Nature and Places

Thanks for the CD, Ravi!

 

Music maker CA Ravi’s second album "Nature and Places – Instrumental Conversations". Here's one sample:

Ravi, thank you for the music!

 

When I listened to it in my car, it makes me feel like I’m on cloud nine. Music that drowns the orchestra of snarling traffic sounds. Music that reminds me of gentle waves lapping at my feet. Music that subdues, soothes and salves. That's what I feel. That's why I feel. That's the magic of Ravi's music.

 

On Wednesday, I was back in KL – Wisma MPL in Jalan Raja Chulan – to attend the BIB Toastmasters meeting. I was Humor Master and Table Topics Evaluator and I also delivered a CC #10 speech titled “Pay Attention’. I was evaluated by Lim Yi Kang. This completes my 28th round of the Competent Communication manual.

 

Mass Pardon of Crooked Politicians

Vanuatu's parliamentary speaker Marcellino Pipite (left) used his interim executive powers while the country’s President was abroad to pardon himself and thirteen other MPs, including Deputy Prime Minister, Moana Carcasses.

 

Note that under Vanuatu law, the speaker acts as president when the latter is travelling overseas and has the powers of pardoning, commutation and reduction of sentences.

 

Justice Mary Sey had ruled on October 09, 2015 that payments amounting to 35 million vat ($452,000) were corruptly made by the deputy prime minister, corruptly received, and designed to influence MPs in their capacity as public officials. The fourteen crooked politicians were due to be sentenced on October 22. They faced a maximum of 10 years in jail along with the loss of their seats in parliament.

 

When Baldwin Lonsdale returned, he said Pipite had acted unlawfully and promised action. He has since then overturned those pardons, citing constitutional obligations on leaders to conduct themselves in such a way that avoided conflicts of interest, compromising official duties, demeaning the office, allowing their integrity to be called into question, or endangering or diminishing respect for – or confidence in – the integrity of Vanuatu's government.

 

There should be no compromise when it comes to corruption. 

 

On Tuesday, I was at the TMIKL Toastmasters meeting where I was given a speaking a lot. I presented CC speech #3 and the title was given by club member Rhoda Omar. This meeting witnessed seven speakers including yours truly.

 

 

 

O2O Commerce in China

Online to Offline commerce or O2O is being heralded as the next big thing in China’s e-commerce landscape. In simple words, O2O is about directing online users to physical stores.

 

The term O2O was first coined by Alex Rampell, CEO and founder of TrialPay, in a 2000 TechCrunch article – he wrote: “The key to O2O is that it finds consumers online and brings them into real-world stores. It is a combination of payment model and foot traffic generator for merchants (as well as a ‘discovery’ mechanism for consumers) that creates offline purchases”.

 

O2O has also given rise to businesses like Groupon and LivingSocial. Brick and mortar retailers like Nordstrom and Walmart have also evolved O2O models to help combat the ill-effects of ‘showrooming’ – wherein customers come to the store to just look at the product and then go back home and buy it online, or what is referred to as reverse O2O.

 

As mobile apps and online transactions gain currency, it is fueling the rise of O2O.

O2O helps marketers to close the loop between product ‘discovery’ and the actual transaction. I had read this China Daily article “Fast food gets even faster” (October 2-8, 2015, p 22) that in China alone, in 2Q15, the online-to-offline catering industry transactions hit 8.2 billion yuan, up by 89 percent from last quarter, according to Beijing-based Internet consultancy Analysys International.

 

In case you get the wrong idea that the bulk of this O2O business relates to fast food, the fact is online food ordering accounts only for a small (unspecified) proportion.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Image credit: https://www.techinasia.com/wechatbased-food-delivery-startup-call-chicken-raises-us16-million-angel/

 

Still, as more people turn to mobile apps and websites for food delivery services, its market volume is expected to hit 40 billion yuan in 2017, iResearch Consulting Group forecasts in one report.

 

It is interesting to read that this surging growth is fueled by a price war led by the Internet companies. Obviously big players like Baidu and Alibaba wield considerable power to win business but lest we forget, these online platforms are offering similar services in terms of partnered restaurants and delivery qualities. Even if companies have deep pockets, there will come a time when they must look for profits.

 

A business is still a business, after all.

 

I have always said this in my Marketing class, winning an increased market share purely through burning cash is not a sustainable strategy.

 

Anyway, Liu Xuwei, an analyst with Analysys International said: “Customers have no loyalty. They just choose platforms that offer the biggest discounts. When subsidies disappear, consumers are also likely to return to the traditional way of eating at brick-and-mortar restaurants”. 

 

Competition is one thing. But businesses have to be profitable. That's the business of business.

 

Last Sunday, Celtic bounce back from their midweek Europa League disappointment to put five past bottom of the table Dundee United in the Scottish Premiership. It was clearly a one-sided contest.

