Going for the first Million RM

Dipetik daripada thestar.com.my. Tulisan oleh RASHVINJEET S.BEDI and RICHARD LIM

Moral cerita ini;

1 - dimana ada kemahuan, disitu ada jalan.

2 - Rezeki Allah untuk orang orang yg rajin berusaha. Jadi usalah bersungguh sungguh.

3 - Ini kisah orang orang yg berani mencuba, berani mengambil risiko - calculated risk, dan tahan ujian. Contohi mereka

MOST of his fans know him as a deejay with popular Chinese radio station 98.8 but Chan Fong is a man who wears many hats. He is also an artist, actor, songwriter, brand builder, event planner and a successful businessman.

Chan, 41, joined the entertainment world when he was in his 20s and used to work 18 hours a day doing numerous jobs, including hosting programmes and directing.

Despite the long hours, he recalls, he rarely earned RM10,000 a month.

Wanting a better life, the graphics design graduate decided to try his hand at business and ventured into advertising with a partner. Unfortunately, that was in 1997, the year of the Asian financial crisis.

Chan relates how he and his partner turned to the Yellow Pages and randomly mailed out letters to potential clients about their business.

“We offered proposals and told them they could pay us only if they liked our suggestions,” says the father of three.

They managed to get a few small clients before getting a big break with a leading water filter company. There was no turning back since, although Chan split from his partner in 2002 and set up his own company, 180 Degree Strategic Communications.

Today, Chan's company employs 42 people and is involved in branding for about 30 companies, most of which are household names.

For those who intend to go into business, Chan's advice is to be prepared as “doing business is very competitive these days and involves a lot of hard work as there are financial and human resource issues that need to be looked into, among others”.

He also believes one needs to have at least eight to 10 years of experience before setting up a business.

“People will only come to you if you have experience,” he says, adding that networking also requires time.

Chan, who still guest-deejays once a week for 98.8, believes that passion is important to succeed in business.

“Don't always think about making money first. Think about how you can solve problems before thinking about a better life,” he says.

Chan acknowledges that he is in a position to retire but wants to keep going, at least until the age of 50, before focusing on other interests such as acting.

“There is still a long way (to go) and I am not tired yet,” he quips.

Suthan Mookaiah is 25 and has already earned his first million after working seven years.

While many people take a lifetime to hit the million ringgit mark or don't even come anywhere close, the online entrepreneur and Internet marketing coach considers seven years “a very long time”. “I have seen people who made millions in one or two years,” he says, adding that business started picking up for him when PayPal was introduced in Malaysia.

He points out that there's a huge market for Internet-based businesses, with Malaysians spending about RM1.8bil shopping online annually. Apart from eBay, many online entrepreneurs are also relying on social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter to push their products, which may range from e-books and videos to things like sarees, sunglasses and even diapers.

Some, he says, earn RM60,000 to RM70,000 a month.

Suthan explains that one only needs RM100 for a domain name and hosting to start an Internet business. For a conventional business, the start-off capital is a minimum RM20,000 to rent and renovate a place.

He notes that while youngsters are more IT savvy, senior citizens can also tap into the online market. One of his students is a 70-year-old man who is selling a guide on Islam online.

When the Asian financial crisis struck, many people who invested in stocks had their fingers burnt while others pulled the brakes on their investments.

But Anthony Poh (not his real name), a former remisier, saw the 1997 crisis as a “window of opportunity” to invest in other areas.

“I went into real estate and the birds nest trade,” he shares.

While some friends were sceptical over his swiftlet farming venture, it turned out to be a cash cow for Poh. Today, he exports premium birds nest to several countries.

Something of a forerunner to his younger contemporaries, Poh cemented his millionaire status in his early 20s by being at the right place at the right time and daring to take risks.

Having made some decent coin with initial public offerings when he was still in university, Poh decided to be a remisier after graduating. His career choice was swiftly rewarded by daily five-figure earnings his best daily haul was RM37,000.

Although the rewards were great, Poh's wheeling and dealing convinced him that he was strolling down a sunset boulevard.

