"Just give him this money and come back.” I told Melvin

I felt terrible today. Almost like another wake up call. I will share with you more another time.

I am staying at the Marriott hotel in Kuala Lumpur. I need to go to my office in Dataram Prima about 30 minutes away. The taxi stand is quite empty. I don’t want to bother my staff to come pick me up so I decided to take a cab to the office. In front of me was a Caucasian man with his girlfriend. The first cab came and they took it.

Another cab was queuing behind. I told the bell man that I'd like to go to Dataram Prima. The bell man opened the cab door for me and I hopped in. I repeated to the cab driver “Dataram Prima please”.

The driver is an Indian man. He started to drive off without acknowledging me. I said again “Dataram Prima, do you know the place?” I could sense that he is uncertain but he keeps driving. “It is somewhere in PJ, do you know the place?” I asked.

"The fare is RM 30” He said. “That is ok.” I replied.

Usually I can take a cab from Marriott Hotel to my office for only RM 25. I am not in the mood for bargaining because I have to call into a conference call from my mobile phone and I am opening my computer to read the notes first.

Tom Hua, Brett, Phoebe and Veronica are already on the conference call. I called in but I could not hear them clearly. The phone reception on the highway is not clear. Halfway there, the cab driver asked if I'd like him to wait to take me back. I told him there is no need to wait for me.

Then he commented, “The place is very far, should be RM35, not RM30.” I just ignored him. He drove past the Motorola factory, then Yamaha School. “Further down please, turn right after you pass the Catholic Church. My office is around the corner.” I directed him.

“Wow... so far, should be RM 40” he grumbled. He raised the fare from RM30 to RM35 and now to RM40. We passed the main gate and entered block D where my office is located. “Please stop in front of the silver Volvo” I said. That is Jennifer’s, our senior manager, Volvo. He stopped. I took out a RM 50 bill and handled it to him.

“It is RM 40.” He held on to the RM50 bill and wanted to give me just RM 10 change. “No, it is RM 30 as you have quoted in the beginning,” I said calmly. “Very far lah, must be RM 40, still holding on to the RM 50 bill. “Hey”, I raised my voice. “You are trying to cheat.” I raised my voice louder.

On that, I snapped back the RM 50 bill from his hand, opened the cab door and just walked away. “ok, ok ok” I could hear him agreeing from behind me. I ignored him, walk into the building and took a lift to my office.

Cab drivers like this one give the tourist industries a bad name and damages even a nation’s reputation. In this case, it is Malaysia. I want to teach him a lesson. I am not going to pay him.
Not everyone is so easily taken advantage of.

15 minutes must have passed. I looked at the money I snapped back; there was another RM10 bill with the RM 50 bill. The RM10 does not belong to me. Aiyah, I not only did not pay him but I must have also snapped his money by accident.

I felt better now. Instead of making some money, now the Indian Cab driver loses money. He must be down there in a shock.

“Melvin”, I called. Melvin is the project executive in the office. “Can you take RM 35, and go down and look for an Indian cab driver. Just give him this money and come back.”

You have to "stand up for what you believe" and yet also "do the right thing."

Don't judge a preson just by their dressing

Earlier, I just took a stroll along the polluted river. My heart goes to the new found species of clouded leopard that lived in the Borneo jungle.

Wearing jeans and an ordinary shirt, HK is sitting at the back of the room, diligently taking notes as I speak about “making money on the internet”.. He must be about 50 plus in age.

There are about 100 professionals in the room. I have done this same presentation many times the last two week as I traveled across Asia. The responses have been overwhelming. I am overwhelming by the people I meet, especially in small towns. They are very friendly.

In Surabaya, a lady gave me a small handmade pouch for my hand phone. In Bali, a lady sent home cook meals for my breakfast, lunch and dinner. Not only for me but my whole team of staff.

My presentation ended at about 9.30 pm.

