Source: The Edge
Date: 9.2.2009
The majestic facade of the Xiao En Centre | 
The brightly lit reception are is more akin to a hotel | 
Funeral rooms are equipped with private resting areas for family members of the deceased |
When you think about morticians, the image that springs to mind is a little grim. Thanks to an endless supply of powerful imagery from Hollywood dramas and old English who-dun-its, the business of undertaking and dealing with the dead was relegated to those who were different from the rest of us.
The stereotype dictated that it was the dork in the class or the intense one who took on such a job. They worked out of dark, dank facilities and rode in black London cabs. Smiles never reached their eyes; fingers were always cold.
They were rich beyond belief, however, as they were lonely and had no one to spend their money on. Tall and commanding, their shifty eyes cast lofty glances and deep, throaty voices issued serene instructions.
And then, of course, we switch off the telly and snap back to reality. Fact is, the business of dealing with the dead is just as good - and as necessary - as any other job. It is a job as old as time and probably the most recession-proof on the planet. No matter how high interest rates climb and how low stocks plunge, there is always death at the end of it all.
Yet, few jobs pique the curiosity as much as this one. How do you survive dealing with death on a daily basis? While it's easy to say it's simply a job that needs to be done, it would take a heart of stone to remain unmoved by the finality of death, day after day. It seems all morticians must have this sort of heart.
Imagine our surprise then when we meet Frank Choo, the managing director of Xiao En Group, one of the largest bereavement service providers in the country, at Xiao En Centre, the group's bereavement care centre.
Frank does a good job of turning the commonly held stereotypical image of funeral directors on its head. He precedes our introduction with a gasp, then a naughty grin, saying: "Wah, a photographer! But I haven't put on my make-up yet!" Er, right┅ of all the jokes we have heard, one about the lack of make-up in a mortician's office is probably the most absurd. We smile hesitantly.
The centre is a lavish, well-equipped facility that provides all the necessary services to manage funeral wakes, burials and cremations. We have to admit we were nervous about finding a generic term to categorise what Xiao En does. Apparently, "morticians" or "undertakers" aren't quite politically correct. "Bereavement care services lah," says Frank with a wink. "Sounds a bit better, doesn't it? Undertaker or funeral home sounds so depressing!" We soon find that Frank makes an effort to not use commonly used terms for the industry. In fact, he interrupts us frequently, teasingly admonishing the use of words like "mortuary", "gas chamber" and "morgue".
His impish, broad smile and distinctly boyish charm really make it hard to imagine Frank as the head of the place. His siblings, Nancy and Keng, are more reserved and somehow a better match for the job. Nancy is the sales and marketing director while Keng is the architect responsible for Xiao En's headquarters in Cheras.
"Yes, my job is talking, theirs is doing," Frank quips as we arrange the three siblings for a photograph. His younger siblings break into a smile as if in agreement.
But underneath the easy-going exterior and frequent cracks on how he does nothing while his siblings toil away, it's quite clear that Frank does a fantastic job of running the place. As he takes us on a tour of the centre, it is impossible to miss the stamp of ownership and the sense of pride he feels.
The business was begun in 1991 by his father, the late Datuk Choo Ching Hwa, and Frank and his siblings took over when he passed away in 1996. At the time, they only managed the Nilai Memorial Park; today, the company manages the Melaka Memorial Park (a joint venture with the Melaka Chinese Chamber of Commerce) and runs the Xiao En Centre.
A gleaming white edifice, among the clutter of the Cheras area, the Xiao En Centre is a welcome respite for the eyes. Like its proprietor Frank, it defies all preconceived notions of a funeral home. If we hadn't been told we were at one, we would have mistaken its lobby for that of a swanky hotel. We are surprised at how cheerful and airy the lobby feels, thanks in large part to the sunlight streaming in through the numerous glass panels and the air well.
There is an air of serenity, broken only by the clicking of our heels on the polished granite floor. Frank tells us the centre was specifically designed and outfitted to have such an atmosphere. The d?cor expertly merges contemporary sensibilities with traditional Chinese elements. Pots of what look like larger cousins of bonsai dot the area, as does oriental wooden furniture.
Lingering scents of incense greet us when we step through a glass entrance into the large gathering foyer of a hall designated for funeral ceremonies of those of Buddhist and Taoist faiths. Adjacent to the foyer are rooms of various sizes for conducting funerals, each with a registration foyer and a private resting room with attached bathroom where the loved ones of the deceased can retreat to. It is obvious that a lot of thought went into creating every aspect of the centre, which anticipates the needs of a grieving family even before they are articulated.
