The Crouching Tiger

I was once called a gold-digger back in the mid-1990s, when a business deal went sour. A well-known property developer sitting opposite me with his board member said it straight to my face.

The Godfather

We had been working together for a few months on one of the projects associated with their shopping centre in the south of Adelaide, Australia.

I was to help revive the shopping centre by designing and merging the empty shops into a local supermarket and a new pharmacy. We were near the final stage of the project, waiting for government approval for a PBS license.

One day I was called in for an urgent meeting with the team at their head office. Excited, I was thinking to myself that we might have some good news. Perhaps the project would get the green light to go ahead.

I loved design and development; besides running three pharmacies, it was my passion.

I went to the meeting alone, without my accountant, who was with me from time to time as an advisor and as a precaution when dealing with a big company.

Little was I aware that the board of directors had made a secret pact with a third party. I was offered a good lump sum of money, $150,000, as a buyout deal. They had made a deal with a bigger company to take over from there.

Little Fish in a Big Tank

I refused, as the project was almost in the final stage. I thought that I had more to gain staying in the game. Pride held me back.

The Game of Power and Greed

I didn't budge. We both played the same game, but remember that in general terms, the strong and the powerful one will generally win. I told them either they could keep me in or I would be out, taking my project with me.

Take It or Leave It

No deal, no game was the final chapter. I was then accused of being a gold-digger.

I was in shock for a moment, not one word of retaliation coming out of my mouth. That was a problem I'd had since childhood. I walked out empty-handed and never returned. The project went down with me.

The term "gold-digger" stayed with me for many years. I had heard this before and vaguely understood its true meaning in the seventies and eighties, just as some people had said "the poppy syndrome" in those days.

The Vietnam War

In the mid-1990s, Pauline Hanson's propaganda against racism, especially against Asian migrants, was at its height. Pauline Hanson, a leader of the One Nation Party, rose to power from the tide of anti- Asian and multiculturalism.

Many Australian protesters were chanting, shouting, and marching on Asian business streets around the country.

Go Back to Where You Came From

Before the Asian settlement from 1971 to 1977, British, Italians, Greeks, and war veterans from World War I and World War II were the major immigrants to Australia.

Southeast Asians refugees are made of mostly Laotian, Vietnamese and Cambodian.

The influx of Southeast Asians to Australia in the mid-1970s caused discomfort to some of the senior migrants, the blue-collar workers.

The Asians had taken up many low-paying jobs. Asian children were keen to stay in school.

Health sciences were their preferred field of interest, with many Asian doctors, pharmacists, dentists, optometrists, nurses, and engineers as the end product of that era.

The Professionals

Equal Opportunity

Up to the year 2000s, equal opportunity in Australia was also in its infancy. Professional women would not get the same fair deal as their counterparts in term of rate of pay, promotions, or equal treatment. Highly skilled intelligent women may fit the bill, but still they struggle to be noticed or praised.

The Housewives' Club

Although I had filed complaints with Equal Opportunity Commission in SA but I didn't get far as I had no connection with the powerhouse or any great lawyer to represent me at the time.

Today you can find plenty of lawyers hungry enough for clients to take up any claims.

No Win, No Charge Policy

Standing alone against the giant can only cause more trouble for you. Without a connection in high society, the chance of taking the big boy on the stand would be doomed to fail.

The Firm

Knowing your position, it is best to retreat and recoup. We need to know when to strike and when to lie low.

In today's market, if you have a great idea, follow it up with a confidante. You can sell your plan or idea for a great commission or fee. There is no need to get involved. Unless you are part of the gang, you have no role, so just roll in what you can for what you have created or invented.

The SEA Refugees

Fear of losing their jobs to the newcomers (the Southeast Asian refugees who would accept any low-paying job without hesitation) made the older group of Australian migrants nervous.

The same story now relates to the Indians, the Africans, and the Middle Eastern groups who came to Australia to work the jobs that many young Australians didn't want; they didn't want to get their hands dirty.

The current migrants and tourist backpackers are happy to have their hands on such jobs as fruit and veg farming, whether picking oranges, apples, and pears or chopping bananas and sugar cane.

The Backpackers

Fear of losing a job, fear of draining welfare benefits, and fear of competition fills the narrow minds of a few who had been brought up with insecurity.

The laid-back lifestyle, with a beer in one hand and a cigarette in the other, is no longer competitive in today's society.

While we are sleeping, drinking and bingeing, moaning and groaning, the giant China has taken this opportunity to...