Dead Man'Tales Chapter 7 Talking About Those Staffs Under Me On All Plantations I had managed

I had always condemned most of the Bosses I had worked  for.Now will the other way around be just as bad or even better.Now,I relate you all be my judge.

To boss around others was actually an extremely not easy as can be.To begin with I rose from the rank and file from one company then flew around for promotion after promotion.To be frank I was never meant to be some one very bossy.

Ever since schooling days I was never a leader.Was never given the opportunity to be a class monitor and worst even a school prefect.I was at the bottom rank in most of the classes I had been to.So no out standing achievements  whatsoever.My small statue does even give me a chance to either be  a tiny captain of any team which I was  involved.I got no good credential to show.

 I had a low profile and could not boast about it.I had stage fright and never good as a speaker.In fact I could not speak well in front of every body.I never shone out as a scout or even in church.Whatever it be even with my small size and unimpressive look  I still had the courage to go after a girl I once fell in love with at sixteen.Of course,the outcome  was disastrous with my small outlook and not smart character I was sadly told to get lost.

Coming from a poor family was no shame as I joined planting as soon as I left school after competing form five.My initial motive were to secure a job  first then worked my way up.The planting came in handy as jobs those days were scared.True,I was an estate boy but that does not qualify me to anything.I knew nothing about rubber accept that my mother used to be a rubber tapper and I do helped out during school holidays by cleaning latex cups.

I was a no good then roaming the street deep into the night and still went to school as normal in the early mornings.As I teenager I mixed freely with all .gangsters or no gangsters,good or bad should they liked to be my friends I was their's.In fact at one time I turned real bad.I had a gang of foursome buddies.I think we were quite notorious then and fearsome too as no one dared challenged us to any fight,let alone stared at our directions.

Of course I only turned real bad after I was rejected by the one I truely loved.Realizing that was not going to lead me any nearer towards her I gave up immediately as soon as I got a job and left for it.Outwardly I was bad but in fact I was not - so turning over a new leaf was no big deal.Mind you I was a marked man all the while by the police who had tagged me as notorious and dangerous 

As  a junior planter I had no direct contact with most of the staffs or shall I say no control over them.All had to follow instructions. from the Manager.So I just adhere to as per instruction nothing more noting less.In that my experience with handling them were not that effective.Many a times I ended up being frustrated for many failed to follow me.

Should I reprimand them there was always the Manager who would listened to both parties before any actions instituted.What a mess that would had ended up.Nevertheless having to go through him could had me in the wrong.Even it were for  me the prolonging of the case would have bad consequences on me.Should they follow those instructions given would then be stale.So no point continuing,some thing elsemight had developed.

 Being a junior it was always like that because the power was not installed in you,you just  simply had to follow  instructions,right or wrong.No two way about it.You have to develop your experiences as you grow with your position.So in the initial few years I just had to follow instruction and worked hard.The difference between being employed in an Asian owned  plantation and those of the European were different.In that we had to work honestly hard and no hanky panky.

I repeated my school certificate examination as a private candidate and got through after a second attempt.No big deal really as I had only to pass my English paper that .With that I was able to apply to more established company.That was after I was employed in the Chinese owned plantation for six and a half years. 

I was so elated when  I first successful with my application with Guthrie's.I had high esteem of that prestigious Company before,but how awfully wrong I was?. One had to be in it to discover the horrors dwelt within.No big deal really.I am writing from the hell I had been through and all the facts were the truth.Well,you are at liberty to disagree with me 

 It was a big led down for me in that Company.The stink there nearly forced me out of planting for good.It was hell from the very beginning.But I think that was to be the biggest lesson in my life for survival in my entire life.Had not been it I would not been so far from home.It was a lesson well acquired say what you may.'but that really pushed to the brink into comfort zone of success.It was a long long  tough journey which paid dearly at the end.So they said there is a rainbow always at the end.In there 

I had my first tastes of corruption at its best.I always thought Plantation Manager were hard working honest guys but not so or no where near it.Believe me one had to be involved within its core to understand what I am talking.Those "orang putih" Manager were the most corrupted in this world.Many of them made full used of their influences  and privileges   to extort as much as they could from whomsoever concerned.Whether Contractors or otherwise.

