The Arrogance of Authority & The Impertinence of Stupidity

Got this great story to share with all

A DEA officer stopped at a ranch in Texas , and talked with an old rancher. He told the rancher, "I need to inspect your ranch for illegally grown drugs." The rancher said, "Okay, but don't go in that field over there.....", as he pointed out a distant location.

The DEA officer verbally exploded, saying, " Mister, I have the authority of the Federal Government with me!" Reaching into his rear pants pocket, he removed his badge and proudly displayed it to the rancher. "See this badge?! This badge means I am allowed to go wherever I wish.... on ANY land!! No questions asked or answers given!! Have I made myself clear...... do you understand???"
The rancher nodded politely, apologized, and went about his chores. A short time later, the old rancher heard loud screams, looked up and saw the DEA officer running for his life, being chased by the rancher's enormous Santa Gertrudis bull...…

With every step the bull was gaining ground on the officer, and it seemed likely that the officer would be gruesomely gored before he reached safety. The man was clearly terrified. The rancher threw down his tools, ran to the fence and yelled at the top of his lungs.....
                         (you will love this part….)

                        "Your badge........ show him your BADGE!!"

Language - The Power Tool

Language, they say is the most powerful tool to succeed in getting your message across to the audience. The utmost important must-do way is by using normal conversational language as a tool. When I say, conversational language, it doesn't need to be perfectly constructed sentences. The infamous Manglish (English spoken in localized Malaysian slang with localized words) is one conversational language. Same can be applied for other local languages as well. Knowing the language is one thing. Being proficient in it is another thing. Being able to use it to appeal to the right audience is another whole new level.

I usually train my Customer Service personnels to adapt to customer's language level to be able to create a rapport with them. Giving dummies example, if a German is working in Japan, he can't speak German to the colleagues. Of course, they can speak a common language, such as English. However, if he's to learn Japanese & speak to the colleagues, it brings the rapport & relationship to a higher level. Even, in any tasks in our working environment, we can use this method too. This can be demonstrated in below some real-life scenarios below:-

MESSAGE: To check driver status & to inform him on the urgency to deliver the goods to customer

Speaking to Malay driver (Malay language)
Me: Bang, ko kat mana ni? (Bro, where are u now?)
Driver: Aku kat Shah Alam ni, dekat roundabout JVC. (I'm in Shah Alam now, nearby JVC roundabout)
Me: Barang Canon tu, ko hantar cepat pi sana ya. Aku dah kena marah teruk dengan customer ni (U  know the Canon goods, please deliver it urgently, okay?? I've already got scolded by customer)
Driver: Ya ker? OK, lagi 10 minit sampai. (Is it?? OK, be right there in 10 minutes)
Me: OK, timo kaseh ya (OK, thank you)

Speaking to Indian driver (Malay language)
Me: A-ne, lu sekarang kat mana? (Bro, where are you now??)
Driver: Saya kah? Saya dekat.....tol USJ. Kejap lagi sampai. (Me?? Me now nearby.....USJ toll. Will arrive there shortly)
Me: Itu macam kah? Itu barang Canon ahh...lu bawa kan? Itu manyak urgent lahh. Lu cepat-cepat hantar sana ahh. Itu customer sudah manyak marah lahh (Is it??U know that Canon goods? Ur carrying it right?? It's an urgent goods, could u please deliver it urgently. The customer is very angry now)
Driver: Ya kah? OK, OK, nanti sekejap sampai (Is it?? OK, OK, will arrive there shortly)
Me: OK, thank you ahhh. (OK, thank you)

