The mindset of a Civil Servant

Reinvent. Restructure. Revamp. Remake.

These are words often uttered in the Civil Service. So much so that they have become cliche and make some people cringe.

I see where these people are coming from. For the longest time, the impression people have of a Civil Servant is –

• He's kiasi,
  
• He's kiasu,
  
• And very kimsiap
  
• He's such a nerd!
  
• He also “jia leow bee” one (loosely translated in Hokkien, it means he's useless, despite having eaten lots of rice).
  

Well, nothing is further from the truth.

The Civil Service has transformed, both in its workforce and the way the organization is being run. We are more “happening” then you think. The bosses are kind and compassionate (boss, you reading this?), the workers, efficient, hip, cool and adventurous, what with the 40 and 50-year-olds acting and behaving like they are forever young and going roller-blading and all… Don't take my word for it. Just look at me. Or Victor. Oh, and I almost forgot to mention - humility is certainly not one of our virtues. LOL.

But of course, there are always the occasional "black sheep" - people who persist in projecting an image of a civil servant that is out-dated, untrue and inaccurate. I met one of these today. And she almost spoilt my day.

Let's call her "Irene", not to be confused with Serene, whose name suggests that she should be seen more and heard less. LOL. Irene wrote me an email today, telling me that I’ve been successful in my application for a course - Emotional Intelligence (EQ) - scheduled for early December. That's also the time when I’d be going for a trip overseas with my family. I promptly wrote Irene to ask if it was possible for a change of dates. Instead, she replied curtly with these words, "Please get a replacement." Feeling a little perplexed, I reached for the phone and called her. The conversation went something like this:

Me : Irene please

Irene: Ya

Me : Hi Irene, this is Chris... I got your email asking me to get replacement for a course. You mean I have to get someone to replace me?

Irene: Yalah... if not, we paid the course for nothing you know? $400 per person, you know?

Me : Oh, but why did you schedule me on these dates without first consulting me?

Irene: Hello, I sent you an email long ago to inform you about the date you know? (beginning to sound a little agitated)

Me : Ok, ok, calm down, ... Now you see why I need this EQ course? (actually I felt like telling her she needs the course more than me)

Irene: You said it yourself ah (I could almost hear her glee at the other end of the line)

Me : But I really don't recall seeing that email leh (searching for the evidence of that email in my inbox, as I spoke). Can you send me that email again?

Irene: I don't know whether if I still got that email. I juz came back from a long leave you know... so much things to do...

Me thinking: (My fault lah)
Me: So I die die also must find a replacement is it? Is it possible to change the date?

Irene: I dunno if there're other alternative dates because the trainer is from overseas one. (pause). I'll check and get back to you.

Not say I wanna say one. How could someone from HR be so "unprofessional" in the way she handles her "customers"?? These are the kind of officers who's giving the CS a bad name...

Well, what can I say? Other than that it takes all kinds to form an organization, be it in a private or public company.

Another one of my pet peeves is the amount of wastage I see in the office. A recent case in point .... Two days ago, we guys in the office stepped into the Gents and were greeted by a partition that has been erected between the washing basins and the toilet cubicles. We had no idea why the need for the partition. There was nothing in our email to warn us about this “construction”. The partition made the already small toilet even smaller and quite crammed. We simply assumed that perhaps some of the girls, whose toilet is just adjacent to the Gents, probably made a complaint to the management for having accidentally caught sight of something they weren’t supposed to see. Anyway, Victor commented that the girls aren’t supposed to peep into Gent’s door wat. So if they want to peep, even if it's accidental, it's really not the fault of us guys, right? Victor stopped short of saying he's a flasher.... I dunno... ROTFL.

Anyway, to our surprise, yesterday evening, some guys came to dismantle the partition and carted it away. When I ran into the MO (maintenance officer) in the toilet today, I couldn’t resist asking him about the partition. The chap told me that the partition was put up so that in future, in the event of a SARS or Bird Flu outbreak, the main door of the gents could be left perpetually open. This way, there’s no worry of catching germs from wet door handles. Okay, then why tore it down? Because people, the chap added, had been complaining that the toilet is too crammed!

Sigh. I know our gahmen allow U-Turns these days. But what poor planning! And a total waste of tax payers’ money! OUR money! Tsk..tsk... tks.... Why not saved the money and give us 3 months bonus instead of 2.7?

Oh, I forgot to add... we civil servants are also very greedy one. LOL.

Category: Musings