Swap the Curry for Rice

Dealing with the business side of my beloved's pursuit of stardom I've quickly come to realise that I might as well be back in India.

Some of you over the years have been bombarded by my explanations for the inequalities of life faced by so many millions across the globe. It is probably presumptuous to even believe that I can provide an explanation for a series of very complex problems that policy makers across the globe have wrestled with, unsuccessfully, over so many decades. But one common feature strikes me time and time again when visiting countries like India, The Philippines, Thailand and Cambodia versus other countries in the region like Singapore or Hong Kong; there are a hell of a lot of men sitting around doing nothing.

I remember taking my computer for repairs at a small shop in Malvern a few years back run by an Indonesian chap. We got talking about things in general whilst he was trying to make sense of endless Microsoft 'essential' updates. He found out that I had just returned from my first trip to Jakarta and I had observed the wide gulf between rich and poor. "Please tell me you are not one of those people" he asked. I was a little taken aback and then replied "what do you mean those people". "You know", he responded "people who think there is something wrong with having rich and poor people".

My ALP sensibilities were terribly offended.

"Let me tell you something", he said as he stopped working and looked up from the monitor, "you could give every Indonesian $1 million dollars tomorrow and I promise you one week later some would have doubled their money, some would have blown their money".

Those words have stuck with me not because they are entirely correct - it doesn't, for example, deal with the issue of institutionalised poverty and people who will never be given the chance to blow $1 million dollars - but it does highlight the differences amongst people. Some are more responsbile, some irresponsible, some will gamble it, some will spend it on grog whilst others may invest it wisely or just put in the bank for a rainy day.

I do believe people are people wherever you go but I also believe certain norms in some pockets of the globe can exaggerate the strengths and weaknesses that we all have. To be even more precise, there are a certain set of norms that are expected of people in a city like London, Berlin or Tokyo that are not expected in Manila, Bangkok or Delhi. By 'norm' I'm really talking about a work ethic. And to be fair, it is isn't contained to this part of the world. Ask a businessman from Dusseldorf his opinion of workers from Barcelona and you will cop an earful.

On a daily basis in Manila I hear about the "Chinese this" or the "Chinese that". It isn't so much rascism as it is an undercurrent of jealously that the newcomers on the scene (comparatively!) dominate - and I mean dominate - the business world here.

Just like in Jakarta. Just like in Kuala Lumpar.

But nothing can better illustrate the above than the government mandated holiday period - extended after public pressure - between the 21st Dec to the 5th January. Roads were empty, shopping centres closed and you could actually see a blue sky with the absence of polluting factories. Take a walk through Chinatown though and it was business as normal. The narrow streets were packed with the hustle and bustle of men and women selling goods, buying goods, haggling for the best price and closing deals on mutually acceptable terms.

Oh, the difference to the rest of Manila.

Idle men sitting on the edge of pavements while their women head off to work. Groups of taxi drivers milling around smoking (and sometimes drinking) who are quick to turn away a fare if the proposed distance is too short, too long, too left, too right....you get the picture.

Churches will be packed on Sunday as men pray for the well being of their families before heading off for siesta because they are so tired from collecting the overseas remittance from a distant relative who will forever be saddled with guilt for living in the 'comfort' of the US, Canada and Australia all the while working his or her guts out doing 50 hours a week while the family back in Manila spend a working day singing stupid love songs on their Karaoke machine.

And of course all of this is a pretty crude stereotype but god knows there is fair bit of truth behind it too.

Next time any of you are in (no natural resources former swamp land) Singapore, take the 300 metre trip across the causeway into Johor Bharu, Malaysia. People are people but some societies expect a little more of its people, some expect a lot less.