Speaking to Chinese driver (Cantonese language)
Me: Tailo, yi kar lei hai pin to??  (Bro, where are you now??)
Driver: Yi kar ahh?? Yi kar ngo hai USJ toll kor to (Now?? Now. I'm nearby USJ toll)
Me: Tiew lo !!!  Ko ti Canon for ha mai, ho chung yu ka. Ngo pei hap chai tiew to ho sai lik...Fai tit sung hoi kor to, ma fan lei. (Fu**!!! U know the Canon goods, it's very urgent u know. I got fu** nicely by customer. Could u please deliver it urgently?? Thanks)
Driver: K&%%& !!! Ho lah ho lah. Ngo chun leong ahhh (K&%*!! OK, OK, will do my best)
Me: Mmmm koi lei ahh, ha si cheng lei yamcha (Thank you very much, will buy u drinks next time)

I'm truly grateful to be able to grasp the local conversational language, be it in Malay, English or dialects like Cantonese, Hokkien etc thru exposures in my education years in national schools & current working environment. My only regret is not learning Mandarin properly during my schooling years, which I promised myself not to let it happen to my children. Not undermining some people putting priority for their children on learning internationally recognized language such as English & Mandarin, but many of us may have forgotten about the having language skills required to work in a Malaysian environment.

True, learning English & Mandarin is important & in fact, should be made a priority for all children. Unless, we're training ourselves to work in oversea country for all our life, we mustn't ignore the other languages as well such as Malay & local dialects such as Cantonese, Hokkien, which sadly I think is slowly dying. As what I mentioned earlier, grasping the conversational language (not necessarily need to master) to survive in a Malaysian environment. We took for granted on having a home country with cultures so diverse that we forgotten that it's actually a free training ground for our children to learn multiple languages, all at the same time. Something to ponder on for the parent wannabes or for those planning education for their child....

Kawe pergi Kelate...

What did u do when ur struggling to cope with stress in a fast paced city? De-stress urself in a slow-paced city with a laidback style, or better still celebrating a happy occasion with bunch of cheerful ppl there...that's what practically happened last month.

Went with several Mahikari Youths to be part of a beautiful wedding of Hock Shai & Li Lian back in Shai's hometown Kuala Krai, Kelantan. Geographically, it's 64 km south of Kota Bahru about 1.5 hours drive by road from the state capital. With wide choices of tranportation modes available, all of us went like in 3 different routes thru Air Asia (that's my group) & Malaysia Airlines by air and another group by car. Upon arrival, Shai arranged for his relatives to pick us up & drive down to Kuala Krai. Our car went to Pasir Mas first for "ayam percik" (a nationwide famous grilled chicken with specially marinated sauce) as someone was craving for it & need it fast. How to know more of a newly found place & its people? Learn of its local dialect from the local people of cos. Took a crash course Kelantanese Malay during the journey to Kuala Krai, thanks to tutoring from Shai's brother. It is well known that the Malay spoken in Kelantan is "kao kao pekat". "Kawe dah lapor, nak make ayam percik. Demo nak make??" (I'm hungry, wanna have ayam percik. U wanna have some?)

Heavenly "ayam percik". Still tastes delicious even when it's cold

Arrived 1.5 hours later to find the M'sia Airlines gang waiting at the pre wedding gathering at Shai's house. By 6pm, everyone has arrived & enjoying the tradional Thai dish, "kaojam". The guys hang out with the groom till late nite. The gals went back to a rented house with the bride. Woke up little early & found time to chat with Shai's uncles while waiting for others to wake up. U see, everythin seems to be so foreign in Kelantan even if ur speaking the native Hokkien with the locals there. The local Hokkien seems to have the mixture of some Siamese & Kelantanese Malay influences in it & difficult to understand at first, but the message is still understood in the end..:)

Finally arrived at groom's longhouse style home in Kuala Krai

Having a try of Thai-made Tiger & Chang beers

By 9 am, everyone was ready & moved to pick up the bride. Guys have prepared for any circumstances, posed by the gals at the house. CY even bought his "kachang" (Japanese sword used in kendo martial sports), just in case the "negotiation" turn violent. For this time around, challenges posed are much lighter, compared to other weddings before this. Thank you gals..:) We are made to eat pancakes & drink Milo. All of them added with chillies or certain spicy spices I think. Groom was then made to drink bowl of supersour lemon juice before allowed entry into bride's room.

