HRD Gateway

The Latest News, Tips, and Trends of the HRD Communities
Published by HRD Gateway for the e-ASEAN Endorsed ATN Project
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February 2002, USD$3.00

CONTENTS

Editorial
Feature Article One: New Roadmap to the New Economy
Feature Article Two: Passion for the Training Profession
Feature Article Three: The Emergence of New Malaysian Cinema
Feature Article Four: ICT for People with Disabilities
Book Review: Voyage to B2F2B -- An Internet Workbook for the New Economy
Attitude Vitamins
Links of Interest
HRD Gateway in the News
Production Details

Editorial

Dr. James Lin's article, "New Road Map To The New Economy" raises many questions and challenges many current paradigms.

Living in Asia, we have instant access to new technologies developed elsewhere. The old joke in the US that your computer is obsolete the moment you take it off the shelf is equally applicable here. We live in a place where intermediate technologies don't have the chance to reach us -- we are instantly teleported from primitive technology to 2002 technology.

A case in point: a small family-owned tooth-pick and joss-stick manufacturing company in rural Malaysia discovered that its antiquated telephone system was getting too expensive to maintain. Then came a young sales person with a Bachelors degree in multimedia and employed by the local branch of a telecommunications equipment distributor. After studying the problem, he recommended a relatively inexpensive system that allows for this wooden products manufacturer to call outstation and overseas numbers via the Internet, at the fraction of the cost of a long distance telephone call; on the top of that the system needs minimal maintenance expenses because of its state-of-the-art components. The system was installed, thus transforming the client company from 1960's technology user to 2002 technology user. Now, that's the New Economy to you

Of course, the New Economy needs a new roadmap, as championed by Dr. James Lin. This tooth-pick manufacturing company is still using the rusty old road -- it's run by a man who hasn't heard of the terms "delegation," "HRD / HRM," or "empowerment." The only employee who knows how to handle the new telephone system is his secondary-school daughter. But by raising the awareness and implementing new economy lessons, we can all become masters of the New Economy quickly.

For those who want to go fulltime into the training profession, we have the second part of the article on what it takes to be a fulltime independent training specialist, by yours truly.

ASEAN filmmakers seem to be overshadowed by those from Hollywood, Bollywood and HK-wood. In this issue, we present the views of Normal Yusoff on the state of Malaysian cinema. We look forward to other readers' views on the state of filmmaking in their respective countries.

Dr. Ivo Vasiljev joins us with his letter on "ICT for People with Disabilities," describing his trip to Hoi An in Central Vietnam and meeting some the most astonishing people he had ever met.

Wishing our readers a Happy New Year of the Horse -- may you gallop at high speed towards your goals and dreams!

Sincerely,
G K Lim

Feature Article One: New Roadmap to the New Economy

Presented to AHRI / 28th ARTDO Convention, Melbourne, Australia -- May 21, 2001
Published in the Singapore Straits Times, July 22, 2000

by Dr. James Y Lin

Nine Road Signs for Transformations of Personal Mindset & Organizational Culture

SURVEY

As we are challenged in the ’New Economy’, QLQ International conducted a preliminary survey on 645 participants who attended our management and leadership effectiveness training in the Southeast Asian region since the year 2000. The objectives of this survey were to find out what people know and think about the New Economy, their attitude towards it and their plans for it. The participants were almost homogenous working class with insignificant genders, ages and educational variances.

We asked them three important questions:

1. What is the New Economy to you?

2. What do you plan to do about it?

3. What do you think the New Economy will bring to Asia?"

THE RESPONSES:

1. What is New Economy to you?

51% said it is the newest IT movement;

10%, it is a change of our business mindset to replace the old economy;

10%, it is just another economic tool for the rich to get richer;

29%, not sure.

2. What do you plan to do about it?

52%, nothing, things change so fast, so just wait and see;

18%, keep relevant, acquire new skills in IT to increase employability;

8%, it's time to start business of my own;

22%, not clear.

