We're All In The Same Boat

I am a creator of connections. In case you’re wondering what I’m wearing, this is the traditional dress worn by men in Myanmar, the Longyi. Today, I hope to connect everyone a little more with Myanmar, a place that I’ve come to call my second home.

I have travelled to about 100 cities in the world and it has strongly reaffirmed my belief that every human being is equal, which brings me to the theme of this speech: we’re all in the same boat.

To introduce myself, I am a filmmaker by training, a school drop out and an entrepreneur by accident. 5 years ago, I started J Rental Centre, a peer to peer rental platform that connects owners and renters in the media and events industry. I also started another production outfit to help Startups produce video and photo content that can connect their ideas with their audiences. In the past two years however, I’ve been focussed on setting up two companies in Myanmar.

Today, let me share with you how my experiences in Myanmar have made me aware of how interconnected everyone is. 

Now you may be asking, ‘Why Myanmar?’. Some people are probably wondering where Myanmar even is. Singapore and Myanmar are actually pretty close- geographically, economically and historically. It takes 2 plus hours by plane to get to Yangon while the country boasts Singapore as its top foreign investor and we both have a shared history as a former colony of Britain.

My first encounter with Myanmar, was over 6 years ago, when a Burmese lecturer of mine brought a couple of my schoolmates and I to visit and photograph his homeland- the country had opened up for just about two years. For 50 years, authoritarian military rulers suppressed trade and successfully isolated the country of 55 million, resulting in what I'd term a “time capsule” effect. The tallest building downtown was only 20 stories high- you would probably struggle to find this building if you went there today. It was however, the kindness of the people whom I met, that struck me the most. I kept coming back year after year, to visit and learn more about the people, places and culture. As with all things that are changing, I knew things could either improve quickly or go downhill, and I wanted to be on the side to do the former, yet I just didn’t know what to do..

Fast forward to August last year, when I needed to hire more staff for my company in Singapore. I thought I'd try to look for some talents in Myanmar and see if I’d find anyone suitable- to my surprise, each job posted on Facebook yielded about 50 applicants. I thought that there must have been a huge unemployment issue, but further research revealed a gap in skills and job opportunities that was feeding the bigger brain drain problem. Unlike Singapore, Myanmar is developing at a time in history where the world is so much more interconnected and her neighbours are all comparatively richer - a significant proportion of the country's well educated and well resourced individuals have left in search of greener pastures. What happens when all of a country's best human resources leaves? Who will remain to develop the country? This was the reason why I started Crossworks, to commit myself not just to hire and train remote workers for my own companies, but to provide this service to companies who want to do the same. 

However, while I embarked on sharing about Myanmar’s brain drain issue and hiring remote talent, it dawned upon me that there was so little knowledge about the country. Those who have read the news headlines would generally be unimpressed by and insufficiently informed of the great potential that the country boasts. Myanmar today was essentially like Singapore in the 70’s, point for point, and who wouldn’t have wanted to invest in Singapore back in the 70’s? But… these headlines may be the reason why some might be wary of even visiting. News/Media outfits often report on the here and now and focus on things that attract eyeballs. We rather hear about 5 people dying of a terror attack than the hundreds of thousands starving daily, right?

 When I dropped out of Hwa Chong Junior College to study film in this fine school, I received a very good piece of advice- that filmmaking was just a medium and that the subject matter or story, is really the key. So with Myanmar as the subject matter, I started an online media channel titled HEAR Myanmar earlier this year, hoping to showcase another side of the country, not often seen by others. In the last year and a half, I have been to states supposedly in civil war, stood centimetres away from Aung San Suu Kyi, went to the Laos, India and Thai borders and even sat on multiple boats in the open sea. Here are just three stories that I hope to quickly share.

 First, is that of a flood. No, I don’t mean ponding or flash floods, but prolonged floods up to 9 feet that can submerge the first story of a building. The 9th of August was when floods were at its peak this year, it was Singapore’s national day, and the day where I got a few minutes of fame on TV sharing about my journey starting a business overseas.

All that remained visible of this house, during the peak of the flood season this year on 9th August, was its roof and gate. I couldn’t let the stories of the hundreds of thousands affected by the floods, go unheard. Two weeks later, me and my team were literally in the heart of the storm. We went to visit the two worst townships affected by the floodwaters, and flooding was still so severe that people got around in boats. What was even more heartbreaking, was knowing that these floods were an annual affair. International NGO’s and the government's efforts were on rescue and relief and little thought was given toward prevention. So I thought we could at least raise awareness about the need for prevention, and talk to some engineers about a potential solution in one village; we are still in the midst of this effort, and it will take a lot of time talking to government folks, raising money and doing the actual implementation, but I think that if we show that it's possible to lead a life that does not involve 1-2 months a year of disruptions due to flooding, other villages and townships will open their eyes and be more keen to follow.

 The second story is about an ancient festival in Kayah State, Myanmar- The Kay Htoe Boe Festival. This annual festival is held around April, to mark the new year and seek good weather. While I don’t subscribe to their beliefs, we were there to tell their story . We trekked over 15 kilometres, slept overnight in the jungle and witnessed live animals being killed. These celebrations literally revolved around a tree, or what they refer to as a sacred totem pole. What happens is that a tree is selected and has to be chopped and carried by 48 men, on foot, for about 8 miles to the festival grounds. The pole is then decorated and raised, followed by a huge celebration with music and dance. The organisers extended immense hospitality allowing us to stay in their village and have a behind the scenes look as we documented the entire festival proceedings. This is one of hundreds of festivals that Myanmar is home to. This is the first of three episodes (Edited)

Thirdly, this story is about a race- the Karen people. Bordering Thailand, the Karen people originate from Myanmar’s Kayin state, but more than a million no longer call that place home. Much of the global attention has shifted to the Rakhine State due to the Rohingya situation, ever since 2012, but this other ‘exodus’ began decades ago. The Karen people started going across the border to seek a better life as civil war gripped the country shortly after then-Burma’s independence. There were also pull factors such as employment and education opportunities.

