The One With My Two Cents Worth

Yesterday, my boss said something to me that made me re-rethink about the establishment that I represent.

My boss found one small article in the sole local English language newspapers (distributed only within the capital city) about the President of this fine country.  The article made the front page, but it was a mere three paragraphs.  To me, the article was not a big deal, because it sounded more like the President's attempt to garner sympathy from the peoples (ps: No matter what the United Nations say, peoples is NOT a word!).  The President has less than 25 percent poll ratings and thus badly needed the support.

Anyway, so my boss told me to send a report to Headquarters about the small article.  I rebutted saying my piece of mind regarding the article but he would hear nothing of it.  He coyly said to me:

"(Headquarters) don't want quality, they want quantity."

I went dumbstruck for a while.

My boss, it seems, is more keen on making sure that I send lots of reports to Headquarters, albeit the lack of substance and quality to them.  He is more keen on having more in hand, then making sure the reports are of benefit to us and our political masters.

This goes so well with what is currently going on within the Headquarters, what with the calling back of our PR in Vienna over the whole IAEA voting scandal.

Press Statement December 5th, 2009

People in Malaysia are now saying that we should allow others from the private sector or "intellectuals" (do such people still exist in Malaysia?) to be Malaysian Ambassadors in the international arena.  They want more "quality" people to be the diplomats of Malaysia.

To me, the quality of Malaysia's diplomats and Ambassadors vary between individuals.  The generation of "quality" diplomats are slowing diminishing due to the course of time (ie. retirement).  Their protégées, meanwhile, are stuck doing administrative work or too burden with substantive matters that others don't seem to care about.

And the new generation of diplomats (albeit the training they have been given) go out in the world with an attitude of self-righteousness that, to many, look outright haughty or snobbish.  I know of a colleague who began her first time as a diplomat in charge of the Embassy because the former Ambassador of that Embassy had just retired and the new one has yet to arrive.  Said colleague went for many months telling people she is the acting Ambassador (which is false - we have a term for the title and it does not imply "Ambassadorship"). Even worse, after the new Ambassador arrived, said colleague still went around telling she is still the acting Ambassador because the new one has yet to present the credentials.  And that's just a recent and geographically close example.

So, in the end, it seems that Headquarters really is doing what my boss said.  They're more concerned about making sure the numbers are met, rather than making the quality of work (and people) are up to notch.  The few of us who know our "station in life" (a popular saying in Headquarters) and who know exactly how to represent our fine nation are being seen rotten by the few apples that stink the barrel.

Sigh.