Showing posts with label world history. Show all posts
Learn From History
A Feng Shui master friend of mine, who immigrated to Singapore since three years ago, told me it is easier to make money in Singapore.
“When I spoke of their pasts, they were impressed on how accurate I was. So they would start to believe in everything I said about their future,” he continued, “but this does not always work for Malaysians.”
I intrigued to inquire a big WHY? He explained, “The Singapore government plans everything for their citizens, they share almost the same past, present and future, which in short, the same fate; that’s why their future is so predictable.”
A practically smart geomancer, I concluded.
Yes, everyone would like to be certain about their future, even for a corporate, to move forward, they have to figure out what lies ahead. In order to get to the right path, the quickest way is to seek advice from a crystal ball. :-)
Crystal ball says you will strike lottery
In fact, to get a clear picture of a future, the more you need to understand is the past. Not only for an individual, it also applies to a company at industry level, a government at country and world level. In my opinion, everyone needs to study the world history to better understand our present world.
If you are a bit lazy, you can take a shortcut and skip the history before AD1500. Apparently, the modern world has come to be what it is only the short compass of the last 5 hundred years, when the European power, Spain, Portugal, France and Britain started to sail out from the continents with their fleets to explore the unknown world, eagerly expanding their colonized empire. That should be the first wave of globalization, and it changed everything that it used to be.
Sail into the unknown
It ended up with why Brazilians speak Portuguese, and the rest of Latin Americans speak Spanish, and some Africans like Algerians, Moroccans and Tunisians also speak French, besides Arabic as their national language.
So, when we decided to take FingerTec to the world market, we’re not like the complacent Japanese who export their products in pure Japanese language, or like most of the other businesses when go global would think English should be sufficient to concur the world. When the Arabians greet you with “Assalamualaikum” and Latin Americans “Hola” you, English is quickly shrunk to an incomprehensible piece of crumpled brochure in their hands.
A variety of local-enough languages remain as our promise to the world, and we also introduce a mini United Nations convoy in sales and support departments: Regielou Rolloque, a Pinay with an excellent command of Spanish and her native Tagalog; Benacer Douadi, an Algerian who speaks Arabic and French; Batyr Komurzoev, a Russian who Привет you if you are from CIS countries, Tamy Phoon and Bee Lay for Chinese language, and Norana and Nattalina for Malay and Indonesian, all of them can speak and write good English too. To deal with us, you would be a happier customer.
FingerTec mini 'United Nations' convoy for sales & supports
To penetrate a country, we have to understand their pasts, and know their present. The Economists, Business Week, Asia Week and A&S International are readily available in the office for their reading pleasures, and of course Wikipedia, Google, are at the tips of their fingers. It’s imperative that they have information about other countries and cultures in order to work closely with numerous customers for profitable future.
The first wave of globalization (colonization) had begun with force, and ended up with retaliation from the colonized natives. When a product tries to go global in today’s ‘more officially’ declared globalization age, I saw the same mistake is made but in a different form for some companies.
This time around, some China biometrics companies, bombarding their so-called target potentials with repeated ‘force’ emails to promote their low-price products, I’m sure they will get rebuke very soon. One of their typical emails, with a broken English goes like “I am so and so, thinks for your time, I got your company's information from Internet and know your business is around the security products…” And they will keep irritate you with the same email once every few days, ignoring the hints that without a reply, there is no interest.
In FingerTec, we learned from history, in a smarter way, and avoid repeating the same mistakes and adopts permission marketing as our basic marketing concept. And we keep receiving emails from our potential customers who would want to become our partners.
I will discuss our permission marketing approach in my next article.
by Teh Hon Seng, CEO, FingerTec HQ
by Teh Hon Seng, CEO, FingerTec HQ
Moscow - To Thaw The Icy Reception
Influences of wars, wants, struggles and suffering are central to the history of Russia. After toppling the Tsars’ ruling, Stalin once remarked:
Old Russia … was ceaselessly beaten for her backwardness. She was beaten by the Mongolian khans. She was beaten by the Turkish beys. She was beaten by the Swedish feudal lords. She was beaten by the Polish-Lithuanian gentry. She was beaten by Anglo-French capitalists. She was beaten by the Japanese barons.
