This is a blog entry with deep resounding impact on me. Courtesy
from http://stressed-teacher.blogspot.com
I Regret
In schools, when a mistake is made, we expect an apology when it
comes to facing the music. And when need be, to make amends for
those affected by our mistakes. Yet, it is very distressing to read
in the papers that it is very different in the outside world.
Outside the school, whenever a mistake is made, no one says sorry
in their official statements. Instead, they prefer to use the term
"I regret". Recently, a convict was mistakenly caned 8 strokes
instead of 5. The relevant Ministries did not apologize. They only
regretted the mistake. Direct responsibility for the mistake had
been directed to a clerk, rather than the involved Ministry.
And in a more recent note, a pregnant woman died because the
hospital staff refused to bend their rules a single inch.
http://singaporemind.blogspot.com/ (11 July 2007)
No one will ever say sorry. It is my guess that the hospital
management would rather see the hospital demolished, their own
wives raped and children sodomized before they would even make a
formal apology and admit direct responsibility. I am betting again
on the "I regret" statement, where the blame would be laid directly
at certain individuals of the staff, rather than the
hospital.
*
You may think that the people who use the "I regret" excuse lack
integrity. Maybe they do. Or maybe they are just being smart. By
saying sorry, they are admitting their mistake, and that usually
opens the door for a massive compensation law-suit. Who in their
right minds wants to pay out a trainload of money just because a
stupid $2000-a-month admin staff made a mistake?It seems that when
the moment of truth comes, only idiots say 'sorry', since it makes
them liable for any damages.
For the kid who received three extra strokes, it is too bad for
you. You won't become the 66,0001 millionaire in Singapore just
because your buttocks got whipped three extra strokes. You might
get a small compensation and a letter of regret. I wonder if a free
parking pass would be thrown in as a sweetener to discourage you
from appealing.
For the lady who died (I really felt real bad for her grieving
husband), the blame would be pinned on some unknown nurse who would
be forced to leave. Period. The hospital most likely won't take any
responsibility. They will regret the tragedy, but they most likely
won't accept any responsibility. No sorries, no massive
compensation payouts, and no major management personnel taking
personal responsibility. Since, no rule in the book was supposedly
broken, the hospital staff were likely to be not negligent, only
regretful that an innocent life was wasted. I also suspect, that in
order to ward off public outcry, a "task force" - sounds way more
impressive than a "committee" - would be set up to review existing
emergency situation procedures. But ultimately, no one is really
sorry, and no one, other than a small-timer scapegoat, would pay
for the hospital's massive mistake. The only people who paid for it
is the dead woman's family, who trusted that a hospital's
bottom-line is to save lives, rather than to save the skins of the
doctors and medical personnel who place procedure over the life of
a nobody.
(Note: I wonder if the same refusal for blood transfusion would be
given to a multi-millionaire patient also???)
*
When was the last time you saw a local big-wig take responsibility
for his mistake? Even for TT Durai, he lost only because he was
stupid enough to take on a media giant, and not because he got
greedy. Study his downfall carefully again. When Durai stuck to
suing small-timers for defaming him for his extravagant lifestyle,
he won; more than once. I bet Durai is not sorry, only
regretful.
This might make a good Civics and Moral Education lesson for my
students. Next time they get caught red-handed with their hands in
the cookie jar, I would tell them not to say sorry. Just say " I
regret".
