Mindset (Part II)

I have been talking about mindset last few weeks before in part I. Now, I just want to continue on some of the issue that I personally think is important to highlight it to have our young generation, especially from my own group of people, Iban.

In the 1st part of Mindset, I have talked about how our people holding ourselves back by exercising negative attitude in our daily routine and the way we think. Like I said before, if we want to have our music video publish, why don’t we do it in the best way that there is?

Instead of showing the old shabby long house of us, why don’t we filmed the music video in a more modern long house? Instead of drinking ourselves to half dead with our husband money, why not, we as a wife, save a part of it for the future of our children education and to have a proper financial planning when our husband is retiring or just in case if anything does happened to them as a breadwinner? Why can’t we think of the future and taking a secure step towards it?

Now, lets us open our heart and try to understand and look into the bottom of the whole thing. I am not suggesting that everyone should agree with me but my intention here is just to bring the matter into a thought and maybe some of us can make use of some of the sharing point.

Choosing an Occupation

I think more than hundredth times already, I have encounter and see this situation where some of the parents, when it comes to the best choice of occupation ever, without hesitation will say, work in a government sector is the best job ever.

I am not against any government servant for my own husband (and I am always proud of him) working with one of the government department and I am, if not very well, may be slightly understand the way it’s work.

Honestly, looking into the system now, working with government would not getting us any further away from what we are having now. Why? I am not saying that it is not good, it just that the system does slow down the step if one want to move forward to the front.

For example, as a government staff with the average grade that is either A11-N17, started at the age of 23-25 years old, the salary ladder will be barred at RM2k after 20-25 years of working and maybe, if taken into consideration and give it an extra credit, during retirement, they are entitled for RM1500 of monthly pension and to give more credit into it, an increment of RM50-70 a year after that until age 80.

Versus, someone that started working in, say, in oil & gas industrial at the age of 25 as a rigger in an oil platform with a monthly salary of RM1500 (average for starter) without taking into account whether they have the SPM cert or degree. In another 5 years, working in the same line consistently just the same hours they spend to work in the government sect, 8 hours a day, this man can earn up to RM7-8k for a month. Why is that?

Because :

In government sect, we are bound with the system. No matter how hard you work your ass out, how good your performance was, you can’t get more than what they have in paper for you because it was ‘inked down’, fixed at that rate. Different with private sect, the grading system is more open, we don’t have to rush the quota. In most big companies, the performance is the main thing. I have quite a number of people that I’d known become success because they are really good in they performance, not because they have the degree. This people really have what it takes. They started from the lowest step of the ladder and managed to be on top because they really are good in doing their job not because the paper said, they have the certs so they should be paid by this much or that much.

So, if you work under this type of people, you are the most lucky employee because this type of people will not look down on others, they will appreciate your hard work, believe in your determination. They do not curious over that piece of paper that most other people with proudly showing off to others but when it comes to doing they job, they are just suck.

BUT still I can see that my own people, looking highly on government job, because once I heard a father said, government job is the most stable of job, government will never get bankrupt. Well sir, you definitely can survive if you work with the government but I don’t think you will achieve what you want to achieve.

One of my friend, that I always remember her quote: “If you want to be rich, government will not get you anyway”. Well, some might say I really have something against government. I AM NOT!!

I just speak out my opinion that we can do more in private sect as an employee.

If you want a stable future why can’t you just do it yourself then? Why can’t you save 10% of your monthly income, invest it slowly and at the age of 60 you can have your own pension scheme? EPF for example offer us a very good return and we can have our own business as part of our financial plan when we are retire at the age of 58 but most of us, choose the easiest step of all..spend all the 11% of the monthly salary that used to be saved in the EPF and wait for the government to pay us RM1500 every month after we retired.

To say the least, you save 10% of your monthly income, after 30 years of saving plus all the interest, you can have more or less RM100k when you are retire THEN, set up your own business and gain RM5-10k from it, instead of just RM1500 from the government?

You want RM1500 or RM5000-10,000…its in your hand.

The bottom line is, instead of thinking of how much you can spend with the pension money, why not we think of how to generate the money and earn more? Is it too difficult to do? You do not have to have any Master Degree to think of this kind I thing I guess.

