Samy walks in, a comforting presence with a warm but slightly sheepish smile. He settles in easily, but it’s clear he’s nervous – it’s his first interview after all.
The 64 year old tells us he’s spent the better part of the last decade in SRS, starting out as a floater (an officer who has no permanent site location) before switching to a full time Senior Security Officer.
“When I was young, I wanted to be a policeman, but I couldn’t.”
Samy joined CERTIS CISCO at first, working with the foreign worker management team under the Singapore Police Force. “Long story short,” he says with a nonchalant wave, his soft eyes and gentle smile belaying his fondness of his time there. “I was awarded the commissioner police award, and even though I wasn’t technically police, I had fulfilled my dream, and that was enough for me.”
As the sole breadwinner to his family, kids and his elderly mother, he worked, day and night, relentlessly for 34 years to ensure they lead a comfortable life – one he did not have growing up.
“I came from a very poor family,” he explains. “With a lot of hard work, I achieved what I wanted to achieve, and I owned my own transport company. But at one point I just had to give it up – my transport setup, everything, and settle down in one job – and I chose security.”
His transport business, he told us, was one of the reasons he barely saw his son and daughter. He didn’t spend much time with them, and the time they did spend together ended up mostly with his children sleeping in the back of his truck while he worked nights.
Out of Uniform
It wasn’t all work and no play for Samy though.
“I love gardening. I trim, fertilize and watch out for insects attacking my plants.”
Samy lights up as he talks about his plants, and he elaborated on how he fought for his plants when there was his town council disputed them. (Not actually fought… he asked very nicely)
“My wife and I quarrelled a lot during this period. I’ve had these plants for over 30 years, and they aren’t small pots. I got frustrated and spoke to the MP to settle it.”
He proudly states that they managed to settle it amicably, and his plants are now sitting pretty outside his apartment.
“After I settled in security, I now have more time to spend with my plants and my grandson. He’s in P1 now, but he came to me as a 9-month-old, and it was so new to me – not as a father, but as a grandfather.” Samy’s expression is soft and filled with fondness as he adds wryly that he gets blamed for spoiling his grandson (he insists that he’s simply doing his job, and we’re inclined to agree.)
The Good, The Bad, The Ugly and the Hopeful
When asked about the best and worst parts of working as an officer, he laughs. It’s fulfilling, he says, explaining that the best parts are the trust his bosses and clients have in him to take up responsibilities, but ultimately as long as they’re happy, he’s happy.
“You have to love your job. Like for me, I love my job, and whatever I do,” he states with conviction. “Be happy with what you have. Take everything as a challenge. If you keep thinking there are problems after problems, then life will be full of problems. I don’t let myself get affected by outside stories, rumours and such nonsense.”
“The worst part though? The long hours.”
It’s a sentiment that is echoed by nearly all the officers we‘ve spoken to – the long hours are one of the worst parts of the job.