“Internet trading was on the horizon and more remisiers were entering the market,” he recalls.

“I still had my regular clientele but I figured there was better money to be made elsewhere.”

Successful real estate dealings have further bolstered his wealth and Poh's masterful streak shows no sign of stopping anytime soon.

Despite this, Poh keeps his feet on the ground, spending wisely and resisting urges to buy anything more expensive than a Toyota Camry.

Joel Neoh, the 28-year-old CEO of Groupon Malaysia, may have a degree in mechanical engineering but his forte is definitely in business. Modelling part-time during his college break, he realised there was a huge demand for such jobs and set up a company that recruited youth for events.

The company generated its first million within a year, and Neoh went on to set up NGO Youth Malaysia, which ran several big youth-based projects.

Nine months ago, Neoh started Groupsmore, a discount website that offered deals on food, products, services and lifestyle activities. In January this year, it was acquired by American giant Groupon, a company worth billions and is said to be one of the fastest growing Internet companies.

Neoh believes that many youngsters do not realise their dreams by taking the safe route of working for corporations. To succeed, he stresses, one needs to enjoy their work and be good at what they are doing.

Ammar Zahar, 24, started selling information products during his first year of university. He was pursuing a degree course in landscape architecture and needed money to buy colour prints and paper. Coming from a poor family, he had to support himself through university. He attended many web seminars and learned the tricks of the trade.

These days, he sells information products on various topics such as finance, investments, internet marketing, acne cure, weight loss and even Farmville (a popular Facebook game). He also gets expert writers to write on the products.

“A lot of people from all over the world are buying these things,” he says.

By his third year in university, he had set up his own firm and this year alone, the company achieved half million ringgit sales. Ammar is giving himself another year to reach millionaire status.

“Anyone can go into internet business,” he says, adding that he has no plans to use his degree for now.

Multi-level marketing

Chen Yoong Heong, 38, decided to go into the multi-level marketing business because she wanted to be her own boss.

“I didn't like office routine,” says the former purchasing executive who now sells a nutrition and weight management product.

She started with part time sales before deciding to venture full-time one-and-a-half years ago. Her income has increased 35% and she is confident of reaching the million mark in three to five years.

“It is possible because I have seen a lot of people earning millions,” she says confidently.

But nothing comes easy, so one has to work hard to get what one wants.

“Nothing is going to fall into your lap just like that,” says Chen who constantly talks to people, runs a nutrition class from her home in Klang and markets her product on the Internet.

The mother of two children aged eight and nine also says that she has more time with her kids nowadays, her social circle has expanded and she is much closer to her neighbours

Bila DAP pun nak menegakkan benang basah

kah kah kah kah....

Kuasai bahasa Malaysia tu bonus je..kata dia....

woit....cuba la korang tengok, dalam TV tu....

korang cuba tengok pemimpin cina dan india tu...

tengok betul betul....diorang buleh cakap bahasa Malaysia dengan betul ke tidak?

Ramai yg Gagap gagap beb.......tak caya cuba la korang tengok betul betul....

Aku tak la mintak korang bertutur guna bahasa baku tu...

guna bahasa pasar yg selalu kita tuturkan pun dah ok.

kita tahu lah korang ni orang Malaysia tulen.

Warga yg sayang kan negara ni,

sanggup mati mempertahankan negara ini...kalau diserang lawan satu hari nanti

Ini, baru bahasa Malaysia....kalau satu hari nanti, peluru terbang sana sini...

aku ingat, bangsa bangsa ni yang lari cawat kote dulu sekali.....

memang memalukan.....

ayat yang aku rasa sesuai - Kalau dah tahu Bodoh, Belajar la....kah kah kah.....

(ayat ini juga untuk orang orang Melayu yg masih belum berapa cerdik meniaga....sila belajar...)

DAP says vernacular schools not reason for poor Bahasa skills
By Clara Chooi May 15, 2011

KUALA LUMPUR, May 15 — A few Chinese DAP leaders have defended members of their community who are unable to converse well in the national language, claiming this was likely the fault of the present education system.

