A Singaporean In Australia

The factory went through 3 weeks of overtime since I came. By now we have just caught up with the schedule. With that crazy grinding, we were left with way too much rubbish that we could handle. The boss ordered a skip bin for us to dispose our crates, empty oil drums, boxes and other crap.

I went out of the factory, took a glance up to the driver's seat and saw a dog on the wheels. What the hell, even dogs drive trucks here? Of course I was wrong, dog was the co-driver to a middle age slim lady. Upon reversing into the workshop, she was quick on her feet and manage to hop out of the truck and went into our office before I knew it.

I had developed a habit of talking to people on their jobs lately. I'm not the chatty kind but my curiosity got better of me each time. These people were really interesting. One was the Eurasian lady who drives a 1 ton van, heavily modified at the back to accommodate a small generator. This generator powers up a small fridge and 2 food warming racks. Every morning this lady drives into the area and slam on her horn, much to my annoyance. After a few mornings I realised that is how she announce the arrival of her 'mobile canteen' to the small workforce in this area. Her customers will appear from respective companies and start to move sheepishly towards her van. Like zombies. After the hungry get their fix, canteen auntie will drive off to her next destination. I always wonder how much money she makes from this but I did not ask about that. Just general questions how she modify her van and stuff.

The other one would be mobile plumber who dropped by once. The same 1 ton van type, heavily modified at the back into a handy workshop. Plumber guy has a bench vice, pipe bender machine, cutting machine and racks for spare parts all squeezed in. He was friendly and told me how he ran his business and how his wife complained about his dirty hands at the end of each day.

Truckie Lady was just as willing to stop for a short chat just like the others. With a dog as a starter topic, it was easy for me. Dog was released from the cabin and leaped down. Within seconds he was trying to lick my face as I pat him. Truckie Lady, being a lady and a truckie, was obviously something different for a city bumpkin Singaporean like me. She told me she worked in mines for a few years prior to driving that skip bin truck. She told me she had paid up 2 houses and is currently working just to earn her living expenses and as a pastime. Semi retired. She looked in her 40s to me.

I learnt that people here wouldn't mind a short chat during their work. Be it the courier guys, truckies, suppliers, customers, pizza boy. Not at all. I heard from the lao jiao Singaporean migrants that this practice has dwindled a lot over the years. Perhaps, but it is still at a level which I find pleasant and rather surprising, as a Singaporean. You know what I mean. The fading of these practices to exchange pleasantries might have something to do with the increasing population in Perth. The less people you have around, the more glad you are to see someone, vice versa.

Truckie Lady told me it was not uncommon for women to take up jobs like hers. On the front, it looks like a tough physical job. Technically, it isn't. I saw her she carried out her job both times she was here, with relative ease. The truck did the job for her, she did the controlling and driving. 

Mr Chew, another Singaporean who contacted me earlier, shared with me that his wife took up a job as a public bus driver, taking in A$31 per hour not including overtime. They probably don't really need to work as they have done enough in their days in Singapore but are happy to take up some jobs to pass time, enjoy learning something new and of course the money comes useful too. Coincidentally, we met another bus driver when Patrick drove us to Mandurah to sightsee. He was selling his car so the trip had dual purposes. We ended up chatting about bus driving as a career. He was very encouraging about it, highlighted the pros about the job and even urge Penny to have a go at it, stressing that it was suitable for ladies.

I'll not be surprise to see a woman anchoring a boat, mowing lawn, cutting trees or inspecting drains. With no stigma of women taking up such jobs here, the job market is actually wide open for any ladies who are adventurous enough. The money is not bad too.

Regret, but no regrets

******

Dear Singaporean living in Melbourne,

I had worked with almost all nationalities of foreigners during my work in Singapore and I treated them with equal respect. Lest you have misunderstood that I have a problem with foreigners in Singapore, I'll let you know I am against our government's pro-foreigners policies. What is the key difference here? The presence of foreigners in Singapore which causes a string of problems related to over-population is the by product of the short sighted policies thus there is nothing to blame the foreigners about. We allowed that to happen and we shouldn't continue to support this idea.