3. What do you think the New Economy will bring to Asia?

28%, it will bring new Asian market in the global competitive market;

48%, unsure, it depends on Asia’s political and economical stabilities;

16%, nothing, it's just another Western economical strategy;

8%, no opinion

ROADMAP TO THE NEW ECONOMY

In the Roadmap to the New Economy there are nine road signs challenging us to observe for ‘Innovative Transformations’. However, the old and new economies are not contradictory to each other, they are instead in a ‘Yin-Yang’ dichotomy for harmony. The new economy does not replace but transform the old. The transformation process of caterpillars into butterflies best illustrates it. The old caterpillars are transformed beyond recognition into a new look, new organism, new identity, new lifestyle, new values and new mindset. If we want to become butterflies, we must be willing to transform our caterpillar identities to the new ones. We must let go of the old and embrace the new; unlearn the old and relearn the new – that’s the power of transformation. Because we cannot do things the same old ways and expect new results!

The following are the nine challenging road signs for the transformation into the New Economy:

1. SYNERGIZING IQ AND EQ. For generations, our cultural value on head performance – high IQ and Aptitude, has been the monopolizing measurement of one’s intelligence and the predictor of one’s success in life. When IQ and aptitude are translated into money, they alone guarantee financial security and prosperity. Meanwhile, the dear prize to pay is having low EQ and poor Attitude. Dr. Daniel Goleman's research proved that IQ is no longer the best predictor for one’s success in life while EQ is now the better predictor. In the knowledge-based New Economy, high aptitude with low attitude may create a ‘don’t-care work attitude and social value’. It's all heads without hearts; high tech without high touch. Research further proves that high EQ and positive attitude balanced with high IQ and aptitude are the success factors as applied in sales, marketing, human resource, people development, customer relations and in organizational management. Synergizing and elevating both EQ and IQ can be learnt and in the new economy, it is a prerequisite for survival and success. It's not how much we know, it's how we use what we know that counts!

2. KEEPING COOL HEAD AND WARM HEART is to maximize both our heads and hearts performances. Too often people in the old economy have hot heads and cold hearts for customer service, sales, public relations and people management. When doing business, we must first show a warm heart (congenial and caring attitude) then the cool head (competent and understanding aptitude). The hot head and cold heart people kill their customers while the cool head and warm heart people are customer builders. A Starbucks Coffee manager once said to me, “The reason we are popular is not the coffee we serve but that we pour our hearts into the coffee for our customers”. That’s the high EQ attitude customer service. In the new economy business, there will be more heart-to-heart added value and more positive attitude for that competitive edge.

3. BALANCING INDIVIDUALITY AND CONFORMITY is a difficult task for people who were raised in the self-denial family value and trained in the conformity social ethics. Conformity in the old economy was to live and work for collective survival. Individuality was often sacrificed. Expression of individuality was often interpreted as non-conforming, even antagonistic to the collective family filial piety and workplace authority. On the other hand, without individual identity and conviction, developing creative thinkers and maverick leaders are impossible. Individuality is essential for fostering healthy self-esteem and becoming free and creative thinkers. To develop a learning nation and thinking workers, we must not conform at the expense of our individuality but conversely never be individualistic without empathy for others. A balance between individuality and conformity will be the new family, social and work ethics in the new economy. Conformity without individuality is control and lack of creativity; while individuality in the absence of conformity is apathy and lawlessness.

4. BALANCING FAMILY AND WORK is the dream of working people in the new economy. In the old economy, many people sacrifice their quality family life for work success. High statistic on divorces and broken families are rising along the rising economy. In the New Economy, the work style and lifestyle must be compromised with flexible, virtual and open work culture. Organizations will provide more quality times for family interaction in the workplace. Women are no long tied down by their domestic responsibilities while pursuing their careers successfully. CEO-mum just like the Chairman-dad can function happily in two families system – home family and work family. Furthermore, in the new economy the female and male workforce will enjoy more equality and mutual respect, because their jobs and home functions are often interchangeable. The male’s inherited physical superiority will be to some extent replaced by the female’s brain power. Because high tech in the New Economy is sexless and knows no gender differences.

5. UNLEARNING AND RELEARNING – Given the fact that learning is a life long experience, unlearning and relearning are the essential processes for any transformation. Be it in politics, finance, social orders, family and work, two indispensable transformations must take place – unlearning the old and relearning for the new. Transformation is redoing the old in new ways for new results, because doing things the old way and expecting new results is against progress. To survive in the New Economy transformation, one must be willing to unlearn the old way of doing things; the old thinking system; the old business strategy; the old mindset and attitude before relearning the new is possible. Unlearning does not mean destroying or eliminating the old but applying the new ways of learning. In education, rote learning is no longer yielding the knowledge to satisfy the new knowledge-based economy. One must be competitively creative and innovative in the utilization of knowledge in the new economy. Some traditional practices and cultural values may have to be renewed relevant to the New Economic intelligence. Organizational cultures must also be adaptive in the relearning of the new mindsets. If learning is a life long experience so is relearning. It is timeless and ageless as long as the change is being unchanged.

