Alfian Saat and the Establishment

This is seriously one of the most absurd things i've heard that I HAD to reproduce this here. Perhaps it is because he has written anti-establishment material and been able to get away with it, and they want to put a stop to propagating out-of-the-box, non-conformist ideas like his.

Taken from Alfian Saat's blog:

Re: Inquiry Into Unexplained Termination of Relief Teaching Position

Dear Miss XXXXX XXXX,

I applied online to be a relief teacher some time in April 2007. Subsequent to that, I presented myself to the administration staff of East View Secondary School. I chose the school based on its proximity to my place of residence and the fact that one of my sisters is an alumnus of the school.

Upon seeing my examination results, and considering the fact that they were short of a Humanities teacher, I was asked to leave my name behind with the school. A few days later I was called and told that I will be filling in the vacancy for a History and Social Studies teacher.

On the 16th of April 2007, I started work at East View Secondary School. I was told to present my NRIC and my bank passbook so the school could process my salary from the MOE.

I have had a very humbling, yet, enriching, experience teaching at East View. It has broadened my views on what constitutes the dynamics of a reductively labeled 'neighbourhood school'. I have built invaluable rapport with some of the students in the school, and have learnt to be more patient with those from complex socio-economic backgrounds.

On the 14th of May 2007, the Assistant Head of Department for Humanities asked me if I was able to extend my services to the school until July, based on the fact that he was impressed with my performance thus far. However, later on, I was summoned to see the Head of Department for Humanities.

I was told that the school had received a telephone call from the MOE requesting the immediate termination of my services as a relief teacher. He was unable to give me the grounds for such a decision. When I queried him as to whether this was based on my performance in school, he assured me, in his own words, that 'professionally and pedagogically, we had no problems with you'.

I asked if there had been any complaints made against me by any student or parent. Again, I was told that the school had been very satisfied with my performance, and based on feedback from students and teachers, acknowledged the fact that I had often gone beyond the minimum expectations for a relief teacher—including producing extra classroom material and marking the examination papers. He acknowledged that the school was in a very difficult position, because they would have problems procuring the services of another relief teacher at such short notice.

He explained that the decision mystified the school as well, and I was told that the only way to get any answers was to contact the Personnel Division of the MOE.

I am thus writing to you to seek some answers.

1) What are the reasons for my termination as a relief teacher? I have satisfied the eligibility requirement as stated on your website, which stated a minimum of 5 'O' Level passes. As a matter of fact, I had garnered ten A1 distinctions for my 'O' Level results. I do not have a criminal record. To the best of my knowledge, I have not committed an infraction during the course of my teaching so grievous as to warrant such abrupt termination.

2) Today I received a letter from the Personnel Division informing me that I have not been 'successful for (my) applicaton'. This of course came after the fact; I had already been teaching for a month. Obviously, I would like to know why this letter is sent to me only after my employment.

3) When your directive arrived at the school, I was in the midst of marking the first semestral exam papers for 16 classes. I would like to know why you had urged my termination with such alacrity, without considering how this would affect the school and the student population. I felt a natural responsibility to review with the students the papers that I had marked. In light of these considerations, would it not have been more humane and less disruptive to provide me with a grace period so as to tie up loose ends before my departure?

4) I can only speculate that I have been somewhat blacklisted—as a relief teacher for now—by the MOE. I do not know the basis of this blacklisting, and whether it was generated via any kind of inter-ministerial communication and information-sharing. Does this mean that I will not be able to enter the teaching profession, and that an avenue for possible gainful employment in the civil service has been forever closed to me?

I would like to express my deep distress at the almost alarmist haste in which I was discharged. It seemed as if my continued presence in the school represented some mortal threat to the students. When I faced the Head of Department for Humanities, I could only express my surprise and bewilderment. I extended my apologies for being such a liability to the school, a liability whose grounds elude me.

I am writing to you not as a faceless member of the public, but as someone who values the teaching profession, and who had experienced first-hand the privilege of being amongst the ranks of teachers, albeit in a relief capacity. On the day of my departure, one of my favourite classes had wanted to take a group photograph with me. As I was in the middle of a lesson, I dismissed the request, somehow assured that I would have an opportunity during my final days at school. I regret that decision now; the photograph would have been a much-cherished memento.

As such, I expect a reply from you that is nothing less than forthcoming, sincere, and devoid of either bureaucratic obscurantism and obfuscation. Your hiring policy contains a covert clause that has deemed me unsuitable for teaching. I would like to know what that clause is, not simply as a matter of personal grievance, but for the sake of any Singaporean who wishes to enter the teaching profession. Full disclosure of your hiring policies to the public will prevent future incidents like mine. It is an incident I do not wish on anyone aspiring to be a teacher, yet disastrously unaware of the hidden obstacles that lie to crush his or her dreams.


Yours sincerely,

Alfian Bin Sa'at


**********************
And two weeks later, I got this:

Dear Mr. Alfian,

Thank you for your e-mail and we appreciate you taking the time to write to us. We have read your e-mail with great concern and do appreciate your feedback.

