Member-only story
is the sweetest when you least expect it.
In the Asian context, most people would shun from being recognised or getting credit for something he or she did well. Usually the response will be along the lines of, “it’s nothing” and “I am just doing my job” etc. While I appreciate getting recognised for the work I do (let’s be honest, who doesn’t?), I normally do not ‘crave’ for it because I guess the ‘reward’ is being able to do the job, and more importantly, there are opportunities to become better at what I am doing.
This post is inspired by a comment that I recently read about Singaporean national soccer goalkeeper Hassan Sunny’s whirlwind popularity amongst Chinese soccer fans, as he managed to save 11 goals in a June 11 World Cup Asian qualifying match which prevented Thailand and allowed China to get a spot among the final 18.
What ensued was lots of Chinese fans going to Hassan’s nasi lemak stall in Tampines, buying out all the food and even transferring money electronically to his stall. Hassan gets star treatment in Shanghai, China as he was invited by Singapore property group CapitaLand for a visit of their malls. He had at least 20 fans following him from mall to mall, hoping to get his autograph and a photograph, according to a recent report by the Straits Times.
So this begs the question for me — ideally, Hassan would have liked the support and…