Can you believe? I took a photo with comrade Lenin (left) and Stalin (right) at Red Square.
Harsh in Weather and History
But not all Russia’s sufferings had came from outsiders as the Russian poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko (b. 1933) testified:
She was christened in childhood with a lash,
torn to pieces
Scorched.
Her soul was trampled by feet,
Inflicting blow upon blow,
Of Pechenegs,
Varanhian,
Tatars,
And our own people -
Much more terrible than Tatars
Yes, from these roots stem Russia’s melancholia, paranoia, passivity, xenophobia and national self-pity.
“And our own people – much more terrible than the Tatars”, this is not only true in Russia, but it also applies to many other countries, where their own political leaders are far more cruel than the invaders, killing more people.
Russia’s extremely cold weather and hardship in history explains to us why most of them are frosty, straight face, even those who are serving hospitality industry having not much smiles to offer their guests.
Moscow and Beijing: Cities look alike
I saw some resemblance in the city scenes of Moscow and Beijing, especially the old buildings and apartments that were built in the Communist ruling era. And, both cities adopt the same Ring Road concept. In Moscow, it is called Moscow Automobile Ring Road, or MKAD, more precisely МКАД in Moscow word, an acronym for Московская Кольцевая Автомобильная Дорога.
Moscow covers an area of about 386 square miles (878,7 square kilometers), its outer limit being roughly delineated by this Moscow Ring Road. Most of the areas beyond this highway have been designated as Forest-Park Zone, or greenbelt.
The map of Metro Station of Moscow
The Ring of metro is one of the tourist attractions
Spring in April is still cold in Moscow, the temperature can drop to - 4 Celsius at night and I witnessed a few snowfalls during my short stay.
When the Russia communism collapsed in the nineties, it gave way to freer market activities and allowed possession of private assets, the first wave opportunists with strong political connections, and the far-sighted entrepreneurs were the first who became either filthy rich or über-rich. Although the present economy is badly hit by the global slowdown, the roads of Moscow filled with luxury vehicles tell quite a different story.
In Search for The Right Partners
FingerTec 4-day exhibition ran quite smoothly with Batyr around. The market potential is huge, and we have yet to find steady partners, only have a few irregular customers from the past. Just like Brazil, unpredictable custom procedures and high duty imposed deters the ordinary companies from directly importing any merchandise into Russia. We have to look for the right partners to start a more robust business in the Russian territory.
We received quite some visitors from the Russian speaking CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) countries. Our advantage, again, Russian language is readily available in our hardware and software, including in some of the marketing materials. Like what we always highlighted, “With FingerTec, we make everything easy.”
Ms Roza from Armenia
Mr. Kovalchuk (middle) from Ukraine and Mr. Batyr (left)
Thanks to Mr Kovalchuk Olekksandr, Axioma – Techno and Mr. Pastushenko Yuriy, Egida Ltd. from Ukraine; and Ms Karapetyan Roza, Elcomp Electronic Company from Armenia, who were unhesitant to purchase sample units on the spot. We hope our small steps would spark a bigger business collaboration in the future for the market of Russia and The Commonwealth of Independent States.
To thaw the icy reception, we put our best foot forward, presenting our Russian staff, Batyr Komurzoev, an avid economist who is pursuing his Phd in International Islamic University Malaysia at the frontline, for better communication and product’s localization process. I always believe in long-term business planning.
by Teh Hon Seng, CEO, FingerTec HQ
Dubai: Uprising Dream Hits The Ceiling
Burj Dubai, the tallest skyscraper in the world (computer image)
There is a prophecy saying the economic crisis will hit hard once a country built the tallest building in the world. It’s true to witness the opening of the then world’s highest Empire State Building in New York in the stumbling Great Depression in 1931. The Petronas Twin Towers of Malaysia celebrated its world’s tallest in 1997, and the Asia Economic Crisis descended the following year without warning. The Taipei’s 101 Tower overtook Malaysia’s record, its construction was in the middle of the Dot-Com Bubble burst in 2000 that affected Taiwan which was economy heavily depended on IT industry.
