The Sacking

By Lim Han Ming

The future was hopeless. What a frustrating world! Singapore has a lot of people, six million to be exact. But what happens when there arent enough good jobs to go around and a lot of people wind up at the bottom, thats what. In this powerful and riveting novel, literary phenomenon Lim Han Ming unflinchingly exposes the inner-workings of unemployment and foreign talent in the twenty-first century, and reminds us of the passions and malice that office politics can provoke. When an organisation sacks an employee, the event sends unforeseeable shockwaves through the lives of three people who are chained to the events. The Sacking shows how ones sacking can change the way people think about how they live, what they want, and what they believe forever. An unflinching examination of the human heart's capacity for sorrow, joy, redemption, vengeance and endless gradations in between.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Partridge Publishing Singapore
• Release date: Apr 3, 2013
• ISBN: 9781466931367

Lim Han Ming

The future was hopeless. What a frustrating world! Singapore has a lot of people, six million to be exact. But what happens when there aren’t enough good jobs to go around and a lot of people wind up at the bottom, that’s what. In this powerful and riveting novel, literary phenomenon Lim Han Ming unflinchingly exposes the inner-workings of unemployment and foreign talent in the twenty-first century, and reminds us of the passions and malice that office politics can provoke. When an organisation sacks an employee, the event sends unforeseeable shockwaves through the lives of three people who are chained to the events. The Sacking shows how one’s sacking can change the way people think about how they live, what they want, and what they believe forever. An unflinching examination of the human heart's capacity for sorrow, joy, redemption, vengeance and endless gradations in between.

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Copyright 2012 Lim Han Ming.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written prior permission of the author.

ISBN: 978-1-4669-3136-7 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: xxxxxxxxxx

Trafford rev. 11/05/2012

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The future was hopeless. What a frustrating world! Singapore has a lot of people, six million to be exact. But what happens when there aren’t enough good jobs to go around and a lot of people wind up at the bottom, that’s what. In this powerful and riveting novel, literary phenomenon Lim Han Ming unflinchingly exposes the inner-workings of unemployment and foreign talent in the twenty-first century, and reminds us of the passions and malice that office politics can provoke. When an organisation sacks an employee, the event sends unforeseeable shockwaves through the lives of three people who are chained to the events. The Anti-Christ shows how one’s sacking can change the way people think about how they live, what they want, and what they believe forever. An unflinching examination of the human heart’s capacity for sorrow, joy, redemption, vengeance and endless gradations in between.

Dear Jesus, I thank you & praise you for your great love & faithfulness to me. Whenever I think of how you saved me & how much you love me, my heart is full of joy. I glorify you for your forgiveness & that you accept me just as I am. I come now in obedience to your call. I want to receive the fullness of the Spirit as you promised. I do not come because I am worthy; I come because you have invited me to do so. Because of the blood of Christ & the forgiveness you have given me, I thank you that you have made me a vessel that is ready to receive a gift so wonderful as the infilling of your Spirit. I want to know you; I want to please you; I want to serve you; I want to overflow with your love, your life, your kindness, your words and your power. I desire to have the presence of Christ flow out of my life to everyone I know. With childlike faith that is simple & pure, I ask you to fill me with your Spirit. I open all of myself to you, to receive all of yourself in me. I love you LORD. I worship you and magnify you. I welcome your miracles & your might into my life. May they be evident in my life to your glory & honor. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Chastity Claire Chua was in a corner of the room as clasped her hands together as she prayed towards a wooden crucifix. Like Mother Mary, she wore a tranquil, calm and peaceful expression as she recited these words softly from her mouth for a good ten minutes of her praying time.

Chastity Claire Chua was the Head of IT and I was her little disobedient eye-sore of a eunuch. My job scope involved logistics support (aka labouring store man), data-entry of confidential medical reports of drug abusers (aka boring mundane work) and maintenance of furniture (aka whipping boy whenever counsellors’ furniture are spoilt).

As our department of 3 people (Chastity Claire Chua, Chan Ching Yee and I) handled sensitive drug abusers medical reports, our department (they called Information Management Registry) was sequestered in an enclosed room of the Aftercare Anonymous Association. If counsellors wanted to get any library materials or medical reports of their patients, they had to fill up a form and deposit it into a folder through a small window slit.

