There has been a big commotion going on about the SMRT system, most recently about the upcoming fare hike. Protest are being staged to complain about such a hike, arguing that with company making profit, why is there a need to raise fare further? Interestingly enough, the only transport system that Singpore possesses has been privatized. It is a monopoly as the barriers to entry are way too high. I fear that such a reaction is long overdue. Perhaps the question is not whether SMRT should raise fare. It should have been - why is it privatized in the first place?

This weekend I came back from brisbane, the place where I had been to pursue a degree for 18months. The hardest time of my life. It brings back many memories. Reminiscing in them, losing myself in thought, the eslusive pain that lingers. Slowly, it dissipates, along with the pride and ego, leaving new perspective. It is a confusing period of time. I was finding myself, dealing with learning to be comfortable with the person I see in the mirror. I took it too far, being wrapped in my own thought. The mistakes I made continues to haunt me, most prominent of all being of Joel. I took someone who looked up to me, and turned him inside out. It seems that he too, has had a tough time, dealing with people trying to benefit from him. I showed him the kindness and care in settling accommodation, he really did genuinely thought that he had met someone who could be a real bro. Looking back now at his actions, the offer to cover the rent when godwin bailed, he did treat me with genuine trust. But I was too embroided in my own zeal to prove myself, to consume anyone and everyone whom I can. I threw it away to make a few fast bucks. Although I did the correct paperwork and methods, the point is that I misplaced his trust. It didn't help that I tried to compensate by adjusting the rent and apologising. It came to a point that even I thought that I have patched the wound as we were hanging out. Until he decided to bail on me and find ways to hurt (but luckily, only irrate) me. To go to the extent of doing things that benefited others at the expense of his integrity. I guess my actions really ticked him off as he grew paranoid and kept acting out. In getting back at me, he did not see the grave that he digged for himself. Sometimes I ask myself - did I make him into what he is, or did I merely revealed what him or who he is? Either way, I can't help but feel that I have unleashed a monster. Some kid in DB is indirectly put there, because of me.

A few days back I received a call to check out some scrap material. He called me at 9am, telling me that the material will arrive at midnight. On first thought it does seem doodgy, but instead of most dodgy deals, he asked me to arrange for transport instead. Then he called me at 5 am again to show me the scrap pictures and negotiate the price. I woke my boss up to which he showed great displeasure. Through his ramblings, the point he made was that this character showed utter lack of manner and courtesy. So I briefly agreed on the price of $250/MT, negotiatable. We collected the goods and it arrived. It's actually quite decent. As we are unloading he kept pushing for the price, so much so my boss increased an insignificant amount of $10. He told me such a person will argue no matter what - that it causes him pain to see others benefit instead. Seeing as to how he could gain no ground with my boss, he directed his efforts on me, saying that the material deserves greater price than what was offered. I find that point hard to refute, but I'm not the boss. In the end he gave 10 missed calls from outside my office. It is worthy to note that throughout this period he never dared to once step foot in my office where he knows I'm comfortably residing in. The whole batch took 2 trips to unload, so this guy was around for a couple of hours. Finally it reached one point where he got furious and wanted to sell them to others. We acknowledge that he has that right, but before he do so he has to pay up all the expenses we have incurred. I'm stressed out throughout the whole situation, desperately thinking of what I can do to save this customer, but no ideas come to mind. And then my boss made a very important point - a customer so troublesome, we probably have to think thrice if we want to accept if he comes back. He says this character wakes people up, as if giving us business is godsent. What's the point of earning this if we lower our esteem and let him chase us like that? So.... I took heed, ignored him throughout and convince myself that he won't come back. Today he emailed again asking for us to quote again. What a weird way busness runs.