 

And in an EPL match on the same day, Reds striker Christian Benteke headed in against Southampton at Anfield in the seventy-seventh minute but Saints forward Sadio Mane made it 1-1 when he levelled in the eighty-sixth minute.

 

Yesterday, Celtic continued their winning ways when they reached the Scottish League Cup semi-finals with a 2-1 victory yesterday. Leigh Griffiths opened scoring in the seventy-first minute and then quickly created the second for Tom Rogic in the eighty-second minute.

 

And Liverpool’s Jurgen Klopp finally tasted victory at the fourth attempt as his side edged Bournemouth 1-0 in the League Cup fourth round. Thanks to Nathaniel Clyne's maiden Reds goal in the seventeenth minute.

 

The Reds, who have won the League Cup on a record eight occasions, move into the quarter-finals for the second successive season.

Orangutans Under Grave Threat

Photos from Center for Great Apes

 

The tragedy is that forests have been deliberately set alight for agriculture. And the smog that ensued, cloak countries like Malaysia and Singapore.

 

But it is not just us who are suffering – wildlife too have come under grave threat, with orangutan sanctuaries reporting a rise in the number of rescued animals, left stranded and without food by fires.

 

Alarmingly, 358 fire “hotspots” have been detected inside the Sabangau Forest in Kalimantan which has the world’s largest population of nearly 7,000 wild orangutans. Elsewhere, fires are on a burning frenzy in the Tanjung Puting national park, home to 6,000 wild apes, the Katingan forest with 3,000 and the Mawas reserve where there are an estimated 3,500.

 

Organizations such as International Animal Rescue are sending out "human-orangutan conflict" teams to try and save the orangutans from the devastating effects of the raging fires. They will need more manpower, equipment and funds – so if you can make a donation, please help!

 

Kindly go to www.internationalanimalrescue.org/donate. 

Last Wednesday, my August 2015 batch of DMK1013 Introduction to Business students showed their videos that they did as part of their term project.

The marketing offer is “nasi lemak”  (left) – the one dish that probably represents Malaysia best!

 

For non-Malaysians who may not be familiar with this meal – the simple version is just coconut-flavored rice, served with sambal, fried crispy anchovies, toasted peanuts and cucumber.

 

My heartfelt appreciation to the four individuals who took time off to be with me and sit on my judging panel. Thank you, Annyza Tumar (English Department, Sunway University);  Chrristine Ngiam (Karya Infiniti); Kenneth Lee (Dreamland Corporation); and Evelyn Toh (SUBS, Sunway University)!

 

Not only did they sit through all nineteen videos but made the selection of the Top 6 videos as featured below:

A Sea of Yellow

A sea of yellow and that always presents an incredible moment. BUT don't get unduly excited! This is not a Bersih rally! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rather, we have thousands of ducklings trooping down to the river bank to experience water for the first time. This was at a duck farm in China’s eastern coastal province of Jiangsu where the baby birds waddled to the river with great enthusiasm.

 

According to reports the farmers use this exercise as a feeding method in a bid to improve the appetites of new-born ducklings, aged between three and five days old. Introducing them to the river also helps the little birds get used to water. They're ducks wad!

 

Celtic's chances of a place in the knockout phase of the Europa League took a beating when they went down to Molde 1-3 in a Thursday game. They did themselves no favors when they showed slack defensive play and sloppy goalkeeping.

 

And Jurgen Klopp's Anfield bow as Liverpool manager ended in a 1-1 draw against Rubin Kazan in the Europa League on the same day. Emre Can cancelled out Marko Devic's well-taken opener for the Russian side to notch the first goal of the Klopp era, but despite playing against 10 men for 54 minutes following Oleg Kuzmin's dismissal, Liverpool could not find a winner.

 

The one consolation was that Liverpool held on to second place in the group ahead of next month's return fixture in Kazan, although they are now four points below leaders FC Sion who won 1-0 at Bordeaux.

 

Yesterday, I was in Jalan Yong Shook Lin in PJ for the IJM Toastmasters meeting. I was the sole speaker and I presented a speech CC #8 titled “The Love of Money” – my two props were an “angpow” (red packet) and a wad of cash. This speech was better organized and it was a pretty decent speech. Thanks to Peggy Khoo for making the arrangement for me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I love attending an IJM Toastmasters meeting! The members are always hospitable and even better, they serve my favorite lunch: rice and curry!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And then in the evening, I was at the Sunway Toastmasters meeting – the other club. A fair meeting overall and two speeches got my rapt attention. 

Having said that the other two didn’t fare well at all since they didn’t meet their speech objectives. I wish those presenting project speeches would make the effort to read their manuals and understand the speech objectives. In any case, I did not stay to hear the evaluations.