Late Again!

I don’t like being kept waiting. It would frustrate me in some ways when it is time and the person hasn’t shown up yet. To me, a punctual person is responsible and reliable.

As I’ve observed, some people tend to be late on purpose. They may not intend to keep others waiting, but they believe that the rest are late. They simply do not want to wait for others, so they think they don’t have to be in a hurry to arrive on time. As these ideas preoccupy them, coming late unconsciously becomes the person’s habit or happens as a common custom of the place or among that particular group of people. For example, students go to class late on purpose because the teacher is also a ‘late-comer’ whom the students imitate the same attitude. In another case, the students may follow one another when the teacher is not strict enough to punish those who are usually late. Sooner or later, the classroom becomes anarchic; students go to school just to wait for the teacher or other students, and ultimately they learn few things from a session because the study process is slowed down and disturbed by late-coming students and the ‘busy’ teacher.

In terms of schoolwork, a number of students usually procrastinate till the last minute to do the assigned tasks. Some even ask for permission to complete them when they come due. Perhaps the tasks are submitted on time because of their ‘determination’ to stay up late the night before the day in which it is collected; I’d say, however, that they will not be well graded. This learning attitude can be widely found in universities.

Coming late tends to be a culture for Cambodian people. It is not only students who go to school late, but also the working class people, especially the governmental officials, when the disciplines are not strictly or seriously enforced. In daily appointments, when people arrange time to meet, one would suggest quarter or half an hour early as a reserve for those who come late. Why don’t people arrive on time?

‘Late better than never’ seems to be a good excuse of being late. It might be argued that at least we will get something although we are late. But why don’t you come on time or even before time to grab the whole? In fact, many good opportunities and benefits are waiting for the first comer, the most hard-working one, and the last leaver—as we have always heard of ‘First come, first serve’.