6. NETWORKING AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP – corporate inquisition, merging, fusing, teamwork, virtual corporation, are the things to come in the New Economy. No big fish will swim alone, let alone the small fishes. In the New Economy both big and small fishes will share the same vision and swim towards the same direction – in a new super giant fish image. Today, many big and small companies worldwide are developing entrepreneurship and free enterprises for the e-business and e-learning systems. This transformation will convert vicious rivalry into healthy competition among the worldwide organizations. Yes, indeed the world is getting smaller but the global market is getting bigger! ‘Win and let win’ will be the New Economy business ethics.

7. SELF-LEADERSHIP REPLACES LOYAL FOLLOWER – The old economy developed loyal followers for survival but the New Economy nurtures self-leadership for success. The loyal follower is not fit for the New Economy and they are to be transformed into high self-management and self-motivated leaders who are risk-taking, creative and dare to be different. They are also high spirited and inspirational to others for multi-talent and multi-tasking performances. The loyal followers only enjoy doing what’s given to them to do but the self-leaders create what they enjoy doing. In order to incubate self-leaders, the workplace must empower and reward self-leadership development while more forgiving for the risk taking innovators. The self-leader’s work attitude is ‘Yesterday’s failure is today’s challenge, and today’s challenge is tomorrow’s success.

8. PASSION AND MISSION – Studies show most people live to work and not work to live. About 80% of working people do not have passion in what they do. They work hard for money but not for satisfaction. Working without passion is stressful laboring and unrewarding experience. Another problem is most people are working for commission, not for mission. The difference is that working for commission is for pay but working for mission is for personal satisfaction and higher fulfillment. People who work for commission do what they are supposed to do, no more and no less; but for mission, they do above and beyond expectations to satisfy their own passion. So passion and mission are the most priceless work attitudes in the New Economy. The ‘do what you love and love what you do’ is the new work value in the New Economy, while the New Economy organization is to make working enjoyable and rewarding for all the employees. Celebrate success and good work is the New Economy motivational power. Passion makes mission possible!

9. MAXIMIZING HUMAN CAPITAL in the knowledge-based New Economy is equally if not the more important then the IT. While IT is the super vehicle, the knowledge-driven people are the super drivers. Too many organizations in the old economy treat their employees only as dispensable but not valuable human capital. This leads to the ‘use and abuse’ human resource depletion. To maintain and retain valuable human capitals, the organization must be in continual investment for maintenance and improvement of the human resources. Often time, the human resource is devalued to ’ worker resource’ or ‘muscle resource’. To maximize the human capital, the organization must transform its culture and so to incubate the new employees’ mindsets for the knowledge-based New Economy. It is not the high tech we embrace, but the high touch behind the high tech we pride.

In conclusion, the roadmap to the New Economy offers nine major transformations for both personal mindset as well as the organizational culture. The New Economy is not mere a new IT movement but a new knowledge-driven human capital in action for ‘Doing old things in new ways for new results.' Remember, butterflies are newly transformed old caterpillars.

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Dr. James Y Lin is a well sought international convention speaker and humorist from the USA. As a creative and dynamic corporate trainer, he combines serious training and humorous entertainment (Traintertainment) for a fun and optimal learning experience. He is also a certified Stressologist who trains people to transform their harmful stress into helpful stress with a touch of humor. Dr. Lin is the chairman and CEO of the Quality Lifeskills Quantum International (USA, Asia-Pacific), a training and consulting body for synergizing East West knowledge and lifeskills. Singapore contact: Email: jyl2000@singnet.com.sg; Web Site: www.jyl2000.com.

Feature Article Two: Passion for the Training Profession

Part Two of "What It Takes to Be a Full-Time Independent Training Specialist"

by G K Lim

Someone once said that you know you have passion for a certain job or profession when after five or six years into that job or profession, you never realized how difficult it was.

When I read that statement, I looked back at the last ten years I was a fulltime independent training specialist, and realized that I had gone through those ten years full of zest for the job.

