Journal No. 2 (12th Week): The Civil Service Job

Mr See was awarded the prestigious President Scholarship thirty years ago to study engineering. On his return to Singapore, the government found him a job in the civil service where the remuneration was much higher than that of his contemporaries. On his first day at work, his boss told him to invite tenders for rice cookers for the uniformed group. At first, Mr See did not know what tender invitation was all about, and thought that it means putting up placards in the market place and let members of the public bid for the supply of rice cookers. Later on, he realized what tender invitation was all about, and he got down to work. Six months later he was bored and asked his boss what has calling tenders for rice cookers to do with engineering. His boss replied to him that it was an integral part of his engineering training. Another six months passed by, and he realized that his engineering training was nominal. He decided to break his bond and leave the civil service.