KHALED ALMAEENA A couple of days ago I read on an Arabic website about a new study published in the medical journal The Lancet which quoted data from the World Health Organization. The study found that over 68 percent of Saudi Arabia's population lead inactive lifestyles. The study also revealed that the Kingdom's population is the third most slothful in the world with 68.3 percent of adults failing to get any exercise at all. Only in Malta and Swaziland are adults even more inactive than in our country. According to Al-Watan Arabic daily, the news, first published in the Times of Malta, shows that lack of exercise is leading to fatal diseases. “Why are people so lazy here?" asked a friend of mine who had recently returned after a five-year stay in Southeast Asia. “Why do you ask," I said. He answered: “I have lived in Malaysia, Korea, Japan and China. I find that people there get up early in the morning, get on with their jobs and finish what they have to do without wasting time." He added that when he arrived at the airport here, it took a good while for the immigration personnel to come to their counters and some of them had a bored expression on their face. “Just like they were doing us a favor stamping our passports!" he said. That is meant to be a thing of the past, I remarked, explaining that both the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah and the Crown Prince have time and again stressed that government servants and others should look after the welfare of the people and should strive hard to do so. He said that this was highly commendable. However, he added that there should be a Time Management and Behavioral Skills Orientation Program taught to the staff of the Customs and Immigration, Police and Traffic departments. They have to be more efficient, productive and well mannered. “What has that to do with being lazy?" I asked. He said that in the Far East those who do not produce are usually associated with such traits. But then you need accountability, I added. How can a manager hold someone accountable when he himself is not up to the ethical standard? First of all, employees and management should set up codes of ethics which should be seriously followed. Let the bosses arrive at 7:30 A.M. which is the normal starting time for government offices and see if their employees follow suit. Let them set up a time and motion study, and let them be reviewed by their customers or clients. And here the customer and the client is the average member of the public. The courts too should have people who facilitate the processing of paperwork. If a study is ever conducted, it will reveal that productivity levels here are the lowest in the world. And time wasting the highest. I say this with a deep sense of frustration as I want my country to be a traveler on the road of life and not a mere bystander watching as others progress. Students in South Korea once went on strike. Do you know why? Because the government decided to make Saturday a holiday in addition to their weekly day off, Sunday. Can you imagine something like that happening in this part of the world? I think the trick is in setting up a schedule and organizing one's time. And our religion does that; our prayers are on time, and there is Ramadan and the Haj. Everything is scheduled. The only missing element is us. And it embarrasses me when the “Khawajas" make jokes about the word “Insha'Allah." But what can we do? We have ourselves to blame for our portrayal of our society as a lazy, non-productive one. Time has no meaning and no value for many, if not for the majority here. The late Jeddah businessman Wahib Bin Zagr once remarked in a social gathering: “In the West, they work and here we also work; but the difference is that in the West, they produce." I have pondered over these words for a long time. And I have come to the conclusion that there is no pill to be swallowed to make us like advanced people in other parts of the world. Rather we have to start a campaign in schools and universities. And for those already in the workforce be it official or private there should be a strong campaign to shape up – or else! And those who produce should also be rewarded. And in public! Maybe that will help.— The author can be reached at [email protected]
