It's been a while

So much has been happening in the world around us over the past 2 weeks or so. Since I have not updated my blog in donkey years, I guess my input is not exactly timely.

One of the talking points is of course the NKF controversy. Overnight, TT Durai is hotter than Jay Chow and peanuts is a more valuable commodity than gold. Speaking of gold, there is also the taps to contend with, I wonder if he took it with him when he left. Anyway, all of a sudden there was a public upcry against Durai and the NKF, many claiming their disappointment with him and felt thoroughly cheated by him. $600,000? What a ridiculous amount!! I don't earn that much in 10 years........ NKF is cheating my hard earn money blah blah........ What an outrage!

Personally, I think there are two types of donors, type A and type B. Type A are those who donated out of the goodness in their hearts, to help kidney patients etc. Type B are those who simply dial the hotlines to win a condo, car, cash etc or to support their favourite artists. In perfect honesty, I am Type B. I would call in if any of my favourite singers/actresses are on air, performing dangerous stunts and all. I would call in just for the opportunity to win a brand new Nissan Cefiro (so I can sell it and buy a Civic) and so on. I will not pretend that I was moved to help the kidney patients otherwise I would not do so only during the annual NKF shows. If you look

If the brains behind that earns $600k a year its certainly none of my business. As far as I am concerned, he is a marketing genius, preying on the greed of the average Joe to rake in funds for his organization. If he is well renumerated for it, he certainly deserves it. If you tell me the person offering legal counsel to TT Durai is also paid $600k, I certainly think he is overpaid.

"But it is a charitable organization! People doing charity should not be paid so well, all the money should go to the patients. What is so difficult about his job, if it is a worthly charity, people would donate even if it is an idiot at the helm!"
Well, there are other organizations like that I suppose, KDF and the like. Organizations that doesn't register in our mind simply because they do not spend the same amount of money on marketing and promotion. It is not so easy to raise funds and it is not so easy to find people that nature to do it. Yes, there are people of genuine passion and talent who would do it and accept a token fee, but are there enough.

So what am I saying? The ends justify the means? A little evil is neccesary for a greater good. Of course not but what is so wrong about rewarding the capable. Davinder Singh may have made Durai look like a complete idiot in court but 1) he is one of the best known lawyers in Singapore and clinical efficiency is his trademark and 2) most of what we know of what went down in court were courtesy of SPH, the very people Durai were suing so absolute objectivity may be a little difficult. In any case, NKF is now one of the best known brand names in Singapore and surely Durai deserves credit for that. Raising that kind of money year in year out is not easy and surely the brains behind that deserves to be renumerated.

Of course I feel maybe the stringent criteria for NKF assistance could be relaxed a little in light of the fat reserves they have. Of course, coming from someone who overspends each month I am hardly an expert on budgeting. Maybe a fleet of 6 cars may be a little excessive. Of course the lack of transparency is the killer, yet maybe its kind of sad how decades of contribution can be wiped out overnight.