Today was the launch of a joint cooperation between HIPMI and Micromart. It was
a lively event, and everyone was talking with everyone - with the brightest of
smiles. I suppose that even networking does not necessarily have to be very
focused or impersonal. They seemed genuine and looking towards a brighter
future ahead. Come to think of it, I suppose this means that Cik Farid himself
is being recognized for his ability and efforts in bringing up the name of
Micromart into the public sector. To have HIPMI acknowledging Micromart kind of
shows that MM certainly has made progress.
Earlier in the day though, Cik Farid asked me the same question yet again -
what my perception of him. I suppose that really is a difficult question as it
has only been a week. The only time a person really ever knows what I think of
the person is when I myself have affirmed my own views to be true after getting
to know a person. You add that to my tendency to see the good in people rather
than find points to criticize, you can imagine how diplomatic I tend to be on such
matters.
That said, I have been around him quite a fair bit over the past few days. Of
his two aspects, I would say the one's that I can say very easily would be his
leadership capacity and his sincerity. He is very clear with the direction he
wants to go to, and inspires his staff to follow suit. He is honest, but not
flattering. Capable of making decisions and taking action that is required of
him - and not taking the easy way out by being soft. However, despite being
firm and fair to his staff, he is also kind. He smiles and jokes with them not
as a boss, but as a person and his staff are visibly comfortable around him.
Even with those outside of his company, he approaches them with the same level
of sincerity that he shows to others.
He is also a very "hungry" person. He knows success is no formula,
but there are definitely key ingredients - one of it being hunger. He does not
subscribe to defeatist mentalities, nor sees any task as too daunting. What he
wants to achieve he will strive to achieve, but he won't do it alone. He is
capable of humbling himself even at his position to learn from others, and
depend on other capable people.
I wanted to know if I was at least right on this matter, but having the intern
ask around about the boss so bluntly is clearly the way to not get honest
answers. However the answer came to me without me even asking. I was talking to
the kind man who helps keep our office neat and tidy - and telling him about
how Singaporeans usually tend to be workaholics, like Pak Farid. He smiled and
agreed, and then he actually turned around and told me:
"Tapi Pak Farid 'best boss'! Gembira saya dgn dier. Dier orangnya baik,
hatinya mulia. Kpd semura orang dia pun hatinya baik. Penuh kasih sayang."
In my best attempt at translation, "Mr Farid is the best boss! and I am
happy to be with him. He is a good person with a pure heart. Even to anyone, he
has a good heart, full of compassion."
Everyone was tired, it was getting late, but after saying that he showed me a
smile and a vigorous thumbs up that it was a real pity that only I got to see
it. Cik Farid was only a few paces ahead, giving advice to a young person who
probably wanted to learn from him too - giving his usual beam of happiness and
encouragement. If he saw that thumbs up, I'm sure he could have been motivated
to do anything.
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