Am I ready? I Think I am!! Do I?? Probably I do..

The compulsory tea ceremony was held before we went back to groom's home for another tea ceremony & prayer etc. Had nasi dagang & other local dishes, catered for lunch. Hang out for a while in the house before some of us went back to KL. My group went back to the rented home to take a short nap as our flight back home was at night. Had tomyam + Chinese dinner in Kota Bahru before flying back to KL.

Lunch - Nasi dagang & local dishes

Group photo with some of the remaining peeps after wedding

With Mr & Mrs Teo...

Work Work Work

Dunno what am I thinkin about but tis is the first post about my career. Just that, nv wrote about it & so, why not this time? Whenever I said I'm in a freight forwarding industry, people will give that blank stare and the synonymous "Huh?? Freight what?" And my typical answer (simple one as not to confuse them further) will be like "U know DHL or Fedex?? We're somethin like that, just that we're focused more on industrial sector." So, let tis post enlightens u peeps' ehh??

Currently working in this company called Nippon Express Malaysia Sdn Bhd for 5.5 years now, stationed in its KLIA airport branch in the import department. Company quite a big thing in Japan where they're almost equilvalent to Pos Malaysia and there's also offices & agents all over the major countries in 5 continents. Check out the website http://www.nipponexpress.com/ Back in M'sia, our airfreight division is the top forwarder in M'sia for 8 years in the row now. And being a Jap company, naturally majority of our clienteles boast of Japanese biggies & other SMEs. Wonder if there's any commissions of sorts for promoting the company in this blog...hehheeehe

So, the simple process in our department will be like getting the imported goods out from the flights, clear them in customs & deliver to clients asap. Sounds easy, but with almost 250 staffs in KLIA office & almost 70 staffs in import department alone plus volatility of the industry, every passing day is a challenge & of cos, new experiences to gain. Being in a managerial level, nv that I imagine that I could actually practice what I've learnt before. Studied Business Admins majoring in Marketing, it is a wonderful God arrangement for me to practice this on daily basis. Will talk in details in future post. Being a 24/7 company, phones ringing during wee hours in the morning is pretty normal routine. Not to mention also the stress level which can reach up to ur head (to almost explosion level) during peak & critical times, having to attend to multiple demands (sometimes ridiculous) of multinational companies despite of existence of uncontrollable factors in weather, political, economical & other areas.

Of cos there are funny memorable experiences too, besides the forgettable bad ones. Earlier this year, we need to clear a newly arrived dog from Japan & to deliver to its owner in Johor Bahru. Our new Jap manager was monitoring closely due to the dog owner is a MD for one of the major clients. All necessary customs & health documentations were in order with special handling requests were in place as well. All that we were told is its a 4 years old St Bernard and it requires at least air-conditioned surroundings for its logistics. Refrigerated truck is a no-no or the owner's best friend will be freezed to death. Arranged an Avanza though to carry the dog to JB. However when the dog arrived, everybody were shocked & tis Jap panicked. Nv thought a 4 years old St Bernard (let's call it Bernie) can be so huge sized. When Bernie stands, it almost as tall as myself. Naturally the cage was too big to be fitted into the Avanza & arranging a bigger van will take another 2 hours at least. With the humid weather, the logistics will need to be done fast. The best option is to release Bernie & get it to sit in the passenger seat and dissemble the cage. Probably being new to the environment, Bernie was stubborn & not wanting to get into the van. Thank goodness, Bernie finally relented & even agreed to put on seat belt (good dog!!) I could have taken photos of that as it looked cute in it !!! hehehe

There's many more stories later & stay tuned ya....

Ronaldo Leaves United

Stumbled upon these videos in Youtube, referring to the recent speculation of Ronaldo joining Real Madrid. Freaking funny if ur a footie fan, no offence to the Manchester United fans though...enjoy !!!

Petrol - A Necessity or Luxury?

Just something to laugh about & make u feel better while pumping ur petrol. Might not be funny for some though...