It never occurred to me that I might not earn enough to feed my family.

I had so much faith in what I did that I knew a training assignment would materialize next month. At one time, I waited for the next month six times. For six months I did not have a single training assignment and it never occurred to me that this would go on for another half year -- because I knew that an assignment would land on my lap the next month.

My associates would say, "Hey, why don’t you take up Amway, or Avon, or insurance -- or sell cars -- to supplement your income." My response was, “What for?”

They said there's no money in training. I don’t know how true or untrue this is. Is there money in anything? Or isn’t there money in anything?

Granted, there were moments when I asked myself if I was in the right profession or business. And yes, I did try other things -- MLM, insurance (no, I didn’t sell cars). For a moment, the training profession disappeared into the background, as I got involved in MLM or insurance.

I said, “For a moment ….” And, yes, that was the length of time I forgot about the training profession. Then the passion caught up with me. Instead of thinking of sponsoring a new distributor, I was thinking of attending that train-the-trainer program; instead of writing a motivational newsletter to my downlines, I was writing a training proposal; instead of attending a new product launch session, I was at home checking out a new website on negotiation skills training.

To the consternation of my sponsors or uplines in the MLM or insurance business, I went back to the training profession. Chances are, they were saying behind my back, “Loser, quitter.” Yep, I did quit the MLM or insurance business.

I would wake up excited about what I would do in the training business. I would spend hours discussing the profession with colleagues. I would sit in front of the computer surfing the net, looking for sites on training. Whenever I went to a bookshop, the first sections I’d find myself in were sales and marketing, or training.

If you do not have that level passion for the training profession, you’d give up six months or one year into the job.

I’d say that if you have a passion for the profession, you would be erring on the side of extravagance when investing in the profession. Don’t be surprised if you’d not bat an eye when it comes to investing $5,000 to $10,000 a year on magazines, books, audio / video programs, training programs, certification training and fees, professional association membership fees, royalty fees, etc.

Over the years, I have budgeted 15% of my income on continuing education and training.

The training technology, the games, the syndicated exercises, the tools and instruments that I use would include the most current. The participants’ manuals that I produce would have a noticeable difference from the ones produced a year ago.

It never occurred to me that I am a mere mortal and may not be able to deliver my services when I am, for some reasons, physically incapacitated, either temporarily or permanently (God willing, the later will not happen in the foreseeable future).

People with passion for the profession would not say to themselves, “What’s the point of spending so much on this train-the-trainer program, or on this certification program? I may not realize a ROI.”

So, if you want to be a fulltime, independent training specialist, take this test -- be a training specialist for five years. After this period of time, look back, and ask yourself …..

“Did I, at times of uncertainty, stick on to the training profession?”

“When the pocket was empty, did I despair, and thought of giving up?”

“Would I invest in my profession or business as if I would be in it for the next 20 to 30 years?”

Your answers will give you an indication whether you have passion for the profession.

Next issue: “Passion For Your Area Of Specialization”

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G K Lim, ISO CMS, FInstSMM, is a training consultant, specializing in the core area of persuasion psychology, which includes strategic and tactical selling skills, negotiation skills, customer service excellence, effective presentation skills, emotional intelligence enhancement, motivation, and mind development. He can be reached at gklim@cscms.com, www.cscms.com, and www.gklim.com.

Feature Article Three: The Emergence of New Malaysian Cinema

by Norman Yusoff

Malaysian cinema is still in the doldrums, although it is over half a century old. The problems in the industry seem chronic as we know it. Last year, about 14 films (including 2 animations and 2 English-language films) were released on the commercial cinema circuit. It does meet the target to produce at least 12 films a year as requested by the Malaysian Information Ministry in order to boost the seemingly irrevocable Malaysian cinema. But to judge the industry by looking at the number of movies produced alone is indeed unfair. How about the quality?

At the recent Asia-Pacific Film Festival held in Jakarta, Malaysia fared dismally as it only bagged an award for Best Animation (Bangau oh Bangau). It came to me as no surprise as its entries (for feature film category) are far from qualified to compete with other entries from Indonesia, Thailand, The Philippines, Taiwan, Korea, Iran, Japan which offered more substantial, intriguing, and varied plots. I must say that Malaysia's celluloid achievement still rate far below international standards.

