I heard this on radio some time ago. Since it was in Cantonese I hope I got the story right. It went something like this:
A team-building expert from Hongkong was in Kuala Lumpur to train some of our local folk. He made our guys do really tough physical exercises. In one activity, they were to hold a particularly taxing position for as long as possible. Our Malaysian fellows cheered and clapped each other on their backs when they lasted one whole minute! The trainer looked them in the eyes and said the WORST team in China lasted 10 minutes!
Hence, my question: Have we become too soft?
Life here in Malaysia has always been much easier than in over-populated places like China. We have plenty of land and natural resources. The soil is rich. Vegetables and fruits abound. Famine is unheard of. We get lots of rain and don't worry about drought. No freezing winters to prepare for. No volcanoes, no earthquakes, no typhoons.
The culture is laid-back too. We are told to be sensitive with each other's feelings, not to push too hard, demand too much. We want quality family and leisure time. We want time to devote to religion. We set up lots of regulations to enhance health and safety. We need lots of permits and approvals before businesses can be set up. Etc.
Well, let's have a look at our competitors and see what's happening in their countries.
In Indonesia, you can open a food stall in front of your house and nobody will be bothered. You can build buildings without architects. You can convert a 3-storey house into a student hostel, with a single escape staircase leading down to the kitchen - the most likely place for a fire to start. You don't work, you don't eat. Simple as that.
In China, you can do piling at construction sites after midnight. You can work 24 hours 7 days a week on a building project smack in the middle of a city. You don't have to worry about racial sensitivities when you chew your workers out. You don't work, you don't eat. No illusions whatsoever.I'm quite sure many people in China actually work longer hours than the legendary Japanese!
So where do we Malaysians stand in comparison? Are we full of tidak apathy? Have we become so worried about hurting our fellow countrymen that we wrap them in cotton wool? Have we set our standards and expectations much too low? Have we crippled ourselves with kindness? Can we still compete as a nation?
Troubling questions indeed.