As my generation enters the workforce, it is immediately distinct how different we are from the previous one. Unlike the hardships and difficulty that our fathers face, we have a different set of rules and a totally different environment. You see, when our fathers started, singapore had nothing. Everything, anything you do will make you perhaps a pioneer of the field. So when the wave of wealth hit, these companies started by our fathers grew big and quick. Although they had the fantastic luck to be at the right place at the right era, it still took much pain and sweat to establish the companies they did. They had nothing, living in slums and kampongs alike. My mum still recalls her first job of catching the 2 am bus to the market to sell vegetables. Life was difficult, and it developed their grit and perseverance. And with precisely that spirit of 'what have i got to lose?', each and every single business today was built this way. Then comes our generation. The Ah Sia Kias (ASK) as one would generally label with a frown. We were born into better living standards - tvs and running water, even our own parents envy us. We never had to deal with or worry about hunger, clothes or shelter. It was all adequately provided. On top of that, we were given the opportunity to attend school. We had things easier than our parents and we bath in the glory of their success as if it was our own doing. A huge sense of entitlement indeed. With huge egos and greater spending power that we conveniently forget was given, not earned. As time goes by, we're now old and ready, and these huge enterprises are all looking forward to the new wave of successors. But the question is - are we ready to be the boss? How do we, who have never been through much hardship and difficulty tackle the realities of enterprise? Do we have the necessary skills and ability to be there? And to adapt the fighting spirit to suit the unwavering nature of our environment? More importantly, do we have the grit, the perserance to hold on and endure through the tough times? But instead we take things for granted. The sense of entitlement fuels an abornally huge ego which we resort to childish manuvoers to feed. The resulting arrogance is intoxicating. Time to wake up your idea. Step into the world and realise that we had it easy all along

You have much to learn they say. After spending 6 months wandering around the job, I decided that the elders will never teach me what I need to know. I stopped following what them and I did things my way. Today I stepped into the auction, greeted by their gloomy faces. They had spent time money and effort, building relationships so that they need not see me. My 3 emails sent all that down the drain. And this is just the beginning. I thought - how the hell am I going to build guanxi? I'm years behind these people. So I decided not to match their strength. I used mine. The pen. And I wrote the emails to the right people. And under the right pressure they had to give in. As I walked into the shipyard, I can't help but smile, thinking that 3 emails from me have sent their years of relationship building down the drain.

Further down the road to my warehouse hosts one of the major players in the scrap industry - Yi Hui. He's also one of our main buyers of nonferrous scrap. In an industry where profit margins are the problem, Yi Hui has outdone the rest by being able to buy from industry competitors. That is no remarkable feat. I had the opportunity to speak to the boss the other day when I went down to collect our payment. It is curious to know how a carsalesman ended up running a scrap business, so well that he is able to establish himself better than those with decades of experience. He remarked at the vast amount of cables I had in store (of which he had helped us move from the old warehouse to the new ones). In this industry, everything you buy with cash. Extremely capital intensive. So when the market goes bearish and prices make it difficult to sell, the cash gets tied up in the stock. He taught me that this business is low in margin, that the way to go is with high turnover. Keep flipping the stock over and over again. Once in a blue moon, you buy something at a reduced price due to specialized knowledge. While it all sounds good and fair, one must remember that we are at the end of the day, doing business. I've known that he has been eyeing the cables for a long time (since he helped us move in day 1).

At the age of 20 right out of army, my dad faced the problem everybody have- what to do? He tried seeking work outside but it wasn't doing well. So he went to work for his forth uncle, who had recently started collecting scrap. After a month or so, he decided that uncle treated him just like any sort of cheap labour, so he jumped over to his 3rd uncle, Mr Ang Seng Liu, joined 4th uncle in the same industry. This pissed him off naturally, having lost a trustworthy and cheap, easy driver. 4th uncle made no attempt to conceal his contempt and unleased all wrath upon his older brother. So after a month, his 3rd uncle told him to start out on his own. And thus he was jobless, with nothing but a bicycle and a promise to support from his 3rd uncle. He decided at that point - since he got nothing to lose, and with the promise of his uncle, he might as well try. So he cycled down to singapore river everyday to collect scrap. Whenever he found scrap, he would bring his uncle to take a look. Confirming that the money is used to buy scrap, 3rd uncle handed it to him without questions. Considering that at that time almost 9 in 10 loads ended up on the betting table, such trust is rare. Within a week he managed to collect enough scrap, so much so 3rd uncle gave him a pick up to continue his collection. And so, slowly and steadily the amount climbed. Dad's kampung house was so packed with scrap that grandma was making noise. It was common practice to collect scrap and sell them off, making a handsome enough profit. Most were content with that, but my dad realised that not having a warehouse means that he couldn't take on the bigger jobs. So against the wisdom of family and friends, he went ahead and got a warehouse, which was at that time worth more than a HDB. Within 2 years, he was making enough to take care of household expense. by the 4th year, he bought his mansion, his first Mercedes. The foundation of which unfolded and was known as Union. (Today singapore's 43rd largest enterprise)