Improper Channels

So last week, I went with a few colleagues who're working on the NDP '05 Celebrations@Heartlands concept video went to Temasek Polytechnic to request for the use of their facilities for our work. One of my guys asked his former lecturer, who said that we had to send an email to the PCEO and director of design school to ask them for permission. He also adviced us to explicitly indicate what we wanted - like how many computers, for how long etc.

And so, despite feeling a bit uneasy about shooting an email all the way to the top, we followed his advice and sent off the email, as we were quite desperate to get our hands on computers so that we could start work. Little was I to know that this was to have an amazing roll-down effect.

Later in the afternoon, I received a call from my officer that the someone in Temasek Poly had called someone in Division HQ, who had subsequently called my brigade commander, who consequently called my officer, informing him of an apparent breach of protocol due to the email. We were all hauled up for a meeting the next day with brigade commander where he made me read my email to everyone and said that it was inappropriate to contact an external organisation like that. "Made Temasek Poly look like they are uncooperative," he said, "... not happy that they are talking to a Corporal..", ".. make 3rd Division look overly demanding without having built up our mutual relationships". And so, a letter of explanation was demanded from me, my officer and my colleague who knew the lecturer.

Well this is the email I sent:

Dear Sir,While NDP'04 was just over, the planning for NDP '05 has begun. For NDP '05, the committee I represent, the Celebrations@Heartlands Secretariat, has been tasked to bring the celebrations beyond the parade to the masses.

We understand that Temasek Polytechnic is involved in the organisation of NDP '05. My intention of writing to you is to request, in the capacity of the Celebrations@Heartlands Secretariat, for the use of a room with computers with multimedia development software and internet connection from 9am to 5pm daily, till April 2005. The facilities would be used for developing visual presentations and websites for NDP '05. We would greatly appreciate your help in our efforts to make NDP '05 an especially successful and special event.

Regards,
CPL Leong Der Yao
HQ 8 SAB
Celebrations@Heartlands Secretariat
NDP '05 Organising Committee

Well yes, on hindsight it does look a bit demanding and inappropriate, but at that moment, I was drafting the email based on what the lecturer had told me. And maybe I shouldn't have put my rank there, and perhaps I shouldn't have used the committee's name without having consulted with the higher ups. But I think we were genuinely intent on getting the facilities to start work, with the deadline drawing ever closer.

However, we are not all to blame though. Not once was there any mention by my superiors on the procedure for dealing with external agencies. The impression we had was that they wanted this and that, and we had to find our own means of getting things done, hence we took things into our own hands. Well at least after this incident, which really is a trivial issue being blown out of proportion, people with some rank have started using their own influence to get a room with proper computers for us in Jurong camp, for a start, so at least work can finally proceed.

So at the last meeting, I repeatedly requested this Major for him to help us get video footage from various agencies via the "proper channels". But no, he said, "Go find resources yourself first on the internet". Ok, but it's not that easy to find videos of tanks and what not on the web, and on top of that, the videos are all copy righted by the agencies which made them! So is it any more appropriate to rip videos of tanks off MINDEF? So how do we acknowledge them? What is the proper channel? So frustrating to do anything with so many protocol-driven obstacles around.

But having said everything I guess this is a perennial problem in any bureaucracy. The young energetic, but lowly ranked people are all very motivated and take the initiative to push their work forward, but the higher ups, wanting to keep to protocol and proper channels, play it safe by demanding that their subordinates don't take things into their own hands when dealing with external agencies. But yet, the very people with the power to make the contacts and negotiations that would significantly aid the work at hand are simply too lazy to do so. And so, what we are left with is an ever-approaching deadline and zero progress.

Bah.