My name is Gana

  I had been working in the Department for a long time and had earned the reputation as an officer with a clean record. I was naturally inquisitive. One day while driving along a lonely road near     Paloh,     Johor I saw a strange sight - an Indian man and what seemed to be the wife working on a piece of land. I alighted from my car and headed in the direction of the couple to inquire what they were doing in this isolated part of the country.     The man answered that they were farmers and had leased the land    from the landowner to grow cash crops. I wished them well and went along my way. Two days    later when I returned home from work a strange sight met me. A male chicken and a female chicken were tied to my gate. I inquired from my    neighbors but none was able to unravel the mystery. I untied the strings attached to the chickens and shooed them away.They ran off for dear life like headless chicken. When I report...

In the course of my work I came into contact with an assortment of estate managers of various races. In the early days after Merdeka the Government introduced the Malayanisation scheme where non citizens in management positions were to be phased out on expiration of their work permits. There was one particular expatriate from England who earned the wrath of the Asian managers. He was a tough task master and allegedly bullied the younger Asian    managers whose performance was not up to mark. Every manager who came to my office for some official work would complain of this arrogant expatriate manager. I had not seen this particular manager before though I had heard of him as a tough task master. There arose an occasion for that particular expatriate to call at my office when one of his employees was dismissed and filed a claim for wages in lieu of notice which the manager dismissed. Usually when an estate worker files a claim at the Employment Office, the employers organization...

  A rubber tapper came to the office to complain his employer had not granted him his annual leave and public holiday pay for the 10 years he had been employed by the employer at his rubber small holding. When the employer was called to the Office he denied the employee was denied Public Holidays and annual leave. A date for the hearing was set and both parties were notified to bring any witnesses they may have and other proof that can support their stand.  On the date of conciliation the employer brought some tattered forms as exhibits and his headman to support his case. The workman did not have any documents to champion his case but brought his wife as a witness. She was not helpful as she was a housewife and did not understand the difference between annual leave, rest days and Public Holidays. All she could explain was that the husband stayed home on rainy days and that he does stay home on some days.She was not able to confirm they were annual leave or public holidays....

  A Sikh gentleman was engaged by a tin mine as a watchman. When I inquired about his working hours the watchman informed that it was a 24 hour job.  It was his habit to bring his beddings comprising     of a wooden and choir bed     but after a while he used to park his bed in the store room of the mine. This practice was observed by most of the workers safe for the supervisory staff. The senior supervisors and other representatives of the employer had not bothered about him as he was insignificant and invisible. He was not even on the payroll being paid by petty cash at the end of the month by the mine clerk. There were no records of payment as he was deemed a non employee. One day after payday the employees decided to have a party. The watchman was naturally invited. He had one drink too many being encouraged by his buddies. He decided that he had too many drinks and wobbled his way to the adjoining building to take out his beddings. However he was too d...

  It was 1974. My posting to Alor Setar presented me with the opportunity to increase my circle of friends. I met many new friends who had never stepped out of Alor Setar.  One of them was D. S.     Maniam who passed away just recently, he was a gem of a person who would assist any new comers to Alor Setar. I was in a new place with plenty of time at my disposal. My  many new friends gave me an insight into community problems which appeared to skip the attention of the locals.  After work we     used to assemble at a hockey field to watch a handful of guys playing hockey. The field had been given to the Kedah Indian Association for the local Indian community for recreational purposes by the Colonial Administration.  The  Association was a legacy from the British Administrators who felt each community should have their own recreation facilities that will prevent them from from fighting with each other. Likewise the Malay  Community h...

Working  at the Post Office, I had the good fortune of meeting other government servants working in Sitiawan at the the same time. They were helpful guys and introduced me to a local Indian restaurant which provided me with 5 meals a day, including tea breaks at 10.00    in the morning and another at 3.00pm. All this for $40.00 a month. After paying for my meals and a contribution of $50.00 to my family in Ipoh; I was left with $10.00 for my entire month’s expenditure.  Another friend from Ipoh said he was living with a few bachelors at a disused Hospital ward located on the fringes of the town and said he had discussed my move to a vacant room at the Hospital ward and the other inmates did not have any objections and so I moved into the vacant room where I did nor have to pay any rent except my share for payment for utilities.      The job I had was a temporary job until confirmed by the Public Services Department. But before I was confirmed I had app...

  I come from humble beginnings and t he circumstances at home did not provide an easy time for me and my siblings.  We had to work to supplement the family income while schooling. My elder brother  who my siblings and nephews and nieces called “Naina” had to seek employment when he was in Standard 6. He started off as  a handy man and later  was offered the job of an Assistant in a bar at an army camp. To his credit he never consumed liquor though I must say there were opportunities while working among those who patronised the establishment. He got this job through the recommendation of a friend who was our age with circumstances similar to ours.     My younger brother was a parking attendant for a contractor who obtained a contract to manage the cycle park at the Central Market.  I had a flair for English and did not have to seek employment at a bar -  while in Form one I was able to provide English lessons for working adults at a Commercia...

In the early years the armed forces were short of hands and they wanted a wide selection of candidates. They used to send out invitations for interviews and provided candidates with travel warrants and a small allowance for meals. I was one of those who availed of this opportunity.  So every time vacancies were advertised in the newspapers, I would apply for these jobs and enjoy a free train ride, to see my brother and other friends who had found     employment in Kuala Lumpur. At these     interviews I would fare badly. It was not difficult as the interviews involved physical tests like running a mile in sweltering heat. In the afternoon all the failed candidates would be called to the Warrant Officers room, offered condolences on our failure to secure employment and provided with     a railway warrant each   and some meal allowance, and got sent to the Railway Station by an army truck. From the conversations of the failed candidates in the truck...

One of my earliest cases was involving a Chinese employer and an Indian employee. There were two versions of the story, one by the employer and the other by the employee. To break the monotony of arguments the employer asked if the claimant was prepared to slaughter the head of a white cockerel. The employee had no qualms as he did not believe this superstition. I adjourned the case for two hours to enable the employer to fetch a white cockerel. After two hours the employer came with a white cockerel under his armpit. We adjourned to the garage of the Labor Department Kluang. The legs of the cockerel was bound by a string. He handed it to the worker with a knife, told him to swear what he says is the truth and cut the cockerel’s head. The worker dutifully did what he was told and the employer handed the worker what he claimed and the case was settled. The employee asked if he could take the cockerel home but the employer refused saying it was “pantang.’ We had no doubt the chicken end...