The Field Marshal

There is something fundamentally wrong with way NKF, its board and staff are handling the current saga. Read on and I will explain why. Staff give T.T. Durai standing ovation Extracted from Straits Time, 14 July 2005) They and board rally around him. Patient says many would've died if not for him THE staff at the National Kidney Foundation gave chief executive T.T. Durai a standing ovation yesterday evening after he gave a short address to a packed auditorium at NKF headquarters. (Teddy - I am surprised none of the staff got up and left in disgust. Did they really do any soul searching after news broke that their CEO used donors' money to pay for expensive fixtures and transport perks. What are they thinking when they stood up and clapped? For me, they are either self-deluded, or are just afraid to speak their own thoughts.) As he returned to work, staff and the NKF board rallied around their embattled CEO. 'He told us we have to carry on because the patients depend on us and not to let what happened to him affect us,' said NKF's deputy director of communications Michelle Ang. 'He works very hard and that's the only way anyone can run this place. He is relentless. He really does it for the patients.' She added that apart from one day of compassionate leave, he has not taken a holiday since 1992, when he became chief executive. Mr Job Loei, 41, manager of NKF's patient advancement department, has been undergoing subsidised dialysis for the past 12 years and said he owed Mr Durai his life. 'If the NKF was not around and Mr Durai not driving it, I don't think I would be here today. 'I've seen him work. It's his passion. He works seven days a week, by choice, for a larger cause.' The former pastor said Mr Durai's integrity is not in question. 'He sets very high standards. For example, when we get New Year hampers, we can't take any. They will be channelled to the poor patients.' (Teddy - but has Mr Loei thought of how many more hampers NKF could have distributed to the needy if My Durai did away with the costly bathroom fixtures? They are losing the big picture just to find something nice to say about Mr D now.) Said NKF patient Yeo Say Ann, 36: 'If he was not around, many would have died. It's okay if the $262 million in reserves earns interest... It was always his intention to build up the reserves.' According to both staff and patients, Mr Durai believes able kidney patients should contribute to society, so they do not take donor funds for granted. (Teddy - Wise words from a man who failed to live up to the standards he has set.) Mr William Tan, 42, an NKF patient since 1997, is a case in point. Said Mr Tan: 'When I first met him in 1997 to ask for subsidies, he scolded me. He said he wouldn't lower my co-payment if I didn't work. My impression of him was very bad... But I realised he was trying to tell me not to give up on life.' Mr Durai's words pushed him to get a job and a diploma in computer studies. Added Mr Tan: 'His entire life is spent on building up the organisation. He deserves his pay.' Like Mr Tan, Mr Loei felt that Mr Durai's $25,000 pay and generous bonuses are not excessive. 'The bottom line is how many lives you have saved.'(Teddy - The 'real' bottom line is that more lives could have been saved if NKF unlocked their reserves and provide more monetary assistance to those in need)