GOASIAPLUS November 2018
See how travel can build acceptance towards diversity in our November issue through our main interview with Panasonic Managing Director, Mr Cheng. For this Single's Day, we present 11 places that are best for a solo traveller, street puppetry in Kuala Lumpur and unveiling Malaysia's hawker scene.
See how travel can build acceptance towards diversity in our November issue through our main interview with Panasonic Managing Director, Mr Cheng. For this Single's Day, we present 11 places that are best for a solo traveller, street puppetry in Kuala Lumpur and unveiling Malaysia's hawker scene.
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INSIGHT<br />
that he contemplates bringing his family to Bhutan<br />
for a revisit. This could be a mutual place of interest<br />
for his family.<br />
“Accommodating diverse interests is important<br />
when travelling in group. Sometimes the incentive<br />
group can range from 40 to more than 100. My<br />
children prefer ‘free and easy’ trips and stay in<br />
Airbnb which is a little different from how I would<br />
travel,” he shares.<br />
He advises against letting language barrier to<br />
hamper one from being adventurous during travels.<br />
“There is technology these days to overcome this<br />
problem. You can use the phone (app) to translate.<br />
Also I find that people are generally friendly towards<br />
us (Malaysians).<br />
“However, we must always be mindful of personal<br />
safety, watch out for pickpockets and physical injury.<br />
When we travel in a group of 70-100 people, all it<br />
takes is one bad incident to spoil it for everyone.”<br />
TRAVEL VS 10,000 BOOKS<br />
‘Better to travel 10,000 miles than to read 10,000 books!’<br />
Chee Chung quotes a Chinese proverb to reiterate<br />
the importance of travel for personal development.<br />
“When we travel and see how people are different<br />
outside, we become more tolerant of diversity. It is<br />
the same at home or at our workplace,” as he relates<br />
how he uses different and more accepting approach<br />
when dealing with his wife, his children, his staff in<br />
the office, his business partners or even his domestic<br />
help at home. He declares that his travels have helped<br />
him develop a mindset that everyone is different and<br />
as individuals they have different expectations too.<br />
His journey started when he was posted to train<br />
and work in Panasonic’s air-conditioner factory in<br />
Osaka, Japan from 1991-1993. He was able to pick up<br />
some conversational Japanese there as he was alien<br />
to a work culture where people worked in the office<br />
for long hours and speaks mostly in Japanese.<br />
Being able to accept and adapt to that has led<br />
him to rise from his first position as HR Executive<br />
to his latest promotion to Managing Director 3 and<br />
a half years ago. This month Chee Chung would<br />
have logged 29 years in this company. Chee Chung<br />
is probably one of the longest serving non-Japanese<br />
management staff in Panasonic.<br />
This ManU fan used the analogy of a football<br />
team to relate how he applies open-mindedness and<br />
acceptance of diversity helped him run his team.<br />
“When I was younger I was very strict with<br />
how people worked even though the objective for<br />
them was the same–to score goal la! But today, I do<br />
it differently.<br />
“I make clear the rules and boundaries and how<br />
they want to run or score the goal is up to them.<br />
So long as they score it before 90-minute and won<br />
the game!”<br />
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