Sulu Vice Governor Sakur Tan inspires students in 2-day school expo

SULU – Vice Governor Sakur Tan has inspired students who participated in the two-day “Research Fair and Inter-School Project Exposition” held recently at the Notre Dame of Jolo College in Sulu province in southern Philippines.

Vice Governor Tan was invited by the organizers as keynote speaker to the event where he talked to students on various topics. The participants were so excited to interact with him and had asked his secret to his success as a hardworking entrepreneur and a respected politician and philanthropist.

Those who attended the fair were students from Hadji Butu School of Arts and Trade, Jolo National High School, Jolo Agricultural School, Jolo School of Fisheries, Mindanao State University-Laboratory High School, Sulu College of Technology, Sulu Laboratory High School, Notre Dame of Jolo High School, Notre Dame of Jolo for Girls and Sulu State College-Laboratory High School.

“To be invited to stand before you and share my experiences with our youth leaders gathering here and my thoughts on entrepreneurship, requires some passages from my past and flashbacks of my youth; the challenges I have mustered and gone through; and the inspirations that drove me and still driving me even beyond what others have set upon themselves as limitations,” he told the students.

As a young man, Vice Governor Tan said he worked hard and had one thing in mind and that is to save every single cent and he even managed a shanty – in what was then called Tabuh Sanaw – where he bought empty Coca-Cola bottles and collected deposits for each bottle at the Coca-Cola plant, and all these aside from selling ice and ice candies and also supplied bakeries with firewood.

“A portion of what I earned from my daily routine was stashed and kept as savings. Maybe most of you are having the impression that I was born rich and that everything was delivered on my behest on a gold platter. I would not be where I am today without the sacrifices, the sweat and that burning desire to dare to dream big dreams,” he said as the crowd listened intensely to the politician who, up to now, sells Coca-Cola products.

He said he was not born rich, but he had persevered in life because of his strict discipline and the goal in life to succeed no matter how hard or difficult it was to follow his dream for a better future.

“Maybe most of you are having the impression that I was born rich and that everything was delivered on my behest on a gold platter. I would not be where I am today without the sacrifices, the sweat and that burning desire to dare to dream big dreams.

He said relative to the theme of the event “Entrepreneurship – A Key Towards Developing Entrepreneurial Mind,” is to put into action the principle of theory and practice.

“You must start young in developing that acumen or that Sixth Sense to see and think beyond the ordinary and be daring enough take the first step that will open many doors of opportunities. There is a saying which states – The Ocean is full of abundant wealth and riches, but if it is more of your safety that you consider or entertain the fear of being drowned, then just stay on the shores and put away your time watching sunsets,” Vice Governor Tan told the students.

He said an Indian friend of his once advised him that it is more profitable to fish in stormy or troubled waters which means that be bold enough is to take risks or dare to cross uncharted and less travelled waters where competitions are minimal. Because of that, he said – when the business of barter trading was a boom in his earlier times – he crossed the seas to the barter ports of Singapore and Labuan in Malaysia with groups of fellow traders and started buying and selling commodities.

“While most of them (fellow barter traders) concentrate on almost the same products, I always look for non-traditional goods with little or no competition at all and upon reaching home my goods will be sold-out first and I will be ready to set sail again while my friends are still collecting their proceeds,” he said, relating to students his life story as a young entrepreneur.

“While docking or laying their anchor, traders usually spend their time waiting in restaurants and hotels while I eat and drink at my vessel tinkering my calculator and computing my savings and profits. I can relate to you some more stories, but the main point here is the dedication and the resolve to fully concentrate on the business at hand and to pile up savings to use for the expansion and branching out to other ventures.”

“As a businessman, I don’t spend my business earnings to fund a lifestyle, but it is extremely important for a business to stay on the business. Do not lay content at a small success, but rather use it as a foundation for much bigger investments. The variables are there for the taking if you have the necessary resources at your disposal but reserve something you can fall back on when things will not turn out the way you envisioned. There is no guarantee of a one hundred percent success and you may have to start over and over again until you reach fulfillment. Do not despair at failures. It is always a comfort to have saved enough capital to start on your own. I don’t believe in relying on banks or lending institutions to fund my business ventures, which when you think about it, they earn more than you do and you will be doing all the work for them. If possible, never allow anything or anyone to earn and benefit from your toils and sweat,” he told the students.

