I See The Light! ... Now I Don't!

maybe collecting my random thoughts, those 1-2-3-4-whine liners on my blog is a good thing to do...not so much of reminding everyone else of what i think, but more to remind myself who i am from time to time..

here's a start:

"if we don't stay and improve things slowly from the fundamentals up, and leave simply because we don't like things, things will never progress..once in every blue moon someone decides to stay and will be strong enough to make a difference but more likely than that, collective will for change no matter how small individually will decide the battle.."

i was inspired by my frustration that how certain things at work that i feel can be bettered will just be excused as 'culture' and live on...like unnecessary fear of the bos, or coming back from 1 hour 'lunch break' to continue work just after 15 minutes!

culture might be one reason that might push me away from my current job in the future but it is just not me to run away from being the change i feel necessary and subtly do my best to improve what's around me...i've done it before many times and each time i find no task is too big..i might not be able to change the whole corporate organisation, yet, but at least i am another guy in there which contributes to the number of people with the same mentality..and enough of 'me' who decided to stay would one day become significant enough to change 'culture'..

not just work..for example, i was stuck in a bad jam on my way back from work coz of some accident up front, and it is so tempting to shift into the emergency lane and cruise forward (which some cars are doing)..i was frustrated by this habit in our society..but then i thought, if i wont be big enough to change our driver's attitude, i will contribute to the number of people queing up in the jam like civilised people..

and u know what struck me? i noticed that if this was KL (to the extent of my experience in its gridlocks), the emergency lane would've been swamped..BUT..there were only about 1 car zooming past per 5 seconds just now, which is not bad!so i feel i've contributed to a new driving 'culture' by joining the rest in the line =)

and how i realize little things in life that we face everyday is beautifully connected to bigger things in our world..if u belief in something, the least u can do is live ur beliefs, be counted, and let market forces lead the way..but hey, most things in life is grey..what you believe strongly is right is exactly what someone else equally strongly believe is wrong..so in the process of it all, don't forget to maintain a certain degree of respect to others =)

What I Do At Work

a lot...sometimes things i consider nonsense...but here's what i am actually employed for...and fundamentally speaking, i like it...

i analyse loan propositions to come up with a credit decision...well, at least 'decision' for me right now is more of a recommendation as i don't have discretionary powers to decide...

i distinguish what we call the 5 C's...Character, Capacity, Capital, Collateral, Condition...and by that order shall my analysis be structured...

character is your creditworthiness and..erm..character (in credit sense that is..i don't care really if u don't believe in god)

here, i would ask questions like.."what's the guy's credit history like?" .. "how is the credit record of this company's directors?" .. "this guy a habitual defaulter?" .. "why does this guy pays his instalments late?" .. and i have customers personal reports to assist me..these reports are facts of the case..for example,

fact: report shows ur car loan is always overdue by 2-3 months...
story: "oo, this car is loaned under my name..but my brother is using it..he pays the loan"

then unless there is a way to prove beyond reasonable doubt ur story, the facts of the case read: this is UR loan for a car under UR name which U have legal obligation to pay...n U r not paying..meaning U r bad with paying back loans..

i also rely on other sources such as existing background knowledge (existing customer) and opinions given by colleagues or trusted persons, as long as the opinions are substantiated...experienced staff also are good at reading body language, reading between the lines, etc..

character is most important and thats why it is first of the Cs .. i don't really care what a person have to say about anything else but if it is proven that he is not creditworthy, its like showing many many doors but all locked with no keys. so, learn to handle some sort of financial commitment with banks early on..and don't be an ass if banks reject u coz u r no good in paying loans..

capacity is 2nd and almost equally important...it is the ability to service the loan..it can be from adequate to comfortable to non-existent..it is how much you earn vs how much u need to pay..it is about how profitable a company is or how well the cash generating ability...etc... (no, it does not assume u agree to consume instant noodles for the rest of ur loan tenure)

here, i would generally need income supporting documents...official documents that is credible and can substantiate how much you earn, and prove to me that what you claim to earn is true...for individuals, if u earn a fix salary, u'll have payslips, epf, bank accounts ... even if u don't get payslips, ur money must go somewhere, like a bank account..

u can tell me your grandma or grandpa's story about how much u earn and what sort of magic business u r doing that seems to be giving u abnormal returns, but if u can't prove it with acceptable supporting docs..its just not gonna work...

u can also tell me about how much u r going to get in the future when this becomes that, blablabla...but yea, what's the point if there's no evidence? but hey, banks do accept that uni graduates have better earning potential...and, at my bank at least, having a degree helps in some cases ;)

so that's pretty much the 2 most important things u can have in mind when u think about taking up a loan..of course, different loans require different depths of analysis and all cases are different...nonetheless, the above two C's will always be an integral part of the consideration process..

finally, banks (like yourself) are not charities...just use common, unbiased sense, and think..if u have millions of customers asking u for money (assuming u have the money)...what would you do? (hint: employ Sunny with awesomely crazy remuneration package)

aside from me badly needing to sleep soon despite how i can't get my eyes to shut now...the other 3 C's are kinda more technical and is usually a matter of compliance once the first 2 Cs are checked OK, hence, not worth my trouble writing and ur trouble reading unless u want to learn, which u dont need to coz friendly neighbourhood bankers like me exists...

contact me for honest help in credit..i don't promise i'll have the answer, but i promise i'll learn them up for u and assist u further..