I started my job in Aftercare Anonymous Association on 1 June 2010. What I didn’t bargain for was individual self-censorship, unspoken policies and rules, and the stoutness with which employees under Chastity Claire Chua swallowed their dignity and integrity to please her. Incredible as it seemed, Chastity Claire Chua had an unforgiving mean rotten spirit in her even though the Aftercare Anonymous Association stood for second chances to unlock the second prison for ex-drug addicts.

It was a good excuse for Chastity Claire Chua to vent and fart out her anger in that room as outsiders could not hear her screams.

As she prayed, in the next moment, she shot me eye daggers from the corner of her sight and turned towards me, as I was walking past her to fill up her water jug. The fibre of her being is criss-crossed by fiery threads and her eyes were so filled with anger that it was painful even to look into them. If one is unfortunate enough to fall into his gaze, one would see that her eyes were clouded with cataracts, as if intense anger had clouded them. The thing was that though her eyes are unseeing, they radiate deep, intense anger like a blowtorch, destroying everything in its path.

She cleared her throat as I anticipated another round of belittling and insults flying out from her mouth. She had this peculiar habit of raising her head a little before she spoke. Whether she did it sub-consciously or not, it reeked of sheer arrogance from her face.

If there were a war with all the men in the world, Chastity Claire Chua would have distinguished herself. She was apparently a likeable person in church, though conceited.

I DON’T CARE! She pointed and jabbed her finger at my face, her face flushed with anger as she forced her anger through clenched teeth. If there are differences in the quotations, I WANT YOU TO PAY FOR THE DIFFERENCE!

It was the electronic mail which I wrote to her yesterday afternoon. She took half day off to attend a church’s miracle healing session. I had to do some last minute corrections because the transport operator did not include the night charges for the delivery and had to re-adjust the figures in the invoice. We had a volunteer’s night gathering next week and I was tasked to do some food catering for the night at 7pm.

I ignored her as usual as our working relationship was based on her ranting and me ignoring her orders and threats.

It was already 2 months into my new job and I already could predict her mood swings, whether it was pre-menstrual or menopause or pure heightened jealousy during her ovulation timing, it was always after her morning prayers but this time, it was after her miracle healing session so I guess she could muster more power in her threatening tone. Just because their hormones get Chastity Claire Chua weepy and excessively animated, they shouldn’t infer that men are bound to behave the same way. It is about time women acknowledged their menstrually-fueled expressionism as a side-effect rather than being a pleasing personality trait.

How you think I am going to trust you when I leave for 2 weeks to Jerusalem?! Chastity Claire Chua used her Jerusalem trip at least 3 times to me so far in a span of 2 months. Maybe it was to boast to us that she was a devout Christian who would go for her spiritual cleansing to Jerusalem, birth of Jesus Christ yearly but at the same time, it was to rub more of the Dead Sea salt into my wound.

The Peacock boss like her has a very big ego. Peacocks usually places vanity more than anything else. They usually like to show off their talent, fame, recognition and religion. They will always want to win everything. Having an insatiable ego can be very bad especially when the boss does not know how to control and contain it.

Chastity Claire Chua was at it again. And let’s just leave it as it is. Then I think: should I hate? Should I be peeved? After all I’m a mere mortal trying to breathe! I’m sure I’m entitled to some emotional freedom, don’t I? But like how ripples eventually drown in the unknown depths of water, I tell myself that these crevasses in my heart will be filled even in my own terms. I tell myself to look at the good in people, even in Chastity Claire Chua.

I had already learned that absorbing costs is part of the occupational hazard that comes along with the job scope.

Last week, just going to Little India to decorate the office was a test whether my taste will suit hers. It was arbitrary as she was a Christian and did not know much about Indian Deepavali decorations. I had to go through a few different sets of Indian decorations and see that it doesn’t exceed the shoe-string budget that we already have.

Remember not to exceed more than $30.00 and not to go under $25.00. Ching Yee reminded me before I pushed out the exit door. Chastity Claire Chua was in a meeting for an appraisal session with the Director. It was those times in which Ching Yee had those bitching sessions with me in the absence of Chastity Claire Chua.

Even if I go under $25.00, it is a crime?

