REFLEKSI: Malas adalah karakter manusia normal, demikian kata salah seorang kenalan. Apakah secara umum orang Indonesia berkarakter normal?
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=7§ion=0&article=85180&d=11&m=7&y=2006 Tuesday, 11, July, 2006 (15, Jumada al-Thani, 1427) Laziness, Ambivalence: Nation's Worst Enemies Khaled Almaeena, [EMAIL PROTECTED] Upon his return from a five-year stay in Southeast Asia, a friend of mine asked me: "Why are people so lazy here?" When I asked him why he posed such a question, he said: "I have lived in Malaysia, South Korea, Japan and China. I find that people get up early in the morning, get on with their jobs and finish what they have to do without wasting time." His first impression upon arrival in Saudi Arabia wasn't a positive one. "When I arrived at the airport here," he said, "it took two minutes for the immigration personnel to come to the counters, and some seemed disengaged - as if they were doing us a favor just to stamp our passports." That is a thing of the past, I remarked. I told him that both Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah and Crown Prince Sultan have time and again stressed that government servants and others should look into the welfare of the people and strive hard to do so. "There should be a time-management and behavioral skills orientation program taught to customs and immigration officers as well as to the police and traffic officers," said my friend. "They have to be more efficient, productive and well-mannered," he said. But what has that to do with being lazy? I asked. "In the Far East those who do not produce are usually associated with such traits," he said. But then you need accountability, I interjected. How can a manager hold someone accountable when he himself is not up to the ethical standard. First of all, employees and management should set up codes of ethics that should be dutifully followed. Let the bosses come in at 7.30 a.m. and then see if the employees follow suit. Let them set up a time-and-motion study. Let them review and also be reviewed by their customers or clients, and make sure that the customer or client is the common man or woman. The courts also should have people who should observe and facilitate paper work. If a study is ever conducted it will reveal that productivity levels here are the lowest in the world - and time wasting the highest. I say this with a deep sense of frustration as I want my country to be a traveler on the road of life and not a mere bystander watching as others progress. In South Korea, students went on strike because the government decided to make Saturday a holiday in addition to their weekly day off, Sunday. Can you imagine something like that happening in our part of the world? It is so embarrassing when the "Khawajas" make jokes about the word "Inshallah." I've even heard it called the "Saudi Inshallah," which simply means that something won't get done. But what can you do? We have ourselves to blame for any portrayal of our society as a lazy, nonproductive one. Time has no meaning and no value for many if not the majority. "In the West, they work and here also we work; but the difference in the West is that they produce," wrote columnist Wahib Binzagr. I have pondered over these words for a long time, and I have to come to the conclusion that there is no pill to be swallowed to make us like those advancing people of Southeast Asia. One of the great ironies is that many of these countries are resource-poor except for their people, and they seem to accomplish more with only human capital than we can with the incredible bounty God has given us in petroleum and mineral resources. True, it is a God-given bounty, but anyone who assumes that it was put there so that we could just sit back and pay others to do and think for us is operating with a dangerously flawed assumption. If we are ever going to break out of this self-made trap, it will be through hard work, study and reasoned reflection about how to get ourselves and our country ahead. The next time somebody advances the idea that we are better than other people, we really ought to ask him or her why. What we need to do is start a campaign in schools and universities. And for those already in the work force, be it official or private, there should be a strong campaign to shape up - or else. Those who produce should then be rewarded - and in public. Maybe that will help. Another and perhaps more important thing that will help could take place in the home - and it could start tonight. We need to make sure our children are getting the message that if they don't do things for themselves, those things probably won't get done, and if they don't strive to be hardworking and responsible they will be neither and the country we love so much will remain on the sidelines of the global economy and never reach the greatness so many of us believe it can attain. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] *************************************************************************** Berdikusi dg Santun & Elegan, dg Semangat Persahabatan. Menuju Indonesia yg Lebih Baik, in Commonality & Shared Destiny. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ppiindia *************************************************************************** __________________________________________________________________________ Mohon Perhatian: 1. Harap tdk. memposting/reply yg menyinggung SARA (kecuali sbg otokritik) 2. Pesan yg akan direply harap dihapus, kecuali yg akan dikomentari. 3. 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