MAXIMIZING MINIONS

Come Sunday, my Special Events students will have their Autoshow at the college. Last Wednesday, after Pak Ya (budakkampong) gave a lecture on Contracts and Agreements to them, I found out that there were a couple of things not done. This was not altogether the students' fault. There were some last-minute sponsors who wanted certain things and permission have to be wrangled.
Looking at my students planning and organizing the event made me think of passages in Malay literature, something that I vaguely remember. It is similar to these lines in Adat Perpateh though:
Jikalau ia cherdik, hendakkan rundingan;
Jikalau maalim, hendakkan doanya;
Jikalau kaya, hendakkan emas;
Jikalau patah, penghalau ayam;
Jikalau buta, penghembus lesong;
Jikalau pekak, pembakar bedil.
( Clever, and we'll invite his counsel;
Learned, and we'll ask his prayers;
Rich, and we'll use his gold.
If lame, he shall scare chicken,
If blind, he shall pound the mortar;
If deaf, he shall fire our salutes.)*

I do remember something about people with ringworms being given the job of getting bamboos. They scratches a lot so it made sense to give them something to scratch about/around/for. Those not familiar with bamboo cutting should be aware that bamboos can make you very itchy and I am not talking hamsap here.
It is good management practise to use your people's strength although some of you reading the above might think that the Malays of old were using handicaps instead of strength. Or were they? Were they wise enough to exploit the weaknesses (or handicaps) of their people? Whatever it was, they put the the right person for the right job. This is something that managers and employers in Malaysia are trying to do. Hopefully, soon, we won't see parking attendants with constipated faces or blurred shop assistants.
See you at the Autoshow.

*(Excerpts and translations from this webpage.)