[h=1]AN INTERVIEW WITH BLOGGER ROY NGERNG WHO IS NOW A PART-TIME CLEANER[/h]
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Post date:
13 Jul 2014 - 2:25pm
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After yesterday’s CPF protest at Speakers’ Corner, the thought came that perhaps I should do an interview with Roy Ngerng.
Roy,
Q. You took on a job as a cleaner?
A. Oh, not now. I took on the job as a cleaner for the first two weeks after I was asked to leave from my previous job.
Q. Why did you stop being a part-time cleaner?
A. The cleaning auntie had returned after her leave.
Q. Why did you decide to be a cleaner?
A. I had a friend who asked if I knew of anyone who could work as a cleaner. I volunteered as it was a job opportunity and I had also thought that with this break, it was an opportunity for me to learn new things and to take on new challenges. Actually, to me, all jobs have their value. I have thought of being a waiter, for example, because I could see how people on their jobs do enjoy what they are doing and do it well. Similarly, when I started working as a cleaner, I learnt that it is a job that also requires commitment and care to do properly – do the job well. You could see the cleaning auntie before me put a lot of effort into her job and you wanted to make sure that you also meet her expectations and left the toilet as clean as she did! When I was working as a cleaner, it was actually physically tiring. My back was aching everyday. Even now, it is still aching because of the after effects. So, I am not sure if I think our elderly Singaporeans should be working as cleaners or as odd-job labourers. I also do not agree that our cleaners, or security guards etc, should be earning such low pay, because only after you go through working as a cleaner, do you understand that to do your job well, it requires effort and a different set of skills, but equally important. It is still a skill-based job. So, every job needs skills. Every job is a job for a skilled worker. I think our government needs to understand this and ensure that we pay our workers well, and allow our older Singaporeans to earn enough to retire so that they don’t have to take on menial jobs. And even if they want to work, I question if they should be taking on menial jobs
Q. How much was your pay as a cleaner?
A. I was working for $20 for 4 hours
Q. How many days a week?
A. I had to work 6 days in a week. I understand that my pay as a cleaner was actually more reasonable than the typical wage of a cleaner. I know of cleaners where the average work hours is at least 12 hours a day, for six days a week, on $1,000 a month. Imagine if we allow our elderly Singaporeans to be working as cleaners for half a day, for not only during their elder years, but for the many years since they started working as a cleaner. It is physically demanding. At this point, where Singapore has one of the highest GDP per capita in the world, I really question if this is the way we should treat our elderly. Also, for a society which has advanced so far economically, should we still pay our workers so low wages as cleaners – wages haven’t grown for the past twenty years – when the jobs they do are valuable and committed jobs as well.
Q. What is your typical day like now?
A. When I wake up in the morning, I catch up on the news, to read about what’s going on in the world. I will then take some time to do my research and to write articles. Last week, parliament sat, so I attended parliament to observe what was going and to check on the government. I am also writing a joint paper for an academic presentation and have been spending time researching and writing the paper up. In the evening, I help up at my dad’s carrot cake stall in Ang Mo Kio. There are people who come down to the stall to meet me, sometimes to share about their problems, or to discuss societal and political issues with me.
Q: You live in Ang Mo Kio?
A. I live in Sembawang with my parents now. We used to live in Ang Mo Kio in a 2-room HDB rental flat before we moved to the 4-room flat in Sembawang.
Q. What else have you been doing?
A. I have also been looking at and studying what is broadly going on in Singapore, how the CPF affects the broad society, how it is linked to HDB, healthcare etc, and writing articles on that so that Singaporeans have a better understanding as to what is going on in Singapore, on a macro level. I think this is important, so that when we are able to have a broader understanding of Singapore, and also on the micro issues, will we be able to engage these issues and policy matters more closely, and be able to make informed decisions and give feedback on what solutions need to be done in Singapore.
Q. Some Singaporeans living in Sydney have suggested that you go to Sydney to speak to them. What is your response to them?