Though I may be a foreigner in Australia currently, I don't see the link between these two issues. I'm sure you are aware that Australia has been tightening their immigrant policies year after year. Whether or not Australia needs migrants as much as Singapore claims, I'm too new here to have a single clue. I'm fulfilling my duties being an Australian Permanent Resident by abiding the law, societal rules, contributing to the workforce and economy, pay my tax and do my part in taking care of the environment.

My passport is red and Singapore remains my homeland. Till the very day I cease to be a citizen of Singapore, I have my rights as a stakeholder of my country to voice out about how I envision my home to be. Anyone can disagree with me in the blog, they have their full rights to voice their opinions and I have never deleted a single comment here other than pointless nonsensical marketing spam. Nobody is always right here but we try to make sense as much as we can.

I'm not sure about you being on the same boat, wearing the same hat or same shoes with the foreigners of Singapore. I share no similarities with my ex-foreigners colleagues at all. You might feel that we share at least one common goal - to seek a better life abroad. Even that would be wrong. The majority of my foreigners colleagues, from the exploited Bangadeshi general worker who earns $24 a day to the PRC welder to the Burmese drafter in the office and that Pinoy supervisor on the site, have better lives in their own countries. Every single Bangadeshi worker under my supervision above 30 years old own some kind of freehold property in the form of a farm, house, commercial shops and even factories. I'll be exaggerating if I say they could live like a king if they return to their own country but I'm confident to say most, if not all, would be able to live a comfortable life even without working.

A worker once told me, "Sir, in Bangadesh no work, won't die. In Singapore no work, sure die!" Many of them nodded their heads in agreement. That reflected a key point. The fact is, these workers would have a decent life even if they didn't move abroad to work as a foreign worker in Singapore. It is a taboo to allow their wives to work. Women nurse their children and take care of their husbands and most of them held no job. Their income may be meagre but they are able to start families and lead a simple life. Ambitious young men who venture overseas to seek wealth is only a small percentage of their population.

Compare that to sweating 6-7 full days work week under the sun, being paid a pittance of $24 a day while each can of coke or a packet of chicken rice during their breaks cost them 5% and 14% of their salary respectively, living in cramped quarters by cemeteries or live firing areas. Meanwhile, Singaporeans think it is fair to treat them this way because 'they can live like kings when they go home'. My foreigner friends returned to their country once in 2 years at best. Some took as long as 6-7 years to make their visit. The PRCs are not having it easy either, being notorious for HDB home squeeze for example. Try squeezing in a room with 5 other room mates in a daily basis. The PMET foreigners have it better but still endured the grueling long working hours and suffer the anguish being away from their families and friends in the same manner. 

So why did they still go to Singapore for work despite having to endure such conditions? Surely none of us Singaporeans are so dense that we have completely convinced ourselves these foreigners are having a ball of a life in Singapore than their home country? Let's not kid ourselves and pretend Singapore is a paradise. They are here for only one thing and they want nothing else to do with the place called Singapore when they have enough of it.

What's my point here? My question for you will answer that. Did you move to Melbourne to have a better life? Or are you having a really hard life in Melbourne but earning much more money so that you could return to Singapore to live a glorious life in your later years? 

I'll be most interested to know what lifestyle you lead in Melbourne if you are 'exactly in the same boat as them'.

You could see him trying really hard. He had came quite close with his latest one, speaking to Indian student leaders at the Sinda Youth Leaders Seminar on 1st June last week. I guess it is his turn to 'educate' the youth after Deputy Prime Minister Teo's relatively successful attempt. Well this was what was shared,

I am for Singaporeans and against foreigners in my homeland. That's awkward. Technically that makes me a racist in the New World Order of Vivianism. Make that a terrorist. I wonder how does Vivian's new theory work in this case:

Singapore leadership is akin limbo dancing. You strive to get as low as you can. It isn't new that Vivian has a knack of dealing low blows. The Vincent Wijeysingha saga during GE 2011 has shown his colours. Now he is trying out inciting unrest, conquering by division.

