After my rather pleasant experience flying with Hong Kong's premier airline on my recent trip to Hong Kong last January, I was rather stunned by the beauty of their flight attendants and how helpful some of them were. Similar to Singapore Airlines and Malaysia Airlines, Cathay Pacific is also rated as a 5-star airline by various organisations and reviews.
I Googled around for them and found something quite interesting - an iPad app and also an interactive flash website. I have to say this brings Cathay to a whole new level of user and customer experience, making things much more personal and downright insanely cool.
January Received and accepted an offer to work as an Intern at one of the world's most recognised advertising agencies, Leo Burnett of Malaysia. Got somewhat of a culture shock. Very casual work culture with an emphasis on results, not how punctual you are. Played (in a team) in the My-NPL (Malaysian National Paintball League) Season 2010.
February
Got busy organising Toastmasters Area and Division contests (I was the District 51, Area B1 Governor at the time). Sort of overwhelmed by the stress. By the time I reach home, I hardly have enough energy to reply e-mails and make calls. Great CNY celebrations though. Got a nice 'Ang Pow' (red packet) from CEO Tan Kien Eng, and a whole week's holiday. Not to forget, the 'lucky-tigers', with stickers created by the studio in Leo Burnett. Very creative!
March
Nothing much happened here. Work goes on as usual. Celebrated Yuyun's 23rd birthday.
April
Final month of Internship. Too bad I still had one more credit hour to complete at university. The agency needed someone urgently for their newly acquired Samsung account. So, maybe next time. Completed my practical training report and submitted to my supervisor at UNIRAZAK. Had marvelous lunch with the team managing the Dutch Lady account.
May
Enjoyed life. Starting my official final semester at Pintar Campus of UNIRAZAK (it also happened to be the campus' final semester at the Kelana Jaya location). Studied the over-exaggerated course named 'Healthcare Management'. It's actually just 'personal health management'.
June
Fractured my left ankle during an intense training for paintball. Was doing slides, did it the wrong way. Left foot twisted outwards. Luckily my close friend Chris was nearby. Took me to the hospital. Met 2 cute trainee doctors. For the more detailed story, refer to my previous post "The Mysterious Side of West Malaysians (Part 1)". Fracture was a Weber Type B Fracture of the Lateral Malleolus. Cause: Supination External Rotation. Also known as Stage 2 SER injury, "spiral fracture of fibula at syndesmotic level". Pain - from the scale of 1-10, with 10 being unbearable, nauseatingly painful - it was around 9. Pain was intense when I tried to lift my left leg. Luckily I didn't need any operation. However, they put my leg in back-slab for the first week, and POP for the next 11 weeks. Have to use crutches to walk around.
July
Continued to go to lectures. Fortunately it was on Saturdays. Ferried by my father in his car. Started driving by the end of July. Feels weird, as if I've lost my driving skills. Fortunately, the car has an automatic transmission, so I needn't use my left leg. Still in POP cast. Ended the Toastmasters 2009/2010 term with a Distinguished Area achievement. Met a good friend (whom I know through Toastmasters) who agreed to pay me good money for assisting in e-mail marketing and copywriting. Contract was until November (5 months). Video editing was charged separately. Secured a hosting space and a domain. Still vague about the idea of what to do with it.
August
Leg started to feel a bit better, although the occasional swelling and pain is still there. Decided to finally make arrangements for a full-time job. Contacted a friend at Harvey Norman, recommended me to Mid Valley branch in KL. Went to the interview with crutches and POP still on!
September
Finally took off my POP cast on the first week of the month. Received a call from the manager who interviewed me at Harvey Norman. No one - even the physiotherapist - could tell when I can walk properly again. Had to politely decline the offer (Head of Department). In retailing, you have to stand long hours in a day. Not practical. Made payments to UNIRAZAK for graduation. Went to Uni to assist in interviews related to MQA certifications for new courses.
