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Mr. Ong's Hillman I have recently read a blog that expressed the wish that products sold in America be made in America which would mean more employment opportunities for Americans. It reminds me of the situation in my country and the progress that we have made. I remember back in the 1960s when I was a young boy almost all of us were riding bicycles. In my village, there was only one car ‒ a black Hillman saloon owned by Mr. Ong, the owner of a grocery shop. Back then, Mr. Ong was the most popular man in our village, even more popular than our village headman, Mr. Tan, and it was all because of his car. You see, Mr. Ong’s car was borrowed by all of us for weddings, funerals and any occasion that required transportation like sending a sick villager to the hospital. Mr. Ong was a friendly and amiable man and would never refuse us but we had to compensate him for the petrol so the angpow (red packet) was a must. A few of us had motorcycles like the BSA, Triumph and Norton which were made in the West. Later there were the Lambretta and the hugely popular Vespa. A few households also had television sets and you could recognize these houses by the large number of people crowded around the front door and windows when the television set was turned on. Our country was poor then depending on the export of tin and rubber to the West. We had no control over their prices too because every time the price went up, the western nations would release their stockpile to bring the price down again. Later when countries like Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong industrialized and started to buy our rubber and tin, we felt a little easier. Now, of course, we also export to India and China, both huge markets. Back then, most of us were rubber tappers, tin panners or workers on tin dredgers. The ladies could not afford much so their favourite purchases were the cheap textiles from Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. Then in the 1970s, our government decided that for us to survive, we have to industrialize. We had no money and no skills and so had to depend on Foreign Direct Investments ( FDI ). The problem was, and still is, that FDIs were coveted by many countries and even though ours is a stable country with no security problems, we had to make a lot of concessions to attract these investments like tax exemption, cheap land, cheap labour, work permits for foreign staff and other incentives. In return, we got technology transfer and job creation. So the Kamunting Industrial Estate near Taiping came to be. Most of the factories were textile factories and the investors were mostly from Hong Kong and Taiwan who shifted their factories here. The textile factories in these countries and Singapore closed down and they started to manufacture textile machinery and accessories to sell to us instead. We have become factory workers with a stable income and a little money to spend. More of us can now afford television sets. During this time too, the Honda Cub, a small motorcycle with a 50 cc engine, was brought in from Japan. Because it was cheap, it became hugely popular and motorcycles from the West were priced out. Soon, bicycles gave way to these ubiquitous kup chais as they were fondly referred to. Later on, cars began appearing on the roads. The favourite brands were at first Volkswagen, Morris Minor, Mini Minor, etc. Then came the Honda Civic - a car derided as junk by the West. This was quickly followed by other Japanese cars like Toyota, Datsun and Mitsubishi and, very soon, they conquered the Malaysian market. Mr. Ong’s Hillman was no more the only car in our village. Soon it was our turn to close down our textile factories when the owners decided to shift to other countries like Thailand, Vietnam and China. We, in turn, started to manufacture textile machinery and other machinery such as fans, ovens, refrigerators, television sets, etc while countries like Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore invested in High Technology industries. I think this is known as globalization. We established Proton Holdings, our national car maker which produces Proton cars. We found oil and gas and founded our national oil and gas company, Petronas. Investments continued to pour in and soon we began to manufacture, among other things, computer accessories and electronics for companies like Hewlett Packard and Intel. We are also a major exporter of rubber and palm oil. Now we have more money and we have more brands of cars in the market like Audi, Volvo, BMW, Mercedes, Porsche and Korean cars like Hyundai and Kia. When I go to Kamunting village, the narrow roads are jammed with cars and motorcycles and the air is filled by the foul smell of exhaust fumes. Mr. Ong’s Hillman is nowhere to be seen and largely forgotten. Now if America were to manufacture the products sold there and other countries were to follow suit, it would mean the end of globalization. Our manufacturing sector would suffer and our exports greatly reduced and confined to oil, rubber and palm oil. The only jobs available would be in these three industries. We would then be poor again. We would have no money to buy computers which means companies like Hewlett Packard, Intel, Microsoft, Apple, Yahoo, Google, Facebook, etc would lose a large part of their businesses. We would not be able to afford drinks like Coca Cola or Pepsi Cola and eating at places like MacDonald’s, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Burger King, Pizza Hut and Kenny Rogers Roasters would be out of the question. Instead of watching Western shows in cinemas and on television, we would be watching cheaper local productions or those from Singapore, China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. (There is no way that we would be able to watch American Idol!) We would be smoking rokok daun (tobacco rolled in palm leaves) instead of Marlboro, Rothmans or Benson and Hedges. We would be drinking Samsu (Coconut wine) instead of beers like Heineken, Tiger, Anchor or Guiness Stout and Rice Wine instead of whiskey, brandy or champagne. We would also be drinking local tea and coffee instead of those at the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, Delifrance or Starbucks Coffee Houses, and these would all have to close shop. We would be riding bicycles again. Only a few would be able to have motorcycles and none of these would be Harley Davidson or Honda GoldWing. There would only be one petrol station for the whole of Taiping and it would be Petronas and not Esso, Shell, Mobil or Caltex. And for occasions that require transportation like marriages, funerals and sending a villager to hospital, we would be borrowing Mr. Ong’s refurbished Hillman again. Lee  Live today as if it is your last For tomorrow will soon be in the past |
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8/17/2008 12:11 pm |
Lee-- This reminded me of something I learned some time ago-- it was called "Performance Venn-Narratives" As I remember--it has circles with people-things and a story and continually moved--causing changes. Interesting Blog-- I hope you'll continue to write-- ~Spunky~ 
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Hi winkay, I concur. With the vast improvements in communication and transportation, we now live in a global village whereby the actions of one villager affects the others as well as himself. Furthermore, this village has greatly industrialized with developed, newly developed and developing areas. However, we should not regress but continue to develop which is why research and development is vital. I am sure that although we have progressed greatly, there is still room for much more and, with commitment and diligence, this village should do just fine. Lee Live today as if it is your last For tomorrow will soon be in the past
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Hi Minnie & Ted, Thanks for the comment. Whatever I know about globalization is read from the papers so there is little that I can add. I believe globalization has both upsides and downsides and it is how we react to these that is important. Lee Live today as if it is your last For tomorrow will soon be in the past
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Wow, what a wonderful detailed piece. A good summary of the last 50 years. Was of great interest to me as my dad had a blue Hillman Hunter in the mid 1960's. When I go back to visit my mum, she has lots of photos of me on the mantlepiece (as mothers do) and guess what, one of those photos is of me sitting on the blue Hillman, with our dog by my side. I guess dad bought that car as it was one of the better but affordable British cars.
