Yes,Sire!
 

" I think we have too many yesmen. Don't you think so?",asked my company chairman as we sipped our coffee in the ante-room next to the main  hall. A few minutes ago we just had our company AGM. In the main hall, only twenty shareholders were having their brunch;the food is enough for fifity people and I saw a few  even  'tapau' the mee,chicken and cakes. Since, I agreed with my chairman,I replied yes.Now, I add one more to the long list of yesmen! A fellow company director winked at me and I nodded. I just wonder what would be my chairman's response if I said no.Honestly, it is easier to say yes especially to your boss. If you were to say no,then you have to back it with an explaination.

Anyway, we were not talking about the affairs of our company.We just had enough queries from shareholders at the AGM. Now, it is just to enjoy our morning breakfast and later I will have to answer a few questions from the press.During economic slowdown like now, not many shareholders are interested to come to AGM and only one reporter turned up.

"How about yeswomen Dato'?",asked another company  director besides me.Before my chairman replied, I answered that I prefer all women to say yes to me all the time! Everyone in the room laughed except our company secretary who happened to be the only lady." In my case, I prefer women to say no most of the time. You know, I am seventy three now and now it is more a burden than a pleasure-if you know what I meant?,"lamented our chairman.

The question of yesmen cropped up while we were discussing about sport organisations in our country.Being active in sport, our chairman was very dissatisfied and even annoyed at how some some sport organisations being managed. According to him,the standard of performance of our national teams are nothing to be proud of; instead of going up, it is going downhill. No body said no or offer alternative views to their chairman/president. What more if the president is a member of royalty or a minister? Who dares to say no or give alternative views! In most cases, if the chairman says a project is good, everyone will say excellent;and if the chairman says a project is bad,everyone will say it is very bad.It sounds funny, but it is true in most cases.

Come to think of it, this virus is not only prevalent in our social or sport organisations. It exists in most organisations across the board ,from top to bottom and from left to right. The question is how do we go about replacing that virus with good governance of public organisations?

At times like now, most executives prefer to keep their mouths closed in order to ensure that they still have their jobs. Between speaking up their minds and offend the boss vis -a -vis toeing the line, most would rather choose the later.The reward is not worth the price in the event one has to pay for it!

"Now Dato',I just wonder which is more, the yesmen or the yeswomen?",I asked my chairman.He replied,"If I am 40 years younger, I prefer more  women to say yes to me all the time!".