For our 3rd act

While most of the world were under some kind of lockdown, D and I opened up two new fronts for us, which hopefully will prove to be the right future-proofed decisions.

Being movie buffs, we both liked the fact that the films were works of studios with a full organisation of producers, screenwriters, actors, stunt workers, prop makers, costume designers and of course directors. So, for no other reason than the word sounded cool and the meaning of it interesting, I had used CP as an ‘entity’, a-la Hollywood, to present works we had created for our significant moments. This is an early example of how CP featured.

 

So far, we have produced no cinematic masterpieces though I must say J & M are two joint works that we continue to be proud of.

At the end of March, we set up CC. Over the years, we have been investing in various assets, including in start-ups, and we have been pondering over how best to hold these: whether in our own personal names or through a private limited company where we can manage these more professionally. D’s decision to move on from her full time job clearly meant she now has more time to attend to our holdings. We hope we have invested wisely to date and so we set up an investment holding and advisory company and we will eventually pool our value-creating assets here. With me already past my golden milestone and D about to do so, we thought we would use this as one of the vehicles for our 3^rd act together. We can then grow this together and also share our experience to others.

At the same time CP first found its way into our lives nearly 30 years ago, a small seed was also planted in my head. Having earned a government scholarship, studied at its national university, found a first job in one of its world class company and about to marry one of its (premier school) citizens, I naturally thought the world of the country. A country not of my birth but one had chose to go to freely to seek a better future. I didn’t think twice on applying for Permanent Residency. It was a no-brainer, as the saying goes. And throughout all that time, it has proven to be a true no-regret move, so much so that I was never faced with the need to take the next step of actually becoming a citizen.

 Four events over the last four years soon changed that.

• ·       First, both J and then M won important scholarships in the country. J with the highest level of Government and M with perhaps its most important world class company (even better than mine). It is clear that their future is here.
• ·       Second, the PR (good as it has been) is actually not permanent and tied to the holder having a job. As I approach my 3rd act where I would be likely self-employed, it makes sense to have greater assurance of permanence in a place where my children will be.
• ·       Third, as we move into our new place, our old house will become a stranded asset as a PR-owned landed property cannot be rented out. So, there is a small economic rationale as well.
• ·       Fourthly, the situation in my own home country is going from bad to worse. The small glimmer of hope in the 2018 General Elections has been snuffed out with back door moves earlier this year by Malay-Muslim lawmakers and the PM-to-be whom I had the chance to advise may not be so.

      So, in July, with D’s help, I applied for citizenship. It would take a couple of years to process and in the meantime I must confess I sometimes get “cold feet”. For all its faults, the home country is a lucky one blessed with abundant natural resources, and these resources are only getting more valuable as humans fail to look after Mother Earth. Moreover, it is a country where if one has the will, a way can always be found! Exacerbating that, the host country post a wake-up call GE, begins to debate issues of looking after the local core in a manner which I felt failed to take into account the very reasons for its success, and the parliamentarians even suggest policies that had dragged my home country downwards.

      I guess I will keep experiencing these vacillations. That said, I have two assurances. First, in the near term, the best outcome for my home country still pales in comparison to a weaker outcome of the host. Secondly, in the longer term, my children will hopefully be in a position to make a difference and keep this country progressing.

      That these two future-proofing decisions are taken now, three months apart, is not a co-incidence. Things happen in tandem. Events lead to a chain reaction that comes back full circle. It is indeed true that D & my (and therefore CP’s) best works are the two younglings.