New Job

Today marks the first day my father returns to the work force.

He just informed me yesterday that it was his last day to take care of Coco for me. Usually, he waits for Coco's schoolbus to drop her at my place, afterwhich he keeps an eye on her, chants his mantra of asking her to complete her homework which almost always falls on deaf ear. Then he will watch the TV till he falls asleep or till I get home - sometimes I reach home at 7pm or even later.

I was worried that he might be bullied by his employer. The last time he worked as a driver for a furniture factory, he felt bullied when the employer asked him to work overtime a little too often, without reimbursing him. I don't want the same thing or something worse to happen.

My father came to Singapore to be a carpentry apprentice in his twenties. His diligence and hard work got him risen to the position of a supervisor, and eventually, he struck out on his own and became his own boss in his late twenties.

He owned a carpentry factory and had 20 to 30 employees helping him to make furniture for Courts and other retailers.

He had two furniture shops, both based in Tampines. I still remember fondly how he would tell us with joy and pride that he owned the first furniture shop in Tampines.

I remember how well my father did: he was a proud owner of two Mercs and two lorries. When I was born, he already had one Mercs, and I remember he took us on a test drive in the new Mercs. As a child, I abhored the smell of leather seats. I often vomited from the almost weekly routine of travelling to-and-fro my Malaysia home. I much preferred the lorries. I loved the natural air (like Sumiko Tan :) ). My sisters and I loved to sit at the back of the lorries and feel the strong wind in our faces.

One night, when we were all enclosed in our bedroom, he opened a briefcase to show us what I later saw on 80's Hong Kong movie shows - stacks of dollar notes. I remember how he animated the 'Wow ...' look: by raising his eyebrows and enlarging his already huge eyes. I was too young to understand the value of money then, but I did know that it was not common to see so many pieces of paper-with-$-sign-on-it. I said 'Wow ...' too because I was very happy to see my father wearing such a delightful look.

It all went downhill when the government created a new policy. I am not too sure which policy that was but it affected the number of Malaysian employees he could hire. He tried to hire Singaporeans to no avail. According to him, Singaporeans are not able to take hardship and are not willing to work hard.

Although the furniture orders continued to come in, he was no longer able to manufacture the furniture at the same rate and quantities.

Eventually, he had to close down the shops.

Today, he is a retired carpenter.

His new job is to ferry workers to different destinations for work. He assures me that it will be fine as he is not required to carry heavy furniture. For someone nearing 70, it would be a crime for anyone to expect him to lug something that causes him to go out of breath.

He is sure that he won't be bullied this time round as the employer used to be his employee when he was running the carpentry factory. They know each other and the ex-employee is not out to seek vengeance on his employer-turn-employee. My father also likes the fact that one of the perks is to be able to take leave 'anytime he wishes', since the prospective employer is kind to him.

Let's hope everything turn out well.