RE: APNIC update
Sigh.
One of the most personally frustrating aspects of trying to run APNIC, and
one of the reasons I decided to resign, is that despite requesting,
pleading, even begging (in large capital letters with lots of exclamation
points), for input on APNIC related decisions, the only input I generally
receive is criticism AFTER THE FACT primarily by non-members as exemplified
by the note included below.
I thought long and hard about simply ignoring the note below as I had
addressed much of this in the APNIC meeting, however I decided it is
important that I state for the record for those who did not attend that:
a) I attempted to keep the APNIC Secretariat staff informed at all times
during the evaluation of new locations for APNIC, requesting their input on
numerous occasions, and weighing that input in the context of what they
desired, what I felt was best for the APNIC Secretariat, and what I felt
was best for the APNIC members, both in the short term and the long term.
In some cases, they didn't want to be asked. In other cases, they provided
valuable input. It may be that they did not feel their input was
considered, but in all honesty, I have trouble understanding this feeling.
In the end however, the final recommendation was my responsibility and I
made that decision.
b) the final decision to relocate APNIC's secretariat to Brisbane,
Australia was made by the APNIC Executive Council who represented the APNIC
membership, in keeping with the structure of APNIC. My role was to
recommend the location I felt most appropriate for the Secretariat. I felt
(and still feel) Brisbane best meets the APNIC secretariat's requirements.
c) my recommendation for Brisbane, Australia was made not on a whim or on
personal preference (my personal preference was elsewhere), but rather on a
9+ month evaluation of cost-of-living, cost-of-doing-business (including
taxation, utilities, communications, facilities, etc.), quality of life for
the APNIC secretariat's staff, economic and political stability of the
countries in question, and the existance of a robust Internet community.
Belying my own cultural and personal biases, explicitly not part of my
decision making process were political and/or "racial" concerns.
d) the final arbiter of _ANY_ decision within any part of APNIC is the
membership. They can, at any time, recind or overturn ANY decision made by
the Executive Council, which in turn would result in the Secretariat
changing course. If the membership feels the Executive Council's
acceptance of my recommendation was inappropriate, they can override that
decision either now or in the future.
While I do not feel it appropriate to bring up the various aspects of
APNIC's staff personal lives and the impact the relocation of APNIC's
Secretariat will have, I will state that I was aware of their concerns and
kept those concerns in mind when considering the Secretariat's final
location. It is important to me that the APNIC Secretariat's staff are
taken care of and I have done and will do whatever is necessary to insure
they are not left out in the cold. I deeply resent the implication that I
am unconcerned.
Also, I am somewhat disturbed at the rumor-mongering and scare tactics
evidenced in the note below. For the record, and as I presented in the
APNIC meeting during my (apparently vain) attempt to dispell the many
rumors that were flying around Manila, APNIC has had NO visas declined and
all visas we have applied for should not, according to our immigration
agent in Australia, present any significant problem. The visa for our
Business Manager, Kyoko Day, will require a bit more work as many business
managers exist in Australia and (as in all countries I am aware of) you
have to demonstrate you won't be taking jobs from existing nationals,
however our immigration agent has indicated that while it may require
additional justification, he expects no particular difficulties in
obtaining Kyoko's visa.
With respect to Asian's getting visas, I have been told (unofficially, so I
am guilty of propagating rumors as well) that it is actually easier right
now to get visas for Asians as the Australian government is trying to
repair "Pauline Hanson" damage -- as an aside, it is important to remember
that Queensland (in particular) is heavily dependent on trade/tourism with
Asia for its economic well being.
While it is true Australia has relatively high import duties (22%) on
computer equipment, these duties obviously only apply to computer equipment
purchased outside of Australia and besides, computer purchases make up only
about 2.5% of the total projected expenses for 1998.
Finally, I find the attempt to bring "race politics" into a discussion over
the location of APNIC's secretariat astonishing and extremely
disappointing. APNIC is indeed a regional organization, covering a region
that ALSO contains Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Island nations.
The blatant and divisive appeal to "Asians" over "Anglo-Saxons" I find
_extremely_ repulsive. The composition of the APNIC Executive Council,
both before and after the decision for Brisbane, should probably be
reviewed by those attempting to play the "race" card.
APNIC is truly regional and exists, if it exists anywhere, on the Internet.