Remember the Indian Curry Incident? Singaporeans, regardless or race, language, religion and type of curry, stood side by side against foreigners trying to be funny with our heritage and culture. Someone even started the "Cook your curry day". I wonder which hole was Vivian hiding and smoking delusional crack back then.


What time is it now?

Alas, it isn't the time that any PAP ministers realised that Singaporeans are serious speaking against the government's pro foreigner policies yet. We are dead serious but the men-in-white are still treating that as a joke. These aren't grouses or even complains anymore, these are real feedback from the ground that we expect the government we voted in to take seriously. Sooner than you know it, it will be the main issue in a general election in place of the usual municipal issues, which will be superficial as compared to real bread-and-butter living and survival issues by then. Why do we have to leave things till it is so late? Why can't we see that this isn't working and it hasn't been working since at least a decade ago?

Funds raised so far: A$845.00

I did a simple search and found that in a short span of 8 months, this faithful car that I bought for less than AS$3,000 served me well and was involved in so many of our experiences throughout our short adventure in Perth so far. It took us to many memorable exploration trips when Jen was still pregnant with Albany, ferried us to each hospital appointment for maternity check ups, took me to work and allowed me to start earning my keep to provide for my family, led us to meeting new friends one by one and shielded me from harm in my car accident.

I am indignant in sending Barry White to the scrapyard and getting A$75.00 for it. I want to bring back Barry White in another form but I need money for it. Barry White said, "Why not sell my working parts to raise funds?"

Huh? Can I do that? First, I am no mechanic. I know nuts about dealing with cars. That actually meant that I don't even know the names of most of the components of the car. How am I going to sell them, I don't have a single clue. I'm visualising this kind of headline on my advertisement, "Selling that elbow thing below the engine. Toyota model." Second, I am no marketeer, I don't know how to price my items. I am not even clever enough to figure out how to sell stuff online. It may seem simple to some, especially those who did it before. It's just cooking. People who do cooking regularly will find doing it like second nature but those who try it the first time will genuinely sweat over it.

Barry White blinked and continued, "If you send me to the junk, you learn nothing. Why not learn something from it? At worst, you ended up with no money but you learn some skills in various."

The wife might be annoyed with the mess that this project would create. Detractors would give me that usual, "Save your efforts, not worth it." This is not the first stupid idea I came out with. The older friends will attest to that. Each time I let every idea rest because I felt discouraged by the lack of encouragement. We'll see where this leads to, I'll give myself time to think this over. The time to consider whether to go ahead or scrap the plan (and Barry White) begins now. Meanwhile, I'll need as much informational help as I need.

My Perth story recorded yet another unlucky chapter. That was probably because I decided to do something ridiculous again. Well, I'm not the most incredulous person you'll know by a far mile but no one else gets caught except me. Just me.

I actually drove Big Monster down to Yangebup today to see Barry White - with Jenny on my side - with Albany on her side in her child car seat. All 3 of us. After disabling the damaged fan in the front with some difficulty, I decided that Barry White was good enough to be driven home. So Jen took over Big Monster and I led the way in Barry White. We went through an ulu road cutting through the entire Jandakot area and ended up in Warton.

Fucking Lady Luck went to pee and got knocked unconscious. I have not seen her for years. A police car decided to stop me at Warton Road. They decided that Barry White must be towed instead of driven. I told the young policeman that I was only 5 more minutes from home. I didn't want to leave my car on the streets and call a tow truck. Fortunately he relented and wrote me some kind of authority slip which allowed me to drive Barry White for 10 more minutes, just enough to get me home. Before that, he slapped a yellow ticket on my windscreen. That meant that even if I could get perfect bumpers and whatever parts that Barry White got smashed and manage to install them to working order, Barry White would still not be road-worthy unless I send him to "the pits" and get an inspection. (think VRL in Singapore terms).