The next leg of the tour covered a space that's not open to the public - it's where all the "delicate" work takes place in preparing a body for burial. It is situated and constructed in such a way that the transfer of bodies can be done discreetly and away from prying eyes.
On the next floor is a hall with the same layout that is designated for the funerals of those belonging to the Christian faith. Lush carpeting of muted earth tones with matching, tasteful furnishings give it a warm feel, and just like its counterpart, there are different-sized rooms with registration foyers and family resting rooms for conducting funerals.
Outside this hall is another lounge area, specifically for accommodating those who smoke. This floor is also where the casket and urn showrooms are situated.
Yet another floor up brings us to the Xiao En Cultural Centre, a non-profit foundation that supports academic research and intercultural diversity. At the time of our visit, the dedicated art space was exhibiting impressionist paintings by local as well as Chinese artists. Outside the gallery is an open air space where functions can be held.
We feel an immense sense of respect in the centre, and it is not accidental. The entire facility has been carefully designed to have such a feel, right from the family members' resting area in the main halls to the tree-lined staff's canteen and games room. But then again, if respect is a value you have lived by all your life, it cannot but come across in your work. Like many traditional Chinese families, filial piety is held in high regard in the Choo household and it is something Frank has brought to the business. That, and an innovative sense of entrepreneurship.
"My late father was no ordinary businessman - he was sort of boho and an innovator. He always wanted to do something different," Frank says. "The idea for all this came when his father, my grandfather, passed away. This was way out in Dungun. The funeral grounds were run by clan associations, like they all were at the time. It wasn't the nicest of places, but feng shui was very good lah┅ on top of a hill, nice and windy - where the land couldn't really be used for anything else anyway."
Frank and his siblings had gone to the UK for their tertiary education and their father would insist on holidays home being planned during their Easter break. This coincided with Cheng Beng, so they had the opportunity to return to Dungun to visit their ancestral grave. Frank remembers being rather upset at the way the graveyard was being maintained.
"Can you imagine, we had to cross don't-know-whose-graves-all to come to my grandfather's grave. We didn't like it and my father hated it even more. I mean, come on lah, there must be a better way to do this, right? So, my father did a bit of research, did some travelling, and then one day he told me: ‘Wah son, I think I'm going to venture into this business lah'. I was in university at the time, in the UK," Frank recalls.
Not that Choo was hard-pressed for work. In fact, far from it. At the time, he was already a successful entrepreneur and politician, with roles that included but were not limited to treasurer general of the MCA during Tan Sri Lee San Choon's era, one of the managing directors of Multi-Purpose Group, deputy chairman of BRDB, chairman of Magnum Corp and founder of education loan provider Kojadi. He was also an accountant with his own practice and dabbled in property development on the East Coast.
Choo's vast experience gave him the skills necessary to start this new business and when Frank returned from the London School of Economics with an honours degree in economics, he jumped right in. Frank travelled across the region with his father to understand the systems required to run a bereavement care centre.
"In places like the Philippines, graveyards and mausoleums are so beautiful, they become tourist attractions. So my father went to all these places, including Japan, Taiwan, and some other countries in Europe and America to see how they did it. He decided that there was no reason why we couldn't do the same thing here," Frank says.
Father and son eventually found a plot of land they deemed suitable but it took them three long years before the government gave them the necessary approvals - the main problem being that there was no way to categorise the use of the land. But once the approval came, it was full steam ahead and Nilai Memorial Park was officially launched in 1991.
When Choo passed away, Frank automatically became the head of the company. Yet, in the 14 years that he has been at the helm, Frank has not expanded much beyond what his father had already done. "My father's intention, which I think is really noble, was just this - we don't have to go everywhere or build so many parks. Do it once and people will follow. And then you would have established a culture. Clans will then get their act together and market forces will require them to follow suit. That is actually the effect he wanted," Frank says.
He pulls out one of the company's brochures on the table and points to the logo - the Chinese characters for Xiao En. "If you want to know the overriding theme or the vision of what my father wanted to do, it's in our branding. Xiao means filial piety┅ in a narrow sense, it means respect for your parents. But in a broader sense, it is the relationship between the younger and older generations. ‘En' means gratitude, it means paying your debt to your ancestors.
