she does not sit well with the public too
I READ with disappointment about the Night Safari's abrupt
cancellation of the Halloween Horrors event slated to be held from
Sept 30 ('Halloween Horrors event axed'; last Friday).
The last-minute cancellation reflects an unfathomable lack of
strategic planning and business logic. If the Halloween event was
not in line with the park's core purpose, the Wildlife Reserves
Singapore's (WRS) board of directors should have had the strategic
clarity to review the annual event at the start of the financial
year itself and decide on whether to continue with it.
To call it off after 90 per cent completion, when the costs for
holding this large-scale event had already been incurred, seems
illogical as it would yield zero returns on investments and
negative publicity for WRS. It is shocking that WRS has made such a
costly decision without consulting all the stakeholders.
One group of stakeholders clearly neglected in the process was the
17 Singapore Polytechnic students who had conceptualised the theme,
developed characters and designed costumes as part of their
project. As an educator myself, I can only imagine the
disappointment of these students who spent months on it.
As an organisation that claims to be big on corporate social
responsibility, what kind of message is WRS sending to the youth?
Is it telling them that a powerful organisation can make any
decision based on its whim and fancy, with little regard for other
people who may be affected?
To date, the reasons given by WRS for wanting to focus on
family-bonding activities and negative feedback from shareholders
do not justify its action.
With WRS helming three parks - the Singapore Zoo, Night Safari and
Jurong Bird Park - there is no lack of family-friendly events and
wholesome activities over a period of 12 months. The Halloween
Horrors at the Night Safari was just one of the attempts (a
commendable one, indeed) to diversify the nature of events and
audience base. In fact, it had proven to be highly engaging for
young people and families with older children.
The more acceptable action would have been to allow this year's
Halloween Horrors to proceed and then re-evaluate its plans for
next year, so as to minimise the impact on all stakeholders.
Bay Wee Wen (Ms)
