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Tuesday, 7 June 2011

Signing off for the niceties of colonial masters, obedient servants, wives ...





Marina Mahathir, daughter of Mahathir MohamadImage via Wikipedia

Musings By Marina Mahathir

Civil servants, when writing to others, sign off with the phrase declaring themselves as servants of the people, their real masters in theory.

THE penny dropped for me the other night. It suddenly dawned on me that the ubiquitous sign-off “Saya yang menurut perintah” on government letters was in fact a translation of that quaint colonial bit of politesse, “Your obedient servant”.

While the latter may not have been meant at all sincerely (Humphrey the smarmy Chief Secretary in Yes Prime Minister comes to mind), still I find it fascinating that while we have studiously imitated all the administrative niceties of our former colonial masters, we have managed to go our own way on this little courtesy.

You see, “Saya yang menurut perintah” literally means, “I who obey orders”. This is not quite the same as “Your obedient servant” that should be translated as “Pembantu setia anda” or perhaps, more accurately, given the way we treat our helpers these days, “Hamba abdi setia anda”.

Not only are the words lost in translation, so is the sentiment behind them.

The English version, used by civil servants when writing to others, is meant to convey that they are servants of the people.

As I said, this may not be meant sincerely at all but, as the Brits would have it, correct form is everything.
Our version however begs the question: whose orders are you obedient to? Ostensibly, these should be orders by the government of the day and by extension, the people who voted them in.

We also pay the taxes that make the salaries of civil servants possible. And at over one million of them, that’s a lot of taxes.

But we all know that obeying their real masters, that is, us, is not really our civil service’s calling. So whose orders are they obeying?

It’s a valid question when you see so many cases where the people’s concerns seem to be dismissed in favour of, well, who knows?

For example, why are the residents of Gebeng’s worries about the Lynas rare earth plant hardly entertained? How is it, when we are supposed to become ever more developed, we are expected to hold ourselves to lower safety standards than Austra­lians?

When civil servants make life difficult for the people, what is that obedience for?

I read a sad story about someone who, finally, after years of trying, gave up staying in this country, where he was born and bred, because the family could not get their utilities fixed.



It might seem small but these are public amenities our taxes pay for, and we should not have to beg for them to be fixed. Why don’t we simply call ourselves a Third World country so that our expectations are not too high?

The other day I met someone who was so tired of trying to jump through the bureaucratic hoops trying to get his proposal approved that he went overseas to try and sell it. And did so with far less aggravation.

I can’t say whether his project has any merit, but I can understand his agitation at not being able to discuss facts and figures, merits and demerits without being passed from one clueless person to another.

So perhaps our bureaucracy ought to have a far more honest sign-off from now on. How about “Saya yang akan melambatkan (I who will slow things down)”?

Talking about obedience, every paper’s been abuzz about this obedient wives’ club this week. Talk about anachronistic; nobody has pushed this type of archaic concept since at least the 50s.

I don’t know whether to laugh or cry to read of women degrading themselves like this, blaming everything on their own sex’s supposed inability to keep their men.

Life’s miseries are attributed to women smelling less than fragrant! Wow, who would have thought of that!

Not long ago, a male politician said the best Muslim wife is the one who would drop everything, undoubtedly even feeding the baby, every time hubby wants some nooky. He should be the patron saint of the OWC (Obedient Wives Club) .

It does strike me as interesting that the guys who like to say these things are rarely the sort women would generally drop everything for. Do you think George Clooney ever has to even think about this?

I actually propose another club we women should join. It’s the Good Husband and Father Fan Club. Like any fan club, members will extol the virtues of the good husbands and fathers they know.

Hubbies who help at home and who do homework with their kids, for example, would qualify. If they are clean and smell nice, they would get lots of bonus points.

Each month there could be a Hubby and Father of the Month, and they would all compete for Hubby and Father of the Year.

And yes, their prowess in bed would also be a consideration.

Ghostbuster can’t heal busted hearts




By WINNIE YEOH winnie@thestar.com.my

GEORGE TOWN: Ong Q Leng might be an accomplished spiritual healer and ghostbuster but some people seek her help even to solve problems brought unto themselves, especially marital problems. But Master Ong, as she is better known, says these are problems she cannot solve.

Marital problems require the individuals involved to find a solution. Some women told me their husbands used to love them a lot but later had mistresses.

“I told them they needed marriage counsellors. There are no spirits involved,” she said.
 
Fighting the fires: Ong showing a sign which she used to chase away the djinns from Zainab’s house in Kelantan.

Ong, 34, offers services of healing, spiritual cleansing, feng shui tips and general consultation to her clients.

As a little girl, Ong used to be scared out of her wits by ghosts that delighted in disturbing her, knowing that she could see them clearly through what is believed to be her “third eye”.

