such bonds? Rotary/Rotaract teaches you the best.

In Rotaract, I learned how to make a group of strangers into a team. More than that, I learned how to make people believe that it is necessary and in their interests to work as a team. Once I successfully did that, getting them together to do 1 activity would be so easy.

I sold to my colleagues the idea of organizing a team building exercise in one of the parks in Shanghai. Shanghai has so many beautiful and well-maintained parks, why not enjoy it? I then volunteered to be the organizing chairman. I told them I only wanted them to believe in me, that we really needed this outdoor activity. Further, this activity will be fun and exciting!

In Rotaract, we have organized so many events and projects, from a simple birthday party to hosting foreigners from another country. Therefore, organizing this outdoor activity was like a walk in the park. With all the trainings I have, it was really easy.

The hardest part is how to sell the idea to your target. Why do they need to wake up so early on a Saturday and sacrifice their precious sleep to be at a park? Initially, I have to answer that question repeatedly and personally. However, once my core group was formed, I have someone else to do the marketing for me. I learned that trick from Rotaract.

It was a great outing. We did some stupid and childish games, including “eagle catches chicks”. But who cared about what game we played? The whole idea is getting people together and strengthening bonds; the “games” or “other activities” are like a carrot hanging in front of a donkey – it is just a means to an end, not the end itself. Yes, I also learned that from Rotaract.

I am in a good mood now, so I do not feel like whacking my home country to spoil my day. Click here to read about the news I said earlier. If you don’t feel like reading it, the headline below will tell you the whole story. G bless Malaysia.

“Tengku Faris: Non-Malays should not seek equality”



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