Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Inspiring

The Ah Kau Story
> >
> >
> > Ah Kau is a guy who sells newspaper every morning next to
> > your apartment, and you are one of his daily regular
> > customers. Before dashing off to your office every day,
> > you will go to his small stall and buy The Star
> > newspaper. Wearing a newly pressed shirt, a tie, and a
> > pair of Clarks shoes, you grab a copy of The Star, pay
> > RM1.20 and exchange smiles with Ah Kau and greet him.
> >
> >
> > "Apa macam Ah Kau ini hari? Bisnes ada baik?"
> >
> >
> > The normal greeting like you do every day. Yes, Ah Kau
> > doesn't speak Eng lish. He speaks Chinese and knows a
> > little bit of Malay. He speaks a little bit of Malay but
> > with a very thick Chinese accent.
> >
> >
> > "Biasa saja! ini bisnes aa, kadang kadang baik, kadang
> > kadang tada untung."
> >
> >
> > "Biasalah hidup. Kadang kadang ok, kadang kadang tak
> > ok." You give Ah Kau a pat on the back. You smile and
> > walk away and get into your car. You start the engine and
> > start driving to your office, a multinational
> > semiconductor company located in a premier industrial
> > area. You are a young and promising finance executive and
> > the future looks bright for you.
> >
> >
> > A year goes by and things look pretty good on the track.
> > You decide to marry your fiance and have your new wife
> > moves in to your place. Both of you feel happy because
> > you can save more money as the two of you will be sharing
> > one apartment and can live as one.
> >
> >
> > Ah Kau is still selling the newspaper as usual. Sometimes
> > in the morning your wife gets the newspaper from Ah Kau
> > instead of you.
> >
> >
> > A year later a child comes along, and you decide to buy
> > and move into a newly developed condominium just across
> > the street. This place is bigger so it will be perfectly
> > fit for the 3 of you. But since both of you are working,
> > you decide to get a maid to take of the household and
> > your kid.
> >
> >
> > By this time you're offered a managerial job from
> > another multinational; the remuneration package offered
> > is much better in terms of the pay, contractual bonus,
> > medical benefits, ESOS scheme and a few others which make
> > it impossible for you to decline. So you join this
> > company happily.
> >
> >
> > You get busier. You realize that you spend less and less
> > time with your family. When your department is busy
> > preparing for the next audit, your working hours become
> > more and more ridiculous. Any internal issues arising in
> > the office means you'll be stuck in the office until 8
> > or 9 pm. Sometimes, during the weekend, you'll spend
> > your time in your office, buried under paper works and
> > documentation's, instead of taking your family for a walk
> > in the park.
> >
> >
> > One morning, on your way to get your copy of The Star,
> > you realized that Ah Kau is no longer in his stall. So is
> > his rundown motorbike. Instead, there's another young
> > Chinese guy at the stall.
> >
> >
> > "What happen to Ah Kau?" You ask out of curiosity.
> >
> >
> > "Oh, he is still around, but he is no longer taking care
> > of this stall as he has opened up a new grocery shop down
> > town. I am running this newspaper stall for him."
> >
> >
> > "Ok." you smile. You feel happy for Ah Kau. At last
> > he manages to improve his life.
> >
> >
> > Your normal life continues. A year passes by and at the
> > end of your company's fiscal year, you're rewarded for
> > your effort with a 5 months bonus pay-out by your
> > employer. Wow. Now that is a very handsome reward. You
> > feel your effort has been equally compensated. To
> > celebrate, you decide that it's time to trade your
> > 5-year old Proton Wira to the latest Honda Civic model.
> > It won't be much a problem to you to get a loan scheme
> > from the bank as your pay slip will provide you an easy
> > gateway to access financial help from any bank.
> >
> >
> > One day, the hardest reality of life hits you right on>
> > the face. The company that you've been working for years
> > announces that they're moving their business to China
> > for cost and competitive reason and has asked you to find
> > a job somewhere else. "What?" You scream out cold. "I
> > got a lot of liabilities on the card! Who's gonna pay
> > for my mortgage? My car? My credit card? My gym fees? My
> > bills?" You yell like there's no way out.
> >
> >
> > This is the first time you feel let down by your own
> > employer. All your hard work seem to go up on the smoke.
> > You feel sick. You now hate your company. On the way
> > home, you stopped by at a mamak restaurant for a cup of
> > teh tarik while pondering about your future. Alone.
> >
> >
> > Suddenly you saw this new, shiny BMW 3 series being
> > parked nearby. And to your surprise, it was Ah Kau. Yes,
> > Ah Kau who used to sell newspapers nearby your old
> > apartment. "What happened to old Ah Kau?" You whisper
> > to your self.
> >
> >
> > Ah Kau still recognizes you, and sit next to you, and
> > shared his story.
> >
> >
> > To make it short, Ah Kau had accumulated his money from
> > selling newspapers to open more stalls, one after
> > another. Every new stall is run by his workers so that he
> > focused on opening more and more stalls, which in turn
> > give him more and more money. Over the years, he had
> > accumulated enough cash to open up new grocery store
> > while at the same time buying more assets to grow his
> > wealth. And his current wealth and success is achieved
> > without any loan or financial help from banks and other
> > financial institutions.
> >
> >
> > There you go. That's the story. While Ah Kau is set to
> > become financially free, you're back to where you're
> > started before. Ground zero.
> >
> >
> > Before leaving, Ah Kau gives you a familiar quote,
> >
> > " Biasalah hidup. Kadang kadang ok, kadang kadang tak ok."
> > He gives you a pat on the back and walks away.
> >
> >
> > In reality, if you're observant enough, there are a lot
> > of Ah Kaus out there, that you will see every day and
> > every where you go. The names are different, but inside
> > them is every character of Ah Kau. They might be Uncle
> > Dorai, Ah Chong, Pak Abu, Makcik Gemuk, Pak Man nasi
> > lemak or others.
> >
> >
> > They look to be struggling on the surface, but if you
> > look carefully and compare with you life, many of them
> > are living with little or no liabilities. They ride an
> > old kapcai bike. They live in an old rundown house.
> > They don't have credit card to swipe. They wear a
> > 10-year old shirt and short. No new, shiny Toyota
> > Harrier. In short, their living means are far below than
> > yours. But what you don't realize is that many of them
> > can save more money than yours, and over the years
> > generate enough money to expand their business, or invest
> > in properties. Their asset columns are much thicker than
> > that of yours.
> >
> >
> > So the next time you see Ah Kaus, never look down on
> > them, and never under estimate them. Or else you're up
> > for a harsh reality lesson.