"Dead Man"s"Tales

Chapter  4     Is "Honesty -the Best Policy"?

Nay - I do not think so.Most honest people ended up being a pauper or worst.For me having gone through life for seventy years I very well know honesty never or seldom  begets handsome rewards or  good endings.In any case I write from my own experiences.Perhaps my luck was not that good most of the time.

During my life time I had come across many people who were so lucky that every thing they touched turned to solid gold.They simply got that "Midas touch". Or should I say they were born with a silver spoon.One very good example was my ex-boss he was always successful in every business he was involved in.That was why he was a millionaire.He was born rich without a doubt but by his magical touch made him even richer.

Fate I believed played an important role in our life.When young I was told or made to believed that our lives were very much in our control.Huh!!! sad to say I do not think so.Of course there were many circumstances where by people do get rewarded for hard work they put in to achieved it.

There are a lot of injustice all round. In most cases those were rich and powerful often had the major or louder say in most things.Poor men even though processed a big mouth cannot speak louder than rich men.Rich are powerful in our "boleh land". Powerful people will never be convicted in any crimes or corruptions.

These we read every day in our daily news.Our latest were the rape cases.Two rapists convicted of raping girls as young as twelve were given extremely light sentence because they still have a good future ahead.One case recorded in Kuala Lumpur, the other in Penang.So young rapists can go free or given light sentences .Older folks watch out  for you have no future ahead your sentences for such crimes should be more serious.But in "boleh land" money talked louder.So have no fear - go happy raping young girls.

Ever since young we all know that those who slot very hard under the merciless sun are lowly paid.Of course in the fifties life was difficult.because after the war jobs were scare and hard to come by.Many were jobless.Manual workers toiled extremely hard under the sun just to be rewarded with nothing less than three ringgit daily in the fifties and sixties.Of course money was quite big those days.

Poor laborers were often fully exploited by the rich and powerful.Because those days only those rich had the means to provide jobs.So they can afford to demand and pay as they think so dim fit.Therefore their earnings were exceeding high and the poor workers can  never or even dared to argue.

Then came the unionists,were they honest people,too? No,I do not think so,because most were fighting for themselves at the expenses of the poor workers they so claimed to represent.They survived on the subscriptions of the poor workers.Most of them were opportunists because I have met and dwelt with many of them during my long working careers.Yes,I knew them and  knew how to fight them..

Turning back to younger days as a child we all had experienced how our honest father was often squandling his time away with his 'pig mates' and "dog friends" as our mother putted it.Got money his friends were always  around him but when his pockets were empty the friends were no where to be seen.

Although extremely young I could remember the days when our father had money he would take us to have breakfast at the restaurant in front of the market on his new Hercules  bicycle .My brother would be seated at the handle bar while I perched at the back seat.With that he would pushed us on with his so called friends tagging along.

Those were the days when at the restaurant tea would be ordered and to be shared by my brother and me.My would be served on the dish provided while the half in the cup would be for my brother.How nice to sip tea from the dish.Even today at times I had the urged to sip tea  from the dish but shy of doing it in public.

Those schooling days,I was often bullied by the big boys especially those big fatties.I  do not know why they always picked on me.Maybe I was tiny in statue that was why. I could not even fight back let alone honestly informed the teachers.Those fatties normally from well to do families and when they do make any compliant their compliant went nicely into the teachers' ears and poor us were punished,./

Yes!! right or wrong we would be penalized.Simply it was difficult to be honest.Honest boys in our days had difficult times with the bigger boys who bullied us.I was shoved around because for one I had no pocket money to offer them or treat them bullies.Others I think gave in weakly to their demand after all it was only a few cents.Of course come what may at times I choose to fight back.So many a times got beaten up.

Stand up like a man so they say.But is that the right attitude?. Obviously, dead wrong.It takes a lot more to be a hero.A beaten up hero?. Can you stand straight upright when trashed  properly?. That were all bullish attitude.To be honest that was me all the time.With experiences behind me I think that were the stupidest attitude.