The Rubbish That Must Be Taken Out Is Worth The Trouble

"The price of freedom of religion, or of speech, or of the press, is that we must put up with a good deal of rubbish."
Robert Jackson

Whoever Robert Jackson is, he makes good sense..

I'm taking this swipe at freedom of speech/press by exercising my own rights to freedom of speech..

No,i'm not against it..i'm just saying that a whole lotta ppl talking = a sizeable loada crap...

More dangerously, the pen IS mightier than the sword..put someone with a good ability to talk/write, with a dash of personality & humour, in front of an audience..n he/she will easily sway perceptions n his/her opinions/speculations will easily be taken in as truth..

So always question what u read/hear..doesn't matter how highly u hold the source in regard..which is why freedom of speech/media must exist so we have options..

and yea, unfortunately we'll hafta deal with more crap..not just written n spoken rubbish..but rubbish situations possibly caused by the rubbish written & spoken..

Oh,n physical rubbish in the form of more material to be consumed by more talking/writing.. ;-)

And now...i'ma gonna go google up "Robert Jackson"..

Even my grandma knows that playing with firecrackers will be caught by police!

credit to Namewee

Enjoy this very good & original song by Namewee!
You have to give it to him, he's spot on with his criticisms...but i think he'll agree that people shouldn't take it too seriously lah...we should all learn to laugh more at ourselves =)

HAPPY NEW YEAR to all FAMILY & FRIENDS...lets prosper together in health & wealth!

Ada Paham?

personally, i think ability to be understanding is very important...if there's anything i've gained from being of chinese-malay mixed parentage, it is the chance to explore the meaning of 'understanding' from a young age, growing up in typical malay & chinese surroundings, at once...and the more i think about it, the more i feel that in a society as diversed as ours, we have no choice but to understand each other better if we are to settle down as a matured nation...

equilibrium in how different parts of our society would interact and co-exist can be sought by many ways.. we had 'pecah & perintah' which did its job in defining how malaysians 'interacted' by limiting interaction.. then we were forced upon us rules of engagement in inter-race relations: what was ok, what was sensitive, what was taboo...basically, in the above, equilibrium was defined or imposed by someone who obviously was powerful enough to have such abilities..

in economics, we simplify reality into simple equations with few variables, yet, to great effect of usefully predicting real life reactions to changes in variables...to deliver my point, i'll use a simple example of a boy & a girl...

 if a boy & a girl go out dating and have their elders show them 'the way' or follow the book, say, 'a dummy's guide to dating'...they'll probably be fine in 'equilibria' as they are controlled and they operate within set limits...but a boy is a boy and a girl is a girl and different creatures they are! if the elder is no more or has no more influence, if they realized the book was actually written by a dummy, how would the relationship go?

i reckon there'd be awkward moments, angry moments, unintended mistakes, and hearts breaking...haywire..
it's like a software with syntax error..football team without a coach...

unless, the couple had already attained this good understanding of each other...they are different individuals yet they can tolerate each other because they understand each other..know where the other's been, see where the other's coming from...then they will not have problems reaching the equilibrium without much intervention.. (or at least 'trading within a steady band' as forex analysts would say which what i believe equilibrium really looks like)

so there, the second way to equilibrium as opposed to authoritarian approach: self discovery, which i believe is where we need to be headed because authority changes with it the belief it carries, and if there was good authority it can never stand forever ... and key to equilibrium via self discovery is the ability to understand..

in my view, to understand is to appreciate the process of how something happened...many people tolerate without first understanding, hence, peace thru such toleration is very much imaginary...because when toleration reaches it's boundary, there is no strong foundation laid by understanding or "appreciation of the underlying mechanics" to keep cool heads and maintain rationality...

in an age where our society is growing up...we will be tested time after time, and even more so now that there is no overwhelmingly strong 'invisible hand' & society achieving more freedom of thought...

group after group of people will react stupidly to a certain matter which they can't comprehend...it takes the rest of society to understand where they come from in order to deal with the situation better...im not saying we tolerate wrong acts, but im saying condemning wrong acts shouldn't just stop there...understanding them should be the immediate next step so that we can remedy the underlying problem...so that we know which path not to take..we treat the illness, not the symptoms..

for example...if we understand that terrorism had arisen from the ashes of oppression and poverty, governments will know that it must treat its citizen right and encourage an environment where everyone can provide for themselves...normal citizens will also know to respect each other and look out for one another...

finally, we must realize how naive our society is when it comes to understanding each other in malaysia... we must know that many malaysians still do not go/prefer not to go beyond their racial roots for friends...misunderstandings are everywhere...and we must not rush things...  it takes more than a lifetime and certainly more than a slogan or mass marketing campaign to develope a matured society... experience will be malaysia's great teacher and to learn, we must be ready to understand...so remind ourselves and our kids to understand more...we will do malaysia much good...