Datukphobia* 8/16/2004
We had our regular meeting yesterday, in the auditorium. A fortnight ago, one of the Datuks had the bright idea of holding the meeting in the auditorium, and it was generally agreed to do so. So we all trooped into the auditorium yesterday, and it was hot as hell. There was no air-conditioning, so the meeting was conducted under stifling conditions, with everyone sweating like stuck pigs.
During the course of the meeting, it was decided on a firm completion date for this hell hole of a project. Everyone was still giving excuses and pointing fingers and blame storming and what-not. I found it sad. My opinion is that everyone has lost track of what this project is really about, and most of them are only interested in completion bonuses and getting their sorry arses off site. I wasn’t worried about a completion bonus because 1.) I was on secondment, and 2.) I wasn’t getting any.
It was in my interest to try and do the best and most professional job I could, but somehow events conspire against it. Slip shod work, putting things off into the warranty period, hide it away under the floor, in the wall, up in the ceiling, seems to be the order of the day. I watched some electricians hook up down lights today, and noticed that they were just splicing wires and taping them together. Definite recipe for a short circuit when the tape drys out and falls off. What ever happened to proper conduits and connecter blocks as called for in the Electrical Brief?
I sat there, in the auditorium, with sweat rolling down my face. The Datuk was giving everyone a bollocking for not having a sense of urgency with regards to the project completion. And people were just sitting there nodding their heads, no one saying anything to object about the ridiculous completion date, or giving reasons as to why there was no way that date could be met. Everyone was afraid of this man, because he had a title, and was sitting on the project board.
Whatever happened to professionalism? So what if this guy has a title? Does that mean you have to kow-tow to him? To his each and every request? I’ve always believed in calling a spade, a spade, and whenever he has asked me a question, I’ve always answered truthfully, and to the best of my knowledge and experience. If it’s news he doesn’t want to hear, so be it. I’m not going to varnish things to put a smile on his face.
* Datuk - Title given by the Federal or State governments, equivalent to a British ‘Sir’. Thanks to Paul for the title.
- Posted in : General
- Author : thesnark
Comments»
Sir would be more appropriately compared to Tan-Sri rather than datuk…. methinks…. What’s the cost of Datuk-ship these days? RM100,000? more?
someone famous once said…
Also you can’t throw a stone into a crowd without hitting at least 2 datuks