 When they made the poor Contractors to give them  treat before whenever they went on long leave .We the other staffs were roped in to enjoy some of the crumbs that fell off their tables.Such lavish dinners included going to the Cabarets to dance to the wee we hours.All the senior staffs were made to abide by that rule to enjoy ourselves to the fullest.All fully taken care of by th Contractors.

Here in Guthre's I actually learned never to rely or trust anyone on the staffs on all jobs important ,urgent or otherwise.I am not saying that some staffs were utterly no good.Even if they were reliable their daily job should be treated with extra care.Any minor over looking could land you into serious trouble.Sad to admit all these I acquire the hard way.

Stupid may it sounded but that was the truth.Initially I though that the junior staffs like the Senior conductor would be to assist you where ever possible but not so. Many were so dumped that they simply followed instructions blindly ignoring the fact that there was always a Manager around to check on all instructions given.hen an instruction was given it was always expected he followed it  strictly.It was expected of him to look into it personally because me as Assistant had other job to attend first.

My conductor  just issued another instruction to an odd job worker.When a worker was requested to do  a job he just simply do it.Doing it right or wrong does not bother him.And that was happened,the worker completed the job on his own in the field in the absence of the conductor.

Unfortunately the Manager came in directly to inspect and  to his dismay found it not done accordingly.Getting mad he shouted abusively swearing  - not at the worker, no,- not even the conductor.He shouted abusively with vulgar  words on the Assistant in the presence of the stunk worker..The Assistant was actually  attending to so other job in another field .

The mad Manager did allow the Assistant to explain or allowed to defend himself. and so a bad mark was bestowed on his records. so where were the fairness?.There was nothing I could do to the staff not even a warning.I therefore had to absolve all myself.The Manager had been bias to me through out my stay.To me it  was three months of hell under him the other months he was on leave .I was victimized for the slightest mistakes and made a laughing stock by him and his cronies.I think many of my so called mistakes were circulated in that Company as  jokes.How cruel people can be I tell you.

I had served for him for only three miserable months yet given an extremely adverse report from from him for my entire probation of six months.The  "orang putih" demoted me to the cadet training Centre where I was supposed to undergo training under  a Manager who walked like a duck.A Nair.Likewise this duck showed his displeasure with me from  the very beginning.In any case I never learn anything from him.Oh maybe his "Catherine",s wheel.Anyway what can you learned from some one who had been nothing but a chief clerk. 

As I said before I always had high regards for this prestigious Company but once in it I can spilt at it and condemn it till the hell come.It was never what I had believed in.On the out side apparently an extremely high esteem Company to work in.In reality it was never so.Everything were so bias and unfair from the start.There were split in to  cliques so you are either within them or out you go.For me a new man was neither so when in trouble out I went away without any sympathy from any where.I learned of them just to late 

While at the Training Centre,I mixed freely with the others hoping for the best.Admittedly it took alot of courage of me to survive with them.But then loser  was no chooser so I had to   bit my lips and went on.It weax difficult to pretend that you were indeed stupid.Keep a keen eye over what were transpiring among us that I discovered the real truth at the training Centre.

Unbelievable there appeared to be keys (duplicates) to the Training Manager and safe.I have reason to believe that these were inherited from earlier batches of cadets.That were the reasons why certain cadets were acclaimed as so smart some real stupid.The smart ones apparently had the keys.(n any case with such a Training Manager what could be expected of Him?So bias a Manager.

My case was totally different as I was an out cast from the very beginning.All had expected me to leave peacefully on my own.It was their racket.This were so the white Manager had no high regards of Chinese trained assistants who ever he be.Agreed I do not speak as fluently as they initially.I may not have spoken as fluently as they but I was more honest than them.Right?He should be sacked not demoting me.How awful?What a stinking world we lived in?.

On leaving Guthrie's I next joined another small plantation as its Manager.Thata was Ulu Selangor Estate,Kuala Kubu Bahru,Selangor.It had an acreages of slightly over one thousand .I inherited a Senior Conductor from the past management.Not much were expected of him as he was the son of my predecessor.THe whole estate were ran on contract and worst of all the Boss had full confidence on him.After six months I made it a point that it ought to be me or him to b in full control.The Boss excepted him so I was forced to leave.

During my tenure there I met a couple of good friends.As I was only there for a short period nothing much transpired between them and me.Actually I could had made used of my position  to make something out of my stay but I did not take advantage of that.So I left everything as it was.