October
Continued with physiotherapy once every 2 weeks. Slow but steady progress. Gained some rotational movement of ankle. Invited as a guest speaker for a training organised by the Student Representative Council of UNIRAZAK. Attended Area B1&B2 Joint Humorous Speech Contest in the new Lakeside Campus of Taylor's University in Sunway. Made final preparations for Convocation. Went to Uni on 27th noon to get my robe. Got lucky later that night. Luckily, by my convocation, I could already walk normally, though ankle will swell badly if leg is left below heart level for too long.
November
Attended Taylor's University Toastmasters meeting at their Lakeside Campus. Attended the Mastering IT Project Management Conference in Grand Dorsett Hotel in Subang Jaya. Met lots of high-profile people, including the President of Harvard Club of Malaysia, Tan Sri Dato Dr. Lin See-Yan. Also met PMI (Project Management Institute) Director Frank Parth, Exoweb China Managing Director Kenneth Wong, IXC (InnovationXChange) Malaysia CEO Hasannudin Saidin. Took lots of photos (and got paid for it). Secured a job (immediately in the interview itself), started on 22nd November as a 'Social Media Executive'. Got an offer from another potential client to handle blogsite and social media marketing on a part-time basis.
December
Started a project with Chris and Kain (not sure if he still wants to use this name). Refining ideas and brainstorming. Attended the company's 'Appreciation Night' on 15th December. Avoided the word "Christmas" just to be sensitive to the Muslim employees. Took great photos and proven that, for most of the time, skills matter more than the equipment. Enjoyed a marvelous Christmas feast prepared by Peter Siew. Went on a vacation to Hong Kong with the whole family from 29th December till 3rd January. Celebrated the New Year with style and luxury in Hong Kong. Will certainly blog about it soon. Have to filter more than 1000 photos and video clips first.
If you are not a Malaysian citizen and have been planning for a visit to Malaysia, don't let this article discourage you. Malaysia remains a relatively peaceful country with an abundance of preserved nature, nightlife and (of course) a variety of Asian food awaiting your discovery. The various ethnic groups have been living with each other for more than 50 years since independence, we have become somewhat tolerant with each other. However, incidences in the past few days have inspired me to write about the side of West Malaysians that remains a mystery. I say "West" Malaysians - referring to those living in Peninsular Malaysia - simply because my friends who have been studying in East Malaysia (Sabah & Sarawak) do not seem to experience similar phenomena.
Interracial Prejudice
The issue of race/ethnicity remains a sensitive issue for most Malaysians. Politicians on both sides of the political divide frequently exploit racial sentiments in their attempt to win votes. News of politicians stoking passions and racial hatred have become almost a trend. There is a sense of distrust whenever you meet with someone of a different ethnicity. The Malays are considered "Lazy", the Chinese are labelled as "Gamblers" or "Pendatang" ("outsiders" in Bahasa Malaysia) and the Indians are labelled as "Drunkards" or "Robbers". Worse, the diverse ethnic groups in Sabah and Sarawak (Iban, Kadazan, Dusun, Melanau, Bajau) are labelled "Lain-lain" ("others" in Bahasa Malaysia), and are sometimes treated like some low-class citizens.
However, ask anyone from the Baby-Boomer generation (probably your parents) and they will tell you that the interracial relationship was much better during the 1960's through 1980's. People of various ethnicities were not only much tolerant, but accept each other wholeheartedly. My mother, who was born a Buddhist, went to a convent when she was young. She attended church gatherings - along with her Muslim friends - although they did not really pray along. If such an event happens today, it will be exploited by the media, politicians and so-called NGOs.
It is only the current generations (X and Y) who are suffering from interracial prejudice. My opinion is that the education system is at fault. After 50 years of independence, do we still need vernacular schools? I have many friends from vernacular schools who have difficulty and discomfort mingling with other ethnic groups. What a shame. Since I studied in a national school, I have no problems. Being a Chinese Malaysian, my closest friends are actually Malays and a number of Indian Malaysians.
How many times have you seen a Malay Muslim eating at a Chinese restaurant? It happens to be normal at Sabah. The Chinese restaurant owners know the Muslim's religious code, use clean cutleries and serve only chicken and fish meat. You can hardly find pork in Sabah. By the way, eating at a Malay Muslim restaurant doesn't necessarily mean the food is Halal, since "Halal" means more than just "pork-free".