You born yesterday is it? Chastity Claire Chua is nothing if not a control freak. Anything that is out of her pattern and rules will ruffle her feathers. Chan Ching Yee turned away from me like she said enough. But if you are in a mood to shake her, buy an Indian gold plated lantern that will cost more than $30.00 each.

I came back in two hours with two bags of decorations. Chastity Claire Chua, as usual, had nothing to good to say when she went through the two bags.

I am NOT going to reimburse those 2 peacock feathers. She imploded like a woman on psychotropic drugs. It was difficult to describe the intensity of her anger. Those 2 peacock feathers look like 2 joss sticks for a funeral. Very ugly.

But why? The shop in the prayer room said that these peacock feathers will help to ward off any evil.

No. They look like two joss sticks. Aftercare Association is not going to pay for this.

Fine, then. I will absorb them. I said in a tone of defiance. I slightly rolled my eyes up. Yea right . . . Like you own and run Aftercare Association and you make the sole decision. They cost only $2 dollars. Wow . . . didn’t know where that came from. Part of the fun was to defy her and push a buttons little by little so that I could watch her reaction. It takes 42 muscles to frown and it only takes 4 muscles for me to extend my hand and bitch-slap the Anti-Christ.

Are you the boss or I’m the boss?! She stood and jerked up. Her Tweety bird cushion on her seat came rolling down her chair. She quickly bent down and patted dust from her cushion. It was her prized asset as I noticed that she also had a Tweety bird mug and a Tweety bird screensaver I will report to the Director on this! She put her index finger to her lips and shook it like a warning to me, as she peered over her gold-rimmed spectacles like a mother warning her child not to misbehave.

Chan Ching Yee turned around from her seat and watched the drama unfolding. Actually, it was my suggestion for the peacock feathers, Chastity Claire Chua. Don’t have to blame him. Peacock feathers are essential in Deepavali and will look awkward if they are absent. If two is not enough and looks awkward, we can buy more. Otherwise, to throw it away, it is wasteful.

I am not talking to you so keep your mouth shut! The finger! That finger! Woe to those who are in its range.

When Chastity Claire Chua pointed her finger at Chan Ching Yee, it immediately triggered Chan Ching Yee to do a catfight with her. With that formidable weapon and that anger that powered Chastity Claire Chua’s wasted muscles, she seemed as if she could smash down mountains with a few stares.

Hey! Don’t wave that finger in my face! Chan Ching Yee imitated Chastity Claire Chua by waving her own finger.

I will wave my finger at your face! Chastity Claire Chua waved it back at her.

In came a litany of personal attacks that were irrelevant to peacock feathers. Insults start flying with hurtful words running the gamut from your mother to your ancestral lines.

Hey! This is exactly the type of inflexible things that I hate about you! If you are not happy with two peacock feathers, you can tell us to buy more feathers. They only cost $1.00 per piece and we are more than happy to use our own money!

That’s not the point!

"That is exactly the point! Peacock feathers are exactly what happened to CCTV SMS-alert. It is your ticket’s admission to the other world that you want—to get into the good books of Executive Director. And by turning it down, you are more concerned about your own pride to win this argument than that of the organisation’s or you are suddenly under the influence of Executive Director’s bed covers . . . ."

That’s not the point! Chastity Claire Chua repeated herself. She was running out of words, exasperated.

Ok Lah! Both of us go inside Executive Director’s room and let him be the judge! Chan Ching Yee slapped her hand on the table, challenging and baiting Chastity Claire Chua to do the same.

Chastity Claire Chua stormed out and I could her footsteps as she stepped hard on the raised wooden platform on the door ridge. Part of the fun was to watch Chan Ching Yee quarrel with Chastity Claire Chua. Chan Ching Yee was the big older sister. 60 years of age didn’t mellow her or her hot fire temper. I guess that was part of her asset in her post-menopausal years. She had been in Aftercare Anonymous Association for more than 30 years and it was in every fibre of her being to raise her temper at any injustice thrown at her, never mind if the person is her superior.

Just absorb the two dollars and buy a lottery ticket with it. Chan Ching Yee sat down and slumped in her chair. She is as proud as a peacock so I guess she doesn’t want a peacock to out-compete or out-do her.

