Source: The Straits Times (ST)

by Foong Swee Fong

I read with disgust and sadness that private driving instructors will be a feature of the past soon.

The reason is that the Traffic Police has stopped issuing license for driving instructors since 1987 and there will not be anymore private driving instructors when the remaining ones reach the mandatory retirement age of 75.

It is indeed sad, as these instructors are generally dedicated and passionate about their work, as Mr Ng, who estimates that he has taught more than 10,000 students, says, “Teaching driving is my passion, and it’s sad to lose the routine I had for so many years. I have felt bored and empty since I stopped.”

Instead, students can only learn at the three government-linked, private driving centres – Comfort Delgro Driving Centre, Bukit Batok Driving Centre and Singapore Safety Driving Centre. The traffic police says they are safer and have better facilities, they also stopped issuing license for private driving instructors when these centres started operations.

The instructors who are employed by the centres, are certainly not as dedicated as the private instructors. Mr Pereira, Operations Manager at Singapore Safety Driving Centre says the centre has had difficulty retaining instructors in recent years. “Every year, a few instructors leave, sometimes it’s seven or eight a year. And the turnover is already not as high as the other driving centres”.

It is indeed sad. People who enjoy their work, like private driving instructors, are not allowed to work, instead, people are driven to work for organizations they do not like. What sense does it make?

People want to work and generally enjoy and take pride in their work, provided they have ownership of their work. Unfortunately, big business, through collusion with state powers, has driven out private work, forcing people to work in faceless organizations.

“We are just another brick in the wall.” (Pink Floyd)

This was first published on Foong Swee Fong‘s Facebook page, and is reproduced with permission.

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