The leaders also brushed aside talk that an individual’s inability to speak Bahasa Malaysia could hamper the process of national integration or that the existence of Chinese vernacular schools should be blamed.

DAP Socialist Youth chief Anthony Loke (picture) admitted that BM proficiency among the Chinese was unsatisfactory but pointed out that the government had failed to give enough emphasis to assisting those who were weak in the language to boost their skills in national schools.

“I think that probably this is because the learning of the language is not really enhanced in both the primary and secondary levels.

“I am sure that there will be critics blaming the vernacular schools but I disagree... because even there, BM is a compulsory subject and after that, they go to secondary school where BM is even more prominent,” Loke told The Malaysian Insider.

“There is just no proper programme in place to help these Chinese primary school students to adopt when in the secondary level,” he added.

The Rasah MP was asked to respond to a survey conducted by The Malaysian Insider to gauge the proficiency level of the Chinese community in their daily use of the national language.

In the survey, 107 Chinese adults were polled and only 75 were deemed able to converse or understand BM.

Of the 75 polled, 21 per cent said the use of Mandarin or other Chinese dialects were more important than BM.

In a separate national study by a well-known teachers’ association recently, it was shown that one in every three Chinese primary school pupil cannot understand BM or English when they prepare to enter national secondary school.

The school survey by the National Union of the Teaching Profession (NUTP) also found that one in every four Chinese child who enters national secondary school will drop out.

This has led to claims that the dropout rate and the low level of BM proficiency have created a group of Chinese adults who only interact with other Chinese, creating a barrier for greater inter-ethnic integration in plural Malaysia.

But Loke disagreed with failure in national integration would be the sole outcome of an individual’s failure to master BM.

“Of course I fully agree that every Malaysian should master the language, especially the younger generation, but when it comes to integration, there are many other pertinent factors involved.

“There are also government policies where every Malaysian wants to have a place here, to be treated equally. “Of course language is important because it enhances communication between all the races but still, it is the policies of the government that truly help to promote integration,” he said.

Loke added to him, the most important language was BM and not any Chinese dialect, due to his duties as an MP.

DAP deputy secretary-general Datuk Ngeh Koo Ham expressed shock that there were those among the Chinese community who were unable to converse well in BM.

“I do not see how this is possible. If a person has gone through at least primary school... even Chinese school, they should be able to converse in BM.

“I suspect these people did not go to school.... was the survey done in the rural areas? Did these people go to school?” he asked when contacted.

Ngeh said “something must have gone wrong” during the teaching of the language in schools if individuals were to emerge from the institutions without any knowledge of BM.

“I do not see why they cannot speak if they are properly taught. In any case, this environment where people are unable to converse in BM is no more in Malaysia, except in the more rural areas,” he pointed out.

He added national integration had nothing to do with a person’s inability to converse in the language and explained that it was likely that many people saw it more beneficial to master English or Mandarin than BM.

Ngeh noted the civil service was taken up by at least 80 per cent of Malays, causing the non-Malays to focus their attentions on obtaining jobs that do not require extensive knowledge of BM.

“We master a language for the betterment of our future, like finding a good job, a good career and so on. So since many non-Malays do not opt for posts in the civil service where BM proficiency is required, their focus on learning the language is almost negligible,” he said.

However, Ngeh stressed that every Malaysian should at least possess basic knowledge of conversational BM for their everyday lives.

He said it was not justifiable for a person to be unable to understand basic BM. “Everyone in Malaysia should understand BM as a language of communication and unity,” he said.

DAP national vice-chairman Chong Chieng Jen also strongly disagreed that national unity would be affected by the Chinese community’s lack of proficiency in BM.

He pointed out that 30 years back, racial polarisation and segregation were less rampant than it is today despite the widespread lack of understanding of the BM language among the community.

“Less people understood BM then but there was less segregation. People mingled better than they do today. “So at the end of the day, national unity and integration is more about fairer policies.... Barisan Nasional politicians should stop playing racial politics,” he said.

He added that it was his personal belief that while BM is important in Malaysia, an individual could still get by without having mastered the language.

