I was whipping around Georgetown on my Honda 100cc, acting much bigger than my britches would allow, when out of the blue came a Malaysian cop on his wannabe Harley, motioning for me to pull over.

I hadn’t done anything wrong. I had just eaten a bowl of beef noodles, and I actually hadn’t parked illegally or I hadn’t pulled out in front of anyone.

So I pulled over wondering what the stern-faced cop wanted. But I felt confident, like a Vegas dealer with the house on his side. There was something I knew that my Malaysian cop friend didn’t know.

I came to a stop, and he got off his enormous-compared-to-mine-bike and walked over, eliciting with a hint of haughtiness, “Let me see your license.”

But I knew the secret. The something that few foreigners living in Malaysia are able to claim. I reached into my wallet and pulled it out. I handed it to him confidently, knowing that he had no claim on my actions.

He looked at it, and immediately smirked as if he was caught off-guard, like he had never seen this before. He was amazed and a-taken back, and I stood proud and confident like it had finally paid off.

He looked at the laminated piece of plastic and said, “Oh, you have a Malaysian license. Most foreigners don’t have one of these.”

He handed it back to me, nodded, and got back on his motorcycle and drove away.

Finally, after all these years, it had finally paid off. What was ‘it’?

In the summer of 2009, we stayed in Malaysia, and I got it in my head that I wanted to be a legal motorbike rider in Penang. Lots of foreigners ride the little Honda scooters without having a proper license. Many just use their license from their home countries and hope that it suffices. Is that legal? No. But this is Malaysia and a lot can be gotten away with.

But I wanted to be legal. So I enrolled in a motorbike training course even though I had been riding the bikes for about 10 years including the many years of using them in Vietnam.

I went to the mainland and signed up, jumped through the necessary hoops, which were quite round and formidable, when a guy finally told me to go to the training place on the island to complete my training. He said, “It will be easy for me to get my license.”

I arrived at the training place and was told that I needed to take a 10 hour course on driving a motorbike in the Bahasa Malay – which I do not speak. I told them that the guy on the mainland said it would be “easy”. “Easy.” They said that I had to take the course. I said that I’ve been riding a motorbike for years in Vietnam. I’m not a newcomer. They said it was required that I take the course. I said that the guy on the mainland said it would be “easy.” “Easy!” I went round and round with the girl for quite awhile until she finally called her superior. She reluctantly said that I don’t have to take the course, but I have to pay the full amount and then drive the 10 hours of practice in the driving obstacle course.

I agreed. (Just so I didn’t have to sit for a 10 hour lecture in a language I didn’t speak.)

So I showed up. And I used their motorbikes and their helmets, and I drove on their silly courses. I drove over a balance beam and didn’t fall off. I zigzagged. I stopped at lights. I passed other drivers. I came back several times and drove and drove and drove – learning nothing but putting in my time. After 10 hours of driving over a several week period, I took my exam. I stopped where required. I went over the balance beam without falling. I zigzagged. I used my blinkers. I rocked that course!

And after many weeks, I earned my Malaysian motorbike license – something very few foreigners apparently have.

So all that hassle and hard work and time spent finally came back and helped me today.

I don’t know what would have happened if the policeman realized I didn’t have the proper license. Probably a fine, or more likely a sly gesture that a few bills will make the whole nightmare go away.

But all of it was averted because I did it the right way. I was legal in a system where most people aren’t.

It finally paid off. Sometimes the things we should do aren’t easy and are very inconvenient. But I’m convinced that doing the right thing will eventually come around and reward you.

Try it out and see if I’m right.