Maybe some of us quite familiar with the story of teaching a bear cub of how to hunting instead of feed him.

Sometimes ago, I also shared with a friend regarding one situation. Normally when we have a function organized by one of our organization, the people that organized this will asking for a fund or budget so they can make things run. They will pay a singer to perform, they will invite all the VVIP people to attend and have the nicest meal they can afford to have with the budget, then after the event finished, they also finished at that. Left with zero, nothing.

Why not we look at the different scenario then?

Organized a function or event, pay a motivator to give talk, to share on how to be a positive person, to listen and learn how others can succeed in their life? Then, try to create some turnover from the budget? Say, open a booth and rent it out so we can gain some from it? Maybe can save some portion of the organization money in FD? Then, if they have profited from that, may be they can sponsor some of the potential kids from the organization to further they study ?

For me, it just a matter of choice, may be not many will choose the correct path for the first time but surely after so many times, happened to so many people, we still can’t urge ourselves to think OUT OF THE BOX?

Maybe our weakness is, the BOX. I really proud every time I see few people, my own people that I can call a success people in what they are doing. And sorry to disappointed you, these people, they didn’t get it in easy way. Because they are brave, they dare themselves to look outside the box. So, when they looked outside, they saw opportunity.

Another thing that really bother me is how my own people really hate it when they own people become more than them. Why does it become a problem to us, when someone else made it because of the efforts that they have made? Why do we have to bring them down, just because we can’t put ourselves at the top along with them?

I once heard a relative of mine said, “Sijil Beli” just because this young chap has studying in a private college? So, this chap labeled as not intelligent enough for not being chosen to study at IPTA or government university. Instead, they should have been proud because this young man, has made an effort to get his education, regardless of which college he got it from. He has a heart to enhance his own ability, not just sitting there after SPM and hoping to get a job with government and earn RM1200 a month with his SPM cert.

Sometimes, these kind of people really amaze me. I was wondering whey did they get the idea of “sijil beli”?

Then, this morning a friend sharing with me, how a community judging and pointing finger just because a lady, with her kind heart, supported and sharing the burden of her boyfriend in studying. And there comes the “nunduk ke orang laki” , “enda tegiga ke laki bukai”..come on la… what is wrong in doing that? What is wrong is supporting something or someone that is good? Did the lady loan or asking their money in doing so? I doubt it.

One of my facebook friend, last week, enraged by a scenario as he called it, “Bertuankan ai arak”..

I, myself sometimes went out and entertained some friends and of course we had few cans of beer but I never drunk myself out of my head.

Unfortunately, in our country, we do not have any clinic or programme for alcoholic because in our country, have no treatment for this disease. We treat drug addict but not alcoholic. So, in our mind, there is no alcoholic, they is nothing wrong in being drunk every day, become stupid because of the liquor and beating their wife when they were drunk, because we can do nothing about it. It’s okay to show to our kids our stupidity when we were drunk. Because there is no law against it.

So, this mental set will be inherited by the new generations. Finish the month’s pay in one week for karaoke and liquor, on girls and gambling.

I have experienced a lot in this matter.

Few weeks ago, a couple of husband and wife that was also my client (life insurance) called me and said that they wanted to terminated they saving in their policy. When the policy were still enforced, I went up and down to their place to collect the premium and help them to pay. When they said they want to terminate, after almost 4 years of enforcement (a lot of money has been saved) I have no say, because that was their right. And happened to be, there are some money in the fund to be refunded to them.

But deep in my heart, I am frustrated not because I will not receive any commission from their policy anymore (mind you, I have received a lot in the pass 3 years) but because I know, truly knowing that apart from this (the policy), they have no others saving. They only can maintained 2 of the policies out of the 4 originally applied and enforced. And now, they also lost it.

But, who am I to decide for their future? I am not giving up in my people because I know, many out there has make their step forward and I hope to see me, myself among them.

I just think that I am going to stop here for this time, but I will always talking about this thing and hopefully it can give some of us the wake up call. Well there is a big chancec that no one is going to read this for I know how our people react towards reading habits but I will never stop hoping, there will be more changing of attitude in our people. because everything is starting from our mind. If we think backward, we will left behind and the only people that can make the changes and make the first step ahead is the young and new generation.

Adios and see you soon...;)