12/19/2005
nkf's report card out today
many wait in anticipation of a big storm. or would it be a storm in a tea cup? there are two groups looking at this saga. on one side are the supporters of a well run organisation that can raise millions easily. professionalism at work. on the other corner are those who want accountability and the need for propriety in the handling of public money.
an article in saturday's today paper on 'looking beyond the gold tap' by a heng cheong leong or leong heng cheong, attempted to describe how effective, efficient and forward looking the old nkf management was. the 21 dialysis centres, a dedicated fund raising team, dedicated professionals and dedicated ceo. but he also raised the comment by peter drucker that charity organisations will not be judged by their results but by their intention.
there is another issue about charity. our national ethos is not in favour of charity. do not expect charity. there is no free lunch. and for that we expect all the professionals to be paid their professional dues. they cannot be shortchanged for their dedication and expertise. the funny thing is that the whole organisation is built on charity, people's charity. free money, just ask and people give. how much is necessary is not an issue. how much to spend on the sick is not an issue. there are free money to be asked. is there any contradiction?
what eventually happened to the nkf saga is not about charity or about how much good work were done. with that kind of money, many things can be done. and could more be done if the money is properly managed? that is another issue. what is now the key issue is whether there is misappropriation of fund, misplaced trust and the people's feeling of unease that there may be fraud.
hopefully we will know the truth this afternoon. and hopefully the people will not be shortchanged in wanting to know the truth. the damage could be far more serious if the people perceived that things are amissed in the report. then it will no longer be the credibility of the nkf at stake, but the credibility of a nation will be put to doubt.
It took NKF years to build up a reputation as a brand of Trust but it took one incident to have it tarnish and destroy it completely.
ReplyDeleteIt is one incident that span many many years. The brand of trust is not really valid since many people, myself inclusive, were totally turned off by the hardsell tactics and showcasing of patients to gain sympathy and took our donations elsewhere.
ReplyDeletehi ice and anonymous,
ReplyDeletewelcome to my blog. actually to say that it took many years to build a reputation of trust is no longer valid in view of what had happened and what are not being revealed.
it was a trust based on misinformation and misrepresentation. so many people have been made suckers.
i have the same feeling with ice. i am very against the parading of people's tragedies on tv. very bad taste. and very unscrupulous as it attacked people at their weakness. every heartstring will be pulled at those pitiful sight.