A New Japan Possibly?

The images horrific. The face of the clearly saddened Emperor on national TV. Helicopters pouring sea water onto menacing and smoky nuclear reactors The death toll mounting and the financial cost running into hundreds of billions of dollars.
Then we watch or read or hear of amazing stories of Japanese dignity and discipline. We see them reaching out a helping hand while shedding tears for their own kin’s who lie dead next to them. We see the youth of Japan rising to the challenge behind the scenes. We see how Americans scrambled their civilian and military assets in answer to the SOS from their post World War 2 ally.
Once the dust settles and the mud cleared and the dead buried, we will see a new Japan. Japan is like a Phoenix with 9 lives. You just can't keep her down. The 1923 and 1995 earthquakes ( I hate to name earthquakes/disasters by the name of the cities where it hits...Its not the way I would like KL to be remembered!), the great firebombing and nuclear bombing of World War 2 and many others similar disasters have not been able to keep the Japanese down. I doubt this tsunami will.
But, I suspect that the Japan that rises again this time will be different. Entirely different from what a whole generation of us have come to view it. We will see the 'silent' and 'indifferent' youth of Japan rising to a new world order. They will use their new-found respect and confidence to make Japan great once again. Perhaps the Japanese political and economic order will face a test of youth angst. Perhaps Japan will find new allies and soul-mates.
Perhaps, Japan will finally conclude that they have paid enough for the sins of their fathers (to the dismay of those hypocritical hawks and doves out there who are constantly reminding the Japanese of their military past).
The question that remains is: Which path will the new Japan take? I kind of think that the new Japan will be one that is nice to have in the region.
To all my Japanese colleagues and clients : Be brave….this too shall pass.

Economic Progress Doesn't Guarantee Freedom and Liberty

American and Western conglomerates are probably working overtime with their PR spin-doctors right now trying to explain to their own countries how is that they have been investing so heavily in countries that today are killing its own citizens.
Allowing for and being able to build and host a Formula 1 race or hosting glitzy polo tournaments or turning desert lands into economic oasis are not by themselves a precursor to more freedom and liberty. Western companies that so gleefully justified their relationships with repressive regimes around the world on the premise that economic development will bring about democracy and the rule of law knew all along that this was just a big mumbo jumbo. They were there for the money because these countries were ripe for the picking.
So in that respect, I think China have been honest about its increasingly dominant economic presence in some of the most dangerous places on earth in terms of personal safety and freedom. The Chinese don't have any pretensions. They go in for the money and leave when things go bad. Not that I agree with this but at least they don't try to blow smoke over our eyes. Of course, China might be the next in line for some flowery revolution soon.
So perhaps, it’s time for business barons from around the world to say "We were wrong and we will not do business with these repressive regimes until they change their ways. We will not allow them to use the prosperity that our monies have brought them to buy weapons to kill their own citizens". This includes Malaysian companies.
Perhaps also we should invest and help prosper countries that have genuine democratic aspirations or have proven democratic records but are hampered by various socio-economic challenges. This will be good investment.

Are we forgetting something?

I remember a chain email (the nice type) that I received not too long ago from my cousin sister. It was about a university professor trying to teach his students that 'everybody that they come in contact with are important and must be acknowledged as such'. So, the final question on his test was 'What is the name of the cleaning lady'. This question carries the same weight as all the other questions that were directly related to the course material. Doubtless, all the students failed to give the correct answer (name). But then, that peculiar question prompted them to seek out that cleaning lady to learn her name. From that day onwards, she 'became important and was acknowledged'.

Now, this little story has deep meanings. Perhaps not what was intended by the professor but nevertheless true.

Recent studies and surveys (including that of Manpower Inc, my parent organisation)shows that skilled and manual labour are the top most difficult positions to fill in both developed and emerging markets. This refers to the truck drivers, welders, brick layers, deep sea salvage divers, crane operators, lab technicians, chemical workers, steel workers, bus drivers, sanitation workers, gardeners, etc. You get the picture? The world is in short supply of those individuals who actually keep the wheel of commerce and our daily lives spinning smoothly.

Malaysians should be familiar with this story line. Just look at who are erecting our buildings and serving us our daily coffee at the kopitiam. Our bus operators just can’t get the good guys to the extent that they hire drug addicts and former cons. In fact our plantations too rely heavily on foreign workers. Perhaps, the recent call by the President of MIC encouraging Indians who desperately need a job to consider working in the estates should not be seen as something regressive. In fact, 'return to plantations' should be a battle cry to encourage people of all backgrounds to begin looking at these jobs in a new light. Perhaps, the government should also stop staying that RM900.00 a month is good money. Come on! As I am writing this, I have a tray of Burger King stuff in front of me that cost almost RM23.00. My parking fees will be about RM20.00 by the time I am done with my next client meeting. Even in rural areas, the cost of living is not as cheap as what our politicians would like us to believe. But that’s a story for another time....

This can be helped tremendously with the right support from our education system and the society at large. The over emphasis on white collar jobs and academic excellence have robbed us of many valuable talents who could have provided us the needed skilled labour. The disparity in salary and the continuous lethargy of the labour organisations in not fighting for a reasonable wage, worker protection and a social safety net have resulted in most people shying away from these critical jobs. In fact, our entire social eco-system is build on and around white collar jobs and middle class culture. We reward kids who earn 15As while we neglect the ones that don’t make the grade although they have a natural talent in agriculture, sports, wood work, mechanical work, etc.

So, yes we must have more doctors, teachers and engineers. Yes, we must have more bio-technologists and IT experts. But we also must have enough of those people who are needed to support these white-collar jobs and they need to be respected, paid well and celebrated as an integral part of nation building.

Blue collar skilled jobs must find a respectable space under the Malaysian sun or we shall face a growth stagnation as we struggle to find enough brick-layers while a room full of architects sit around wondering what to do next.

Welcome to the Career Psychologist

Welcome to the Career Psychologist

The Human Age