Dato’ Sri Bernard Chandran
Reflects on his over three-decade-long career
Having a conversation with Dato’ Sri Bernard Chandran is like attending a masterclass in philosophy. Throughout the interview, reflecting on his rise from humble beginnings, Bernard speaks at length about the power of manifestation. There is oddly little talk about strategies and tactics, topics that usually dominate interviews about the building of a brand. Instead, he reflects on the power of imagination, telling us that even as a child, he had a vision of the life that he would lead many years in the future.
“I have a dream, I put it into action, I develop a plan, and I believe in it,” he states. “Right or wrong? I don’t know.”
But it is his ability to see beyond circumstances that has led him to this exact moment, reflecting on a career that spans more than three decades. As a child, that meant being influenced greatly by popular culture. His dyslexia ‒ something he discovered only later in life ‒ means that he consumes information visually. That resulted in him aspiring to live the life of the individuals that frequently appeared on screen and in print.
“I used to make my father angry, demanding for shoes that cost RM90 a pair,” he recalls. “In the 1970s that was a lot and he would ask me where I was going to wear them. But I would have seen them in a movie. I asked for guitar lessons but it had to be an individual class and my father had to pay RM50 an hour. That was not easy for a working class man but my father knew I wanted the best.”
The “best” also extended to his having a family. The era of the rock star with his supermodel wife intrigued him - Billy Joel and his ‘uptown girl’ Christie Brinkley, Simon Le Bon and Yasmin Le Bon, Mick Jagger and Jerry Hall.
“I wanted that too,” he says unabashedly.
It was at that time that he came across a photo of the model Mary Lourdes ‒ his future wife -in the papers. Two years later, he happened to meet her. At that point, he knew, what the next step should be.
“When things appear in front of you, you must make the move,” he says. “If any situation you have thought about appears in front of you, it means that you have been given a head start. The rest is up to you. You have to make the effort.”
“IF ANY SITUATION YOU HAVE THOUGHT ABOUT APPEARS IN FRONT OF YOU, IT MEANS THAT YOU HAVE BEEN GIVEN A HEAD START. THE REST IS UP TO YOU. YOU HAVE TO MAKE THE EFFORT.”