Clever versus intelligent, or just being intelect?

I have many academic degrees but yet I don't even know how to plant a flower perfectly or to take care of car if it break down. To point out the least, I don't have a gut to speak Japanese with a Japanese in front of my friend who is fluent in Japanese language in fear of making mistakes. Thus, the certificates that I have do good to a certain extends only. It does not cover the whole areas of my life to make it picture perfect. I still have many weaknesses in me.

This brought my attention to EQ or emotional intelligence. Being here in Japan amongst a close circuit of Malaysian community, with most are Malay suggested that we, Malay have to move forward crossing the boundaries of limited identities. It was way too long that this race had hide behind the New Economic Policy. The mentalities of always being supported and sponsored have become us. It somehow has crippled us.

Recently, I had witnessed a problematic student who cracked under pressure, probably because of the easy ride that is always belong to us, Malay. It happened just after three months being here. Some of the students who came here probably gained straight As for SPM. Others maybe are amongst the best of the best. But then again, it does not mean that they will succeed in handling their emotions. Believe me, handling emotion is actually 50% of the joint account that make people triumph. Water is not hard but once its changed structure into ice, it is powerful. Mind you, ice had drowned a Titanic, the biggest ship in its era.

The other thing that happened here make me realized that we need to level our self as nobody. A young married woman who was planning to give birth, but couldn't’t speak or understand Japanese language did not seek help, like asking opinions from others who had previous experiences giving birth in Japan. At the end, she had difficulty during labor; the child had sort of complications and was warded for a few days in neonatal ICU because of the procedures that she chose. So much to pay for a pride but I hope that she learned her lesson and started to ask questions.