Interracial Prejudice - Personal Stories
My girlfriend of 7 years (a Malay Muslim) and I went to a Maxis (telco) centre in my hometown Banting. We were discussing what phones to buy, since she needed an urgent upgrade. As we finished browsing, we left the place. My girlfriend told me that the staff (all 6 of them) were staring at us when we left. We are already accustomed to getting stares from the public when we walk together, but she found this interesting and annoying.
I have a group of close friends back in university - Keong, Sharifah, Nidzam, Iqbal - who would always do our assignments together. One day, Sharifah (Nidzam's girlfriend) needed to get something from The Curve Damansara, so Keong accompanied Sharifah. When we met them later for dinner, Keong complained to me, "What the f*** man? We were just walking together, not even holding hands. Why are they staring at us as if we're having sex in public?!"
These could not compare with what happened on the 6th of June. I was jogging in the park with a close friend I've known for 6 years. I met Chris (Indian Malaysian) in 2004, and he was the one I mentioned who furthered his studies in Sabah. I was practicing some stunts to prepare for my paintball tournament, and one wrong move caused my ankle to fracture. Fortunately, the hospital was just opposite the park, and he drove me there at 8pm. Coincidentally, my girlfriend was at the hospital visiting her grandfather, so she (and her father) came to the Emergency Room to visit me.
After getting my leg bandaged and getting the medicine, Chris helped wheel me out to the car, and my girlfriend helped me to carry my stuff. In the car, Chris exclaimed, "D*** it man! Everyone (doctors, nurses, staff, everyone else) was staring at us like were some sort of freaks! WTF?!"
Maybe I was already accustomed to the attention that I didn't notice anything weird at all!
I was walking with my girlfriend at AEON Bukit Tinggi, and we walked past this shop selling traditional herbal products like ginseng and the likes. Since she works near this shop, the sales promoters know her. This lady initially approached me to promote a box of ginseng. Suddenly she glanced at my girlfriend and asked, "Cina ah? (Is he Chinese?)", and I cheekily replied, "Tak tahu (I don't know)". What difference does it make anyway?
Oh, and in case you were wondering, you won't see this in East Malaysia! ;-)
1. On the 24th August 2010, iTunes U passed 300 million downloads mark (as announced by Apple Inc.), making it one of the world's most popular online educational catalogs. Users have downloaded 300 million items from a catalog of more than 350,000 audio and video files, from more than 800 universities including Stanford, Yale and MIT. Even if you're not a Stanford student, you can download content from any university as long as they are listed on the iTunes U catalog. To access, all you have to do is to install iTunes (if you don't already have one), and click on the iTunes Store on the left sidebar of the software.
Few people in Malaysia know about this before the iPhone became popular. It is now accessible through the Malaysian AppStore (it was previously only on the U.S. iTunes Store, although anyone from Malaysia can download content from iTunes U).
2. Referring to "The Facebook Effect" written by David Kirkpatrick, under Chapter 1 - The Beginning:
"It was what's called 'shopping week' at Harvard, when classes have begun but students can add or drop them at will. For any Harvard student who picked his or her courses partly based on who else was in class, this feature of Thefacebook was immediately useful. It helps explain the rapid spread of Thefacebook in its early days, and also why Zuckerberg launched it in that week."
For your information, the education system in the United States have long been far more liberal in its approach, being sometimes the early adopters of new innovations, technologies and teaching methodologies. The 'shopping week' culture has been there for some time, whereas most universities - public and private - in Malaysia have yet to implement this. The 'shopping week' culture aims to empower students to take charge of their own education and to take ownership of their own brand (university).
3. Actually, there was one brave private university in Malaysia which was the early adopter to 2 revolutionary approaches to education. At that time, Universiti Tun Abdul Razak (launched 1998 by the current Prime Minister, Dato' Seri Najib Tun Razak) was the nation's first e-University as well as the nation's first MSC-Status private university. The university combines face-to-face classes with the effective use of web-based courseware and online tutorials. Since 2006, it has been wholly owned by the PINTAR foundation and the ensuing change of management brought about a whole lot of other changes as well.