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very interesting; thank you for sharing much that i didn't know. the other day a friend showed me a critter pillow she'd received; it was a square pillow with a dog's head and feet and tail that folded in half and stuck together with velcro. when open, it could be used as a pillow but when folded, it looked like a stuffed animal. it was very soft, well-made, and cute. i asked her where it was manufactured ... and the tag said "china." i've noticed more and more items are made out of the united states. i would prefer to buy items made in the u.s. because i live here and wish more people wanting to work could find jobs. wanted to share my observation .... Thank you. I was just writing about what I know and envisage. Like you, I too would like to buy items made in my country because we, in Malaysia, lose jobs too. I mentioned in my blog that our textile factories had already been shifted to other countries but now, even our machinery (fan, fridges, television, air conditioner, etc) factories are being relocated. We cannot blame the business people because the world is largely industrialized now and competition is very stiff. They would be willing to relocate to the North Pole if it gives them an edge! I guess every country (developed, newly developed or developing) would have to lose jobs at some time. I like the way one Taiwanese (I can't remember whether it was mining or engineering) company reacted. After they decided to close down their business, they ventured into hydroponics and orchid growing. Instead of being retrenched, the workers were sent for training to learn new skills. Now they are one of the biggest producers of orchids with their own hybrids. Lee Live today as if it is your last For tomorrow will soon be in the past
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Hi shirl, It was just a reaction to a blog I read. I guess I chose to write about Mr. Ong's black Hillman because it is indelible in my memory. I remember stealing into the car late at night and "driving" it with the noise of the engine coming from me. It was a fantastic performance; the roar of the engine when I reach full speed, the screeching of the brakes when I round a bend. Why, I believe I could have even beaten Michael Schumacher! Lee p.s. Didn't you notice that I was standing beside you in front of those houses? We only got our TV set at about the same time.  Live today as if it is your last For tomorrow will soon be in the past
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Lee-- This reminded me of something I learned some time ago-- it was called "Performance Venn-Narratives" As I remember--it has circles with people-things and a story and continually moved--causing changes. Interesting Blog-- I hope you'll continue to write-- ~Spunky~ Thank you. I have googled "performance-venn-narratives" and found that it has something to do with design and business. A little too deep for me I am afraid. My guess is I must have used Mr. Ong's Hillman as a prop in my story telling.  Lee Live today as if it is your last For tomorrow will soon be in the past
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8/19/2008 4:39 am |
Happy weekend and enjoy to reading
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Wow, what a wonderful detailed piece. A good summary of the last 50 years. Was of great interest to me as my dad had a blue Hillman Hunter in the mid 1960's. When I go back to visit my mum, she has lots of photos of me on the mantlepiece (as mothers do) and guess what, one of those photos is of me sitting on the blue Hillman, with our dog by my side. I guess dad bought that car as it was one of the better but affordable British cars. Yes, mothers are like that. You were sitting on the Hillman but did you "drive" one?  Blue Hillman Hunters are now worth a lot.Lee Live today as if it is your last For tomorrow will soon be in the past
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Happy weekend and enjoy to reading Thank you and a very Happy Olympics to you. Lee Live today as if it is your last For tomorrow will soon be in the past
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Hi Ireland, It is not just America. I read in the papers this morning, the whole world is worried about rising costs and unemployment and more than half the countries surveyed think that their country is going into recession. As such, retail sales has gone down. Lee Live today as if it is your last For tomorrow will soon be in the past
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Hi flakes, It may not be possible to ride bicycles in Kuala Lumpur anymore but it is still possible in Kamunting Village. I remember the TV in your house; Shirl and I were there, crowding around the windows. Lee Live today as if it is your last For tomorrow will soon be in the past
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