In TRS, anything to do with PRCs will sure get a lot of Facebook likes.
Why is it that PRCs are PMET?
Pampered, Mediocre, Expensive (esp. when Singapore gives them scholarships) and Troublemakers?
Ever since Sun Xu incident who called Singaporeans dogs and Wang Pengfei making a mockery on Youtube, I wondered why we hate them so much.
Let's trace back to the roots.
I thought I should have a good impression of them, since our Prime Minister Lee Kwan Yew keeps waxing lyrical of them and told Singaporeans to buck up as the PRCs are very hungry to learn and hardworking. When ROC Taiwan and PRC quarrelled in 1990s, Mr Lee Kwan Yew also played diplomatic role and tried to get them to talk on peaceful terms again.
I also watched and read many swordfighting novels from Chinese writers such as Jin Yong and I thought, they really must be worthy reliable descendants of dragons to come to Singapore.
Around 1994 and 1995, Singapore had begun to import PRCs in masses especially the engineers, scientists and construction workers.
However, my impression changed in 1995.
I remember that there was a time in 1995, I was first exposed to PRC and their rude, obnoxious, self-centred behaviour.
At that time, I was working as a temporary librarian after my O levels at Jurong West Community Library. It was located at Jurong Point Shopping Centre Level 4.
On one occasion, I was shelving books in the Chinese collection section. A pair of PRC construction workers had come to browse through some books on the shelves and shouted loudly in Chinese to each other that this library has nothing to offer them to read due to the small collection in Chinese literature.
My librarian colleague who was also nearby later told me in the office that PRCs talking loudly is their normal tone of conversation. She also said that she doesn't trust them after an incident when she caught one PRC trying to smuggle a book out by hiding it in a hidden pocket of his backpack. When the alarm rang at the gate, the PRC pretended not to know.
Then a month later, we organised a storytelling session to children and a PRC couple wanted to attend the session for their child. They demanded that the storytelling session be told in Chinese as they may not understand English that well. When I told them there could be Malays and Indians who may not understand Chinese, they rebutted and said that majority of Singaporeans are Chinese, so we should cater to their request!
I remember that I couldn't believe what I was hearing! What shame they have!
I firmly rebutted them that if they don't feel comfortable, they should go back to China and said that when my father was in Germany working, he also had to adapt and learn German even though Germans can speak English. Enough said!
When I told them librarian colleague about this, she said, "PRCs are Communists at heart. You will know when you meet a Communist." This librarian colleague was a history major so there must be some truth to it when she said Communism may bring out the bad in all of us.
I didn't really understand what she meant back then but then, I had an opportunity to meet a Communist boss in 2010.
I endured her for 5 months before I had to quit without a job as many of us cannot tolerate her militant Communist terror training methods.
She will install CCTVs all over our office to monitor our movements. Being the Head of IT, she will have access to all our emails and will go to the server room to read our emails on a weekly basis to make sure that nobody bad-mouths her in email.
She also had a monthly appraisal system for us and nothing good is ever written in our appraisal. Trivial things like "forgetting to cover our mouths when coughing", "late for 4 minutes for work" and "late for 5 minutes from lunch" will be written all over our appraisals.
During meetings, she will talk 90% of the time and expect us to adhere strictly to her orders.
It brought out the worst in me when I worked with her. Gradually, I was also affected by her rude selfish dictator-style behaviour. For example, when I sat on the Reserved Seat of the train, I would be thinking, "since I was being abused at work, being a good guy just doesn't pay. Might as well be a bitch to others and get rewarded."
During that time, I also pretended to fall asleep and not give up my seats to pregnant ladies.
See how it gradually changed me to being self-centred as well? I guess if I am in PRC's People Liberation Army, it would also make me self-centred, greedy and materialistic too.
Making personal attacks on us is also part of her hobby.
On the second last day of my workday with her, I had a rude shock of my life when she still had the ballsy testosterony ovaries to ask me, "Hmm, where are you going?"
At that time, she reminded me to start packing up my personal stuff and gingerly slid that question in.
She asked but in that question, she looked like she had an adrenaline rush and was foaming in her mouth.
Like there was a hidden agenda in that question. Did she even think I would tell her the truth and that she would take the opportunity to write to my future employer to bad-mouth me again?
"Oh. I am going to Ministry of Trade and Industry." I lied shamelessly straight-out to her face without batting my eyelids.
Initially, I would have qualms about lying because after all, Ministry of Trade and Industry would only accept those with first class honours and high flyers. I had none to boast. It would take a fool to believe what I just said. She would be a fool to even believe I can make it to that organisation.
The next day, as one would expect, she could not contain herself and made did a final round of smear campaign on my reputation. I had to surrender my drawer keys to her and due to the keys that were protruding out, it was bent slightly. I had to pass the pedestal drawers when I enter and exit the room. There were a few times my thigh brushed against the pedestal drawer keys and it was bent slightly to the left.
She, in her usual mean rotten-egg-spirit self, saw the bent keys and exclaimed, "Hey. It's
bent", probably hinting that I need to replace it or pay for it or maybe in the back of her crazy stunts, pay for the entire pedestal drawer. I took the key from her sight and used a screwdriver head and hammered it a few times until it was straighten up. It was still ok as it was able to turn and lock the drawers. But alas, there were
still bent marks seen on the key itself.
"Trust YOU to do a good job in MTI!" She reluctantly accepted the key and snatched it away, "Make sure you don't crash Singapore's economy!"
I remember when I left, my other colleague / friend wanted to shake my hand to wish me good luck. I remember I pushed him away and told him to "Fuck off" as I was in a bad mood.
See the extent of collateral damage I am capable of causing? I also spread negativity to my allies!
It doesn't take much to understand why PRCs are capable of being PMETs and their presence will only make us to be self-centred, materialistic and greedy as well.
CJ
TRS Contributor