The roaring 90s....the Clinton era

The 90s was definitely the defining decade for our generation.

Going into our 30s and starting to raise a family is the main agenda no doubt.

What did i remember of the 90s?

The Clinton era was an era of unprecedented growth for the US economy and putting aside his "misdemeanours", President Clinton indeed was the man of that decade in my view.

Maybe he was lucky because his tenure coincide with the Internet boom as the world get more connected and the growth actually 'fuelled" by the many technological advances.

The emergence of China and India also helped to build a buoyant world market as millions of people joined the race to be part of the affluent middle class society.

To me, Clinton's greatest contribution is not to engage in any senseless wars or conflicts for an America that puts peace and mutual cooperation first as a world agenda ie a badly needed recipe for a world of stable growth.

Yup..the 90s is definitely a Clinton decade.

Malaysia though has seen its own interesting times ... the country too followed USA in terms of economic growth until the financial crisis hits our shores in 1997.

The political turmoil during that period fortunately didn't turn into a very ugly chapter in the nation's history.

The country has moved on since then and we survived the crisis without a need for an IMF bailout.

Historians will view this in decades to come as possibly the coming of age of Malaysia as a savvy country but maybe not,only time will tell.

For me,the 90s indeed was also a decade of big decisions as one grappled as an 30 odd years old.

I left a job at a Multinational company and venture into "unknown" territory with only a belief in my own ability and if everything fails i said to myself i can always rely on my technical skills to earn a living for myself and the family.

As i saw young men and women now going through the same "coming of age" process, my advice has always been nothing beats hard work and a dedicated pursuance of being competent in at least one particular field of work or expertise. Bullshitting will not get you anywhere(not with me anyway!!!)

The roaring 90s as they called it indeed was a momentous decade in all aspects, the world get more connected and globalised, the emergence of China and India all adds up to an important lesson in my view if the world is to continue to prosper:

" The pursuit of building and sustaining an affluent society is the best antidote to a world that can be mired in conflict,wars and unrest".