Prior to 2008, all students were under the "Distance Learning" mode (matric numbers starting from UB and KJ). From August 2008 onwards, the default mode was changed to "Conventional", with part-time students taking the "Distance Learning" mode.
When I enrolled in 2007, there were still online tutorials conducted from time to time, and they were more interactive than I initially thought it would be. To aid students, the Virtual Online Instructional Support System (VOISS) can be accessed by each student using their matric card numbers. If you're a student, you can view your subjects taken for the semester, course notes, assignments, course history, course marks and even announcements from the university. Communication was efficient and effective. You can even register for subjects for the following semester - AT THE CLICK OF A MOUSE BUTTON. In the first week of the semester, you can still add and drop subjects to your liking - AT THE CLICK OF A MOUSE BUTTON. One good preventive measure is that for you to register advanced subjects (say Cost and Management Accounting) there are pre-requisites (subjects you have passed earlier, like Financial Accounting) you must fulfill before registering for the subject. This will allow students to get their basics right first, before tackling the more complex subjects.
As of late 2008, the system has then been converted to Student Management System (SMS), similar to VOISS but with limited functionality. Students can no longer register for courses using SMS, but would have to fill up a physical form and submit to the faculties. I remember the huge crowd of students cramming the faculties just to register their subjects, waiting in long queues. Isn't this a step backwards? Internet access to YouTube and Friendster has been blocked for as long as I remember, which I'd agree since there would be bandwidth hoggers watching crap on YouTube. Now the blocked-list include Facebook (during office hours). I now recommend LinkedIn to students since it's more focused on building their brand and online resume. Unfortunately, LinkedIn lacks the social aspect, which is the sharing of articles and information.
4. In 2009, the President and Vice Chancellor of UNIRAZAK invited the Student Representative Council and club presidents to a meeting to discuss general matters related to students. I asked him the reason why students should physically go to the faculties and submit physical forms, and before I finished explaining, he went into a full lecture of why people like me (students under the "Distance Learning" mode who go for course-shopping) screwed up the whole thing.
This is a typical order of subjects by a "Distance Learning" student:
A-B-C-E-G-H-D-F
The Vice Chancellor wants it to be:
A-B-C-D-E-F-G-H
The main reason is that if UNIRAZAK wants to get MOUs and partner with universities from other countries, it's easier if the learning mode is "Conventional", which is more of a "guaranteed" and proven system.
I was then too disappointed in his defensive attitude, that I couldn't bother to point out 2 glaringly clear facts:
1) UKM (National University of Malaysia) had just implemented a limited version of SMS to students, and students can register courses online.
2) You also have to follow the order (A-B-C-D-E-F-G-H), and you MUST repeat a failed subject immediately in the following semester.
With the advanced software that UNIRAZAK already has, SMS can adopt the "Online Course Registration" feature from VOISS, and modified so that it restricts students from "free-for-all" course-shopping behaviour, just like what UKM did.
Simple solution, really.
I'm not trying to criticise the Vice Chancellor, for his intention is to bring UNIRAZAK to a whole new level. He has since signed MOUs with countless universities, including the prestigious Babson College. His views have merits, but I feel he needs to listen, or at least pretend to listen to the students, and open up his mind to infinite possibilities one can muster with technology. I value his wisdom and experience, I just hope the younger generation can bring some freshness to his ideas.
With technological advances and innovations such as social media, Malaysia needs to understand - not fear - new innovations and capitalise on the benefits of online tools. Almost all major universities in the U.S. and U.K. have podcasts on iTunes U.
