Farewells YTD, April 2011

The rate of attrition is normal, as my bright colleague from Human Resources puts it. I'm combining several farewells into a single post here, otherwise this will looks like a blog of farewells...!

First up on my list is my old friend and colleague, Jackson Goh. I've known him for as long as I've been in this company, which is *only* around 10 years or so. Believe it or not, Jackson has been around for 35 years - so he and some of the other colleagues really go back a long, long way. As this is a small, small world, once upon a time he was even the boss of my wife.

Leaving to enjoy a well-deserved retirement, Jackson brings along with him irreplaceable knowledge and experience in his field (a loss to the company indeed). Outside work, Jackson is particularly fond of his orchard / plantation, and loves the outdoors - going into the middle of the jungle with the Puma 4x4 Club Malaysia.

We had a separate farewell dinner for him with the management team, and also a free-for-all wilder night at Seafarer (a sea food restaurant at Klebang).

To an old friend, also my swimming partner when we go for off-site management meetings - enjoy your retirement, and don't forget us come durian season!

Next up, just a week after Jackson left, is Ms Gan Szu Min, who worked under Jackson.

She's the lady on the right (without glasses). The other two are still working in the company, as of the time of this writing.... :)

Unlike Jackson, who's been around for years, Gan's only been here for months. Too brief a stint to get really acquainted. Still I hear that she leaves the semiconductor industry to do something else, so whatever it is, I wish her the best of luck - may her new endeavours bear as many fruits as Jackson's durian trees!

The next two, first up is Vijay, who work in Logistics. Quiet fellow (or so I believe), after many years of working here, decided to move on (next destination unknown to me). He's the guy in the center below. Take note of the guy on the right for a moment....

Next, sitting in the Logistics Block, but working in the Environmental, Health and Safety department as a Safety Officer (also for just a few months, like Gan), I now bid farewell to Ravee. He came to us from our *former company*, but to where he goes next, I haven't the slightest clue. In the brief time together, due to the mish-mash nature of work (formally known as inter-disciplinary teamwork), I've worked with him on several small projects, and found him to be a helpful and co-ordinated person. Well, wherever he goes next, I'm sure his future employer will be very happy!

Now the next one is not really a farewell, so to speak, as he already left the company many years ago. Since moving back to the "former company", my old friend Sean Lee has reached another milestone in working life and decided to move on to self-employment in or near KL, city of opportunity. Well, there are in fact a lot of us who have moved back to the "former company", so it was a sort of mini-reunion during our small dinner at San Francisco steak house (ground floor, sharing the same building as the new Melaka Club).

Which brings me to the final famous guy to leave the company. The guy who shares the same name with the beau of Barbie, and professes he doesn't use Facebook because he is not from Gen Y (or even Gen X). I bid a fond farewell to Ken (Ng Wai Khean) from the Process Engineering team.

L-R : Me, Loh CK, Chong SC (standing) and Ken

We had a small farewell dinner for him at JT (which is a restaurant / karaoke joint next to Holiday Inn and Century Mahkota Hotel.

Now, a small note about *inbound traffic*. Some time ago, a famous guy from Logistics left to do his own thing. Well, now he's back, and we welcome once again, Anand! He's quite a looney guy, who definitely spices up our annual dinner and external functions with his antics and costumes. Here's his photo as "Dr Bombay* during the 2007 Deepavali Musical Night celebrations:-

Remember the guy on the right in Vijay's photo above? Well, same guy as the one here, sans turban and dark glasses!

Well, to all those who have left, good luck in your "new lives" - who knows, we might see each other again some day soon - you'll never know or guess who might leave or rejoin next! The farewell dinners may be over, the food digested, but the fond memories live on!