On a happy note, of late, there's a new generation of talent emerged in the Malaysian cinema. There's the glimmer of something hopeful in these "new breed" filmmakers. These vibrant, daring filmmakers approach the filmmaking in more radical, unconventional ways, not to mention the range of themes that they deal with (from revolution to sexuality), as well as styles. They have the devilish desire to shatter perceptions about filmmaking and skew the way things are done in local cinema. Therefore, names like Amir Muhammad, James Lee, Teck Tan, Hishamuddin Rais, Osman Ali, and others of that ilk should be commended for their sheer audacity to go beyond the conventional cocoon.

Best of all, quite a few of their works have gained international recognition. The heavily-censored English-language flick Spinning Gasing, directed by Teck Tan, for instance, won the Netpac Jury Special Mention Award at Hawaii International Film Festival and Best Actress award (Elly Suriaty) at Cinema Festival of Asian Films in New Delhi. U-Wei Haji Saari's incendiary adaptation of Faulkner's novella, Kaki Bakar, marked the first Malaysian movie ever to enter the most prestigious Cannes Film Festival and won a grand prize at Brussels International Film Festival in Belgium, besides being invited to several far-flung film festivals. It took more than 60 years of Malaysian cinema for its films to enter Cannes. Malaysia's neighbors such as Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam, had earlier paved the way. The 1970s and 1980s were golden years for Philippines cinema where films by luminaries such as Lino Brocka (Jaguar, Insiang) played at Cannes and other major festivals. Indonesia got invited in 1988 through Eras Djarot's poetic, remarkable epic Tjoet Nja' Dhien starring multi-award winner Christine Hakim as the guerrilla leader in the mountains of Aceh fighting against the Dutch, and followed by Garin Nugroho's philosophical, gorgeously-photographed Cinta Dalam Sepotong Roti in 1991. Vietnam entered Cannes a year earlier than Malaysia with Tran Anh Hung's potent, beautiful tale of a village girl, Scent of a Green Papaya, which was also nominated for Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film and it's the first Vietnamese movie ever to be released in the U.S.

Yes, all the accolades have propelled films like Kaki Bakar to the forefront of Malaysian cinema, despite the lukewarm response it received from Malaysian audience. Speaking of audience, films like Kaki Bakar, Spinning Gasing do have followers but they are in dribs and drabs. It is no easy task to nurture Malaysian audience as they've been immensely exposed to the products of Hollywood, Mumbai, and Hong Kong. When it comes to products from other film producing cities, they will definitely stare at them in horrified fascination whilst claiming they're "too slow" or "boring."

Kuala Lumpur's Mid-Valley Golden Screen Cinemas should be lauded for introducing the International Screens (screening foreign and award-winning stuff). At least, at this juncture, some audience have learnt about the cinemas of Iran, East-Asia, Europe, and so on. Malaysian TV stations should air more movies with substance, instead of being inundated with Bollywood films. Only then, will the audience realize that movies are meant to be more sublime, intellectual form of entertainment -- not a mere escapism!

Some of these mainstream films were quite well-received despite its very limited screenings. Hishamuddin Rais' cynical, expressionistic road-movie Dari Jemapoh ke Manchester has brought something new to Malaysian cinema, considering its idea, concept, and style. It can be considered as the first Malaysian road movie -- a genre invented by American cinema (Easy Rider, Thelma & Louise, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid). Jemapoh has a simple storyline and the idea may be outlandish, preposterous. Yet it is an "uneasy" movie as you've got to digest the motivation and message behind it, considering its underlying themes. The story of two kampong (village) blokes, absconding with a stolen car, hit the road heading to Manchester is more seen as an allegory and Hishamuddin's self-expression.

Whilst Teck Tan's Spinning Gasing appears as the first Malaysian film to tackle controversial issues within the volatile hybrid of races and religions in Malaysia. The movie, however, was initially banned for offending religious and racial sensitivities and containing sexual and taboo stuff. Looking back, previous movies such as Aziz M.Osman's Fantasia (1994) and Adman Salleh's Amok (1995) were also victims of Malaysian regressively restrictive, conservative censorship system. My suggestion would be for the Malaysian Censorship Board to let its filmmakers be given poetic licence to be freer in defining local values in their works instead of being oppressed by current censorship policies. Otherwise, it will inhibit Malaysian filmmakers' creativity and expression. At least, there's a kernel of truth for the many issues addressed in Spinning Gasing. Malaysians cannot be perpetually watching romantic couples sip the fresh orange in posh restaurants all the time. Films, after all, should represent reality.