It was a good ten minutes before Chastity Claire Chua returned back to the office. And of course, she didn’t forget to note this down in my monthly appraisal for instigating a fight between her and Chan Ching Yee.

During those ten minutes, I confronted Chan Ching Yee over the heated exchange of words.

Woah . . . to accuse her of sleeping with Executive Director . . . I protested.

Of what, that she go running to your boyfriend? Chan Ching Yee berated, her temper still not mellowed.

Hey . . . . think Executive Director deserves some respect, not because he is senior but because he earned it. I challenged Chan Ching Yee. Executive Director was the one who hired me so I felt a sense of loyalty and obligation to defend him. Without Executive Director, I could still be unemployed.

I work only for money. If you want loyalty, go get yourself a dog. Chan Ching Yee rebuked and turned her back on me.

There is an expiry date on blaming your parents, your subordinates or others for steering you in the wrong direction; the moment you are old enough to take the wheel, responsibility lies with you and your inadequacies.

Ego works in a very warped twisted way. In many instances, it engulfs and blinds you with pride—you can’t really see and think objectively. You start to build a defence upon the defence that you’ve already built. So you think your stand is firm, and your vision is clear and good. With things going Chastity Claire Chua way, success is a matter of time. Chastity Claire Chua listened, but selectively. She held everyone’s hand, ensuring that they do not deviate from your course. But eventually, she over-did it until there was no room for us to breathe.

The fight was an arduous experience that cemented Chastity Claire Chua’s formidable reputation as an uncompromising, hard-charging perfectionist and a 300-decibel screamer. She had an evil alter ego, and nicknamed her Anti-Christ In response to the criticism, she once stated, a passionate work ethic and never apologized for the way she ran. Nor did it motivate people to work faster or better. Life is too short to work under with selfish, cruel people.

I found that out Chastity Claire Chua had the fastest computer processor speed in the room and she probably had the most RAM with hard-disk space. Whenever she started her computer, the software made a welcoming bell-opening noise. The time interval between starting the computer and her fingers banging on her keyboard was the shortest among all of us in the Registry Room.

However, her fingers were not quick enough to match the fast processor speed though. Whenever I stood up and made my way to the photocopier, I glanced over towards her direction. She actually and literally keyed in the numbers or alphabets one by one using her right and left index fingers only. One key at a time.

Her eye and fingers co-ordination was her Achilles’ heel, not forgetting that she had long-sightedness which caused her to make several typing mistakes. My minutes of the meeting (first assignment) was already quite good. I was not bragging. The previous minutes, done by Chan Ching Yee, from the old mails that I checked out in the Sent folder were always returned with at least 50 per cent more of strikethroughs and RED BOLD letters than mine. A few weeks into the job, my sense of how things fell into the puzzle in Aftercare Anonymous Association became crystal clear.

—Original Message—

From: Chastity Claire Chua

To: Ching [e-mail]

Date: July 1, 2009 3:00 pm

PLS OMIT SINGLISH PHRASES IN YOUR ASiGNMENT. YOU ARE NOT A KiD ANYMORE. YOU SHOULD KNOW WAT SHOULD BE LEFT OUT AND WHAT SHOULD NOT BE LEFT OUT.

THiS IS MY ONE IS SINGLISH

THiS IS MINE IS ENGLISH

BROUGHT MY SISTER FOOD IS SINGLISH

BROUGHT FOD FOR MY SISTER IS ENGLISH

There are no short cuts to speaking English well. Even if you are in a hurry, you need to remember that slipping into non-standard English out of convenience is unacceptable.

The letters you receive from readers are Singlish. Please use your discretion and edit them from Singlish to English.

Why you everytime also like that? or Why you everytime also don’t listen are common refrains from frustrated and exasperated parents.

Both sentences are grammatically incorrect. Everytime and Like that are incorrect. Think through how you can rephrase the sentence in Standard English.

Think of Alternatives instead of saying Why you everytime also like that?, try saying:

Why do you make the same mistakes again and again?

Why do you repeat your mistakes?

Why do you always frustrate your superior?

As for Why you everytime also don’t listen, correct yourself by saying:

Why do you not listen? This is not the first time i’m telling you this.

Why do you always ignore what i say?

Why don’t you listen to instructions?

As a final reminder, DONT LET ME REMIND YOU AGAiN.

