The Hidden Burden of Riches

Every evening, I put my body through extremes. 25 minutes in the gym until sweat pours, then straight into the pool for 500 meters of cold water. Out again, into the sauna for 15 minutes of scorching heat. And finally, I plunge into a cold bath. Hot. Cold. Hot. Cold. In just one hour, I have relieved more stress than any night of scrolling on social media ever could.

The rhythm is simple. Extremes awaken me. Comfort dulls me. I have realized that my body, my mind, even my leadership thrives not in constant rest but in the tension between the hot and the cold. Momentum is my best friend. But left unchecked, momentum can also be destructive.

It is the same with riches. Riches, like comfort, seem like a blessing. But too much of them, without humility, blind us.

Think of Malaysia’s love affair with air-conditioning. We sit in our rooms with jackets on, sipping hot chocolate, judging the construction workers outside who seem “lazy.” Yet we forget that they are laboring under 34°C heat while we are sheltered in manufactured comfort. Riches shield us from reality. And once shielded, it is easy to lose empathy.

This is why the Scriptures say it is hard for the rich to enter the kingdom of God. Not impossible, but hard. Because riches train us to rely on what we already have. Riches reduce our hunger, our humility, and our ability to see others clearly.

Look at Tony Fernandes when he bought AirAsia for just RM1. He could have built another premium airline, competing with giants. Instead, he humbled the airline model, stripped away the excess, and made flying accessible to millions who had never set foot on a plane. “Now Everyone Can Fly” was not just a tagline. It was an act of humility. Without it, AirAsia could never have become one of Malaysia’s greatest success stories.

That is the paradox. Riches expand our options, but humility sharpens our vision. Without humility, riches will destroy leaders before they even realize it.

Gratitude in Small Gestures

Coming back from Kuching, I was exhausted. A newborn at home meant everything moved slowly. Feed the baby, put her to sleep, feed again, repeat. Before I knew it, the day had gone. We rushed to the airport at 5 a.m., my wife and kids sent home early so they did not have to suffer the journey with a two-month-old.

That is when disaster struck. For Sarawak travel, you are given an immigration slip if you enter with just your IC. Lose it, and you must file a police report, pay a fine, and endure delays. I could not find mine. With my newborn still without a passport, it felt like a nightmare unfolding.

We prepared to leave early to settle the paperwork. But as the Grab car pulled out, my teammate Joshua suddenly ran out, waving the slip I thought was gone. Founded by Saw. At that moment, I felt such deep gratitude. Not for a grand achievement. Not for a million-dollar deal. But for a simple act of attention and loyalty.

This is leadership. Like parenting, the sacrifices are invisible. My children do not see the sleepless nights. My team does not always see the weight of decisions. But when they hand me back a simple slip of paper, or even just a glass of water, my heart warms. It reminds me that the unseen sacrifices are worth it.

In Malaysia, we see this same paradox in sport. Lee Chong Wei stood as a titan of badminton not just because of skill, but because of discipline and humility. Interview after interview, he credited his coaches, his family, and his nation. For over a decade, he carried the weight of expectation with grace. He knew momentum was his friend, but humility was his anchor. Without it, momentum would have crushed him.

A Universiti Malaya study in 2021 revealed that teams led by servant-minded leaders, those who practiced humility and service, recorded 32 percent higher trust levels compared to authoritarian leaders. My team’s trust that day in Kuching was not built in a single act. It was built in years of humility, small sacrifices, and momentum compounded.

When Riches Become Blindness

The riches I am speaking about are not only money.

If you are rich in money, you rely on your resources. Why bother listening when your wallet can fix it? If you are rich in knowledge, you dismiss others as ignorant. If you are rich in experience, you stop listening to fresh voices, assuming you have seen it all. And if you are rich in comfort, you stay in the air-conditioned room and forget the heat outside.

Malaysia’s history offers a clear warning. The 1MDB scandal was not a failure of talent or resources. It was the arrogance of riches, financial riches, political riches, network riches, without humility. It destroyed trust in our institutions, both locally and globally.

Contrast that with Anthony Tan of Grab. As Grab scaled across Southeast Asia, he repeatedly spoke of “relentless humility.” Even with billions raised and markets expanded, the leadership language was service, not status. That humility kept the company adaptable in the cut-throat tech race.

I sometimes tell my children: daddy eats more rice than you eat salt. But when I slow down, kneel, and see from their level, I am often surprised. Their perspective adds to mine. Riches of experience blind us when we refuse to stoop down.

Richness without humility is like a durian. To those who handle it carelessly, it cuts and hurts. But to those who approach with care, humility opens the fruit and releases sweetness.

Emptying Yourself to Lead

I have often reflected that I am not like Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, or Bill Gates. I do not carry the genius of invention, nor the riches of sheer execution power. What I carry is a father’s heart. That is what has allowed me to build a team, not through brilliance, but through humility.

Like raising children, leadership is not about being recognized. It is about holding space, guiding growth, and absorbing the weight others cannot yet see. Sometimes, all you receive in return is a small gesture, a teammate finding a lost slip, a child offering a glass of water. Yet it is enough. Because humility makes you see worth in the small, not only the spectacular.

Leadership in Malaysia today must be redefined. We do not need more leaders clutching at riches, whether wealth, knowledge, or connections. We need leaders humble enough to walk into the kampung, listen at the factory floor, sit in the classroom, and feel the heat of the street. Without humility, riches destroy. With humility, even the poor in resources can build legacies.

Khazanah Nasional’s turnaround is proof. By humbly admitting missteps and stripping down to core focus between 2019 and 2023, billions were saved, and national trust slowly rebuilt. Humility is not weakness. It is clarity.

A PwC Malaysia survey (2022) found that 85 percent of employees preferred leaders who showed humility in decision-making over those who displayed charisma. The future of leadership, in corporations, in schools, in government, belongs to those who can be rich in resources yet poor in pride.

The paradox is this. To be rich in leadership, you must first empty yourself. Just as athletes strip off every weight before running, leaders must strip off pride before leading.

The Reverse That Redefines It All

Comfort is never leadership’s fruit. It is leadership’s price tag.

Real leaders trade ease for responsibility, safety for sacrifice, and comfort for the growth of others. The world will always celebrate those who accumulate riches. But legacy will only remember those who released them.