Since an early age, Mr Chong Wong Kam has had a fascination with lights, and it is not surprising that after spending some 38 years as an electrician he is still very passionate about his job.
Fifty-eight year old Wong Kam is an electrician with the Bishan-Toa Payoh Town Council. He works with the town council since 2000 and he attends to all the electrical faults in public areas. This ranges from changing the light bulbs along corridors to attending to circuit breaker tripping at the void decks.
With his years of experience on thejob, Wong Kam smiled almost nonchalantly when he was asked if he faces any challenges in the course of his work day. “I think many residents may not understand that the electrical issues within their homes should be handled by them and not by the town council.
”Often I have to explain to them why the town council is unable to do the repair in their homes. But I will explain to them what are the likely causes of the electrical problem, and they have accepted this quite well.”
In fact, a few residents were so satisfied with his explanation that they even wrote to the Town Council to commend him for what he did.
To keep his job, Wong Kam, who is a certified electrician, has to undergo a refresher course every three years conducted by the Energy Market Authority. He is one of two electricians engaged by the Town Council to maintain the housing estates within the Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC.
He takes charge of the whole Toa Payoh, while his colleague oversees Bishan. There are days when he may get very busy and not on others. Often when there are funeral wakes at the void deck, the circuit breaker would be tripped because of an overload in consumption.
Wong Kam, who is married with two grown up children, takes pride from his vocation knowing that he and his wife (who works part-time) are able to give their children a good upbringing. His elder 26-year-old son is studying music in Boston, US, and his other 22-year-old son has just completed national service.
He has travelled to Toronto, Canada, en route to Boston twice in the past six years to visit his son, who is now studying for his master’s degree. His other satisfaction is, of course, knowing that he is part of the town council team that keeps the GRC well-maintained.
– This article first appeared in a Town Council newsletter as part of a profiling feature