While driving Barry White back, I thought to myself how good the car still was. It still drove well throughout that 30km, except for a few glitches which I was confident I could fix up. I decided to repair it myself. But with a yellow ticket, Barry White's fate was sealed. I decided that there simply wasn't a way to go ahead with my plans because it would not make financial sense anymore. 

I came up with another crazy plan......

Like migration to Perth, I have absolutely no idea if this will work, the only way is to find out. Let's list it out and see if I should go ahead with it. Regrettably whether I do it or not, Barry White is history.

The boss came over at 0630hrs to pick me up for work on Saturday morning. Fortunately he was punctual as I might not feel comfortable very long standing in the cold Winter dawn even though I observed that I seemed to have a higher tolerance to cold to people around me.

We had small chats along the way as he filled me in with more industrial knowledge of what we are doing and stuff as well as small bits of information such as that huge white mansion that stuck out outstandingly near the junction of Armadale Road and Warton Road was actually 'built on chooks' (The owner was a egg farmer). Those who drove along this stretch would have noticed that house for sure, a tidbit of gossipy info for you then. Interesting to know.

Anyway, the boss concluded that we were an unusual lot who would work on the Saturday of a long weekend. Well, we are a small company unfortunately. We can't afford to be late for our deliveries if we can help it. The day ended interestingly when boss handed over the keys of the company yute so that I could go home myself. (He knocked off earlier, bastard) It was a monster of a drive. A big model of the Toyota Hilux. It looked somewhat like that, but with a longer tail.

Now I know why Aussie folks love these vehicles. My driving view was significantly higher than even some big MPVs along the way. I could see far and that made driving much easier. It was surprisingly stable when it came to cornering and could stay stable circling up to the next highway at 80km/h or so. I would expect a clanky drive like those pick-ups I drove before fetching workers in Singapore when the supervisor was on MC. Nothing of that sort. The one was very well insulated and all I could hear during the whole 30km journey was the pleasing sound of a working turbo charger (or so I assumed). Despite its weight, it accelerated almost twice as fast as Barry White in probably all gears. When I reached speed limits like the common 60 - 70km/h and 100km/h, I felt that I was actually traveling slower than the odometer suggested. Some kind of theory of relativity was working here.


Apparently Jen seemed to love big monsters too. She was already asking to drive this once too often. Maybe I will allow her to make a few rounds in somewhere deserted before taking over the drive later today because this is obviously only insured under the company's staff.

Anyway, with this thing loaned to me temporarily, I may be able to hunt for Barry White's replacement. I have not decided Barry White's fate, it remains parked at the colleague's front porch. That will come later. I have shortlisted a few cars within my tiny budget and will sort things out as soon as possible. I am considering getting a backup car for Jen so that she could use it to commute in any emergencies. I have been getting that uneasy feeling for months that I should be doing this so I better do trust my gut feelings more regularly.

Hunting for a new old car is quite a chore. It is much much simpler if I am buying a new car. All I need to do is to sign on the dotted line and shake leg at home. Used car hunting is much more complex as there are many things to look out for. It can be fun for some, annoying for some. Unfortunately I can't afford a new car so here we go again. Interesting things always happen when you source for a used car. You see good ones, crappy ones for the same price. These are just some identifiers of a free-er market. It simply means that you can find undervalued cars and even make a profit by re-selling them (I'm sure that could be done) and at the same time being ripped off totally. I am no expert in cars. I know next to nuts so I aim not to get ripped off too badly at least. That's all I ask for.

So silly things happen when it all begins.

The hunt goes on.

What happened to the Singapore educational system? It was supposed to mold the future of our nation. Indoctrinate Mold. The young must know about how great our ruling party is and be grateful for everything it has given us.

