What the Japanese industrialists complain about is not without basis, and about time too. I am a general practitioner with more than 30 years experience in and outside Malaysia. When I first started work I found our workers very hard working. There was an atmosphere of discipline and workers accepted disciplinary action without resorting to "retaliation".

As years went by, especially after 1969, matters became worse. Workers now demand sick leave, threaten violence, puncture your car tires, scratch your car, complain to the management you are a racist, et cetera if you don't give them one.

Some even tell you their diagnosis and insist they are right my ankle is swollen and I cannot walk even if their ankle is perfectly normal. I suppose some doctors will give in to these threatening patients.

I have managers calling me to inform that their workers who have been given sick leave were seen in coffee shops having a meal with their friends. Everyday is like a "battle" to sort out the sick from the malingerers. Sometimes you get it right, sometimes wrong. Workers come with all combination of symptoms, it is just unbelievable that any one person can have these complaints.

About 10 years ago, a factory in Selangor shut down and moved to Penang. The reason given was that the workers worked when they felt like it, and never turned up if they did not feel like working.

The next day the management issued a new statement giving another reason for their shift (under political pressure probably). When the foreign workers came, our locals were most unhappy. If they didn't feel like working, the foreigners will do their shift and get paid overtime. This gave rise to envy and animosity and resulted in Bangla-bashing by the locals.

The overall climate in this country, especially with regard to discipline and diligence, has gone down the drain. Wherever you go, especially in government offices, things just move at a snail's pace. Six years ago, I went to pay my water deposit with a representative from my landlord. It took the clerk 20 minutes to write a receipt. The excuse was "the computer is not working".

The real reason was, after writing a letter, the clerk would spend a few minutes talking to his colleagues about his nephew's wedding; after the next letter he would talk about his curry recipe; and so on and so forth. There is an overall lack of urgency and a real desire to do work.

Malaysia is the only country where public employees clock in and then go for breakfast. This is followed by a mid-morning tea-break. Our political leaders should disguise themselves and visit government offices as well as private companies and see for themselves how the public is tolerating the oozing pace of work.