Sometimes, I think of my time in Singapore.
I completely ignore the B-School bit... because it was after all school. Not that I had a bad time - I remember those days fondly. But most of the memories are voluntary. Aided by a few brilliant photographs.
For me, the real Singapore experience began after I started working. Met a few fine people, who took me in (and I them) quite quickly... Tony, Jeanne and Galastein, to be specific. Being a single male, I did not meet Jeanne too often. I hung out with the boys more - and these two guys, as different as chalk and cheese, were great company.
But sometimes think of the bad ones. Like the rude cab drivers. Or a few locals who believed that yellow came after white and before brown. But the worst of the lot was my boss for six months at Mediacorp News... the rotten, devious, insecure, unscrupulous, filthy-minded, hateful and grossly unpleasant Woon Chuk Chan. Oh!! He is short, fat and ugly too.
This guy was Malaysian, and considered himself a great success in life because he left his home country to go to a foreign land to make a living for himself. A
foreign land called Singapore!! Thats like leaving Pune for Mumbai.
For six months, I went through mental stress and agony working under this pig. He was homophobic and highly insecure. He had a problem with everything I did... and said. My Grammar was always wrong, according to him. I dressed badly to work and I was causing him some serious heart condition... he insisted. After six months of probation, I realized that he did not want recommend me for a permanent position. So, I requested a meeting with the Managing Director - Woon Tai Ho. When I didn't get it, I wrote him a mail. I got my meeting. And I got my transfer to Marketing... with the fantastic Ms. Florence Lian. I tried my best to bridge the divide between us by inviting him home twice... over drinks. But that made matters worse because he hated that I lived in one of the most beautiful and expensive areas of Singapore (Sixth Avenue) and... I lived well. The pics were taken then (in case you were wondering). In my meeting with the MD, also impressed upon my desire to speak to a leading lawyer in Singapore regarding the matter.
The Letter to Woon Tai Ho, MD - Mediacorp News, Singapore:
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Dear Tai Ho,
Hope you are well.
It is with regret that I come to you seeking a transfer to a different division within Mediacorp.
For the past 5 months, I have been subjected to a humiliating experience working under Woon Chuk Chan.
What I initially brushed off as a case of a difficult boss is turning out to be a nightmare. Every morning, I dread coming to work thinking about the plight of meeting Woon and bearing the brunt of his mental abuse.
I meet him every morning at 8.30 to update him on my work. And everyday, I have to bear his cruel demeanor that includes making personal remarks about the way I look, the clothes I wear, my sexuality (suggests that I am gay because I go to the gym more than thrice a week), my accent (he imitates the way Indians speak), always throws my new ideas out saying that they lack imagination and creativity - and later ridicules me for not coming up with something new at work. He constantly compares me to my predecessors - and says that I am paid much more than anyone in the division and that I don't deserve it.
Worse - he blackmails me emotionally by blaming his personal health problems on me. He has been hospitalized twice (before I joined) while in service at Mediacorp - once for a mild heart attack - and the other for high blood pressure. He once told me that dealing with me was an excruciating experience for him. And that I was not giving him any peace of mind. He told me that he had given a list of names to his wife - for her to blame in case he had another heart stroke in the office. And he said that my name was top of the list.
Recently - he has been hinting that we should 'have a chat' - possibly to reconsider my employment here. Yesterday, my job profile was advertised in the intranet as well as the papers - making it clear to me that he intends to hire someone - and to my mind - wrongfully terminate my services. I have carried out my job in the most professional manner, and don't believe I am being treated fairly.
During my interview with Woon Chuk Chan, I should have read the signs and not accepted the job (in the first place) when he compared my recently acquired MBA degree to toilet paper. Which self respecting educated man would tell another man that his educational qualification was worthless – or worse – like toilet-paper? Was this a sign of his insecurity? I just brushed it off as a case of poor sense of humor.
He told me that I should be working 12 hours a day – 7 days a week so that I could get the attention of the management (for a promotion) here in Mediacorp.
For the first three months, he kept telling me everyday that if the sales revenue fell below estimates, I would be the one in trouble. I am a Product Development Manager. I am not in Sales or Programming (handling Producers and the like). How can I be held responsible for sales numbers reducing? I accept my share of the blame, along with every member of NPP, NRP and the management for the reduced sales numbers. But building fear in me and saying that NRP will target me for their poor sales numbers is ridiculous.
Earlier in February, he forbade me from going for breakfast to the canteen after the daily 8.30am meeting, saying that I was wasting time. My breakfasts usually took only 5 minutes. He also asked me to cease using the msn messenger service in office – saying that if I use it, then everyone will follow suit. Everybody I know at Mediacorp communicates via msn messenger.
Every proposal I create needs a minimum of a week’s iterations… because it did not match his idea of a proposal. He says that a proposal should close the deal. And that my proposals lack creativity. If proposals could close deals, why hire a sales force?
He constantly Flip-flops on what he says. If I tell him that I reckon a proposal should be worded in a particular way – he asks me ‘Who has been in Advertising and Media longer? You or Me?’
Woon has said the following on a few occasions:
‘Can you use your brains?’. ‘Do you have brains?’
‘Can you write this way? Are you capable of writing this way? I don’t think so. This can’t be your writing. This is certainly plagiarized’.
Certainly, he does not want to work with me.
I accepted a job at Mediacorp after my MBA program so that I could understand and contribute to the Media environment in Singapore and South East Asia. Accepting a job at Mediacorp and staying back in Singapore was not a short term plan for me.
I sincerely hope to continue working at Mediacorp, but request to be transferred to a different division – one that suits my past experience, my new learning and obviously, my interest.
Thank you
Arun Nair
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In case you meet this dumb-fuck somewhere, you know what to do to him. If this had happened to me in India...
a) I wouldn't have waited more than a fortnight with this asshole
b) I would have beaten the shit out of him, smashed his car and pissed on his car-seats.
c) He fancies himself as a champion golfer (with a 46" waist). Maybe I'd club his skull or his favourite hole.
