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Retrenched accountant sets his sights on IR and Macau
SECURITY guard Johnny Tan takes to work every night a copy of The Business Times and an exercise book.
He flips through the newspaper during his two-hour break, scans the stock market pages and jots down in his book how his investments are faring.
Analysing the stock market reports is a daily ritual for the 51-year-old, who was an accountant and an auditor for 20 years until he was retrenched in December 2005.
He was then earning about $5,000 a month at a listed garment manufacturing company, and had even spent two years in Cambodia helping his company set up a business.
The sudden loss of income was a big strain, but he was more overwhelmed by the circumstances that led to his retrenchment.
'It was office politics. I was a victim of back-stabbing by a colleague.'
He adds: 'I went into depression.'
He was put on medication for more than a year and the drugs caused him to sleep for most of the day.
'I would wake up for lunch or dinner. I would watch TV or listen to music.
'Once you are in depression, you prefer not to go out. You do not have the mood for anything.'
A divorcee, he recalls struggling with loneliness: 'Your friends or relatives tend to stay away when they know you are in depression or have been retrenched.
'They will avoid you because they fear you will ask for financial help.'
The exceptions were two cousins who would take him out and listen to his woes.
'Slowly, my frustrations just washed out of my mind,' he says.
The turning point came in 2007, when he met a woman from China. She works in Zhuhai, a city in southern Guangdong province.
To be near her, he went to nearby Macau in August 2007, hoping to land an accounts job at a Las Vegas Sands casino.
He failed, and blames his inability to speak fluent Cantonese for it.
Back in Singapore, he lived on $1,400 a month, which he earned doing freelance accounting work.
Four months later, he became a security guard, earning about $1,600 a month, manning the night shift at Singapore Management University.
The plunge in pay was made worse by the fact that he had suffered a hefty loss during the stock market crash in 2000, following the dot.com bust.
He used to holiday abroad twice a year, visiting countries like Indonesia and China and spending at least $1,000 on shopping each time.
Since he was laid off, 'the farthest I've gone is Johor Baru, apart from Macau in August 2007', he says.
'Since last year, I haven't left Singapore, not even to JB or Batam.'
He also no longer patronises his favourite Parkway Thai restaurant, where he used to eat every week.
He sold his three-room HDB flat in Bedok, and moved in with his aunt.
Adds Mr Tan: 'I used to save $1,000 a month. Now, I hardly have enough to save.'
However, he foresees his fortune changing soon.
Heeding the Government's call to make a career switch, he plans to move into the hospitality industry, possibly in front-line customer service.
To improve his chances, he attended a workshop last month at the Employment and Employability Institute (e2i), run by the National Trades Union Congress.
The free session for PMETs (professionals, managers, executives and technicians) is largely aimed at helping older executives who may be at a loss on how to find a job.
Mr Tan is now waiting to take a five-day Customer Service Professional course that will give him basic skills in providing good service. He has also signed up for a diploma course in tourism.
On Monday, he will return to e2i for a briefing and job interview by integrated resort Marina Bay Sands. It is run by Las Vegas Sands Corporation.
'Hopefully, I'll get in. Then in one or two years, I can settle in Macau. That's my final destination.'
SECURITY guard Johnny Tan takes to work every night a copy of The Business Times and an exercise book.
He flips through the newspaper during his two-hour break, scans the stock market pages and jots down in his book how his investments are faring.
Analysing the stock market reports is a daily ritual for the 51-year-old, who was an accountant and an auditor for 20 years until he was retrenched in December 2005.
He was then earning about $5,000 a month at a listed garment manufacturing company, and had even spent two years in Cambodia helping his company set up a business.
The sudden loss of income was a big strain, but he was more overwhelmed by the circumstances that led to his retrenchment.
'It was office politics. I was a victim of back-stabbing by a colleague.'
He adds: 'I went into depression.'
He was put on medication for more than a year and the drugs caused him to sleep for most of the day.
'I would wake up for lunch or dinner. I would watch TV or listen to music.
'Once you are in depression, you prefer not to go out. You do not have the mood for anything.'
A divorcee, he recalls struggling with loneliness: 'Your friends or relatives tend to stay away when they know you are in depression or have been retrenched.
'They will avoid you because they fear you will ask for financial help.'
The exceptions were two cousins who would take him out and listen to his woes.
'Slowly, my frustrations just washed out of my mind,' he says.
The turning point came in 2007, when he met a woman from China. She works in Zhuhai, a city in southern Guangdong province.
To be near her, he went to nearby Macau in August 2007, hoping to land an accounts job at a Las Vegas Sands casino.
He failed, and blames his inability to speak fluent Cantonese for it.
Back in Singapore, he lived on $1,400 a month, which he earned doing freelance accounting work.
Four months later, he became a security guard, earning about $1,600 a month, manning the night shift at Singapore Management University.
The plunge in pay was made worse by the fact that he had suffered a hefty loss during the stock market crash in 2000, following the dot.com bust.
He used to holiday abroad twice a year, visiting countries like Indonesia and China and spending at least $1,000 on shopping each time.
Since he was laid off, 'the farthest I've gone is Johor Baru, apart from Macau in August 2007', he says.
'Since last year, I haven't left Singapore, not even to JB or Batam.'
He also no longer patronises his favourite Parkway Thai restaurant, where he used to eat every week.
He sold his three-room HDB flat in Bedok, and moved in with his aunt.
Adds Mr Tan: 'I used to save $1,000 a month. Now, I hardly have enough to save.'
However, he foresees his fortune changing soon.
Heeding the Government's call to make a career switch, he plans to move into the hospitality industry, possibly in front-line customer service.
To improve his chances, he attended a workshop last month at the Employment and Employability Institute (e2i), run by the National Trades Union Congress.
The free session for PMETs (professionals, managers, executives and technicians) is largely aimed at helping older executives who may be at a loss on how to find a job.
Mr Tan is now waiting to take a five-day Customer Service Professional course that will give him basic skills in providing good service. He has also signed up for a diploma course in tourism.
On Monday, he will return to e2i for a briefing and job interview by integrated resort Marina Bay Sands. It is run by Las Vegas Sands Corporation.
'Hopefully, I'll get in. Then in one or two years, I can settle in Macau. That's my final destination.'