What fascinates me most is that Teck Tan has proven that Malaysian cinema is not synonymous to Malay cinema -- basically made by Malays for Malays. It's heartening to learn that Gasing did attract non-Malay crowds and this is a good indicator. In retrospect, circa 1980s, there were attempts by few filmmakers to reflect Malaysia's potpourri as witnessed in Patrick Yeoh's Kami (1982) and Othman Hafsham's Mekanik (1983) but to no avail. Although we don't subscribe to the tokenistic "you must have one Malay, one Chinese, and one Indian character" type of cookie-cutter story-telling, it's a distressing fact that Malaysian films since the 1970s have been so Malay-centric. They don't reflect the way Malaysians live. They are made primarily by and for only one ethnic group. It's almost like blaxploitation cinema, minus much of the fun. Hence, credit to Teck Tan.

Some of these aspiring filmmakers have chosen to make their films on video due to financial constraints. Amir Muhammad, an acclaimed writer and unbuttoned social critic has come up with an English-language film Lips to Lips, a "raunchy," off-the-wall comedy replete with quirky characters. The plot is woven from 4 stories caught knee-deep in veiled caustic humor and needled with episodes of "sex, food, and accidental deaths." The 91-minute movie shot on digital video received mixed reviews due to its amateurish technical works. It is a far cry from those delectable, mouth-watering films with culinary themes (Babette's Feast, Tampopo, Eat Drink Man Woman), but has all the refreshing ingredients nonetheless. Another budding filmmaker James Lee, impressed the public with his "ultra low-budget" directorial debut Sniper. Lee's RM15,000 digital video movie has, in all its maiden awkwardness, the semblance of fine idea. It's indeed a pastiche of various international movies, ranging from Scorsese's Taxi Driver to the award-winning The Red Violin.

Let's hope this group of filmmakers and the coming generations will bring new life to the Malaysian cinema. Maybe Malaysians can learn from German cinema's experience in 1960s where the decimation of commercial cinema offered a chance and an incentive for a group of young, radical filmmakers to experiment with alternative visions. The group consists of 26 German film directors and film critics (all between 20 to 30 years old) demanded a new cinema for Germany (called New German Cinema), a cinema that would link up with the emerging European modernist art cinema. Malaysians don't need to get rid of the mainstream cinema though. These "new breed" filmmakers may create a sort of alternative cinema for Malaysia. As veteran film critic Hamzah Hussein puts it: "Sure we need to maintain the commercial side of the industry. That's our lifeline. But let's not forget filmmakers who are trying to give a Malaysian identity to local films." Only then, will fledgling Malaysian cinema be able to flourish.

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Norman Yusoff is currently teaching at Screen Department, Faculty of Performing Arts, MARA University of Technology (UiTM), Shah Alam, Malaysia. He will be leaving for U.K. in September 2002 for his Masters degree, majoring in Film Studies under UiTM's Young Lecturer Scheme Scholarship.

Feature Article Four: ICT for People with Disabilities

By Dr. Ivo Vasiljev

(Originally published by the New Straits Times, Kuala Lumpur on 15 March 2001, reprinted by HRD Gateway with permission).

When I was in Hoi An, a historical coast town in Central Vietnam, two years ago, a friend invited me to a vegetarian restaurant tucked away in a back lane right in the centre of the old quarter. Food was served on connected stone tables arranged in a rectangle around a small artificial landscape with hills, rocks, temples and a pond with golden fish, right in the courtyard. The place was known as Mrs. Dams Vegetarian Corner. It was the kind of place where regular customers would chat with a newcomer, especially when it was a foreigner speaking Vietnamese like myself. That is how I came to exchange a few words with a local girl that turned out to be the owner's daughter.

One year later, I was coming from the outskirts of the town riding a rented bicycle. A young woman addressed me while overtaking. "Do you remember me?" I did not, as I have trouble with remembering faces, all the more when I have to focus my attention on my front wheel. "We once met at the vegetarian restaurant." " Then you must be Miss Quyen, Mrs. Dam's daughter!"

