Yes, it's great to be recognised at last for your sacrifices and hard work. Two weekends ago, about 159 officers from BTP and its branches all over the country were treated to a dinner and given certificates of appreciation in recognition of the excemplary perfomance last year. Yes, yours truly was one of the recipients.
It was a happy occasion and all receipients dressed in their best, to walk on stage and receive their certs from our deputy Director General of Education and our own Director. Yes, 18 August 2009 will be a date to remember. That nite also saw the launch of the Patriotic Month...if you didn't know, that would be from 16 August to 16 September. We sang the famous Sudriman song, Tanggal 31 and waved our Jalur Gemilang. Yes, it was a nite we would all remember.
Talking about awards...some deserve it and some, they say dont't deserve it at all. The APC has a history behind it too. The award is given to deserving candidates who have shown their good work during the year. Too often then not, the award is give to those closest to the top heads of depts, seniority and those who haven't got it before. So sometimes even when you deserve it, you won't get it, cos' you need to be recommended by the bosses. And there are often cases of cronyism and favouritism. I have learnt to be patient and just do my work...somehow...I feel you will be recognised for what you have done all these years, besides..how many cronies can they give to, with passage of time, everyone will get it at least once or twice in their civil service career. By the way, according to rule, candidates are eligible every three years and when they change grades, but then again rules are meant to be broken and challenged. I have got it twice so far, once in 1994 and then 2008...imagine, a total of almost fourteen years in between. Even working in different places and giving your best at all times doesn't guarantee one anything. Guess it doesn't help that some bosses think that one should only get it once and give the APC to others who haven't got before even if that officer has just started work for a year! But I shall let all that talk about fairness and justice slide...Thank God my previous boss thought I deserved it, after all these years.
Let's not even think about the awards that are given out yearly by the states and federal governments. Again, each year, we get hundreds of JPs, AMNs, AMPs, JMNs, Datuks, Datos', Tan Sris etc. Some are suggested candidates who deserve the awards, some are chronies, some are armchair supporters, some are new politicians, and some buy the awards...that's what we hear, but I'd like to think that everyone who gets an award at state or federal level really deserves it. It bugs me though why some people get almost the same awards every year, I mean, some of these Datuks/Datos' get a few Datukships! Why? It beats me. Suffice to say, giving of such awards must be based on merit and for those who truly deserve it, nothing else.
As for me, the APC means a lot. At last, after 14 long years, and serving different bosses and different departments, finally, someone felt I deserved it again. I will continue to do my best, without expecting any reward...cos' when you don't expect it, it's sweeter when you do. And when you don't get it, you won't be so disappointed. So here's to all those deserving candidates, congratulations and continue to do your best. Life is making the most of what it has to offer.
Cheers.
