nkf story - why the disappointment?

I just read the papers this morning and the impression I get is that people were disappointed by the early concede by Durai. And their reason is that they will miss out on the juicy details when Durai is grilled by the legal counsels. Then came the consolating thought that Durai will not go away but can still be called upon as witness by the other defendants. It is a case of waiting for the Middle Weight and Light Weight rounds after the Heavy Weight round was rudely ended by a technical KO. Poor Durai. He can't avoid being the main star of the show. What is pertinent is that his admission of wrongdoings would seriously compromise the positions of the other defendants. His admission would mean that all the allegations by Shanmugam stays, that they are as what Shanmugam set them out to prove. Now Shanmugam needs not prove them and the fiefdom and the cronies are true. It is now the turn of the cronies to prove that they were not cronies. But to absolve them from blame, they must prove beyond that, that they are worst than cronies. That all decisions were taken by Durai and either they did not know, were not party to it, or were slaves and thus have diminished responsibilities.

nkf story - ko in round one

10 sec into Round One and the World Heavyweight Champion was KO by a barrage of body blows from his challenger. This is as close as it gets to what had happened today of the NKF Showdown in High Court. Yes, Durai had conceded the case and accepted full liability even before he was asked to make his defence. What happens to this formidable and dynamic CEO who had won two fights and took on the SPH and was confident of winning his case and a $20 million damage claim? What could be the reasons for him to throw in the towel without a fight? One possibility is that the plaintiff has all the evidence given their accessibility to all the information available and also those Durai had deleted but knew that they had been recovered from his computers. It is also not far fetched to assume that some of his employees or directors would turn up as witnesses against him. Then there is also a big possibility that one of the key defendants could turn prosecution witness and nail the coffin. Everyone, including all the directors would be fighting to save their own skins, especially those who have not benefitted from all the wrongdoings. Now the ominous remark in Durai's letter, 'I know this will be painful to my wife who has to contend with the little resources I can provide her and the children...' is becoming a reality. Whatever that he got from the NKF may not be enough to pay for all the legal fees and the damages that the new NKF is going to claim against him. Poor chap, and his poor wife and children. But that will not be the end of him in this showdown. He is likely to be called upon as witness by the other defendants to be cross examined. And for those who are waiting for a command performance by this living legend of the old NKF, they will not be disappointed. For the meanwhile the spotlight will now be on Richard Yong, Loo Say San and Matilda Chua and the rest of the board of directors. (end of Chapter One).

nkf story continues

And the story continues. I was very touched and almost moved to tears by Durai's reply to Richard Yong's recommendation to pay Durai 8 months' of bonus. And I can agree that Durai had worked extremely hard to raise $22 million for the NKF. "We cannot commend you enough. We cannot compensate you enough. My colleagues and I want you to know how much we appreciate your painstaking work and sacrifice. As a token of our appreciation, we would like you to accept a bonus of eight months' salary.' It was indeed a small token of appreciation. And it was indeed a sacrifice. Durai replied that he would only accept 5 months. 8 months were too much. And he had good and legitimate reasons. 'I am unable to accept the bonus of 8 months salary as I would not be doing justice to the hundreds of patients whom I have to cajole to pay their fees - which they do grudgingly. I know this will be painful to my wife who has to contend with the little resources I can provide her and the children...' Poor thing. And the last I heard, because of his sacrifice and miserable peanut salary, he was living in a rented property. He could not afford to buy his own property. How mean of NKF to pay him so little. It was not only Durai, but his poor wife and children that had to live with so little that he got from NKF. And he rejected to take more. How about a Noble Peace Prize for self sacrifice to aid other suffering human beings?

new nkf versus nkf 2007

Today we got a sneak preview of the greatest NKF Showdown that all Singaporeans have been waiting for. The debut of the battle at High Court, and if this is what things are going to be like, is going to be as glamorous as any other shows that Media Corp can ever produce. Making his entrance was TT Durai, carrying his charming and suave personality as he strode in, accompanied to court by his equally imposing legal counsel. He was calm, relax and appeared to have everything in control, just like before, everything carefully scripted. It was indeed a commanding presence befitting what Durai represented and was well known for, a consumate CEO of a multi million dollar organisation. Nothing in this world could ruffle him and spoil his day. Then came Richard Yong, his hair nicely gelled and sculptured, and in his immaculate suit, and a beautiful little coloured handkerchief protruding from his vest pocket. With his trade mark 3 piece suit he easily outshone Mark Ng and was a class of his own. It was all class fit for a movie star. He came with an entourage around him, an influential Chairman indeed. The High Court suddenly came alive when a vibrant and smiling Maltida Chua waltzed in. She was the happiest personality to have graced the sombre looking court. Anyone seeing her would not be mistaken to think that she was there to attend a birthday party of a close friend. There was not the slightest worry on her face as she strutted along, probably very confident that all was well. Talking about worry, Loo Say San seemed to be the odd man out. He was everything worry was. Worry was written all over him. On his face, on his shirt and in the air around him. No, he did not attempt a smile. Maybe he had forgotten how. But the greatest surprise, or no surprise at all, was the dark horse in the name of Pharis Aboobacker. No you could not see him. Was he there or was he not there, or was he ever was there? The other key player representing the whole of the New NKF was none other than the famous Shanmugam. And he made his presence felt immediatelly by saying a simple word, 'cronies'. Whatever that meant, there was immediate objection from the otherwise happy party goers and glamorous dignitaries of a once high profile corporate world. 30 lawyers in all were there. I am trying to count how much will this show eventually will cost. Then there are the hidden cost of the dressers to dress up the players and their expensive and branded wardrobes. And the catwalk consultants making sure that each step was meant to be where it landed for the cameras. All the fashion gurus and newsmakers should be there to cover this great show of the year. Even the newspaper played the part that it should by giving the Show frontpage and extensive coverage. And the photos of the main actors and actress were honoured in full colour. The supporting cast would have to make do with just black and white.(To be continued) _________________

double rainbows double blessings

Looks like the double rainbows are giving good reasons for a pay rise in all sectors. More jobs, tight job markets and pressure to attract and retain talents. Soon we will hear organisations losing staff or talents and need to boost salary to attract more and better talents. What is this talent that we are talking about? The talents at the top are all very well paid and very settled in where they are. It is very difficult to move them around unless there are very exceptional reasons or perks. Also it is very difficult for them to move around as well as many are actually no longer marketable. There are in positions and earning incomes that are beyond their worths and no one will want to offer them more. Peter's Principle. One very special group of talents that are highly mobile and marketable are the young talents, the second upper and first class honours grads and less than 5 years in a organisation. Because of the squeeze in starting salaries over the last few years, many are not getting paid their worth. This is especially so in the civil service. In the private sector, a talented two to three year graduate could be getting $4k to $5k. In the civil service, many will not smell $3k. And for them to be in the civil service, they are the cream of the crop. Head hunters will definitely be targeting this group of young talents, under paid but all with good honours degree. Where else can they find such talents except in the civil service. Those with similar talents in the private sector will be amply rewarded as the private sector is more aggressive and nimble. We can expect to see more musical chairs as the music begins.