She explained that she has been married for three months. " I have an accounting job to do in town right now. But feel free to come and see us at home any time. My husband is a computer teacher. He can help you handle your e-mail. You will find the place easily. The centre is called Tien Bo (Progress) and my husband is wheelchair bound."

To be honest, I was curious to meet the man who was confined to a wheelchair and was still able to get a bride that might be the envy of the town. I arrived to the house at the end of the afternoon. I could see through the front door five or six PCs and some young men still busy at the keyboards.

Mr. Le Nguyen Binh, 34, greeted me cheerfully. "I have heard quite a lot about you from my wife." Our conversation went on smoothly and I soon felt as if I had known him for years. I learned that he had his lower body paralyzed after having been given the wrong medication when he was a child. Mr. Binh's father, who passed away, and his mother were both of the teaching profession. Their son has inherited their passion for education. Self taught as he is, he can read and write English, and he devised several IT training courses for various business applications.

Once he invited me to give a talk on foreign language acquisition for his family members and associates. I was impressed how quickly and exactly he grasped each of my points and readily added an explanation of the matter in his own words whenever he felt my audience needed one, always in line with my intention. He impressed me as a mature, wise person, inspiring trust and commanding respect and an experienced teacher. I was proud to have a new friend like him.

Three weeks ago I got an e-mail from his wife: would you look up our new web site: www.disabilityforum.f2s.com (now at www.forum.wso.net)? I did. It was an organization based in Ha Noi, the capital. "Welcome to Disability Forum, THE Internet Resource for NGOs and Disabled People in Vietnam. If you have anything to say about the issues related to disabilities and rehabilitation, then please, contact us." E-mail address: forum@hn.vnn.vn. My biggest surprise came at the end: Webmanager: mailto:binhln@dng.vnn.vn. Mr. Binh is managing the new web site nation wide from his home in Hoi An, some thousand kilometers both from Ha Noi and Ho Chi Minh, the largest city!

This, however, was not the end of my astonishment: "A four-months vocational class of applied IT and English for a group of ten disabled people was organized and successfully completed by the Tien Bo Training Centre in Hoi An under the sponsorship of HVO (Health Volunteers Overseas). The handing over of certificates of graduation from the course on February 2 was witnessed by local press and other media. On the graduation day all participants were offered trial job opportunities by Internet service providers in Hoi An." That was a big news, knowing how difficult it is in Hoi An to get jobs even for fully able-bodied young people.

Tien Bo means Progress, and the full name of the training centre is Progress of Disabled People. It was a class for the disabled by the disabled, and the experience of the teachers shows that work with computers gives handicapped people self-confidence, helps them to overcome their feeling of inferiority and enhances their intellectual capacity.

I was delighted to learn from the News Straits Times today (March 12) about "ten proud disabled people" who just completed a computer training program in Penang, and to read the assessment by Dr. Teng Hock Nan: "With determination and hard work, the disabled can be as good or even better than normal people."

I feel that with their new IT skills and the Internet, groups of disabled people in Vietnam and Malaysia can exchange their experience, support each other and, little doubt, learn from each other for the benefit of their own and the progress of all disabled people.

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Dr. Ivo Vasiljev is a free-lance linguist and historian. Graduated from Charles University, Prague (1958), author of studies on Vietnamese language, history of Vietnamese culture and language policy. Resident of Czech Republic, he is presently living in Malaysia. Dr. Ivo Vasiljev's passion with the promotion of the use of ICT for People with Disabilities manifests itself in his moderation of a forum at ASEANET.org on the same topic. To participate in this forum, please click here. To get connected with Web sites on, and for, people with disabilities, go to our Expert Directory.

Book Review: Voyage to B2F2B -- An Internet Workbook for the New Economy

B2F2B stands for Book to Forum to Business, and it is a copyrighted model of MR=MC Consultancy that allows readers of the resource book to freely register themselves in a moderated forum after reading case studies of successful New Economy organizations. Selected discussions will be directly posed to the relevant article contributors who will provide concise answers. Registered readers can also use the B2F2B platform to network and create new alliances.

The book gives small businesses a chance to read in-depth interviews from people who have succeeded in the New Economy. The readers are encouraged to visit the featured Web sites to understand the services they offer. They can then decide on the actions to take to participate in the New Economy. Any questions they have can be addressed via Author Colin Ong TS, who is the Principal Consultant of MR=MC Consultancy--an Internet/HR research firm based in Singapore.