99.99% of all APNIC members have never even set foot in the APNIC
Secretariat office in Tokyo, thus the physical location of the APNIC
Secretariat is fundamentally _irrelevant_. The TRUE composition of APNIC
is whatever its membership is -- the Secretariat is merely the operational
arm that implements the membership's requirements.
I have grown PARTICULARLY weary of the rumors, innuendoes, and damning with
faint praise such as presented below. I have worked for 4+ years,
generally 7 days a week/10-12 hours a day trying my best to build a low
cost, open, transparent, and independent organization that simply hands out
integers to service providers that need them. I am very well aware that
the result in imperfect and that I am not by any stretch of the imagination
a business person. As I mentioned in my closing remarks, to those who feel
I have acted inappropriately, I wish to offer my most sincere apologies and
hope my resignation and eventual replacement with a no doubt more qualified
individual will make amends.
However as opposed to others, I am uninterested in playing political games
with APNIC as I do not feel it is an appropriate football (TLDs currently
fill that role admirably :-)). In the end though, I feel it is the AP
region Internet community, as represented by the APNIC membership, who has
final say in this matter, not individuals with their own personal agendas.
Regards,
-drc
--------
At 01:20 PM 2/27/98 +0000, laina at singnet dot com dot sg wrote:
>
>I too would like to add my appreciation for what David, Kyoko and Yoshiko
have done for
>APNIC. I think it is worth mention.
>
>I am however particularly concerned about continuity for APNIC, whether
exisitng staff are
>being taken care of, is the EC consulting directly with the staff to see
what their concerns
>are etc. I am one of those who am not totally convinced that the decision
to move to
>Australia was a wise one. There are many other places in Asia which could
also have been
>considered. Also I am under the impression that the fact that both Yoshiko
and Kyoko have a
>family was not considered carefully. Unlike some of us that can move
quickly, others have to
>consider spouse's jobs, children etc.not to mention whether they will get
a visa. I am
>concerned that a five year lease in Australia was signed without looking
at these other
>factors...
>
>I think APNIC may be better off loosing some money over breaking the five
year lease, then
>loosing its valuable staff and deal with unneccesary hassles such as
importation taxes,
>taxes, limitation to having other Asians on staff etc. A decision such as
this should be
>considered very carefully, and there are PEOPLE involved, and let's not
forget it.Their
>feeleings are important. I got the impression during APRICOT that nobody
cared to consutl
>with Kyoko or Yoshiko on the future of APNIC.
>
>Also APNIC is a regional body, and we should strive to have Asians
involved in it as well,
>as part of the empowerment of this region. Having it in Australia may make
it more
>Anglo-Saxon based only...another consideration to keep in mind.
>
>Kudos again to David and his team...BUT while David may be dying to leave
let's not loose
>his team as well, especially if they leave not of their own choice but out
of circumstances.
>
>Laina RG
>
>--- On Thu, 26 Feb 1998 21:06:03 +0800 (SGT) Yoshihiro Obata
<obata at ats.sjk.kdd dot co dot jp>
>wrote:
>
>Although there is still a little hope that Ms. Chong and Ms. Day remain
>in
>APNIC, I think I will be very regretful if I miss a chance to show my
>gratitude. I already regret that we did not show our appreciation in
>the
>last APNIC meeting in Manila.
>
>I feel very sad that Randy is leaving APNIC but I think his decision
>will
>open a door for his great future and release him from the pressures to
>be
>the Director General of APNIC. Anyway, I am sure we will remain in the
>same business and have many chances to see each other and discuss
>various
>issues of Internet.
>
>I think it will not be enough to repeat my appreciation and say "so
>long,
>farewell, a bientot "("sayounara, mata auhimade" in Japanese).
>
>Yoshihiro Obata
>
>Yoshihiro OBATA (yo-obata at kdd dot co dot jp)
>Manager, Internet Business, Global Multimedia Business Dept.
>Kokusai Denshin Denwa (KDD) Co., Ltd., Japan
>Phone +81-3-3347-6081, Fax +81-3-3347-5690
>
>-----------------End of Original Message-----------------
>
>-------------------------------------
>Name: Laina Raveendran Greene
>E-mail: laina at singnet dot com dot sg
>Date: 2/27/98
>Time: 1:20:59 PM
>
>This message was sent by Chameleon
>-------------------------------------
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