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Bandar Seri Begawan - A ferocious `fear factor' apparently growing by the minute has gripped many here. So much so that a lot of them have become do-nothing expert escape artists.

How so? That is surely the question you may ask.

Are you talking about a circus of some sort? Or a magic show?

Well, neither.

I am afraid that I have a species called civil servants in mind.

How come?

Very simple. You do not have to think deep or search far.

Give some of them a chance to make a hard decision. Many, I am afraid, will look here and there in desperation. How to escape to make a stand? Much worse how to put it down on paper and send it to the appropriate person? Decision making, for many here, indeed, is a hard thing to do.

"If I say no, someone will be offended. If I say yes, another person will get upset and who knows, I may end up in deep trouble." That is where the fear factor freezes up many.

So the obvious way out is to say nothing. Just simply don't answer that letter. But you must cultivate the habit and become really good at it.

Or else, tell the bloke that the matter is under consideration and then conveniently forget about it hoping that the bothersome person will go away and leave you alone.

And if you are pestered still by the persistent fellow, you can, of course, say that you have referred the matter to your superior and then when a decision is made, it will be conveyed. Whether the matter has been put before the boss man is another matter.

Anyway, that should get you off the hook for a while, because you have passed the buck expertly to your boss and so, it is not your problem any more. And if you are still bothered by the writer, just say that the boss has not made a stand. It will buy time.

These are typical tactics well used by many. Hold your horses and do nothing, hoping the risk of taking a certain line of action will simply go away.

Of course, if you can get away by saying no, that will take away the pain. No, no, no. No to this, no to that. That should be an easy way out. So you get a torrent of rejection slips if you ask for approval for something or other. Most of us have experienced that.

But there is hope.

We are seeing a set of civil servants now and then who do not fear saying yes.

And their positive stand is most refreshing. They are the real patriots. They are the people who want to see the country march forward. They are the ones who are not afraid of taking calculated risks within the regulations in force. They do the necessary homework.

For them, the aforementioned fear factor generated mostly by ignorance and sloth is not an issue. They are willing to make use of their common sense in the decision making process.

Others hide behind committees. Let the committee decide. If something goes wrong, the blame will go to the committee. You are hopefully high and clear.

But the committee is also smart. The committee will appoint another committee to decide on the outcome of their deliberations so that the buck could be passed on. And that committee will have yet another one to divert the blame. So things could sometimes go on to a ridiculous extent, interminably. Red tape could multiply.

And we are well aware that much tea is drunk and a mountain of local cakes is consumed before the matter is dropped conveniently or you guessed it, no decision is taken. And that is typical.

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