Before Becoming a CEO, I Mopped a Ship’s Engine Room Floor
Today, people know me as a CEO. But when I was 20, my main job was holding a mop and cleaning the floor of a ship’s engine room.
That was one of the first steps in my life’s journey.
Around the year 2000, after training at the Malaysian Maritime Academy (ALAM), I began my career in shipping.
My first ship was the Bunga Mas Empat, owned by MISC.
I worked as a Junior Rating in the engine room, helping the marine engineers with tasks involving the ship’s engines.
But don’t imagine that my work was particularly impressive back then.
My main duties were mopping the floor, cleaning the engine room and wiping down machinery.
Sometimes, I also helped read engine temperature reports and assisted the engineers with pump repairs.
I wasn’t the person giving instructions.
I was still learning from people with more experience.
Six months away from home
Our ship sailed from Port Klang to Bombay, India, then on to Sri Lanka and Jakarta, Indonesia, before returning to Port Klang.
That was part of our sailing routine.
One of the most challenging experiences was trying to sleep for the first time while the waves rocked the ship.
Imagine being used to sleeping in a house that stays still.
Suddenly, your bed moves with the sea.
It wasn’t easy to get used to.
Especially when I also had to be away from my family for six months.
The day Mum and Dad came to visit
There is one memory I still carry with me today.
At one point, our ship spent about a month in a repair dock in Pasir Gudang, Johor.
That was when Mum and Dad came to visit me.
It was the first time they had seen where I worked on board.
I was only 20 then.
Their visit meant a great deal to me.
As a young man learning to be independent and gaining experience far from home, seeing Mum and Dad at my workplace became one of the treasured memories of my early career.
From mopping floors to running a company
More than two decades later, life has taken me into business and construction.
Today, I carry the responsibility of being CEO of AHB Group.
But I have never been ashamed to talk about my first job.
I have mopped floors.
I have wiped down engines.
I have been someone else’s assistant.
To me, a humble job does not make a person any less valuable.
Every job has its own role and responsibilities.
What did I learn?
To young people just beginning their careers, there is one thing I would like to share.
Never be ashamed to start at the bottom.
If your job today is simply to help others, do it well.
Learn as much as you can.
Respect every kind of work, including work that may receive little attention or praise.
We never know where today’s experiences might take us in the future.
Job titles can change. Life can change. But never forget where you began.
I would like to ask you:
What was your first job, and what was the most valuable thing it taught you?
⸻
PMr. Mohd Hawarie Bin Tan Muzi
Founder, AHB Group
My Life Journey — Episode 01
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