2 In the processing of relief teacher applicatons, we will usually give provisional approval due to the urgency of need at school level, pending further registration formalities. This is why you were initially appointed by East View Sec from 16 Apr to 11 May 07. Upon consideration of your application, we were not able to approve your registration as a relief teacher. Unfortunately, due to an oversight, the school has appointed you again on 14 May 07. We would like to apologise for the inconvenience caused.

3 We would like to explain that as an employer, the Ministry of Education sets stringent criteria in the recruitment of relief teachers. This is understandably so when we strive to achieve a high standard in Education. With keen competition, this Ministry has an arduous task of considering each applicant based on several factors. MOEneeds to determine which applicants most appropriately meet its organisational needs. In the registering of relief teachers, we look at each applicant in view of the specific requirements of the Ministry at the time, considering each application as a whole, on its own merit. While many capable candidates apply every year, only those that best meet the organisation's requirements will be considered for appointment.

4 We are sorry that we would not be able to approve your application for registration as a relief teacher. Thank you for giving us this opportunity to respond to your feedback and we hope this information has been useful to you. We wish you every success in your future endeavours.

For more information on HR matters, please refer to our HR Online at http://intranet.moe.gov.sg/hr_online/circulars01.htm.

regards
Ms XXXXXXX XXX

**********************

Dear good people of MOE,

Do you seriously consider the below to be a reply to my queries?

1) What are the components of the 'stringent criteria' that you have mentioned?

2) What are these 'several factors' by which an application is considered?

3) What are the 'organisational needs' which I have obviously failed to meet as a relief teacher?

4) What are the 'specific requirements' of the Ministry at this time, at this particular point in history, with regards to the hiring of relief teachers?

5) Am I to assume that since you consider "each application as a whole, on its own merit", therefore one or more of these components in my application has been prejudicial to my employment?

a) Name
b) Gender
c) Birth date
d) Nationality
e) Country of Birth
f) Race
g) Religion
h) Address and Telephone Number
i) 'O' Level Results (10 A1's)
j) 'A' Level Results (4 A's, 1 A1 in GP)
k) Previous Employment History (Resident Playwright, W!ld Rice)
l) My lack of a medical condition, illness, disease, mental illness or physical
impairment
m) My lack of a criminal record in Singapore
n) My lack of a conviction in a court of law in any other country
o) My not being charged with any offence in a court of law in any country for which the
outcome is pending
p) My not being under any financial embarrassment
q) My record of never having been dismissed from a Government Service/Government-Aided
School/Statutory Board

(Of course, with your recent machinations, you have managed to alter the record I mention in point q)

6) Am I also to assume also that since my application was assessed, as you have mentioned, "as a whole, on its own merit", that whatever information that has influenced your decision was located autonomously within my on-line application?

7) Can you thus say that there is thus nothing duplicitous in stating that my application was assessed "as a whole, on its own merit"?

There is a section in the GCE 'O' Level English Paper known as Situational Writing, where I believe candidates are sometimes expected to write a letter.

Your letter is littered with an alarming amount of bureaucratese--"stringent criteria", "based on several factors", "organisational needs" and "specific requirements". In fact I would use it as a negative example in a classroom, to teach my students against a kind of writing which is designed for obfuscation instead of elucidation. I will point out to them how this very abuse of language is what pollutes human interaction in our society, how it forecloses any form of genuine dialogue. I respect the word, along with its ability to convey truth and knowledge, and any attempt to use it for contrary purposes I view with much distress.

If I was still a teacher, I would give your letter a failing grade.

Yours sincerely,

Alfian Bin Sa'at

life in general

so much has passed within the span of 5 months.

thank God that now I know where I'll be headed for the next 5-10 years of my life. the "zheng4 hu4" (not my parents la...) thinks that I'm mad for wanting to stay in Singapore, but well, I believe that it's part of God's plan. :)

Deadline for UCAS track is drawing near (2 June), and with all the repeated email reminder from UK folks I decided to log on to UCAS track to decline the offers. Sincere apologies to UCL, Edinburgh, Nottingham and SOAS. I'm really grateful for the trust and the boost of confidence that you have given to me, but I think that you're not where God wants me to be right now.

Haven't decided whether to apply for accommodation, since BTC is some distance away from the KR main campus and I have a direct bus back home from BTC. But I really love the KR campus, it is like a large jungle with concealed buildings and little nooks and crannies that lead to surprises. It's bustling, yet you can find quiet little corners all around the school. AND I love the biz school canteen food.. hmmm... went there for to interview for my second choice degree (Biz + MPP) - basically it was just a nice little chat with the professors about the environment and how we can reduce usage of plastics and why I like politics/philosophy/governance of law etc. hung around the biz school for lunch for a while too and that was how i discovered the western food stall with the uncle-who-has-amazing-memory.

if I do sign up for hall, I think it will be either kr/sheares/eusoff/temasek (haha ok 4 out of 6 heh).

perhaps the most major thing that i've accomplished this month is to chart out my directions for the next few years to come.

adios.