Without a doubt I learned the hard way.Having been beaten all the way through in life my attitude dived into a new transformation.I understand that I also must act like others to be successful.So no more being honest and straight forward for it does not pay.I began a new life when I joined Sri Jaya Oil Palm Estate.Well it certainly paid dividends being deceptive.You can never be too honest among crooks.

When I first joined that plantation I studied why and how my predecessor failed miserably.First and foremost I found out that he was never an experienced planter.He was directly employed after graduation from Taiwan.Being inexperience he had misconception of what it was in plantation.Thereby he listened to the others whom for their own gains misguided him.

Being a young brat fresh from the University made him arrogant and hot headed .Thus landed him him into unnecessary clashes with the employer as well as the those in the oil mill.The Engineer of the Mill was the blue eyed boy of all the Bosses.So who was he to clashed with him.A word of the Engineer was worth hundred times his.

His starborness bored him more quarrels and griefs.Yet he struggled on with constant harassment from the Mill. Without the Boss on his side he got the full blasts of all things leveled upon him.The poor guy lasted for a few years before he finally surrendered and resigned to go into business.Poor guy took the bashings from all angles until his tolerance gave way.

Having learned all those things I went into the plantation with my fingers crossed.I was prepared for the worst actually.I expected a hostile situation but it was worst than I anticipated.When I joined that estate I was met with a hostile staffs who had anticipated my early departure .However what they never knew were that I was a tough nut t crack with their co-operation.

They made sure that I was unwelcome from the very start.My first impression of the semi-D bungalow was extremely cold.The bungalow was clean no doubt but there were almost no furniture within except for two wooden beds without the mattresses.They thought that without any mattresses I would have left on the spot,but I did not bulged.

Instead I put up a night without any of those comfort, in fact I laid on those beds without them for several days.For me I had experienced those discomfort long ago so that was nothing new.IN actual fact I could had laid on the floor even there were no beds.I received another fright at the first sight of the office.It was almost a dilapidated wooden building.Oh dear,I meant that building could be blown off the ground by any strong gust of wind at anytime.

On second thought I stayed on and wait to see what would happen should any eventual collapse of the building. I was there to work    and not to criticized the Boss. So I just had to accept what ever there were there  was installed and carry on the best I can.As long I am paid who cares whether the office building will collapse or not.Mr predecessor could survived under those condition so can I.

To be honest I stayed on there taking each day at a time.And that day passed  by with any hitch I thanked God for keeping me safe,I laid a plans every day on how I would deal with my staffs ,my contractors and my workers.I made sure that I was always breathing under their noses.Yeah I was present every where through out the day.That would put them on their toes.

Next I dealt with the Mill.Their engineer tried to pressure me from all angles.Being the blue eyed boy of the Boss he was definitely a force to reckon with.His words to the Boss carried a lot of weight while my were nothing.To combat that I went on the defensive against him.That softer approach paid dividend.Crops dispatched to the Mill were never 100 %  faultless.No point arguing and quarrel all over.

Admitting my follies does not mean that we admitting all our faults.Admitting our mistakes with promises to rectify all wrongs  went a long long way.By admitting our mistakes soften the angry heat looming on the Boss's face and promising to rectify it with immediate effect pleased the Boss very  much.At least he does not have scold me.

How could he if I was taking all the blames and correcting on the spot my staffs as well? .Of course that worked well.Able to rectify all the faults as promised remained to be seen.Well in  any case all of us knew very well that was just another mission impossible.At least that move should surprised those trying their level best to put me in troubles.

So why be so honest and quarrel over trivial matters?. One surely can never be honest and too straight forward,it never worked that way.Being defensive and deceptive goes a long way.To me excepting fault in my work does not mean that we were totally at fault nor it proved that we were at mistakes.Every body knew that it was impossible to to correct all the workers in the field.

Workers were workers ,they listened to instructions while you put the pressure on but once left alone to they repeat the same all over again.Should they be so smart they be our superior not our workers.

To be honest I survived so long - for fifteen years in that company.To be correct that was the best time of my entire working career.I worked  extremely hard honestly from the very beginning ignoring all obstacles all the way.Of course I had came a long long way learning and experiencing  all hard ship to reach this final stage.

