Skip to main content

IAB Lecturer Offer!

Well, actually, it was an offer to attend an interview :)

Two days ago, I went to the office and was told by a colleague that I had an offer letter from IAB to attend an interview for a post in Genting Highlands. She was very amused because she had received one as well (along with three other teachers in my school) and not one of us applied for the posts offered. (The posts were the usual DG44, DG48, DG52 pemangkuan...)

Some would think..wow, a great opportunity! But I think not.

First, I've already applied for a DG48 post as a Form Six Academic Teacher (more on this in the next post). The possiblity of my getting it is pretty good (fingers crossed!).

Second, should I be successful in this IAB interview, I would have to move from comfortable familiar KK (and also home!) to the wild woolly highlands to work. I'd have to look for a place to stay, a new school for my son, my husband would have to re-establish himself all over again work-wise (he is not a civil servant easily transferred anywhere) and I suspect that the ensuing costs would far outstrip any possible extras I hope to get as a DG48 officer. I also still remember the four months I spent living in IAB (as part of my Masters course) and the thought of living in Bentong (or elsewhere) and driving everyday up to IAB doesn't exactly inspire exaltations of joy. Don't misunderstand me. I salivate over the IAB library and the highlands are b e a u t i f u l. But when the mists come down over the buildings and I can barely see my hand before my face, and worse, when I think of living in or around or near KL.... I begin to feel the atavistic instinct to fight or flee. The highlands and KL are great places to holiday in...but not to live in. Not for me, anyway. And the place is very scary at night. Very.

Third, I think I am more needed in my state than in Genting Highlands...and people who are needed will be better appreciated. Heh.

I called an old university mate Dr Ahmad Rafee Che Kassim who is currently serving in IAB and he told me that if I want a work environment that challenges me and supports my interest in research (and a future PhD qualification), then I should try my best to ace the interview. But if I want to put my family first (the dilemma of most working ladies!), then perhaps I'd better stay where I am. I also called my Master coursemates working in the Institut Perguruans to check whether they got the offers. No, they didn't. Most probably that's because they are already under BPG and not to be poached. Other people who I knew received the letter were a principal and PKHEM in Tambunan and a PK1 in Kota Marudu.

It looks like all those with Masters and PhDs were posted the same letter. Well, my interview's at 8.30 a.m. today and I won't be attending. I also sent an SMS to the officer in charge, informing him of my non-attendance. It is always politic to be courteous.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Royal Commonwealth Essay Competition 2009

Another great opportunity for our young people to show what they can do! The Royal Commonwealth Essay Competition has four different age bands, 'Classes'. Each Class offers five topics, plus the Commonwealth Question and the Charlton Athletic Community Trust Question. As we hope to reach a diverse student body across the Commonwealth, there are options for both academic and creative minds.  The Competition deadline is 1st March 2009   CLASS A - Born 1990-1992  1400-1750 words  All questions can be answered by writing an essay or a story which explores the topic in an interesting and relevant way.   Can I help you?  Bullying is an issue which concerns young people throughout the Commonwealth. Why does it matter and what can be done about it?   It is 200 years since Charles Darwin was born and 150 years since the publication of "On the origin of Species". In your view, what evolutionary developments are neede...

Friends That Last The Mile

I have friends who have been with me from schooldays or campus days.... we've been through happy times, stressful moments... even anger and long silences. But when I think of them, I feel a warmth deep inside my heart for they have lasted the mile.  After all these years, they still want to be my friends :)  I told a friend once that when you put your trust in a friend, you are giving that person a knife, which he can choose to put away and never use.  Or stab you in the back.  But I didn't tell that friend that it is possible to survive stabs in the back and still remain friends with the other.  It takes time for the wound to stop bleeding and the heart to forgive, but it is possible. --------------------- There's X, who shared many adventures with me, even though there were points of friction between the two of us.  But I would like to think that deep inside, both of us see beyond those points of conflict.  I appreciate her for being willing to share many enterprises ...

How Challenging Teaching In Sabah Can Be

As a teacher, I have had many memorable experiences but one of the most fascinating has got to be observing my colleagues from other states as they deal with their first days in Sabah. Born and bred in Sabah, I never really had much reason or opportunity to question what sort of image Sabah presented to the outside world (which includes other states in Malaysia) until I went to university in Kuala Lumpur.  And, of course, when I began working as a teacher. My first inkling of how 'scary' Sabah can be to outsiders came during my third year in university.  I had coursemates who quickly got married ... it was the first time I had ever heard of 'nikah gantung'.  Apparently, they could get married but it was a sort of 'marriage on hold' (if such a thing exists..).  What mattered was that they could get a marriage certificate that would help 'save' them from the jungles of Sabah and Sarawak.  Then, during the briefing I attended to receive my first posti...