Today, Mae Sot has 9 refugee camps in operation, many becoming more like a permanent village than a temporary camp. There are over 80 schools with underpaid or unpaid teachers, unrecognised certifications and almost no access to computers and digital technology. Workers who are undocumented also do not qualify for the 300 baht per day minimum wage, often working for less money and in some cases, in inhumane conditions just to make ends meet. The situation that these people are in is peculiar indeed, involving human rights, and touching sensitive legalities.

Should we support improving the education system in the border city, and have even more people leave the country? Or should we improve things in Myanmar to incentivise people to come back? Both governments seem to be eager to repatriate these migrants, but the migrants I spoke to say that the reasons why they chose to leave in the first place have largely been unaddressed- basic factors like employment and education.

Perhaps these issues help put the problems that we face into perspective.

 Some people call those who leave opportunists, and some term them as refugees, some people see flooding statistics and just gasp, and yet others might think ‘why does an ancient festival involving tree worship concern me at all?’. To me, I see everyone as human, and I want more people to hear their stories and meet their needs. I have learnt not to build a wall around my heart and not to just listen to those who have ‘made it’.

 Academic and former Dean of the LKY School of Public Policy, Kishore Mahubhani once used a very poignant analogy of the world order prior to 1945 being several large ships and many small vessels in the open ocean. However, following the formation of the United Nations, the Western democratic/capitalist model where countries become increasingly interdependent, we are now more like many cabins on a huge ship. Instead of trying to avoid collisions, the world needs to start thinking of how to steer the huge ship together and to do so in a peaceful fashion. A fire in one cabin will quickly cause effects to neighbouring countries, perhaps like how Singapore faces the almost annual transboundary haze from Indonesia.

Imagine a family member is severely ill and needs the doctor, even if you had an exam to take the following day, most of you will probably carve out time to attend to their needs. How much different are the problems that are faced by so many, all over the world, that just because we don't see, we don't feel and we don't do anything about. There is nothing wrong with being in a business or first class cabin, but how often do we think about the other passengers on board our global ship? 

 We, ordinary citizens, are best positioned to identify and close gaps that large nationwide or even worldwide programmes have yet to do. Each person who is seeking to make a difference will surely encounter something that he/she can do, big or small, and the best thing to do (duh) is to actually act. In Myanmar someone once told me that Singaporeans are known for the 3L’s: Look, Learn and Leave. Perhaps this accolade is something we might want to drop, but on a more serious note, lessons learnt by one may be an opportunity taken that another person may not have, and I would encourage the individual who is aware of a need, to start addressing it, or at least not to stop thinking about it.

A word of caution though, as the saying goes, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Charities may create reliant communities, dams have ecological costs, training people for jobs that aren't available is simply a waste of time. What might have worked before might not necessarily work again, so it usually is not as simple as porting a successful idea in to solve a problem. There are no lack of examples of well-intentioned programmes that have resulted in negative side effects. Besides thorough research and ground work, starting on a small scale and monitoring impact just like how a startup works, is an ideal approach in my opinion. Keep trying and don't let failure be a setback, just take them as more lessons to be learnt.

So what now? When to start? What to do? I can't speak on behalf of governments and organisations, nor on behalf of the poor and destitute. I don't speak today as a Singaporean, as a businessman, nor as a member of some organisation, I speak as a human being part of this big world we live in. I happen to be privileged enough to have this opportunity, that some might recognise me as a creator, an inspiring guy, etc. But let's put all that aside.

If you are now in school and not earning anything, I implore you to use as much time as you can to learn about the problems that others are facing, and try to do something, even if it is small. Cut back on gaming, instagram scrolling, Korean drama watching- you don't have to deprive yourself of it, but don't isolate yourself from the world and build a wall around your heart. If you are working, and you are 'tied up' with a day job and living expenses, remember that Jack Ma says it is what you do before and after work that will define you- do less cafe hopping, sightseeing tours and trips, buying luxury bags and sports cars, surely doing that won't really hurt right? For those like me, who are their own boss, or who want to start a company one day, work will take up a huge part of your life, so it is only logical to put other people into the very mission or vision of your company. If you're unable to do so, perhaps start something else, like Tony stark from the avengers franchise, and make your positive dent in the universe felt.

To conclude, let us do the new 3 L’s. Look, learn and leave a positive impact, and always remember, we are all in the same boat, we’re all connected in tangible and intangible ways. If there is a fire on one end of the ship and we help to put it out, we are only doing ourselves a favour. If there is a starving person on board that we never see, I don't think any of us will continue to the buffet area if there is a choice for everyone to instead get a box of chicken rice. If there is a broken sewage pipe on another deck, it may not affect us today, or tomorrow, but one can be sure that if nothing is done, the smell will one day get to us, other systems nearby will start to be affected and it is only a matter of time before our way of life might be very much the same as our fellow boat-men, when the ship starts to sink.

We are all created with eyes to see, hearts to care, brains to think and hands to act: it's time we start using them and make our boat the best that it can be. Thank you