The Life of War
Dr Sing Kong Yuen, BVMS (Glasgow), MRCVS
Date:
17 April, 2011
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Be Kind To Pets
Veterinary Education
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"I want to sue Dr ...!"
the employment agent who could never control her demons in
her brain shouted over the phone. I had her to get a
replacement for Mr Saw who left at the expiry of his lease
on amicable terms last week. Mr Min started work for less
than a week and here I had this threat to sue my associate
vet because Mr Min could not get his regular break for
dinner during some busy days.
I had known her for more than 15 years and know that she
bears grudges and will tell me off whenever the anger
demons dominate her brain. She would rattle off her anger
over the handphone though I had told her to call me back
later. Her loud voice could be heard distinctly by my
friends in a car in Penang and during other inappropriate
occasions when she aired her complaints about work-related
problems. I could switch off the handphone as she would
not let me speak but I consider it better that her demons
get out of her brain through her big mouth and cool down.
However a threat to sue any my associate vets is not
tolerated by me at all. I said to Mr Min and the associate
vet at a meeting I convened: "When Khin Khin wants to sue
Dr ..., she is suing me as I own the practice. Dr ...has
no share in this practice. I will engage a lawyer to
defend any associate vet who is sued. Has she got a lot of
money to sue? Don't threaten to sue. Just sue."
I had advised my vet to ensure that Mr Min, the vet
assistant get his meal breaks. I said to Mr Min: "Khin
Khin does not respect older people. Maybe she thinks I am
old and stupid and therefore can shout at me. You have to
think for yourself as to what is good for you. If you
don't want to work at Toa Payoh Vets, have you got another
offer from another vet?
"Old people have gone through the life of war, meeting all
sort of nonsenses and people and suffering losses while
gaining experiences and wisdom," I said to both parties
who are at least 30 years younger than me. "They are a
valuable source of knowledge and I always respect people
older than me so that they can share their experiences
with me. Obviously if you have no respect for the seniors,
you can't expect them to share their experiences with you
so that you don't suffer losses.
"You will have to think for yourself as regards your need
to respect your employment agent. You had paid her the
money for her services. Do you want this job or not? Do
you have another employer waiting for you now? I have many
applicants from the Philippines asking for your job."
Mr Min wanted this job as he was practically unemployed in
Myanmar and earned very little. In Myanmar, the vets don't
earn more than S$500 a month, I believe.
I told Mr Min and my associate vet a bit of my philosophy
and why I employ Myanmar vets as vet technicians.
"I employed my first Vet Technician many years ago. She
was a Myanmar Vet working for Dr XXX. Dr... did not want
to continue employing her because she was slow in her
work. She also could not speak English well, just like you
now. So, it was very difficult for her.
"I employed her and she completed her year of employment
and wanted to go home to see her sick father. An army
officer, I believe. Around 2 years later, she visited me
and gave me a present. I was much surprised. You can check
her out as she is in Yangon and Khin Khin knows her.
"In your first week here, I have complaints from a pet
shop owner that her referred customers cannot understand
what you are talking about over the phone. This is a
common complaint of Myanmar vet technicians as their
standard of conversational English is not good. You just
start your job in Singapore. Over time, like your friend,
Mr Saw, your English will be good. This is one reason why
most vet technicians employed in Singapore are Filipinos
as they speak very good English and can start work without
the employer worrying about client services being
downgraded.
"You may be able to get a job at one of the 45 vet clinics
in Singapore, but do you want to work in a clinic where
there are no cases during some days? Just sit and go for
your scheduled lunch and dinner times waiting for cases?
You learn nothing because there are no cases over the year
of employment. Or you work in a very big practice in a
small area like Haematology. You can't do other aspects of
vet medicine as there are other vet technicians assigned.
"So you can't start your own practice confidently because
you have no cases in the new clinics. Do you want that?
Mr Min did not want to work in such a situation. All
employees have this "what's in it for me" attitude and I
accept that they are in a job for themselves. Times have
changed.
I can easily employ a Filipino vet and grow my practice
very fast due to good service as Filipinos are culturally
excellent in English language communications and services.
However, making a small difference to the disadvantaged
and the underdog have always been my philosophy as others
had made a difference to me by awarding my a scholarship
to study vet medicine in Glasgow in 1969.
It is very difficult for most of the younger vets in
Singapore to understand my philosophy when their parents
pay and pay for their vet studies. Pay and Pay? PAP?
Elections in May 2011? Some distraction here.
In any case, I had instructed the associates to ensure
that Mr Min get his meal breaks and I am personally
checking on this. Time management is important for a vet
and also for the employee.
I don't want the demons to re-appear again in Khin Khin's
brains and there have been so many incidents from her such
that I can write a novel of some interest to human
relationship readers.
This incident is just one of the chapters of this novel. I
said to Mr Min: "If you want to sue, don't threaten. Just
do it. Pay the lawyer and sue the pants off the vet!"
I told Mr Min and the vet: "When I started Toa Payoh Vets,
there were around 4 competitors. During the first few
years, there were few customers. Just sit down and wait as
vets cannot advertise. Now that Toa Payoh Vets is busier,
I cannot be taking it easy. There are now at least 45
competitors and I know some of them have not sufficient
number of customers to make ends meet."
Mr Min is a gentle person in his early 30s. He does not
lose his cool and that is a good trait. I also advised Mr
Min to buy some food during busy times when he can't go
for the break as scheduled. In the end, he has to decide.
Does he want the job or not? He is slow in his work but
this will change with my training. He is not
indispensible and there are so many stronger and better
qualified Filipino vet technicians. Hire the best talent
if you want your business to grow in this competitive
world, the business management books will teach us. Why
care about the disadvantaged with no experience or a good
command of the English language. Why care for the underdog
in this world? Why bother with employment agents who can't
exorcise their demons? Why patronise a small
businessman in a niche in veterinary anaesthesia when you
can get business from an established corporation? All
these encounters make life stressful. However, make a
small difference to change the world if you are blessed
with health and can do it. That is my philosophy.
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