After my presentation, HK offered to show me the town. I told him I have to wake up early to go to the airport. “Sibu is a small place, it is very fast, only takes a few minutes” said HK. “If only a while, it is ok”. I said. I left my computer at the hotel reception and hopped into his car. He drove around enthusiastically briefing me like a professional tour guide. Occasionally, he slowed his car to explain some location.

“Are you hungry?” he asked. “Oh, I can go back to the hotel and order room service” I said. “Just around the corner only, got very good food.” He point to a shop with lights on. “Ok if it is fast,” I said. “It is very fast, don’t worry." "What do you like to eat?" He asked. “I don’t mind some simple food, not too much” I replied. When the food came, it was for an army of people. “What drink do you like?” he asked. “Do they have soda here?” I asked. “Sure, they have the world's best soda here, you should try them” and he ordered the soda drink for me.. When the bottled soda drink arrived, I tasted it. “Very nice” I said.

The waitress nearby heard me and said “He is the owner of the soda bottling plant, the biggest here, like Coca Cola.” If the waitress had not mentioned it, I would never know that I was having dinner with the owner of a successful soft drink business. Wow, I learned to never judge a person by the cloth he wear.

HK dressed very simply but he is a very humble and successful person. I fly toKL, Malaysia tomorrow morning.

Avoiding Traffic Jams in Jakarta

Andy said "Boss, you have to be ready at 6.30am .. don't get up too early please". That is a big surprise to me.

I have to take an early flight from Jakarta, Indonesia to Kuala Lumpur (KL) and then take another flight to Kuching in East Malaysia.

Ooooohh no, I have to get up at 5 am and be ready to go at 5.30am. My Jakarta - KL flight is at 7. 30 am. The journey to the airport is an hour. I have missed this flight on at least one occaion before because of the unpredictable traffic jams. It is not that the road is crowded with cars, rather it is the condition of the road or a fallen tree or flood or accident. The traffic is just unpredictable here in Jakarta. After 10 years doing business in Jakarta, I am all quite used to it.

"ahh, 6.30am is too late, it's got to be 5.30 am" I replied firmly, because I don't want to be late again. He smiled. "Don't worry, we have prepared a helicoptor for you." You will be in the airport on time. Haha, that is a pleasant surprise for me. My friend Tung told me last month that he was getting a helicopter but I did not know that he was serious about it. I don't think anyone in Singapore would want to own a helicopter because there is no need to have one. But in Jakarta, it will be useful to beat the traffic.

I have an extra hour of sleep. At 6.30 am, we went up to the roof of the hotel. There is a helipad there. The ride to the airport is very pleasant. We landed inside the international airport. There is a car waiting to bring me straight to the gate and board the plane. No custom check, no immigration hassle. It is nice when you can afford all this. If not, then have friends who can afford it.

I have to be in 3 more cities before I head back to Singapore. I have to be in Kuching, Sibu and Kota Kindaburu. All these cities are in East Malaysia. East Malaysia is rich in natural resources and the have the oldest primary forest in the world.

My thought goes to my daugther Grace. She just started work on Monday. I was thinking of sending her to her first day of work ... BUT I was not in town, Life is full of all the "But". She is a sensible and wonderful lady. Very pretty too, looks like me .. haha.

Grace has a strong character (another word for stubborn.) She once sat on the dining table holding a book to read when she was about 13 or 14. I reprimanded her for sitting on the table. She replied "Dad, why can't I sit on the table?" "The dining table is for us to have our meal, not for sitting on." I replied. " Why not, sitting on the table is closer to the lamp?" I remembered we had a small battle of words then. At dinner time, I asked her to sit on the table to have her meal. She cried and ran to her room. This is Grace, "strong character." After she finished her university, she went to be a missionary volunteer as an English teacher in a small town in Malaysia for a year before she went back to finish her master's degree. She found a job in the Singapore foreign affairs.

My computer is running out of battery .. To be continue later...