A. I think it will be a good opportunity to meet Singaporeans who are overseas and who are still connected to home to find out how their lives have been, and how it is different from Singapore. It would be a good experience to learn from them how the systems in the countries that they currently live in now are like, and what Singapore can learn from. I have heard feedback from Singaporeans in Japan and Australia, for example, who have been sharing on what we can learn. However, at this point, my finances are quite tight, so I might not be able to so readily travel overseas. Maybe when I am able to get a regular income, I would be able to do so!
Q: How has your life changed since you stopped working? You talked about some of this at the protest?
A: When I lost my job, I had to rely on my savings to survive. So, I had to be careful with how I am spending now. Now, when I buy food, I actually look at the prices first before deciding what to eat. In the past, you felt that you had more choices and could choose something that you might feel like eating on that day. But now, I will actually buy the cheapest food. The other day, I felt a sharp pain in my stomach in the middle of the night. If I still had a job, I could have gone to the hospital to seek emergency help. But that night, I actually laid on my bed and started trying to do mental calculations of how much it would cost to go to the hospital. In the end, I felt that it would be too expensive to go to the hospital as it might cost a few hundred dollars, so I laid in bed, waiting for the pain to go away.
Q. My schoolmate who is a psychiatrist has offered free consultation for you as he says you must be very stressed.
A. Wow, it’s free? Lol. I am actually doing well for now and I am taking things positively. So far, I believe that when you do what is right, and your conscience is clear, there is nothing to fear. I am not sure what to expect or what the consequences might be but I am going to stay strong, stay positive, and continue to stay true to myself. That is what I can do for now. I do hope for an outcome that will be good for all, but otherwise, I hope that things can change for the better for Singapore and Singaporeans.
Leong Sze Hian
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Post date:
13 Jul 2014 - 2:25pm
<ins style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: currentColor; width: 336px; height: 280px; display: inline-table; visibility: visible; position: relative; background-color: transparent; border-image: none;"><ins id="aswift_1_anchor" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: currentColor; width: 336px; height: 280px; display: block; visibility: visible; position: relative; background-color: transparent; border-image: none;"><iframe name="aswift_1" width="336" height="280" id="aswift_1" frameBorder="0" marginWidth="0" marginHeight="0" scrolling="no" vspace="0" hspace="0" allowfullscreen="true" style="left: 0px; top: 0px; position: absolute;" allowTransparency="true"></iframe></ins></ins>
After yesterday’s CPF protest at Speakers’ Corner, the thought came that perhaps I should do an interview with Roy Ngerng.
Roy,
Q. You took on a job as a cleaner?
A. Oh, not now. I took on the job as a cleaner for the first two weeks after I was asked to leave from my previous job.
Q. Why did you stop being a part-time cleaner?
A. The cleaning auntie had returned after her leave.
Q. Why did you decide to be a cleaner?
A. I had a friend who asked if I knew of anyone who could work as a cleaner. I volunteered as it was a job opportunity and I had also thought that with this break, it was an opportunity for me to learn new things and to take on new challenges. Actually, to me, all jobs have their value. I have thought of being a waiter, for example, because I could see how people on their jobs do enjoy what they are doing and do it well. Similarly, when I started working as a cleaner, I learnt that it is a job that also requires commitment and care to do properly – do the job well. You could see the cleaning auntie before me put a lot of effort into her job and you wanted to make sure that you also meet her expectations and left the toilet as clean as she did! When I was working as a cleaner, it was actually physically tiring. My back was aching everyday. Even now, it is still aching because of the after effects. So, I am not sure if I think our elderly Singaporeans should be working as cleaners or as odd-job labourers. I also do not agree that our cleaners, or security guards etc, should be earning such low pay, because only after you go through working as a cleaner, do you understand that to do your job well, it requires effort and a different set of skills, but equally important. It is still a skill-based job. So, every job needs skills. Every job is a job for a skilled worker. I think our government needs to understand this and ensure that we pay our workers well, and allow our older Singaporeans to earn enough to retire so that they don’t have to take on menial jobs. And even if they want to work, I question if they should be taking on menial jobs