Actually with my vast experienced I needed not to toil very hard because everything seemingly delivered to me on a plate,all so clearly cut,apparently waiting for me to administer the finishing touches..True I was badly shaken from the very start but soon I overcame  all those obstacles.From that I managed to convince the Boss of my abilities.

Within three months I was confirmed and given an increment as well as the right to move into the new bungalow which was constructed some three years back.The Engineer after failing to break me became my good friend.With that all crop sent there were little graded if at there were it was settled without the Boss knowing  them.

 It was however not plain sailing all the way,because you know Chinese owned concern  have their own spies around us..Ours happened to be an account clerk who had served the Boss well else where.He came rushing in like a a big cannon shooting empty bullets every where.

By now I am a seasoned man against such people.I mean people who gain favors of the Boss by carrying tales as well as spying for their gains.I hated their kind really to be honest.During my younger days I was inexperienced therefore was at a disadvantage when coming across them.I was too raw then for them but now dealing with them were seemingly chicken feed.

As usual I pretended to fear him initially just waiting for the right moment to strike him back.By lying low does not mean that I was afraid of them.On the contrary by so behaving these people will usually think that are superior and will act complacently foolishly proud. My wait was due in no time for this man was a drunkard.Simple it made  him paid dearly for his position in the Company.

He was removed from the sight of the Boss without a reason.The Boss simply ignored him.Worst of all only his Assistant was ordered to relate the Boss message to him.He left without knowing why he was sacked.

Of course all along I had a  hard life since a kid and that really hardened me.It made me strong in face of any obstacles.Right or wrong I just bashed on.Life was in deed very hard when we were young.What ever it was,honesty was the best policy.I and my other siblings were brought up that way.I also acknowledge that honesty does not pays many ended up as paupers.

In actual life that were never the case.Like when I was attached to St.AndrewEstate,Batang Berjuntai.In my position in that plantation I had to abide by the rules and stayed honest to survive.I   established my self well with my the Bosses by just being hard working a well as honest.

In that plantation I had a family to be concern with and any wrong move by me all of us would in the streets without any thing to live on.Another thing was that I was a bad listed planter so therefore I had to work doubly hard to survive.My salary was low by all measures but beggars were no choosers.So no choice I simply had to be absolutely honest.No hanky panky.

The Bosses tested my honesty and hard from all angles and could even the slightest fault.In any plantation there were so many openings for me to make up for the loss of higher payments from the Bosses.Just like most Planters  should they be unfairly paid they usually made up by creating the extra through the estate's books.The opportunities were easily available.

But I prefer to stay away and be  satisfied with my meager earnings.We Malaysians Chinese  can survived at even the lowest salary.So throughout my entire ten years there I remained honest.Of course there were other incentives coming in without being corrupt or by cheating the company AS long as I did not steal from the company it was no cheating.

In St.Andrew my displeasure came from some so called friends.I helped them in their times of need and treated them well,but when it came to the crunch they betrayed me.When the time came for me actually to be automatically become the Group Hospital's  Chairman they opted to vote against me,although our plantation was the biggest contributor to the Group Hospital.

Of course I could had barged my way through but I prevented a rout by our company.Had I related that matter to my Boss there chances that we withdraw from that Hospital eminent..Without us that Hospital would had collapsed.Well,I just played it cool . These so called friends never respected me as I for them.

That was why It does not pay to be honest with such people So be honest to people who respect you as you for them otherwise tell them to fly kites.The understanding ought to have been mutual Well,maybe I was friendly with them and never at any time put an air as most planters do.In my case I think being friendly imbedded within them that idea that I feared them.

In any case I did not reviewed my anger on them,my revenge came later on.I hit them where  it mattered most, to be related in following chapters.Another thing was that I was more interested in my job with the plantation so forgot all small squabbles.In simple I did not  want to put my job in jeopardy as that Director position was not a well paying position.It does worth anything to work for nothung just a stupid name - Chairman....                 ..





to be continued.