Voyage to B2F2B is a solid read for all businesses who want to benefit from the promises of New Economy. It's available in major bookstores throughout Asia. Anyone who is interested in learning more about the contents (e.g. interviews with New Economy organizations) may contact Author Colin Ong TS for more information.

Attitude Vitamins

I am grateful for all my problems. I became stronger and more able to meet those that were still to come. -- J.C. Penney

Being rich is having money. Being wealthy is having time. -- Stephen Swid

Never confuse a single defeat with a final defeat. -- F. Scott Fitzgerald

The best place to succeed is where you are with what you have. -- Charles Schwab

Don't find a fault. Find a remedy. -- Henry Ford

One of the great discoveries a man makes, one of his great surprises, is to find he can do what he was afraid he couldn't do. Most of the bars we beat against are in ourselves -- we put them there, and we can take them down. -- Henry Ford

Most of live our lives either in quiet desperation or with inspired purpose. -- Harold Sherman and Al Pollard

The most precious thing a parent can give a child is a lifetime of happy memories. -- Frank Tyger

Nothing gives a person so much advantage over another as to remain always cool and unruffled under all circumstances. -- Thomas Jefferson

Links of Interest

1. "My main theme is the sense of belonging"

Tamil Malaysian writer K.S.Maniam has just won the first Raja Rao award for an outstanding contribution to the literature of the South Asian diaspora, yet he is no postmodern, diasporic nomad as Ashley Tellis discovers in conversation with him. See www.tehelka.com/channels/literary/2000/sept/30/lr093000kamasutra.htm.

2. BloodPressure.com

Dr. Thomas Pickering, director of Cardiovascular Behavioral Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, is the founder of bloodpressure.com and the Hypertension Network. . .The mission of bloodpressure.com [is] to provide patients with up-to-date and accurate information about their condition, to help them manage it better and to improve communications between them and their doctors. See www.bloodpressure.com.

HRD Gateway in the News

1. 3rd e-ASEAN Roadshow in Yangon, Myanmar on January 19, 2002

It was an exciting event for Myanmar business and government representatives when the 3rd e-ASEAN Roadshow was held there. For some, this was the first time they witnessed successful Internet business models at work. Among the presenters was Cong Phan (VP) of ASEANET.org (now HRD Gateway), whose presentation on the ATN Project was well received by everyone. There are many challenges for Myanmar businesses to be part of the New Economy. The country is still in the process of implementing a comprehensive Internet structure, and basic telecommunication services are not commonly available. However, with the joint efforts of e-ASEAN, Myanmar is on the way to connect with the regional and global economies. HRD Gateway will play a key role in enhancing human resource development in the country.


Cong Phan Introduced ASEANET.org and ATN Project to Myanmar Representatives	Cong Phan (in red tie) Posed with Roadshow Participants

2. Knowlequest Forums

The discussion forums hosted by ASEANET.org (now HRD Gateway) has been formally named as the Knowlequest Forums. The name was based on the ASEAN Knowledge Quest Program we have planned for ASEAN communities. In addition to the existing "Professional Communities" and "ASEAN Focus" forums, a series of "Ask the Experts" forums have been added. The goal of these new forums is to allow the general public to learn and interact with a global network of volunteering professionals. All of these professionals are subject matter experts in their fields of work. ASEANET.org does not endorse or certify any of these professionals as experts, who are to offer free advice in the forums. However, some good answers can be expected no matter what the subject is. You are invited to participate in the Forums. You can post questions and any information that fit the contents of the forums.

Note: If you are not already a member of HRD Gateway yet, go to www.hrdgateway.org/hub2 now to join us. Your membership will be activated in a matter of seconds!

HRD Gateway offers you many benefits for becoming a member:
A free e-book entitled "Achieving Peak Performance" (USD$24.95)
Routine email updates of activities and publications
Referrals from HRD Gateway for various opportunities
Making friends and networking with professionals worldwide
An opportunity to participate in the ATN Project
Mastering the latest and greatest of HRD practices

Best of all, your membership with HRD Gateway is absolutely free!

Production Details

Joma Guzman, G K Lim, Dr. Ivo Vasiljev, Alex Lao, and Thomas Wong are the production team members for this issue.

Readers, please email comments, news items, and article contributions to HRD Gateway Publication Team. The editors reserve the right to use them.