In K.C.Cheah Sawmill too I had no control over the staffs>I could had remained there had not been the in fighting among staffs many of which were related to me or somehow.However none of them could have touched me or anything else.See,I had my pride and I want to  be more independent of all connections.It was no point fighting with people whom I know for promotion etc.I rather worked my way up.In any case my blood were for planting never sawmilling 

I was then a married man and had a family to think of.So I applied to returned to planting..The "white men"plantation had no room for me but fortunately I am a Chinese.Chinese planters are welcome to Chinese owned concerned.So within a short time I was successful with my application.These people had no respect for the "orang putih" and were pleased with my credentials although scaled by the "orang putih".

So I joined St.Andrew Estate,Batng Berjuntai,Selangor in October 1970.Initially I had to work under a young upstart who knew nothing about plantations. Any way his diminishing were simple and quick because he showed his stupidity within a month or so and was sacked with immediate effect.Thereafter I took over.

There were only two staffs under me then.A clerk and a Senior Conductor.The clerk was a haf baked nut from Penang while the Conductor was the son of one of the Bosses.The clerk could not assist me much except looking after the accounts and the Conductor knew nothing except weighing latex and rubber.Lazy in field work ,so I had to rely on my own initiatives or the "kanganies",

.All the "kanganies "were local head men.All allotted to their own jobs.Any way I recruited a junior conductor within a short period.It was difficult to find one so I just took anything that came along.It proved futile as that did not worked well,because these young men could not stand the pressure of having me running after them all the time.So it did not take long for him to abscond from us.

I tried out another few and it ended  just it were..There were two brothers believe me one after the other became insane on account of me Maybe I was too harsh on them.Cannot help it because I had learned things the hard,hard way.So I just had to be sure all instructions were adhered to as closely as possible.There was no time to relax and sleep.

Later I recruited my own  cousin to work as a conductor and it was through  plenty of hard work plus pressure that he finally made a grade of himself.He learned well from me after a couple of years.  Today he could worked independently on his own.Well in fact he is in charged of a plantation of reasonable size, not an "orang putih" one but Chinese owned.There were others I trained but they never made the grade.Guess I was a very difficult man to serve under.

When I was Manager of  Sri Jaya Oil Palm Estate,Sri Jaya,Pahang ,I inherited an Assistant Manager who began his career a few years ago in that estate and three conductors.I also had a store-keeper plus a junior clerk.Except for the Assistant allthe staffs were Malays.

Anyway the staffs were not to my expectations.The Assistant knew only the estate well.His job to me was just below average.He never had any respect of me either by his attitude from the beginning till his departure a couple years later.Faced with such I had to work doubly harder.To begin with I had to talk to all the staffs daily to enquiry about their activities daily..Should I dislike their work I would re-direct them as to what I wanted from them.That helped a lot. 

The Assistant I allowed him as he was and watched him from afarThis being so because I doubted his sincerity towards me.Since he was such I might as well ignore him completely.Allowed him to moved around freely around the fields as well as those Contractors.Should  the Contractors misbehaved as him then I will know how to due with them.The move paid off as most were aware of my intentions.Those abiding by my rules survived failing which perished

 I had no fear for the Assistant as he was  never within the god books of the Boss so were all the Contractors.With me gaining a better foot hold in the plantation all silently had to accept that I was there to stay.So no play,play. 

There were some people whom i promoted but useless they tried to deceived me.But to no avail as my position was solid as a rock with the Boss.At two of them tried to usurp me but similarly was rejected by me for good.There was one good one I recruited but he inturn left for a better paid position.So it was difficult to recruit good assistants and in need I promoted conductors whom I can trusted to fill those position far off. and it paid off handsomely.

These people with lesser education dare not tried to be funny and very obedient.All instructions were strictly adhered to plus I need not pay that high wages.Well,if required I simply increased their payments slightly to encouraged them.That worked well.The Boss accepted my plan well because al;l he wanted were trustworthy staffs who followed instructions.

In my care were two other smaller plantations.All fully converted Oil Palm by me.By promoting junior staffs to be in charged of them proved fruitful and well met the Boss approvals.So how can the Boss not like me.Other than them I also had high regards for most of my "kapalas" and "kanganies".These people were actually assets to me and with them I had full control of every where.So don't play play with me..