Learning about business the Chinese way

Learning about business the Chinese way

By Edi Petebang

PONTIANAK, West Kalimantan (JP): At the age of 14 years, Adijanto worked as a manual laborer in the market. In the evening, he went to school. Thanks to his perseverance, he eventually succeeded in establishing his own company.

Adijanto, one of most prominent local businesspeople of Chinese descent, is now the boss of PT Bumi Raya Utama Group. His father was a poor farmer.

Adijanto, whose Chinese name is Ahian, was the first owner of a crumb rubber plant in West Kalimantan.

Djun Phen, popularly known as Prayogo Pangestu, has another success story. The boss of a number of large companies, including Barito Pacific Timber Group, who hails from Bengkayang regency, started earning a living as a kernet, or driver's assistant.

Adijanto and Prayogo are only two of many successful Chinese businesspeople.

One of their secrets of success is that they had a business spirit, independence and perseverance implanted while they were in their mothers' womb, so the wise men say.

Based on 1995 research by Baharudin Frank, a local scientist, Chinese communities have a tradition of sending messages to their children asking them to lead self-supporting lives and learn business at an early age. The famous motto is Sian kuheu tiam jung ko, which means be prepared to suffer for a happy future.

Or, "it's okay to be a subordinate for one or two days, but later you must become a boss". The message is that the Chinese have to be independent and not take orders all their lives.

The message is passed at every occasion in a poetic way and it becomes a principle in their lives. They are not supposed to complain while doing their jobs and never denying the profession of their choice.

The self-supporting principle and hard work make the Chinese successful in various paths of life. Unfortunately, their success is often viewed negatively by other ethnic groups, who stereotype the Chinese as being deceitful and justifying all means and colluding with government officials.

According to Shin Po, 55, a shinse (Chinese medicine man) in Pontianak, the Chinese believe everyone has a different talent to others and it should be developed.

"Everybody has a mind, so they must be given an opportunity to learn and develop it. To this end, the child has to be entrusted a growing degree of responsibility, such as doing household chores, and later overseeing the business their parents started," he said.

A child should not be tightly controlled when they are carrying out the jobs entrusted to them.

The child is entrusted to be creative and encouraged to have initiative. Remember the message from the ancestors: Everybody has their own mind and they are free to use and develop it according to their personal capacity.

Se jiu se ke tal jiu tai ke, so goes the ancestral message, meaning: Do things according to your capacity, never force yourself to imitate or be jealous of the success of others that you can't achieve.

Do your job the best you can. Don't succumb to situations or become desperate. Work creatively and use common sense. This corresponds to the principle that goes Nyi jiu sang fat ke, meaning "keep your mind alive and ticking". Always have initiative, don't be passive, never wait for orders. Have the initiative to find work.

Nyin oi hok, hok oi con sin. Man must learn seriously and work well for the best results. To use common sense, learn from experience. A good job will win you trust and love. Work honestly, and don't inflict losses on others. Keep worshiping God.

Co nyin oi cit sim, oi nyin siong sin, oi sin sim, put ho sit jim nyim nyin hiat hon, meaning: A man should be honest and reliable, believe in God, and don't eat or drink the blood or sweat of others.

Self-confidence is one of the Chinese success secrets. Jealousy is taboo. Whenever you fail, ask yourself if you have done your best. Never rely on others' help and don't underestimate others.

Kok nyin ci siau muncian set: You'd better ridicule your messy yard than envy others' success.

According to Phang Jhu Kiat, a respected Chinese figure in the Siantan-Pontianak area, Chinese people are faithful religious believers. They believe that God sufficiently gives opportunities and all that people need. But the people must not take it for granted; they have to work to get it.

He said one must work seriously to get trust and God's blessing. A portion of the money obtained from working should be saved, and don't be greedy.

The philosophy says that being rich is not everything in life. What counts is that one has to work to survive.