“It is good if you can speak well in BM because yes, it is our national language, but life goes on even if you cannot do so. It is just a bonus,” he said.

Malu lah mengaku warga Malaysia

Membaca laporan di bawah - Some Chinese dont speak Bahasa at all.

Memang memalukan.

Tinggal di Negara Malaysia,

tapi tiada jati diri, tiada rasa bangga menjadi warga Malaysia.

Bahasa Kebangsaan - Bahasa Malaysia pun mereka gagal nak kuasai.

Cuba kalau korang cuba nak mohon warganegara Amerika ke, Canada ke...

tengok apa yg dia tanya....boleh kuasai bahasa kebangsaan mereka tak?

boleh faham bahasa kebangsaan mereka tak...

confirm ada punya!.

Bagi aku, setiap orang yg ada kad pengenalan Malaysia ni,

setiap orang yg mengaku warganegara Malaysia,

Yang mendapat segala kemudahan dan kemewahan, kesenangan bagai di negara bernama Malaysia ni,

WAJIB tahu (faham dan bertutur dengan fasih) BAHASA MALAYSIA.

kalau tidak tahu, apa guna anda mengaku anda warga Malaysia?

Kalau berlagak sangat tak nak belajar BAHASA itu....yang dah menjadi teras kepada kewujudan sesebuah negara

sila angkat beg, jalan terus, belok kiri dan BERAMBUS dari Malaysia. Dan jangan datang-datang lagi.

We don't need you.

Nota kepada PM :

Sila segerakan Sekolah Integrasi ni,....semua kaum dalam 1 sekolah. Tak perlu sekolah kebangsaan, sekolah jenis kebangsaan Cina atau Sekolah Kebangsaan Tamil. Baru la masalah nak mendapatkan warganegara yg benar benar bersatu dan patriotik akan selesai. - Sila belajar dari INDONESIA..... diorang ada lagi banyak puak dan kaum dari yg ada di Malaysia ni....

Jangan risau kalau si Soi Lek tu ugut pasal sekolah agama Islam. Selama ni, mereka takde pun sekolah agama budha / sekolah agama kristian bagai...... Diorang memang takde idea untuk itu pun. Kalau susah sangat nak menjawab dengan MCA dan MIC tu, sila jemput aku utk menjawab bagi pihak anda.

Some Chinese don’t speak Bahasa at all
By Sheridan Mahavera May 14, 2011

KUALA LUMPUR, May 14 — A The Malaysian Insider street poll of 107 Chinese adults has found that 28 of them, or 26.1 per cent of those surveyed, had almost no command or could not understand Bahasa Malaysia.

Of the 75 respondents who understood BM and took the survey, 16, or 21 per cent of them felt that knowing or using the national language was not as important in their lives as knowing Mandarin or other Chinese dialects.

About 37 per cent of those who took the survey (or 28 respondents) used BM less than five times a day. While 20 of them said they either did not have to use it all or only used it less than three times.

The results suggest that within the Chinese community, there is a significant class whose members only interact with those who speak Chinese.

Recently, a separate national study by a well-known teachers’ association showed that one in every three Chinese primary school pupil cannot understand BM or English when they prepare to enter national secondary school.

The school survey by the National Union of the Teaching Profession (NUTP) also found that one in every four Chinese child who enters national secondary school will drop out.

This has led to claims that the dropout rate and the low level of BM proficiency have created a group of Chinese adults who only interact with other Chinese, creating a barrier for greater inter-ethnic integration in plural Malaysia.

In another The Malaysian Insider article on the NUTP survey, educators, parents and former Chinese school students argued that it is not the vernacular education system that is at fault.

Family attitudes, the Chinese community and individual choice are bigger influences on how much BM Chinese children pick up, retain and use once they leave school and enter adulthood.
The street poll is a follow-up to both the NUTP survey and the contention that it’s not really the vernacular school system’s fault. The poll is to gauge how the Chinese community regards BM.

If the vernacular education is not at fault, are parents and the community creating an environment where Chinese kids feel that they can get by without knowing the national language?

Methodology

The entire survey was conducted in Bahasa Malaysia among 107 Chinese individuals. They were asked four questions.