Now, the same omen seemed to haunt Dubai. The Burj Dubai was shot up into the Emirates’ skyline; currently stood at 818 meter high and could be higher. The jubilant of achieving the world’s record might not been felt at all, because the people in Dubai have already been slapped hard by the sloppy economy. Due to the job-cuts, a report says averagely 5000 expatriates fled the country everyday. Some even left their unworthy loaned cars behind unreclaimed which have piled up the parking bays of the new airport.
I flew the Emirates to Dubai with just a quarter of seats taken, but full occupancy when I returned to Kuala Lumpur. Some says the situation could be worsened in the next 6 months. A furrowed taxi driver told me his passengers were reduced by 40%, the shopping malls garnered thinner crowds than the previous years.
In fact, when a bubble is blown overly too large, it’s just a matter of time to expect a burst. When ones’ earnings cannot justify their extravaganza lifestyle, the credit chunk will crush anytime.
But some Emiratis welcomes the slowdown. "This is a blessing; we need it," Abdul Khaleq Abdullah, a political science professor at United Arab Emirates University, said of the fiscal crisis in an interview. "The city needs to slow down and relax. It's good for the identity of our country.” Emiratis have fretted for years over the loss of their culture, as social norms became more a product of the newcomers than of the nationals. Now, some are pinning their desires for a cultural salvation on the global economic downturn, which they hope will give them a chance to reassert their customs and way of life.
Mr. Ali Jaffal (left) from Palestine and Dr. Riyadh from Iraq
Mr. Maher Deiri (right) from Syria
Visitors from GCC countries at our booth
Despite the slowdown, our booth at the three-day InterSec Show still drew quite an extensive sum of visitors mainly from the Middle East and North Africa. Some FingerTec partners, direct or indirect, to name a few, like Dr. Riyadh of Al Salam Co. from Iraq; Mr Maher of New Al-Mawared Co. from Syria; Mr. Khalil of Betalink Technology from Yemen; Mr. Hazim of UltraTech from Sudan; Mr. Ali Jaffal of Jaffal Group from Palestine; Mr. Abdelhak of ADC Electronique from Algeria; Eng. Abbas M. Hussein of Larsa Trading, Mr. Tahir of Nice Technology and Mr. Tabish of The Ghazi Khoory Group from UAE; dropped by to say hello; not forgetting to mention Mr. Faisal from IPTEC and Mr Pillai and Mr. Abbas from Seven Seas in Dubai helping us at our stand. When FingerTec gains its popularity over here, the exhibition booth is also a meeting point for our partners to meet us and share their market experiences, besides drawing in some new prospects.
The economic downturn no doubt is taking some effects on Dubai, but the overall impact does not really spread to the other parts of GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries (yet?), I still expect the market bullish for FingerTec products in this region this year.
Next year, for the same show, we’ll come again.
by Teh Hon Seng, CEO, FingerTec HQ
Privacy Vs Transparency
Do you have a habit of writing a diary? If you didn’t, it doesn’t matter; your government may already help you to write one and detailing your daily activities without your knowledge.
Big Brother is watching you
Big Brother is always Watching You and the Thought Police can practically read your mind. This is a fictitious scenario described in famous George Orwell’s futuristic novel “1984” wrote actually in 1949 telling a tale happened in 1984. In fact, the surreal becomes real when the Iron-Curtain countries slowly formed after the World War II in 1945, and their people were being closely monitored to shut the influence from the Free World.
When the Russian Federation was established following the dissolution of Soviet Union in 1991, it ended the Cold War. Peace arrived, the world was merged again into one, and the terrifying Big Brother machinery was disintegrated. The optimists proclaimed.
The Clash of Civilizations
But Samuel P. Huntington (April 18, 1927 – December 24, 2008) published his thesis “The Clash of Civilizations” in 1996, offered a different perspective of the post Cold-War new world order, which predicted to be also full of conflicts and no less of wars, immediately sparked a mass discussion worldwide among intellectuals. In general, his viewpoints unfortunately proved to be true.
