'A first' at ANCL

BY AFREEHA Jawad

THERE was something unusual to welcome me last Wednesday morning on the steps of Lake House right at the entrance. I stood there quite baffled not knowing what to do.

A yellow up arrow for 'ascendants' and a down arrow of similar line for 'descendants' and a yellow strip indicating the left/right dichotomy messaging which path was one's right of way was something I've never seen in my 20-year stay in this printing citadel.

Being quite a stranger to such regimentation, I told myself, "Why not at least for the first time follow the directions." I was happy having completed the task to the letter.

However, that was not the end of my newly found regimentation. To my surprise the arrows continued even at the beginning and end of every conceivable stair way.

One guy, I observed, on his way down stood between the two arrows was heard telling his friend in lighter vein, "Machan, now which arrow do I take ?"

Within Lake House one almost always encounters much human traffic blocking its many long corridors. Once again, like a breath of fresh air that blockage ceased to be bringing back a status quo, that was, way back in the mid 80s.

The new Chairman Dr. Sunil Jayasekara's most painstaking and perhaps well intended launch of the Japanese 5S productivity oriented programme targeted towards greater productivity has now caught on. Japan as is widely known is a very strict adherent of 5S.

All this aside, I never ever dreamt of 5S in this bastion of hitherto heavy politicization. The administration at Lake House is witness to, particularly after take over, a gradual decline of the 'Weberian Model'.

Incidentally, it was that eminent sociologist Max Weber who propounded bureaucracy's ideal type. The very aggressive politicization process over the years here has today reduced this once highly professional institution to run amok.

Dr. Jayasekara's task, though Herculean, is not unattainable. His improved productivity methods adopted as Chairman, Coconut Cultivation Board, though not widely known enabled increased production leading to Price Stability countrywide which shortfall if it were to persist would have led to consumers paying as much as Rupees 30 per nut.

The recent Shramadana at Lake House saw Dr. Jayasekara himself into what is termed as "menial work" effacing even the labourer/boss divide which displayed to the very letter "the dignity of labour."

Not very many would have his guts to display it in public and that's exactly what he did amid much admiration.

Though many look at his innovation, the first of its kind at ANCL, inborn pessimism cannot be ruled out.

"New brooms sweep well," said some. Still others said it was "too early a conclusion to come to" and those that saw it as a "Madha Boruwak" - a sham - were among the pessimists.

The ones who were skeptical of 5S succeeding because of the intense politicization very widely prevalent at ANCL need no longer harbour doubt for, an erudite scholar when contacted said that the intrinsic value contained in the programme could even send a message to politicians who would prefer a hands off the present chairman. "This he said would enable Dr. Jayasekara to manage ANCL in a professional manner".

Very many who in societal eye are the "uneducated" hailing his efforts said.'

"Its good. We like him. After all no Chairman did this. Look's like he is trying to do something to make ANCL a better place."

However, at the meeting downstairs that triggered off last Thursday's Shramadana there was much distaste consequential to the utterings of a speaker who resorted not only to cheap politics, but even went to the extent of treating the minor work force as a big joke.

The disrespect this speaker treated them with certainly may have caused much embarrassment and discomfort to Dr. Jayasekara himself.

At ceremony end he in loud stentorian voice pronounced a tall order, "now get ready - one, two, three and off you go" and dismissed the gathering just like that.

In a land where the "small man" as it were and the "uneducated" are taken for granted and used as chicken feed this is certainly nothing strange. Would this same speaker if the audience was some other resort to such cheap jab?