I read Raimy Che-Ross' article Dude, where's my lost city? with much amusement and sympathy. Amusement because of his comments on the bureaucratic red tape that he faces.

Sympathy because here is a man who knows his stuff and who possess the passion but yet not given a free hand to attain his goal. If this had happened to the explorers responsible for unearthing the Terra Cotta warriors in Xian, the tomb of King Tutankhamen in Egypt, the ruins of the Angkor Wat in Siem Reap or the Borobodor Temple in Indonesia then probably these sites wouldn't even have seen the light of day until now.

This Lost City fiasco is due to the lack of knowledge and confidence of the persons in charge including the minister of culture, arts and heritage (who is not even trained in that field) or the the person in charge of a supposed expedition.

The latter adamantly insists that the Lost City be re-named, obviously in order to distance Raimy away from this project which may be his stairway to fame and fortune. And of course, to ensure that any credit goes to him instead of Raimy.

As if by calling it the 'right name', the Lost City would just pop out of nowhere. Unfortunately, all Raimy will encounter from now on are rejections, objections and further bureaucratic red tape.

This will continue until one fine day when at least one of the bureaucrats stands up to admit that they know nuts about the whole thing and pass the reins back to Raimy.

Raimy, keep your fingers crossed. Go get your Lost City!