So does the supposedly dismantled Big Brother machinery. With the advancement of Information Technology, the monitoring system is evolved into a far more superior and effective than the once based on Thought Polices and espionage techniques to pry on ones’ privacy. And this time, it no longer confined to Iron-Curtain countries.
My explanation would be no match to Hollywood movies. In short, if the technologically equipped government has such an intention, they can easily strip you bare.
Government Vs People
The argument is, who should be more transparent, the government or the people? Besides, whose privacy should be protected, the government’s or the people’s? Technology didn’t take side and it stays neutral. If a technology was in a good hand, it brings welfare; if it was in reverse, it creates warfare, and in a larger scale.
The elected government should be responsible to their people; they have to take care of their people’s interest, they should be more transparent for accountability. In contrast, privacy should be protected for normal people, whether or not their self-interest is harmful to the society but with the punishment awaited when they’re proved wrongdoing.
Wisdom: The Key of Solutions
Just like Biometric identification technology, if you have wisdom and clear mind, you can use it to protect privacy in access control. Besides, to use it to achieve undisputable trails in time and attendance is also to promote accountability and honesty. You can’t stop the technology advancement, but you can use it in a good way.
With wisdom, privacy is not always confronted with the transparency, they can go in pair to benefit the human race.
by Teh Hon Seng, CEO, FingerTec HQ
Turkey: Tug-of-War with Eternity
A bridge linking the European side and the Asian side
Istanbul, aged two thousand years old but still a vibrant cosmopolitan city, and one of my must-visit top destinations, here I come.
The Istanbullus are very much in their own center of gravity, receiving foreign visitors in (luke) warm manner; and some turns cold shoulder. Perhaps, 6.5 million tourists (in 2007) flooded Istanbul city make them less enthusiasm for foreigners.
There is a bridge over the Bosphorus Strait linking the European side and Asian side, the interface and the mixture of civilization has inevitably engulfed Istanbul in an endless tug-of-war between the East and the West, between Islamic and Christianity, between ancient and contemporary, and between certainty and uncertainty of their own identity. It seemed like the Turkey's application to enter the European Union (previously the European Communities) has also becoming a long march of tug-of-war since 1987.
The rise and fall of the Roman Byzantine Empire and later by the multicultural Muslim Ottoman Empire nourished the culture in Istanbul, produced Mr. Orhan Pamuk, a Nobel Prize winner in Literature in 2006. His writing has a lot of reminiscence of the glorious past and depicting his brought-up city like a thin air of melancholy.
And Istanbul is situated at the hilly location where the modern asphalt roads and the old cobblestone pavements are free flowing up and down according to the land structure. Some alleys snaking and sloping into the residential apartments are even very steep.
Mr. Noharuddin Nordin, CEO of Matrade (right) dropped by our booth
Surprise!! Our former Deputy Prime Minister, Tun Musa Hitam (middle) came to the Booth. Mr. Tamizi, representing Matrade on the left
Is this guy, Fatih Gemi (staff from the opposite booth) resembling the model in our poster?
The 12th Musiad Exposition is well organized, unexpectedly attracted quite some foreign visitors from the neighborhood countries besides the domestic's. The Trade Show is in conjunction with the International Business Forum (IBF), hence it brought along a lot of decision makers.
Despite the wide range of industries covered in this Exhibition, FingerTec received quality inquiries from Kosovo Republic, Pakistan, Algeria, apart from the locals. Thumbs up also for Matrade (Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation) for their excellent works in arranging a Pavilion for Malaysia's exhibitors.
The second day after the Trade Show, I have a meeting with one of my prospective customers in his office in Perp Tic. Merkezi in Okmeydani Istanbul. It is a very large 13-storey complex that housed approximately 5 thousands mainly electrical or electronic products merchants' offices. It is common for buyers and sellers to involve in tug-a-war in business dealings in Turkey, and the whole process took me a 6-long hour. At the end, I gulped at least ten cups of Turkish Tea over their hospitality.
Turkish Tea, Turkish delights
by Teh Hon Seng, CEO, FingerTec HQ
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