Dear Grandma

This post had to come sooner or later. Thanks to my courageous brothers Khai Lee & Khai Yong for the inspiration. My brothers and I can’t speak Hokkien - a Chinese dialect spoken by my grandma (the only language she can communicate in besides Malay)

Dear ‘Amah’ (Pronounced as Ah-mahhh),

This is ‘tuah hiaa’ (Hokkien for ELDEST son). For years, I’ve been bugging dad to teach me Hokkien. I’ve always thought that Hokkien was a very difficult Chinese dialect and I had put off learning the language even though for many years, I wanted to communicate with you badly and share my thoughts with you.

I guess time really flies… and now you’re 94 years old.

If I had learnt the language earlier, I would be able to share with you these thoughts with you in person…

But now, old age has caught up with you and you can barely hear my words or recognize me (much less, see anything around you).

With much regret, I guess I will just share the very thoughts I want to share with you as I reflect on the last 28 years of my life right here, on my blog.

My work (Zhuk Kang - Hokkien for working)

My dear grandma, for years, you’ve been curious why I don’t go to an office like dad or the many other grandsons you have. The reason is because I work at home. No, I’m not lazy… my ‘sheng yii’ (Hokkien for business) is run at home, in my bedroom.

I know you’ve always wanted all your grandchildren to have a ‘noble’ profession like a doctor, engineer, lawyer or a teacher.

I regret to say that I’m neither.

Yet, I just want you to know that I cherish your best intentions for wanting to see me as a success.

The profession I’ve chosen is as a writer and I deal with computers. The Internet & online marketing is too deep for me to explain to you in detail, but I just want you to know that I will work very, very hard.

I know the fact that I may had failed my parents at times and it caused you to worry… but don’t worry anymore. I promise that I will be a good son and make my parents proud & earn a lot of money.

My 28th Birthday

Grandma, I’ve just celebrated my 28th birthday - 2 weeks ago.

This birthday is a great milestone for me.

Grandma, don’t worry if I’m not making much money in my business…

Last month was the month I started earning a 5-figure income consistently.

No, I’m not peddling soap or supplements anymore. I don’t do that kind of business now. Mom and Dad were always worried that I’m up to one of my ’schemes’. I know that it troubles you at night to hear me arguing with them about knowing what I really want in life.

I guess I can proudly say that I know what I really want in life now. I want to write - to inspire others!

I want people to feel inspired that an underdog like me can start totally from scratch and build a 5-figure income business within 10 months.

I want the world to know that it doesn’t matter who you are - whether you are a college dropout like me or whether you have any experience in business or if you have zero capital… that you CAN succeed in life no matter how much failure you’ve gone through.

I want everyone to know that negative people can throw all sorts of shit at you, criticizing you, not believing in you and telling you that you cannot do it, and yet, you can STILL succeed and achieve your goals!

I wish I can tell you this, grandma. I wish I can share this with you in person… how I really feel in my heart.

I want to let you know that I CAN stand on my own two feet. That I can give money to my parents and pay for my own house, buy my own car and make my parents proud of what I’ve become.

I really hope you feel proud of me too, Grandma.

I Am Getting Married!

Good news, Grandma! I’m getting married on the 24th of November 2007!

I know for the last 2 years, you’ve always pestered me to get married. I understand the Chinese tradition and am fully aware of my responsibilities towards Ah Yuenn (the name grandma calls my wife).

It’s funny how traditional Chinese folks mistaken every casual girl or guy friend that comes to the house thinking that it is the children’s new boy/girlfriend. But yes, I am fully committed to Ah Yuenn. I’m not going to ‘play, play’ with her.

I promise you that I will take good care of her, give her a good life, buy her a beautiful diamond ring from the Carat Club, and spend the rest of my life with her.

I promise that when we’re ready, we will have many little great-grandchildren for you to play with.

Who My Friends Are

Grandma, I know you’ve been worried that I’ve been mixing with the wrong crowd.

Rest assured. I don’t want you to worry about me getting influenced by ‘friends’ who will teach me to do drugs, gamble away my life savings or borrow money from the loan sharks.

My friends are kind & decent friends and I will be more than happy to introduce to you a few of them:

Vince Tan

This is Vince Tan, a very good friend.

He is the largest contributor to the ‘Support The Khai Foundation’ and single handedly financed my wedding. I work together with him on many projects and he is a very good partner.

Don’t worry, Grandma… he won’t ‘cheat people’s money’ and that is why I enjoy working together with him.

He is also a special ‘guest of honor’ at the wedding table which I will announce soon.

Gobala Krishnan

This Indian friend of mine is called Gobala.

No, grandma… he is NOT from the rubber plantation. Not like the ones you’ve worked with when you were younger.

Gobala is a very good Indian friend who helped me a lot when I first started out.

And don’t worry… he won’t ‘cheat people’s money’ either so you don’t have to worry about me mixing with the wrong crowd.

Edmund Loh

Grandma, this ‘boy’ is called Edmund.

No - he is not Khai Lee’s friend or Khai Yong’s friend, he is MY FRIEND… (but technically Edmund is my youngest brother’s classmate and I met Edmund through the other brother)

He taught me a lot about making money.

He makes a lot of money with computers also, even though he thinks he is Darth Vader sometimes.

He is going to be the BEST MAN at my wedding so you will see him again soon.

Melvin Ng

This is my friend Melvin Ng.

No, he is not one of my cousins or uncles even though we share the same surname - ‘Ng’.

He is not a loan shark either even if he has the sunglasses. He also teaches me how to make money so don’t worry, all my friends are very good with business and can be trusted.

Grandma, You Are An Inspiration

Thank you, grandma… for taking care of my dad and allowing him to pursue his dreams in the big city. If dad didn’t move to the big city, I think I would be stuck in the Kampung (it means village in Malay) and I wouldn’t be exposed to the world.

You have worked hard taking care of all your 12 children and even outlived some of them.

Your longevity and good health is a symbol of the ‘Ng’ family as a source of strength and endurance of hardship. You’ve personified the hardworking, sacrificial mother who’ve survived World War 2, woke up at 4am every morning to raise the family and tap rubber in the plantation and financed all of us to have a good life and enabled us to pursue our dreams.

Thank you also, for giving me your blessings for everything I do and I hope one day, I will be an inspirational grandfather to my grandchildren as well.

I love you, grandma (even though I don’t know how to express it).

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