Anger and Rage vs. Diplomacy :)

To all of you who may not know what has happened, my boss and superwoman (to me!) has been lashed out via some "ignoramus" blogger who was upset that his probation period (which is the agreed upon 90 days) had been extended. To that, he responded by running away and hiding like a little chick from the fox, taken his monthly salary (he had left on 1st June, on the dot!), and hid himself in China.

My boss that I am talking about, is the well-known, elegant, strong and charismatic lady, Dato' Freida Pilus. It may sound like I'm kissing some butt here (and I'm sure if Mr. North were to see this, he'd call me a "bootlicker", his words not mine!), but Dato' Freida has been in the business for 28 years now. She has been running this business, longer than Mr. North has been alive for! And what better comeback for his stupid, blind and mind-numbing accusations, than to come up with HER own response to his attacks.

Begin text:

Dear Cempaka Parents, Cempakans, Cempaka Teachers and Past Cempakans 
 

Letter Circulated by Dustin North

I refer to the letter circulated a few days ago by an ex-teacher, Dustin North.  After circulating it, he says he has left for "greener pastures in China". That is what he says.

Dustin's North’s letter deserves little attention, much less a response. However, as it was circulated within and outside the Cempaka community, I would like to share the truth with everybody. Accordingly, I wish to address every allegation in Dustin's letter, point by point.

I shall  answer it in three parts: 
(1) Dustin's allegations against the School
(2) against me personally, and 
(3) against Dato Hamzah.

 
1.  North's allegations against the School. "I didn't give any prior notice as to my resignation frankly because I didn't believe you would pay me for my last month's wages."

Fact.Dustin was informed in April, 2011, that his probationary period would be extended. If he disagreed, he could have said so immediately. He did not. Instead, he waited till the end of May, collected his salary, and said he was on his way to China. He claimed he sacrificed his May salary. Not true. Our financial and bank records confirm that he has taken his salary.

 
"Cempaka has a rather bad habit of not paying people who do give notice. (I personally know of more than one aggrieved party.)"
 
Fact. Let me explain the procedure clearly. The School, like all employers, is bound by Government  regulations. A staff member in Cempaka who wishes to leave must:

(i)      Give adequate notice to the School;

(ii)      Fill the necessary Income Tax forms;

(iii)    Go to the Income Tax Department in Shah Alam, pay any outstanding Tax bill, and obtain a certificate of clearance from the Department.

(iv)  Only upon the staff member obtaining this certificate is the School free to pay the teacher the remaining salary due to him. That is the law.

Dustin left his employment in contravention of the law. He did not give the necessary notice, did not fill in the Income Forms, and drew his final salary without obtaining Internal Revenue clearance. 

There is also a provision in the contract of employment that teachers may only plan to leave at the end of an Academic Year. This is for obvious reasons. Dustin left in contravention of that provision in his contract, with no regard for his students.

 
"I purchased books out of my own wages for the girls to read in my English language classes. I was told I would be reimbursed... to this day I was not."
 
Fact.Every teacher who had bought books for class use was properly reimbursed. Dustin never got my approval for the so-called purchase of books. I knew nothing about it. I have since checked the claim with the Finance department. According to staff there, teachers making such claims need to produce my approval slip, and a receipt. Dustin produced neither. He demanded that his claims be treated differently. This was not possible.

We have also discovered that, in contravention of School rules, Dustin had been secretly collecting money for the books from parents. I have, since, looked into the matter and discovered that the books he bought, and charged parents for them without my knowledge, were totally unsuited to the age of the children. One parent told me, just a few days ago, that Dustin had demanded, and had taken, money from parents for the books. This parent looked at a book and found that it unsuitable for class use. It had long and difficult Welsh place names, and had little literary value or merit. I was aghast. If we want to speak of a scam, and we should, it is Dustin who must be investigated for operating one.
 

"One would assume that Cempaka would be capable of paying for their own school books, and not scamming teachers out of their own hard earned pay..."

Fact.