Don't get me wrong. We should be grateful to what our country has given us, everyone Singaporean citizen must be. We are truly a privileged lot, there is no question about it. There is a lot of difference between our motherland and government, mind you. When our ruling party attempts to claim all the credit, portray certain characters as messiah in social studies textbooks of the young and uses mainstream media drum into the people's mind that life without them  would be some kind of a catastrophe, I have a big problem with that. Our forefathers built the nation with their blood and sweat but the PAP shamefully declares, "We did that! We did That!" in every avenue they can. It's sick.

I do not have an explanation how could this happen [link]. Shoddy indoctrination or a naughty fish that got away from the net? Whatever it is, it was certainly a sad day for the men-in-white for failing to fool even kids these days.  It is even sadder that a Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore have to ask school kids, "What do you think?" as a return to the knotty questions that the kids posed in the forum. The DPM even used the Devastating Storytelling Stance made famous by Lim Swee Say to beat around the bush and avoid the real concerns from the crowd. Then he put what he knew best, being some big guy in the military in his earlier life, to work. What we call Flanking in the army. Come on, DPM Teo. Do you have to use such lethal skills on kids?

After keeping a low profile (and being paid enough millions) way too long, the DPM is suddenly in a hurry to let everyone knows what he is made of in the last few months. Unfortunately, he isn't impressing many, not even kids. At 17 in my days, my classmates would had gushed and had gotten DPM Teo to sign on the back of their T-shirts at the end of the distinguished afternoon. White men should genuinely worry and look carefully at their ponds to see if they are full of naughty fishes of this size. If so, they better hold the next general election in 2015 instead of 2016. Don't say I only offer criticisms but never good advice to the PAP.

I wish you whities good luck.

After the boss sent me home on the day of accident, I took a nap shortly because I wasn't feeling right. Couldn't put a finger to it, just felt strange. Giddy or something. The body felt tired and weak as well, with joint pains at the lower back and neck.

I remembered wondering if I would wake up after the nap. I read somewhere that some people didn't. When I eventually did, Albany woke at almost the same time. I heard her babbling away and took a peek. She could recognise me quickly by now and gave me a big smile. The pains of the upcoming financial losses somewhat diminished at the back of my head. It felt good being alive. I might be over dramatic to think about such things because I was hardly hurt. Just as I could have totally avoided the accident if I wore a sock slower in the morning or beat the amble instead of stopping at one traffic light earlier, I could have been injured or dead if the accident didn't happen the way it did. There was plenty to learn from this incident. By today, I would have collated as much as I could. The only way to make a lesson cheaper than it wasn't was to maximise our learnings from it.

We were back to where we were, the days without a car. Barry White was left with a pi-jiak head at my colleague's home in Yangebup. I would decide what I could do with him later on, there are more urgent things on hand. Thankfully the situation is much better compared to the early days when we just arrive. We have very supportive friends who are willing to land a helping hand such as the usual ones like Grace and Patrick. Micky even offered his shiny black Hyundai Getz as a temporary transport if I needed it. Thusara aka Zorroz, who just came to Perth less than a month ago, offered me help even before I could offer him any by taking me to Applecross to meet a car owner selling her car on Friday night.

Like Patrick, Mr Zorroz was another Singaporean son who came over to Perth, leaving his his wife and children in Singapore. Another young chap Edmund, whom we met a while ago was yet another one. Edmund might even have it worse, leaving a young baby behind with his wife. When we met Edmund told me he wouldn't have done what I did, risking it all moving over with a pregnant wife without a job. I simply told him what I told Patrick as well as Thusara the same thing. I wouldn't have done what they had. I would have gone crazy alone here without a single friend without my spouse in a strange land which I didn't think of wanting to be at not too long ago.

Every Singaporean son here has different circumstances and his own unique story. Each of us has our own path of discovery. At the end of the day, we could be walking into a dead end or didn't end up where we wanted to be. Some of us would even end up packing up and returning to Singapore. It's not really a big deal. We could just see it as a long expensive vacation. It may be delusional or just viewing things from another perspective but when it comes to staying alive, there isn't many ways to look at it. It's pretty good to be alive isn't it? What's a little setback?