Her fright even caused her to stutter and by the time she was 11, she was so fed up of being frightened that she started “scolding the spirits and threatening them not to bother her”.

In June 2007, while she was working as a sundry goods sales representative, she knew through her sixth sense that she was destined to help people.

She then healed her 84-year-old grandfather, who was suffering from testicular cancer, and went on to help more people and her enthusiasm grew along with her success.



The most recent case was when she helped 73-year-old Zainab Sulaiman from Kelantan to chase away the evil djinns that caused hundreds of small fires at the latter's house.

Zainab made a trip to Penang on Sunday to express her gratitude to Ong.

The widow, who lives in a wooden house in Kampung Penambang Bunga Emas near Kota Baru with her daughter-in-law and two grandchildren, had been plagued with mysterious fires which destroyed over 250 articles of clothing, mats, curtains, mattresses and many other things.

At least five paranormal experts had attempted to exorcise Zainab's house since late last year till January a bomoh, a Thai medium, an American couple who practise exorcism, a group of Muslim ghostbusters, and Ong.

Ong added that some parents also sought her help with their children's studies. She said she could help by changing their names as that would bring improvement in some cases.

“A person's name is very important and it can affect one's whole life. In everyone's life, God decides 50% of our fate when we are born while the rest depends on our choice.”

Because of her young age, Ong said she was often “challenged” by other masters on her skills.
“I have received calls and visits by people pretending to be sick but I know their intention. We should be helping the needy instead.”Enhanced by Zemanta

Monday, 6 June 2011

Entrepreneurs Need to Learn to Be Good at Sales





Martin Zwilling

Cover of "Field of Dreams (Widescreen Two...Martin Zwilling Startup Professional's Musings

A good entrepreneur is not necessarily born a good salesman. In fact, they are often the opposite, more focused on building things rather than selling them. Yet, in today’s world of information overload, marketing and selling skills are critical to the success of every startup.

The alternative “If we build it, they will come” approach has long been relegated to the field of dreams, after Kevin Costner’s movie by the same name. In my own effort to keep up with the times, I just finished a new book by Julie Steelman, “The Effortless Yes: Demystifying the Selling Process.” Julie is known as the entrepreneur’s selling mentor, for both men and women.



Steelman does a good job of outlining the key selling steps that separate great salesmen from the rest of us. In my view, every entrepreneur has to be a great salesman to succeed (among the many other required skills), so you should take a hard look at these points:
  • Dust off your moxie. Don’t hope that a miracle will happen and your products and services will sell themselves. Be passionate about what you are selling, and decide to be of service, by providing your customers with something of value in exchange for deserved payment. Set aside fear and doubt, and stand tall with your message.
  • Claim your sweet spot. The sweet spot if the essence of your brand. The way to claim it is to name your expertise or specialty, describe for whom it’s meant and clearly state how it delivers on its promise (or what is called your unique payoff proposition). Make it real for you and your customers.
  • Craft your irresistible pitch. An irresistible pitch is a clear and concise explanation of what you do best, benefits to your customers, an honest statement of why you do what you do, a question that pulls the listener in, and words and language that engage the hearts and mind of your ideal customer.
  • Socialize your message. Generate leads using social media, but don’t rely on it alone to make sales. Use the media to initiate contact, highlight your human element, and communicate your specialty or expertise in a way that anticipates what your customers might be thinking about. Facilitate a transition to a private environment for closing a sale.
  • Engage graciously. Always treat customers with respect, honesty, and warmth to make the selling process more enjoyable, fun and delightful. The goal is to deepen the relationship, and discover if their needs match your offer. Listen closely for what they are saying and expressing. Don’t forget to follow-up. Skip the cold calling – it’s just too cold.
  • Discover your signature selling style. Learn to sell in a way that matches your personality and your strengths. Check the definitions in this book or other sources to see if you are the humanitarian, visionary, maverick, romantic, nurturer, mentor, or one of a dozen others. Tune your approach and you will find yourself enjoying the selling process.
  • Perfect your natural ask. As you go through the sales cycle with your customer, there comes a point when it’s natural for the transaction to conclude. Asking the customer for their decision demonstrates leadership on your part, shows you have confidence in your offering, and prompts them to make a final decision. You can’t win if you don’t ask.
I’m not suggesting that a startup founder has to do all the selling, and doesn’t need to find or hire people whose focus is marketing and sales. In a startup, everyone has to sell – you can’t afford to rely on specialists for everything.

Just recognize that if you are in business for yourself, you are in the business of selling. Selling well is about creating relevancy with customers and aligning your product suite with their needs. That has to lead to a win-win close where the customer satisfies a need and you make money, or you don’t have a long-term business. Are you comfortable with your selling skills?

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