By the way – those rumors that happen be circulating in the grapevine, that we have pulled out, they’re all true – yes, you’ve got it straight from the horses mouth– I just came here to personally switch off the lights and tie off some loose ends.
As some of you may already know we were recently in KL to resite our brand new gaming hub and relocate many of our hard assets.
During that period, we had plenty of time to catch up with our Malaysian friends – one of them even invited us to join a group called Go Local Lah, which is a facebook group that aims to support made in Malaysia products.
I mean the whole deal sounds sensible enough; the economy is bad, so the whole idea of buying Malaysian is presumably to shore up the local economy by giving it a regimen of steroids – nothing wrong with that, till you need to vote for the idea with your wallet.
Don’t get me wrong, I am all for patriotism, nationalism etc – but I am also mindful as an idea it can also be taken too far; and pushed what’s good can even be squeezed out leaving nothing except narrow mindedness and possibly xenophobia along with all the bad things that I rather not mention.
My take is simple Simon some decisions should have absolutely nothing to do with nationalism, state or even the whole idea of citizenry and everything to do with hardnosed business sense.
I shared this tit bit with my Malaysian host, she retorted; so you’re telling me, I shouldn’t be driving a Proton Darkness. I retorted curtly, well tell me, why do you drive a Proton? To which she proudly replied because it’s made in Malaysia for Malaysians and if we don’t support it, then we may not be able to continue to enjoy the fruits of industrialization – I really wanted to keep it nice, so I just left it there – but on my scorecard, I marked her down severely for her lack of business IQ, to me a car is a big ticket purchase and if you end up driving a coffin on 4 wheels no amount of patriotic fervor is going to change those lousy conditions. I am not saying Proton is a lousy car; I happen to know for a fact: it’s a lousy car and that started me thinking am I willing to support a product or service just because it originated from my country? The answer has to be a simple: no. However, ask me again: Am I willing to support that same product or service if it’s comparable in terms of value and quality to other products?
Yes. Call me self centered, but my point is simply this; I am not willing to make a blind sacrifice on the altar of nationalism, like this dumb woman who bought a Proton just because someone on TV told her if she did just that, she would be helping the local economy; the way I see if manufacturers, service providers and even the tea lady don’t even bother to accord me the respect that I rightly deserve as a consumer by trying their level best to met my needs – then why in the hell should I even bother to support them?
That’s not how intelligent folk regularly make good decisions – they don’t pile different things that have nothing to do with each other and attempt to square off the accounts – only seriously confused people do that - apart from the issue of cool runs; there is also the moral delimma; I work hard for my right to spend my money, so why in the world should I compromise on the whole idea of less is more simply because it was produced in my country? Again it makes absolutely no sense to me; unless I happen to be into self flagellation.
The way I see it, the whole idea of supporting the local economy has to first make sound business sense before it can even take off as an idea; as, if let’s say I decide to buy a local product just because its produced by a Singaporean firm – then I should really ask myself: am I endorsing excellence or am I just condoning a way of doing business that I may not completely agree with? Am I actually doing that firm and those who may depend on it a favor? Or am I just keeping the status quo ante in place so that those firms remain so bovine and flabby that they will have absolutely no motivation to improve their business processes to deliver greater value and accountability to those who may have a stake in it? That just goes to show you how nationalism for nationalism sake by it’self so often leads to a hall of mirrors.
Some people may say, well it’s a chicken and egg situation Darkness – if you don’t support them when they’re lousy, then how do you expect them to improve? I’m sorry, but I don’t see endorsing lousy products and services as a intelligent starting line. Neither do I buy into the whole claptrap, it all begins with an act of good faith. Let’s get real, no one in their right frame of mind starts buying lousy products in the hope that manufacturers and service providers will eventually wake up and see the light and start producing world class products and services. To me that’s akin to putting the horse before the cart.
The way I see it, the power to buy, elect, select and exercise your prerogative to say – yes, no or give me some time to think about it - just happens to be your elemental right; it’s also your ace card (and just in case, you didn’t know it; no one can ever take that from you) - that means whatever decision you make should never be premised on hope or faith, if anything, it has to be evidenced based – if faith alone really had the power to turn the wheels of trade and commerce, then the whole idea of capitalism would haved cease to exist as an economic theory a long time ago –fact remains, people will always try to get away by trying to peddle off less is more given half the chance – matters little whether it’s a second hand car dealer, bent pastor or crooked politician whose out to cream the long run by selling you the short end of the stick.
I am a good businessman. So I know when it’s time to cut my losses / one reason why remain good is because I enjoy giving others a good deal – for one I find it immensely satisfying and through the years; I haven’t yet found a better way to ensure they will always come back for more of the good stuff.
Only I like to receive a good deal as well from time to time - and if it’s short I’ve insist on the quantifiable good to drive out the measurable bad; if the accounts don’t square, bye -bye, nothing personal, it’s just business.
You have to be an excellent service provider, if you want our patronage. It’s a buyer’s market, so get with it, don’t fight it, otherwise it’s going to be uphill all the way.
You might think I’m harsh. So what if I am? Call it tough love. I love my country, but I won’t support lousy business conditions that do very little to create the right conditions for e-business to take off. The way I see it, it’s very simple, if you say to yourself, you’re not going to settle for anything but the best – don’t be surprise, if you get what you wish for and vice versa – that’s how life has always worked – we may or may not return, it really depends – or maybe we will just go on permafrost mode- but that’s another story I rather discuss when and if we decide to power up again.
For the time being, we may have already passed the point of no return – sometimes, when a decision is made, for better or worse you just need to go with the flow - so lets just blow out the candle together and quietly say to ourselves, we had a good run for what it’s worth.
Someday. You will all see, we will make it over the brow of that rainbow – like I always said we will….someday, it will just all come together beautifully. Brotherhood Press powering off now – see you all, you know where.
Darkness 2009