It seems that Apple has recently acquired a user's YouTube channel and made it as the Official Apple YouTube Channel, as I don't recall seeing any channels from them until recently (although their channel page says it's been registered since 2005). The content available was fairly current, with videos of iPhone4, iPad and the Antenna issue (no series of previous iPhone 3GS ads or "Get a Mac" ads), suggesting the channel started activity in 2010. From the company that was quite engrossed in traditional mass media - from the "1984" Superbowl Commercial to the series of TV commercials - it seems that it has shifted its focus to social media. Although they have always had their TV ads on their website, the YouTube channel offers videos in a more organised manner, making it easier to search for content. It also offers videos with resolutions up to 1080p, which you'll never find in their website, strengthening the fact that this really is the official channel.
Here's one of their latest iPad TV ads they've added:
Online Social Behaviour
Despite being the Apple fanboy I am, I dislike the fact that they have disabled commenting on all of the videos uploaded in the channel. One thing you should know about the online social behaviour exhibited by most of us millennials is that we want to make ourselves heard! I care more about what my peers think than advertisers and companies. When you disable comments, how would you expect people to make themselves heard?
By clicking "like" or "dislike". Even an innocent video "Apple - iPad - Introducing the iPad" which has not been affected by the so-called "Antennagate", there were 2,451 likes and 1,127 dislikes - half the number of "likes" - even though there were only about 1.2 million views. To be honest, though there are some haters out there who gripe on the features of the product, YouTube is about videos. It's about the quality of the content, the storyline, the message, the appeal. I bet most who "disliked" the video either dislikes the product itself, or the fact that they can't comment, not about the video.
Personally, I just loved the way they film and portray the product along with an interview with Jonathan Ive. I actually like most of the Apple ads produced by its ad agency - TBWA Chiat/Day - which helped Apple gain recognition as Adweek Media's Brand of the Decade award.
Though it is believed that the signal attenuation affects a small group of users and will not affect sales of the iPhone4, the "Antennagate" scandal shows just how big of a problem negative word-of-mouth can be, especially when word-of-mouth goes "world-of-mouth" (credits to Erik Qualman) in a matter of seconds online. Companies can no longer decide whether or not "to do social media", but the question is "How well we do it".
The best strategy to leverage social media is to listen to your customers and learn how to improve your product and leave competitors in the dust.
Or at least, give the impression that you are listening! Enable comments!
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They also have a few iPad Guided Tours and a cool video called "The Story Behind the Apps" which I personally find very inspiring. Enjoy them. I did =)
The London arm of Leo Burnett (which has held the McDonald's account for some time) created a rather interesting TV commercial in 2009 which they describe as "an ode to McDonald's and the universality of experience it offers to everyone." Personally I like the voice-over, which in my opinion would describe as 'contemporary poetry'. Of course, since the target audience is the Britons, it may not suitable for the general Malaysian audience as some of the words are rarely used in Malaysia, or are slangs.
Now the labourers and cabellers and council motion tablers were just passing by,
And the gothy types and scoffy types and like-their-coffee-frothy types were just passing by, Those on their own whilst on their phone dunking but nuggets and having a moan were just passing by, The driving thru with hungry crew who just pulled off the 832 were just passing by, And the IT bots with taps and prods eating a mac whilst writing their blogs were just passing by, And the first-in types and lurking types and like-to-lose-their-gherkin types and suddenly-just-burst-in types were just passing by, And the extroverts and introverts and guys in newly ironed shirts who like to text their greatest flirts were just passing by, And the little folk who share a joke and [unknown word] poke about that bloke who slurps his coke and gives his goatee beard a stroke were just passing by, There's a McDonalds for everyone.
*I do not endorse McDonald's nor do I recommend frequent consumption of fast foods.
Apple has owned the online music space and is now trying to own the eBook publishing space with iBooks. One can only wonder if Steve Jobs and his team would one day shift their focus to the Social Media space. Onlineschools.org have created an interesting infographic about 15 things that you may not know about Steve Jobs. One thing is for certain. If Apple were to move on to the Social Media arena, they may either create an app which will run natively on all iOS devices - which over 100 million iOS device owners would become users almost instantaneously - or they may even buy Facebook outright, since Apple has well over $30 billion in cash, and that Mark Zuckerberg's favourite computer is a Mac.
