SO, NOW we have a campaign to instil noble values in our people. Personally, I think it’s a good thing though I hope it won’t be like a certain neighbouring country that had a courtesy campaign for a while. While it was on, everyone said “please” and “thank you” especially in the shops. The minute it was over, they all reverted back to the same sullenness again.

I look at the list of things that typically define rude Malaysian behaviour and while I do agree that most of these will be classified as everyday Malaysian crimes against humanity, it is a far from exhaustive list. For one thing, impoliteness and inconsiderateness are only some of the bad values many of us tend to exhibit. (I’m not saying I’m exempt from my own Ugly moments.) There are plenty of other nasty values that are sometimes invisible except to those unfortunate ones who have to suffer them.

One is sheer wastefulness. I will not limit that to individuals piling enough buffet food on a plate for three people and then not finishing them. What about wasting taxpayers’ money?

This seems to be a rather shameless habit that I’ve unfortunately had to witness several times over, mostly when certain public servants travel abroad. I am often invited to conferences and meetings overseas where participants include government representatives. Often, because of my non-governmental status, finding the funds to travel to such conferences is not easy so I am always grateful to those who manage to cough up the funds for my economy class ticket and 3-star hotel. My colleagues and I are always highly aware that we are there to work and so we put our heads down and make the most of the opportunity to discuss issues, network with others and learn as much as we can. When we return we have to report back to our colleagues and share the knowledge that we have gained.

It is always a pleasure to travel with fellow Malaysians especially if they are on the government side because it gives us the chance to meet otherwise inaccessible people in a more informal setting and get to know one another better. But that’s hard to do if once we get there we don’t see them anymore. It’s not unusual to see much-coveted seats at meetings empty because our public servant colleagues have decided that something else may be more interesting. Or sometimes, they may appear for the opening when other VIPs are there but are nowhere to be seen when the real substance of the meeting takes place.

Often, people do attend meetings but this is not the same as participating in them. What do you call it when you attend a meeting and say absolutely nothing and ask no questions? When you take no part in the informal discussions in the corridors outside where the real business of networking happens? I once suffered the embarrassment of being part of a government delegation to a meeting and asking so many questions that the other delegations thought I must have been the head of ours!

It certainly did not endear me to my Malaysian co-participants.

What I want to know is how some people can feel no shame in being sent abroad at great expense and then do no work at all? Or whatever work is done is of very poor quality. I recently had to witness a presentation from our country that was so inferior to those of others because it had so little substance and absolutely no analysis. Public relations may be nice if you’re doing tourism promotion but when discussing social issues, surely some self-analysis and reflection is more useful. You would think that Malaysia is so perfect at everything when you see these types of presentations.

Yet why are other countries more willing to discuss their shortcomings and challenges? Perhaps because it allows them to learn and I assume that’s why they go to such meetings so that they have opportunities to discuss with counterparts and gain ideas on possible solutions. Perhaps they have more self-confidence?

If we constantly present ourselves as problem-free, then what is there to learn and therefore why the need to attend such meetings?

A friend of mine who attended a course abroad with a government colleague told of her constant embarrassment at having to explain his perennial absence. Back home it was easy to see the results of that trip because his knowledge of his field had not seemed to improve.

Surely we need to see this as another example of Ugly Malaysian behaviour, the tendency to treat taxpayer-paid trips abroad as opportunities to have holidays and go shopping. Sometimes we see totally inappropriate people sent to meetings because it was simply “their turn”. We should do an audit of these trips and see how our country actually benefits from these.

If we are talking about instilling noble values in our people, let’s not just talk about the rakyat. Let’s also look at whether those in public office are also good role models for the rest of us. That’s the only way to ensure these campaigns work.

The Star Online, January 26, 2005