1) Do you understand BM?

2) How important is BM in your life?

3) Which is more important in your life, BM or English?

4) On a typical day, how many times do you use BM?

— Less than three times.

— Less than five times.

— Five times and more.

— More than 10 times.

(This includes occasions such as talking multiple times to one person or talking to multiple people.)

Those who were judged as not being able to “understand BM” were individuals who could not reply to the interview questions. They rejected the survey by gesturing silently when asked “if they could speak BM”.

This group differs from another group of four who understood but declined the survey as they said in BM that “they were busy”.

The survey was conducted in Sepang district, an evenly diverse part of suburban southern Selangor, and in the Chinese enclave of Jinjang Utara in Kuala Lumpur.

Part 2 economic success = social fragmentation

The dominance of Chinese in certain areas of the private sector explains why some in the community feel that BM is not necessary to get by.

The majority 68 per cent in the poll who found BM important were either shopkeepers, salespeople or those working in large corporations where they interacted with non-Chinese individuals on a daily basis.

This group also represents the 62 per cent who used BM more than five times a day. Sixteen per cent used it more than 10 times a day.

Many of those who found BM less important and who used it less than five times a day worked in technical fields such as small engine repair or small-scale construction.

Michael Tay, who works in the property industry, says there is a belief that because you could still get a job just by speaking Chinese, there is no motivation to learn other languages.

“They feel comfortable mixing with people from a similar culture and language, and they don’t have to depend on non-Chinese to survive. But this is not good for integration,” says Tay, a Bandar Baru Tampoi MCA branch leader in Johor Baru.

A majority of the 28 who could not speak the national language were in their 50s and older. Some of the BM speakers said this was a trend with the Merdeka generation who did not enter the formal education system.

But of the 28, 10 of them were individuals aged 40 and below. About five of them were young adults who worked in mobile phone shops and who politely declined and deferred to their friends when asked in BM.

According to their friends, these individuals had trouble understanding BM because they “dropped out of school”.

Part 3 Malaysia: A bowl or pot?

Low BM usage does not translate into feeling it is less important. For instance, a handful of Chinese shopkeepers who catered to a mainly Chinese clientele felt that BM was important. This is even though they said their command and use of it was low.

“Ini Malaysia maa. Semua kena cakap Melayu. Kalau tak cakap Melayu macam mana Melayu, Cina, India mau satu,” said a shopkeeper who sells joss sticks and Chinese prayer items and who said there were days he didn’t use BM at all.

A stationery shop owner refused to believe the survey’s findings that some Chinese could not speak BM.

“Mana ada? Mesti boleh cakap punya. Ini Malaysia maa,” said the 46-year-old. These same sentiments were expressed by 10 of the respondents.

When asked whether BM or English was more important, 33 per cent of respondents said BM while 20 per cent said both languages were important. Twenty-nine per cent chose English over BM, while 17 per cent did not know.

The proportion of those who don’t speak BM versus those who do reveals how the community views integration with the larger non-Chinese environment. But this is not unique just to the Chinese.

Arguably, there are proportions of Malays and Indians who also go days without meeting someone from a different ethnicity.

Historian Prof Tan Sri Khoo Kay Kim believes each ethnic community has evolved this way because they have been taught to think of the group first rather than the nation-state.

“We have always been a people who have lived apart from each other. Even the early Indonesian settlers, the Minangs, Banjars, Javanese lived in separate colonies first. They did not automatically become ‘Malays’.”

Malaysia’s model of integration then, which is more a “salad bowl” than a “melting pot”, makes it hard for individuals to adopt a common culture or language as the priority is always with what the group thinks.

“If you notice, Chinese and Indians are not comfortable at all speaking BM to one another. This is different from the Peranakan Chinese in the past who spoke BM to each other,” observes Khoo.

Though the bright side from survey shows a positive attitude among its Chinese respondents concerning BM, it is harder to gauge how deep their feelings of togetherness with Malaysia and other Malaysians as a whole.

And if the same trends are present in Malaysia’s other communities, it may well be that we are still a nation of separate peoples.