He said as an entrepreneur grows business ventures, it is important to have a support staff with good managerial skills to assist in the day-to-day operation of the business. In forming a management team, he said trust, loyalty and confidence are all essential, aside from the working experience and the drive needed from your subordinates for the success of the endeavors. 

He said by harnessing both the physical and mental resources of the people under the employment of a company, a good manager must strike a balance between profits and the welfare of the employees and never take as your own the dues that are rightfully for the employees or the workers.

“When any of you intend to put up a business of your own, be it small or big, make sure that you have ample knowledge of the business environment; the law of supply and demand; the resources available at your disposal or the capital; set a goal and stick to it. I would not have dirtied my hands buying empty Coke bottles then if the market for it was not available or if I could not have profited from my earnest toil. Inspire yourself with the thought and belief that you can make it if you really try and give your best.”

“Any business venture is not merely about profits alone or stacking up your coffers with wealth. There are social responsibilities that are attached to your accumulated riches. You will notice that big and successful corporations have set up foundations to realize their advocacies for the community or for the country, like providing schools, scholarships, building places of worship and many other worthwhile services. On my own, I have done that and many more,” Vice Governor Tan told the participants, who applauded him several times.

He also told the students to always put their trust in God. “In the Islamic concept, wealth and power, is an Amanah or trust from God. One is entrusted with riches or influence as a test or one is denied of it as a blessing that he may escape the punishment of misusing God’s Trust. Allah knows best,” he said.

He also talked about his political career. He said after completing his second term as provincial governor, he sought for re-election and eagerly embarked on a political campaign trail in all 19 towns in Sulu. He said during one of his sorties, he met an old friend who learned that he was seeking re-election.

Vice Governor Tan said his friend told him that he will pray for his political success and to make the story short, he said he lost in his bid to be elected again and that for the next six years after he lost, he took a political “siesta” or hiatus. He said the next time he met that same friend, he told him he lost the election and that maybe he did not pray enough for his victory. The politician said his friend replied that he prayed to God to give what is best for him.

“True enough, during the six years of political inactivity, I made up for lost time to bond with my family. The family has always been and will always be the cornerstone of my life,” Vice Governor Tan said. “I pursued with vigor my business interests which I was not able to do while serving my term as a public servant. For having found the time for my two passions, the family and business, I was recharged to make another attempt for the governorship and, Alhamdulillah, the rest is history.”

He said travelling in life’s many roads, he encountered humps and bumps, but he was able to stand up every time he fell and continued on with the journey on the route he set for himself. “A thirsty and lonely traveler on a dry and burning dessert, always search for that hidden oasis in the vast expanse to quench his needs. In all of my dealings as a businessman and a politician and during rough and trying times, I found my oasis in my father’s words. My late father was also an astute businessman and a former mayor of Maimbung town. He told me – Sakur, I may leave you with tons of money, but in foolishness and recklessness, you can lose in an instant what I have toiled and sacrificed for to attain in so many years. But I will leave you with a good name. Protect and keep it always clean and it will help you in more ways than one,” Vice Governor Tan narrated.

“In the business community, reputation is very important. No big establishment will deal with anyone whose reputation is questionable. Alhamdulillah, I can always count on the reputation of my family and of my name. Having gone this far in my life is there anything else left to do?  The answer to that lies in my name – my father gave me the name Abdusakur – Abdu in Arabic means servant or slave, and Sakur or Shakur is one of the attributes of Allah meaning (the) One who gives a lot of reward to even the smallest of deed. So I am the grateful servant of Allah who will continuously strive to fulfill what is expected of him by his family, his people, his province in full servitude to God as Allah’s slave,” he added.

The students were all left in awe following Vice Governor Tan’s inspiring talk and many of them vowed to follow his footsteps – to be a good citizen, successful entrepreneur and God-fearing and respected political leader – that will lead the people and Sulu into greatness once again. (Franzie Sali)