"To my father, all this was very important. He had a very strong sense of belonging, which is why all of us are Chinese educated. When I was in university, he used to send me Mandarin books to read. He was that sort of man. To him, a memorial park was a place where the deceased should be respected. Why do you think we have the Pyramids or the Taj Mahal? Also, for him it should be a place that is pleasant for families. Wouldn't it be nice to have a place that people enjoy coming to? It shouldn't be scary or a place where children are afraid or need to be dragged to - it is disrespecting the deceased. This sense of filial piety and respect is what defined what he wanted to do."
Frank leans back in his chair and thinks for a moment. "The function of a memorial park is to pay respect to the deceased, but it's also a piece of history that you're leaving behind. Which is why we allow people to have their own design on the tombstones. This young man passed away and was buried in our park. He has a computer, a keyboard and a basketball as a headstone┅ that sort of personalisation is touching; it gives the family some comfort as well. And that, most importantly, is our job here - to provide comfort."
After 20 years, I must say this has become a respectable job; people don't shun you anymore. Bankers are talking to us now. This is a far cry from when my dad started; people thought he was crazy┅ such a beautiful park, why build a cemetery? Housing estate lah! That mentality has changed, definitely," Frank says when we ask him what running the business is like.
The way societal dynamics have changed makes a bereavement care centre more relevant in this day and age as well. "Many people live in condominiums these days, which makes having a funeral at home impossible. In even landed houses, there is always a security risk. Think about it - you are welcoming completely unknown people into your home. Having the funeral outside puts all these concerns to rest. A funeral in your home also means your life has to be completely disrupted for that entire time. This is over and above what you have to deal with since someone has passed away. By doing it here, it makes it that much easier for you. I notice that people appreciate the convenience the most, so they can concentrate on grieving," Frank points out. The centre has many times served repeat customers, he says with a laugh. He, of course, means several people from the same family.
While one may think Xiao En has found a niche for itself, maintaining high levels of service standards is a competitive strength and something Frank believes in deeply. "It is very much a dog-eat-dog business, which is why we don't really compete with other funeral directors. But it's still a pretty tough business and very territorial. There are a lot of these guys waiting outside hospital morgues, but we don't do anything like that - you call us if it's our services you require. That's why funeral directors have such a bad reputation, but it's not something we'd like to associate ourselves with."
He says the way things work here is also because no law governs the industry. In many other countries, you need to be certified to practise as an undertaker. Frank insists on some of these certifications for the staff who work at the centre. Staff are constantly sent for training courses to ensure they are properly equipped to handle the task at hand.
"Communications, language, health and disease, traditions - there are so many crucial skills to be an undertaker. Technical skills are particularly important, embalming, for example. Or make-up and artistry, to restore the body and all that. And then, of course, managing the catering and transport for the family, d?cor and all those little things. It's almost like a wedding planner lah," he laughs.
Absurd though the comparison is, we see his point - it's a whole event that needs to be carefully managed from start to finish.
According to Frank, the process begins right at the hospital where the body is taken from the mortuary directly to the centre. There, the body is embalmed and dressed according to the family's wishes. Family members can immediately choose what sort of service is required - from the coffin to the flowers to the kind of hearse - and they need not worry about a thing until the coffin reaches the cemetery or the crematorium. Thanks to the in-house cultural centre, customers can also refer to them for particular rituals and traditions pertaining to the funeral.
Although the day we were there was an easy one, Frank assures us that it's very often almost fully occupied. With the business in a very good place, what does the future hold for Xiao En?
"An e-memorial," he says proudly. "In cyberspace, all the information related to someone who has passed away is there. For example, not everyone may have a picture of your deceased grandfather. So, you take this picture and put it in cyberspace and other family members can do the same. This sort of memorialisation is something we hope to do, this sort of web obituaries."
Frank is also keen on creating a better pool of talent to service the industry. As part of a joint venture with a Filipino funeral service provider, a training centre has been established in Singapore. Called Translife Care, the company has two core products that provide exceptional services in bereavement care. Eventually, the idea is to transfer some of the learnings - and the business model - to Malaysia. A training school here, much like the ones Frank has visited in the Philippines, would be impractical for the time being as demand is still low.
The bereavement care industry may be relatively young in Malaysia, but it promises a lot of opportunities to those who want to work in it and survive the neck-and-neck competition. It takes a compassionate nature, steely grit, complete and utter professionalism, a respect for culture and tradition and a willingness to take a walk on the wild side - much like Frank and his father did.
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