by Dr. Iain
Corness
Wachira Pakmaroek, and Lek for short, is the general
manager of Mayday Personal, an employment and training agency here on the
Eastern Seaboard.
He was born in Roi Et and is proud to be from Esarn.
His father was a teacher there and he was the second of four children. He
describes himself as being an “average” student, though one gets the
impression that perhaps there was a certain lack of application to his
studies at that time.
After
schooling in Roi Et, Lek was the usual young man, full of the pranks and
need to express himself that comes with being a teenager. “Roi Et was
too small for me.” However, he did not forget the duty of a boy in Thai
society. “Boys should be a monk at least once in their life. I decided
to give my parents a rest for a while and thought 15 days would be OK. So
I joined for 15 days, but I found I enjoyed it and continued for 8
years.”
As a monk, he went to the mountains and found peace. He
also said that for the first 2 years he tried to find himself, becoming
involved in what he described as “serious meditation” practising with
a senior monk.
While his father was no doubt pleased with the respite
from worry that having the unruly Lek safely in the Wat have given him, he
also felt that his son was not utilizing his full capabilities. Without
warning him, his father arrived at the Wat and asked him to continue with
his (academic) studies. “I felt sorry for him so I said, I would give
him a degree.”
He realized that it was important to be fluent in the
English language, but could not afford to go to a western country to
study. He was fortunate that the midwife who had delivered him was also
someone who was prepared to assist this further education and Lek was
enrolled at Baroda University in India with financial support from the
kind lady.
After his three year BA course he returned to Thailand
and first worked for the Thailand Times, and English language newspaper in
Bangkok, as a translator and then moved on to Channel 11 as a world news
translator.
During this time in Bang- kok he met a young Scottish
girl and they moved to the UK where his son was born. To keep the wolf
from the door he worked for the British Broadcasting Corporation as a
radio broadcaster in the Thai section, where this time he was translating
English to Thai, the complete reversal of his work in Thailand.
They then moved to Edin- burgh where he worked as an
interpreter and translator attached to the Edinburgh Central Library,
assisting Thais to understand the diverse British rules and regulations,
for example.
He had met up with another Thai while in London who
convinced him he should go into partnership with him in a restaurant in
Brighton. This was called Thai Spice and Lek worked as the manager and was
a very active partner. “This was very successful, but I left after a
couple of years as I thought it was the right time to come back to
Thailand, as I wanted to bring my managerial experience back.”
The place he decided upon was Pattaya/Jomtien, being
the hub of the Eastern Seaboard and he joined May Nointara’s
Internetwork Group to take charge of the new employment and training
agency, Mayday Personal. “I like to meet new people and exchange
knowledge.”
I asked him how was it that a boy from Esarn could make
it, coming from an area always considered backward and poor. He holds some
forthright views on this. “Esarn people are not poor (in the
non-financial sense) - and they are intelligent. Because of the
bombardment of technology, it has made Esarn people think they are poor.
It has made them think they have to have a motorcycle or a car and a big
house. This has changed the society completely. Human wants are
unlimited.”
In some ways, Lek i0s a crusader. “The human being
has the right to be treated as fairly as possible. This has to be
continued through the employer and employee relationship. In some ways my
aim through Mayday Personal is to rescue people. It is my duty, a
philosophy of life I have had since I was a kid and reinforced by my
family and my time as a monk.”
He is also a realist. “I would like to see 10% of the
people I am working with be successful in their career. The target is
obviously 100% but 10% is realistic. People are like the four levels of
the lotus. The first level is near the bottom and becomes the food of
turtles and fish. The second level is near the middle of the water and
they can go up. The next level is just breaking through the surface, but
the fourth level is on the top of the water and ready to blossom when the
sun shines on it.” I could imagine Lek sitting in saffron robes telling
such parables in the village Wat as he spoke!
For this Thai man, success is “When you understand
yourself, you are a success.” There is again no doubt that his time
spent as a monk accelerated and confirmed that concept in his mind.
Although he is busy with the new Mayday Personal
project he still has time for some golf. “I have just started, but I
love it. I think I will be good in the near future.” Lek is obviously an
optimist as well! Perhaps a goal of getting 10% of the holes in par would
be a better aspiration!
However, he comes across as a man who has not only
begun to understand himself, but as one who understands his duty and how
he must discharge it. He just doesn’t understand golf yet!
