June 18, 2006 10:09 - Karaoke singing refusal leads to job suspension in
Vietnam
An oil company in Vietnam, where karaoke is favorite pastime of youths and popular courtesy in doing
business of officials and businessmen, has disciplined 21 staff because they declined to sing karaoke at its
important event, a never seen incident in the Southeast Asian nation.
The Oil and Gas Finance Company, under the state-owned Vietnam Oil and Gas Corporation (Petrovietnam), on June 5 asked the
corporate officials to make self-criticism reports for not having participated in collective activities after they refused to
sing at a contract-signing ceremony held by the company and its partner two days earlier. Of them, eight department heads
have been temporarily suspended from their posts, according to the local newspaper Pioneer.
The paper quoted a letter protesting the company's unlawful action by the officials who did not want to stay for karaoke in
northern Phu Tho province as thinking of families in Hanoi capital where the kids and the wives were waiting. "We all thought
we had completed our obligation and contributed to the success of the ceremony."
A director of the company said the discipline is necessary, as the officials have not complied with its labor regulations,
creating bad images about the company to its partners.
Since its introduction in Vietnam in the late 1980s, karaoke has become more and more popular in Vietnam. For many people,
especially businessmen and officials, karaoke singing, together with drinking, is indispensable part in their business
etiquette.
"Karaoke is an effective means of strengthening relations among people. Through singing, they can more sympathize and
understand each other better. Of course, I often invite my business partners to enjoy the recreational form," Nguyen Van Lam,
director of a private garment company in Hanoi said, before following seething lyrics of a Vietnamese revolutionary classic
named "Red Leaves" displayed on a big screen.
Like Lam, Nguyen Viet Khoa, a 35-year-old official from the Vietnam Industrial and Commercial Bank, thought that actively
participating in art performances, including singing karaoke, is very good for promoting ties with boss and colleagues.
"Through the activities, leaders can know you more and support you more. So, your promotion opportunities can be greater," he
said, ordering frothing cappuccinos before singing in a bar in Ngoc Khanh street.
"I often go to karaoke lounges with my friends. There, everyone can become singers," smiled Khoa, who, along with his three
friends, waited an hour to be served in the bar full of guests, after calling at nearly a dozen of crowded parlors vying for
the business in the city on a Saturday night.
Together with other popular recreational forms such as drinking, tennis and live music, karaoke has mushroomed in Vietnam
since the late 1990s, with 5,000 licensed karaoke lounges by early this year, according to the Vietnamese Ministry of Culture
and Information. Besides, many households have bought karaoke appliances to sing at home. From luxurious bars with flashing
strobe lights, plasma TV sets and hi-fi stereo system to small lounges with simple sound appliances, all are crowded with
customers, especially at weekends or on holidays. Many birthday parties of youths and cordial meetings of friends in big
cities are often ended with karaoke singing.
"The first thing we think whenever gathering is karaoke. I and my friends often sing at a bar near my school. Its price is
low, only 20,000 Vietnamese dong (nearly US$1.3) per hour," said 20-year-old student Nguyen Phuong Ha.
However, a number of Vietnamese people, especially youths, have come to karaoke bars not for such healthy entertainment. Some
karaoke establishments in major cities have facilitated drug usage or offered striptease dance performances, acting as fronts
for prostitution, according to the ministry.
In a move to prevent the social evils, the Vietnamese government has set stricter requirements for operation of karaoke
lounges and discotheques. Under a recent government decree, karaoke service providers have been not allowed to sell alcohol
to customers or let them to drink it in rooms. Every karaoke room must have acreage of at least 20 square meters, and use
transparent glass windows, only one waiter or waitress aged 18 upwards, and no locks when being used.
In May 2005, the government placed a temporary halt to the licensing of any new discotheques, bar and karaoke lounges,
tasking relevant ministries to review operation of existing discotheques, bars and karaoke lounges, and deal with such social
evils as prostitution and heroin usage. The-Karaoke-Advisor.com
|
