Dissatisfaction!

How very true it is!

I met my good pal today, who's also a consultant in another environmental consulting company. She told me her encounter of the reviewing process for EIA and EMP. Amazingly, I have the same experience and like her, I'm sick, sore and tired with all these. Enough is enough. I believe that the other consultants in Sarawak may have felt the same way too... being ridiculed.

What do we get after all the hard work, and we are sincere in what we do? Being ridiculed.

Now, this message is for all the agencies who are involved in the review of EIA, EMP and similar kind of assessment reports:

Look, we are humans too and we admit that we make mistakes. No matter how much experience we have, we still err, because we are merely humans. We always try our best to produce the best flawless report for the project proponent, but still, we are bound to making mistakes. If you produce a list of comment on our reports, can we kindly ask you not to just keep it to yourselves? If you do not circulate all your comments to us, how do you expect us to improve? And what's the point of you keep complaining about our reports when we are not even told of the mistakes we've repeatedly made? How on earth can your comments be "private and confidential"? It just doesn't make any sense at all! Tell us, what is there to be private and confidential about??

Now listen, y'all. You've got only 2 choices:

1. Keep complaining about the same thing and keep your complaints secret; likewise, all of us consultants shall keep making mistakes and give you more trouble. Anyways, it's not our fault to make mistakes, it's YOUR FAULT for not helping us improve! Or...


2. Talk to us sincerely and discuss issues with us properly and kindly instead of screaming and raising your voices at us. Tell us what mistakes you've detected, and kindly send us all the comments from all the agencies involved. If you have done that and we choose to ignore it. Then yes, the blame is definitely on us.
   

We have made ourselves clear, I hope?

At the same time, I would like to convey our gratitude on my friend's behalf, to the few sincerely kind NREB officers whom we have met. Thank you so much for your help and your kind assistance, and for being so patient with us when we missed out an issue or two in our reports. Keep it up, and two thumbs up for you!

Meaning in the name

I found this at my friend's blog and decided to try out what mine means. Here goes...

What My Name Means

You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection. You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive. You have the classic "Type A" personality. You are a very lucky person. Things just always seem to go your way. And because you're so lucky, you don't really have a lot of worries. You just hope for the best in life. You're sometimes a little guilty of being greedy. Spread your luck around a little to people who need it. You are balanced, orderly, and organized. You like your ducks in a row. You are powerful and competent, especially in the workplace. People can see you as stubborn and headstrong. You definitely have a dominant personality. You are wild, crazy, and a huge rebel. You're always up to something. You have a ton of energy, and most people can't handle you. You're very intense. You definitely are a handful, and you're likely to get in trouble. But your kind of trouble is a lot of fun. You are friendly, charming, and warm. You get along with almost everyone. You work hard not to rock the boat. Your easy going attitude brings people together. At times, you can be a little flaky and irresponsible. But for the important things, you pull it together. You are a free spirit, and you resent anyone who tries to fence you in. You are unpredictable, adventurous, and always a little surprising. You may miss out by not settling down, but you're too busy having fun to care.

What's Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

Okay, let us do some analysis of what are being said of me...

You are balanced, orderly, and organized. You like your ducks in a row.

Not really the case... I'm more of a "What is mine, is mine, and I am in control and it's none of your business until I ask for your help."

You are powerful and competent, especially in the workplace.

Oh really? So far I'm not a threat to my colleagues yet. Haha.

People can see you as stubborn and headstrong. You definitely have a dominant personality.

Hahaha. Exactly.

You definitely are a handful, and you're likely to get in trouble. But your kind of trouble is a lot of fun.

Including when I'm at work. Well, I tried my best not to get into trouble.

You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection.

Haha. Almost. But I have to admit that I'm always striving for perfection, although most of the times I failed. Sad, isn't it?

So now you get to know a little bit about me. See, I'm not too bad a person, am I? *Chuckled*

Losing it's purpose?

Photo courtesy of Cartoon Stock.

I attended a simple training course for EIA consultants in Kuala Lumpur this morning. Very interesting indeed, and it is more interesting when there is a chance to meet so many other consultants. The experience we exchanged is priceless, simply priceless. However, I do have one question in mind as I look at these fellow comrades. Are they working for the sake of the business, or for the protection of the environment?

For the developers and construction-based companies, EIA is a nightmare. It means the out-flowing of their resources in the form of dollar sign. Incurring more cost, which may also mean a little less come-back, and with those tedious environmental laws that are a total burden for them, who would like it that way?

For some consultants, (well, perhaps most of them), it is how much the company earns, how well-known the company is in the local market, and how competitive they can be that count. They work to be paid. The environment may never be the factor, but they try to address every possible impact that can be foreseen. They work hard only to look forward to 3 things: 1. Approval by DOE or NREB; 2. To impress DOE or NREB and their clients; and perhaps, 3. For their own good name.

Doing it just for the sake of doing it without knowing its actual purpose. What good can EIA make?

During my undergraduate years, the lecturer posed me one question, “Do you think EIA can solve the problem?” Innocently, I answered, “Yes.” Until I acquired some real personal experience in the field of EIA, I would not have known how useless EIA has been. Maybe not in other countries like Australia and America, but in Malaysia, I would say that it isn’t that successful at all.

If EIA is a planning tool, why don’t the developers and construction companies make good use of it? Worse still, some companies refuse to cooperate with the environmental consultants in terms of providing the needed information. But the worst of all, it is our Government who is always keeping some data to themselves and refuse to share, with the excuse that these are private and confidential.

When environmentalists and environmental consultants are not supported by the Government, what hope is there for us if we are serious about protecting the environment? The accountants have their Malaysian Institute of Accountants; the bankers have their Association of Banks in Malaysia; the medical doctors and surgeons are registered with Malaysian Medical Association… who is protecting us, the environmentalists and consultants?

Enough said, I guess?


*EIA = Environmental Impact Assessment