Chapter 14 My Busineses

Having been in planting for so long guessed I better take a look beyond to see what was installed for me?On papers every thing seem so wonderfully and profitable.Working for others I had reaped profits which could never be mine.it was timely I do something on my own,for myself?Should I not try it out in the business world I would never know the truth.Should I be at fault, no one else to blame accept myself.

So I drove straight into business without a second thought,bad judgment maybe.Should had thought over it carefully.Instead I ventured straight into it without much knowledge nor experience in it,head on.The crashed was fatal but there was a lesson learned- never indulged myself in any ventures which I myself was not familiar or ever experienced.Paper works can be misleading but business was real,once involved you wet you whole head and disaster struck.The lost was immensely enormous,money lost can earned back by working and experienced gained valuable but the image, sincerity slightly dented,with confidence shattered.

Sometimes it was difficult to say but I found out the hard way that businessmen were born not made.Of course when you were successful all sort of rubbish can be claimed as most successful businessmen do,and one will dared disclaimed them or ignored them,they have already made it,no need to prove it.

So I left planting to venture into business.Rubber wood sawing was slowly becoming more lucrative.When we went into it, it was the beginning of that industry for used in furniture manufacturing.The future was promising with obstacles all the way initially.We were so eager so much so we overlooked many things.

Authorities controlling timber trade were indifferent and treated rubber wood sawing as as ordinary saw milling which brought us to the ground.There were problems whether to distinguish rubber wood with timber from the jungle.Nothing were concrete and each forestry officers had their own interpretation of the law.With that we were thrown about from one corner to another with no one claiming responsibilities.Some even claimed that were not under their jurisdictions.

I was starborn when I first ventured into business because I firmly believe that should I be able to run a plantation profitably for others I should be able to do it for myself.Well,how wrong I was,but when the blood was hot on its trail no one can stopped me.So with the little capital I had I joined ventured with friends into rubber wood milling.

That was a grave mistake on my part,a most regretable mistake.I also learned the hard way never to indulge in any business with anyone with just any one.The friend involved should be trustworthy and sincere.The allotment of shares should be fair and should have the final say in any operation,otherwise forget it.

With so many contradictions around we nevertheless operated three mini- band saws.Our operations went on very well for sometime then as things were beginning to run smoothly the relevant Authorities stepped in to chain up our band saw claiming that we should have a licence to operate those band saws.Thus began our second rounding like a merry go round we went from one department to the other trying to locate who were responsible.

We went about for several months,therefore wasted much money in traveling plus other expenses.At the same time we shifted our operations to the plantations thinking that the machinery people would not disturb us there but sad to say they did,usually when our running were smooth.They can lock our band saws but we broke them every time they stopped us and moved around making it difficult for them to locate us.

Moving around could solved our problems temporarily but moving cost us plenty of money,thus we lost heavily on this,As if this was insufficient our problems did not just end there.Our sawn timber were initially sold to a private buyer but unfortunately there was no payments due or told to wait on.We were small operator therefore had no funds to hold on long without payments as payments to sawers had to be paid weekly.

With no funds coming we found another buyer,the big furniture company in Temerloh,Pahang.Their payments were similarly not so prompt and we had to traveled there to collect them.That was not all,because they were very strict in their purchase of our timber.There was unfortunately deduction every where from spilt timber,black pigments and nodes were all deducted,thus our shipments were further cut down.

As that was not enough there were further of not well treated timber,for mould for insufficiently air dried timber etc.Timber had also to be whitened as well as treated with insecticides to prevent borers from attacking the timber. Even those were not ours were filed into our lots and thus we were forced to retreat all at the factory site..We sold them air dried timber it was up to them to air dry them further in their kilns as soon as possible but their weaknesses were piled on us.That was business and they could not careless who they write off as long as it were never them.

Amassed with so many problems we subsequently dipeleted of our profits and funds on accounting , we lost heavily.We were in debts and had no finances to continue our business so we forced to close shop thereon.

Simultaneously while operating the mini saw- mill we were also doing some trading in estate supplies.Imagining that while I as a planter had met with many friends and had expected them to lend us some support.How unfortunate I soon found how dreadfully wrong I was,those expected support never came forth with.

True enough there was some support but those were so mnimium.Supplies were short of estimate but the expences enormous as I soon found out most planters were corrupted as can be so even among so call friends,what friends there were none if at all very few geninune friends.Only when involved fully in business that I soon found out slightly too late.

The support I did get was small comparatively and at extremely low prices with little or no profits,but when business were alloted to me,the planters involved expected plenty of cash returns from us.Small profit for business given but in return for the small business got to bride those involved with cash,thus business was no business.When having wet our head ad to adhere to continue but it did not lasted long before we called it a day with again magnified lost.

I had tried to made it worked by doing all the management and labor jobs myself but to no avail,it never worked,no matter how hard I tried.Through hard work we had some support from the small holders and vegetables farmers.Many of them made purchases on credit terms .Initially they were good paymasters but when the prices of commodities dropped tgheir payments were extended.When we call it a day many could even pay us,tyhus we have many creditors around not much.

In any case our lost in saw milling was great and there was not much funds left to prolong the business,too.In the end I ended up with huge debts and losses,I was forced out of business.To-day some so call friends still owed us some money which could not be collected.So they say ,no more business around so goes the debts,to forego just like that.What frends do I have?All but a group of corrupted .............. .

In the end I was jobless for a couple of months.There was no savings left in the coffer and there fore forced to do manual work in my in-laws plantation.Actually no work around in fact and left in a lurch.Times were hard,with us going to do tapping in their small holding for survival.There was no choice as the children were school going but we survived.

Fortunately,the Lord above surely has a way out for me,for within months I secured a job as Manager of Sri Jaya Oil Palm Estate,Kg.Sri Jaya,Pahang.The salary was only so,so but nevertheless I got employment.Irrespective of its pay I took the job just to be employed.Payments can improve should I be able to prove my worth.I was determined to perform well no matter whatever the circumstances how adversed it be.


To be continued.