Unabomber once wrote I attribute the social and psychological problems of modern society to the fact that society requires people to live under conditions radically different from those under which the human race evolved.

There is a little bit of the Unabomber in most of us. We may not share his approach to airing a grievance, but the grievance itself feels familiar as one worked in Aftercare Anonymous Association.

We are all tormented souls trapped in a disheveled container—each struggling to play our part in this great cosmic universe. When worlds collide and there are casualties, we can only hope that a new (and hopefully better) world order will be formed as wounds heal and broken bonds amended.

Everything will hopefully be better in time, and this will only be for the deserving ones who are hopeful.

The next day, Kar Tuck, the IT executive, waved to me from a distance to signal me to go over to his workstation. Kar Tuck was like my saviour and a good bitching buddy as we were both men subjected under the cruel torture of a man-eating, man-hating Chastity Claire Chua. This looked like a good job opportunity. My friend works in that company and told me that they have a feedback system to appraise the boss so it will keep the boss’s egos in check.

Then, Kar Tuck pointed out another job advertisement to me. I want to apply for YMCA Young Men Christian Association but Chastity Claire Chua told me that that place is full of office politics.

How does she know that?

She said that her church friend told her so when she and I met up with a fund raising executive from YMCA

You believe what she said? She is full of crap lah. She is the one who is causing all the office politics. Go apply! Part of the adrenaline rush came back to me. Bad-mouthing Chastity Claire Chua became part of our hobby to see who was better at talking trash about her.

According to Kar Tuck, info-communications is a sunset industry in Singapore. Kar Tuck is an IT executive but also doing his part-time graduate diploma studies in social work, according to a Professional Conversion Programme Scholarship. Aftercare Anonymous Association recruited Kar Tuck partly because of the sponsorship programme while using his IT skills in computer networking. Kar Tuck once told me that if someone wanted to stay in this IT industry, one had to better work in government sector. If possible, those working in the IT field in private sector should make their exit before hitting 40 years of age and go into lecturing, on any executive jobs in government sector or even in the social services sector where there were more Singaporeans. Social services require more Singaporeans to speak the local dialects which would be an obstacle for foreign talent. Private companies are already infested with cheap foreign talent. Most people who work in private sector won’t be able to say confidently that they will still keep their jobs once they hit above 40 years of age. The possibility of losing one’s job in private sector (to cheaper and younger foreign talent) is extremely high especially when one is in their 30s, by then, it will be difficult to switch from private to the govt sector again as HR prefer to shortlist those below 30s for junior positions and below 35 years old for senior positions in civil service.

The most valuable capital that any group can have is its people. Organisations don’t succeed on their own. People do. I’ve come to realise that essentially, a group’s identity is given its form by each and every member’s representation. Each of us is like a colour on the palette, when stir-mixed together, can give forms to an absolutely different coloration, which when used in artistic expressions, in turn gives forms to masterpieces. However, when one member only thinks for herself and has hidden agendas to promote herself while controlling and domineering over her other members, office politics can readily happen. Only Chastity Claire Chua was seemingly clueless about that.

Kar Tuck had somehow mastered Shakespearean’s Taming of Chastity Claire Chua, the Shrew. In front of her, he acted like a meek little lamb, vulnerable and sensitive towards Chastity Claire Chua’s feelings but when her back was turned, he would bitch about her to all of us.

Women like her are like that. He once flashed me the SMS message he sent to Chastity Claire Chua. It showed ‘Have A Happy New Year and God Bless.’"

You question a woman’s ability, she will snap your neck but when you show your vulnerable side, she will open the back door. That was what happened. Initially, she was a pussy trying hard to be tigress but somehow, she has toned down a lot after I showed her my caring sensitive side. All it took was a SMS to Chastity Claire Chua and she was sold and bought my crap of lies and became a pussy. Kar Tuck told me that he also had thoughts about quitting initially but after he caught hold of her pattern, he was more careful and selective of the job interviews he went to. Kar Tuck couldn’t wait to show me what he learned during a lecture he attended a few days ago. For women, they are happy when their boyfriend or partner understands they’re upset. When he showed me some of his lecture notes, I could swear that it is true to some extent. What do women want? It’s the age-old question. But a recent study