Hazia’s Reflections

Salam Maal Hijrah.

Flashback Awal Muharam last year: I recall my mother and I reading the doa awal and akhir tahun on the bus to the Jeddah airport. That was after completing our Hajj, I still remember the shuffle and the long wait at the airport. And most of all, I remember the feeling of content, like achieving the most important thing in life.

This year Awal Muharam: Yesterday also felt like I’ve achieved something important (though not like last year). I was stuck at work till 6.55pm, said my doa akhir tahun at the office surau. This week has brought its own series of shocking developments…

Monday…

We had the media event with the Minister, my first public encounter since I joined 2.5 weeks ago. I hardly got any sleep, anxiety attacks and bad dreams. Thank god it went well.

The Peacock was there, following the minister as if he was part of the entourage. Since I emceed the press conference & the media attendance was excellent, he tried to make the ministry officials think that I was his business partner (he kept saying ‘my partner..’) Erg! When I gave them my card, they were surprised that I wasn’t. He trailed our new MD like a shadow. My immediate boss said we should warn the MD about him.

Before we even left the venue, my most reliable staff dropped a bomb. She wanted to resign, no job offer yet and would look for one during the 3-months’ notice period. Reason was simple, low salary. She even had the cheek to start her point by asking me to start delegating things to the Snorer (even though I’m not confident with him at all).

The next morning, during my induction, my senior staff told me that the other girl already got a new job offer. Mann! My boss and I didn’t want to counter offer. Simple - people want to leave, don’t beg them to stay. I’m used to not depending on anybody. Nobody is indispensable.

Tuesday…

Whole day induction. In the evening, I talked to the ex-librarian who was transferred to the legal department and then accounts department against her will and without proper explanation. People said she was excellent at her job. Apparently she had a miscarriage and return to find out the bad news. Despite crying and pleading, she was stuck. The worst part was that they got a former driver to replace her, ridiculous!

She might not be highly educated but she was committed and she has a pretty good understanding of the concept of ‘information management’. She helped staff with research for facts and figures and provided contact details. She also had plenty of good ideas to implement but the previous management sat on them. Low salary didn’t bother her. I asked her to list down everything and pass to me but no promise though. She seemed so grateful, saying that she would welcome having a boss like me who listened:)

(to be continued)