Q. How much was your pay as a cleaner?
A. I was working for $20 for 4 hours
Q. How many days a week?
A. I had to work 6 days in a week. I understand that my pay as a cleaner was actually more reasonable than the typical wage of a cleaner. I know of cleaners where the average work hours is at least 12 hours a day, for six days a week, on $1,000 a month. Imagine if we allow our elderly Singaporeans to be working as cleaners for half a day, for not only during their elder years, but for the many years since they started working as a cleaner. It is physically demanding. At this point, where Singapore has one of the highest GDP per capita in the world, I really question if this is the way we should treat our elderly. Also, for a society which has advanced so far economically, should we still pay our workers so low wages as cleaners – wages haven’t grown for the past twenty years – when the jobs they do are valuable and committed jobs as well.
Q. What is your typical day like now?
A. When I wake up in the morning, I catch up on the news, to read about what’s going on in the world. I will then take some time to do my research and to write articles. Last week, parliament sat, so I attended parliament to observe what was going and to check on the government. I am also writing a joint paper for an academic presentation and have been spending time researching and writing the paper up. In the evening, I help up at my dad’s carrot cake stall in Ang Mo Kio. There are people who come down to the stall to meet me, sometimes to share about their problems, or to discuss societal and political issues with me.
Q: You live in Ang Mo Kio?
A. I live in Sembawang with my parents now. We used to live in Ang Mo Kio in a 2-room HDB rental flat before we moved to the 4-room flat in Sembawang.
Q. What else have you been doing?
A. I have also been looking at and studying what is broadly going on in Singapore, how the CPF affects the broad society, how it is linked to HDB, healthcare etc, and writing articles on that so that Singaporeans have a better understanding as to what is going on in Singapore, on a macro level. I think this is important, so that when we are able to have a broader understanding of Singapore, and also on the micro issues, will we be able to engage these issues and policy matters more closely, and be able to make informed decisions and give feedback on what solutions need to be done in Singapore.
Q. Some Singaporeans living in Sydney have suggested that you go to Sydney to speak to them. What is your response to them?
A. I think it will be a good opportunity to meet Singaporeans who are overseas and who are still connected to home to find out how their lives have been, and how it is different from Singapore. It would be a good experience to learn from them how the systems in the countries that they currently live in now are like, and what Singapore can learn from. I have heard feedback from Singaporeans in Japan and Australia, for example, who have been sharing on what we can learn. However, at this point, my finances are quite tight, so I might not be able to so readily travel overseas. Maybe when I am able to get a regular income, I would be able to do so!
Q: How has your life changed since you stopped working? You talked about some of this at the protest?
A: When I lost my job, I had to rely on my savings to survive. So, I had to be careful with how I am spending now. Now, when I buy food, I actually look at the prices first before deciding what to eat. In the past, you felt that you had more choices and could choose something that you might feel like eating on that day. But now, I will actually buy the cheapest food. The other day, I felt a sharp pain in my stomach in the middle of the night. If I still had a job, I could have gone to the hospital to seek emergency help. But that night, I actually laid on my bed and started trying to do mental calculations of how much it would cost to go to the hospital. In the end, I felt that it would be too expensive to go to the hospital as it might cost a few hundred dollars, so I laid in bed, waiting for the pain to go away.
Q. My schoolmate who is a psychiatrist has offered free consultation for you as he says you must be very stressed.
A. Wow, it’s free? Lol. I am actually doing well for now and I am taking things positively. So far, I believe that when you do what is right, and your conscience is clear, there is nothing to fear. I am not sure what to expect or what the consequences might be but I am going to stay strong, stay positive, and continue to stay true to myself. That is what I can do for now. I do hope for an outcome that will be good for all, but otherwise, I hope that things can change for the better for Singapore and Singaporeans.
Leong Sze Hian
