My latest theory is this: In spite of
all my previous predictions, (including yesterday’s post) Mr Habtoor will walk away from HLG scratch
free and leave the tab for Mr Sadik to pick up as the company called HLG turns
into custard in the very near future.
And (probably) rightly so.
After all, wasn’t Mr Sadik the naughty
boy that conspired with the Leighton-brothers and got out on his own,
unchecked, unapproved?
By disregarding old alliances he went into
sabotaging the parent company, in spite of the’ whole ball of wax’ Mr Habtoor
had done for him over their long association as business partners!
Mr Habtoor gave him everything that a talented
and hardworking, yet displaced and disadvantaged Palestinian young engineer
could hope for.
A piece of a sweet pie, a citizenship to
a country few of his type can hope for, money, luxury, fame.
A business outside of the reach of the jittery
construction market, a bite at the hospitality industry, his own hotel.
He even let Mr Sadik be the chairman of
the newly formed alliance with the greedy Australians once HLG was born, the
only condition was to have his younger boy in the board too, as an apprentice
to learn the trade.
The boy needed some hands-on experience
beyond collecting and driving expensive cars, this was not a lot to ask for and
could have also been easily the ticket back to Mr Habtoor’s heart, had Mr Sadik
recognised so and genuinely undertook to mentor the young chap.
Unfortunately, and at the cost of the
long lasting friendship of Mr Sadik and the Habtoor chief, the future that the
Savage-lead, ‘quasi Leighton team’ had waived before Mr Sadik’s eyes was too
hard to ignore, let alone resists, full of glitter, status, privileges and
class.
Directorships at various international
companies, people that truly needed him for once, and no-more, around the clock checking of dusty
construction sites, cheap coffees, paper cups and needy Pilipino draftsmen and
women to tend to.
He got dazzled by it all, enjoyed the
bliss. And paid the price. Or will so, in the future.
Far away minefields of diamonds and gold
were calling while local construction sites went for months unchecked, down the
tube of disastrous delays, defects and cost overruns.
Arrogant, negligent and incompetent Leighton
staff led the disenfranchised Pilipino drafting army.
It could have been easily assumed, that
Mr Habtoor knew what the end chapter of this fairy-tale was going to be all
along – alternatively maybe, he made it up as the story was unfolding and let
his once-friend walk in the trap he dug himself.
Regardless of the preambles, the results
were similar and brutal:
These days, Mr Habtoor is all but ready
to jump ship, abandon the construction-arm of his multiple mega-businesses,
once a fundamental part of success, now a shrivelled body part – not-good for
anything, something to kick aside with petty – leave to Mr Sadik to salvage – or
sink with it.
Either way Mr Habtoor will not be around
to see the final chapter.
Too much other stuff to do.
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