CILC has its own library books, plus superlative electronic resource facilities. The students have their own individual laptops, are skilled in using them, and are never short of resource materials. Over and above this, we encourage teachers, if they happen to come across interesting books, to get my approval to buy them, produce the receipt, and be reimbursed. Several teachers have done so, and were duly reimbursed. (Please look at my answer above.)

 
Dustin complained of the delay in his confirmation. 
 
Fact.This is true. Dustin was not confirmed after 90 days because his work was unprofessional and unsatisfactory. He was told that he would be given extra time to improve his performance before he could be considered for confirmation. This was done along the terms of employment of his contract.

Examples:

(a)  He was complacent and unprofessional in his work. For example, when marking essays, he would give marks arbitrarily without actually marking the paper, or using a proper marking scheme. A marking scheme is necessary, so that students would be able to see their mistakes and make appropriate corrections.
 

(b)   As an English teacher, Dustin was incompetent. He failed to demonstrat that he could teach English grammar properly. To compensate for this lapse, he tried to be "popular" with the girls in school, chatting with them endlessly, and giving them undeservedly high marks. He wanted to be a "friend" to the students, because he could not be a good teacher. Students do not need a "friend". They have many friends of their own age. They need a teacher. And Dustin deeply resented being told to act like a teacher, and to focus on grammar. 
 

“The unisex bathroom on the first floor of the academic block has been out of order for months.”
 

Fact.

CILC is a girls school. There are no “unisex bathrooms”. Toilets are either for Male or Female use. There is one toilet on the first floor of the academic block for guests, and for some time I have asked for this toilet to be locked and opened only when we have lady guests. There are Male and Female toilets on the concourse floor. The Male toilet is located on the concourse floor, (on the left side if facing the pool), and the Female toilet on the right side. Teachers and staff know the location of all toilets.

 

“The lift has been broken for 2 weeks now.”
 

Fact.

It is not “broken”. The sensor device is being upgraded. Use any of the four staircases available. Clearly, Dustin is desperately nit-picking on petty issues. The reason will become clear at the end of this letter.

 

“There are not enough glasses in the canteen.”
 

Advice. 

This happened occasionally in the past. According to the serving staff in the canteen, students sometimes break glasses or take them to their rooms.  Thus, it may seem, occasionally, that there is a shortage, if the staff do not replenish them immediately. However, I often have lunch and dinner there, and I have never observed any shortage of crockery or cutlery.  

 

No car is available for Dustin’s personal use. 

Fact.

School transport is available for commuting between campuses for official duty. However, there is nothing in the contract for personal transportation.

Workplace Bullying.  Dustin quoted extensively from a 2007 article on a study conducted by the Workplace Bullying Institute and Zogby International. He says, “Cempaka founders are guilty of almost all of these things”.
 

Fact.

Careful reading of the excerpt he provided reveals that it is all about bullyingamong co-workers in the work place. It would take a big leap of logic to include Cempaka founders in the article! Clearly, Dustin has little grasp of the meaning of the excerpt he wanted to use.

Indeed, if he wants to talk about bullying, what about his baseless, malicious and reputation-targeted letter posted on the Net? Is that not a form of cyber-bullying? 
 

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2.  Dustin's Allegations Against Me Personally.

Most of his letter is a rambling personal attack. Opinion, not fact. I shall try, in fairness, to list them in some order, and give my response.
"Freida (who I refuse to acknowledge as Dato ever again) is one of the most unnecessarily mean and off-kilter people I have ever met... she told the faculty of CILC that we must all participate in the "Arab Spring" exhibition...the five teachers who participated were harassed and ridiculed..."

"I don't think it is right for teachers to do work that students get credited for."     
 
 
Fact. True, the exhibition was a combined effort of students and teachers, with teachers guiding the girls. I previewed the exhibition privately with the teachers. The exhibits, initially, were unsatisfactory, as they had factual and grammatical errors. I pointed them out to the teachers. It was my job to do so. I sent a clear message that they need to exercise diligence and care at all times. It seems that Dustin has interpreted my continuous insistence on accuracy as "mean and off-kilter", "harassment", and “ridicule”.

However, I admit his allegation that the students were given credit. It is true. I agree that it was a joint effort by students and teachers. But I feel that the students should be specially praised and given recognition. I always do this, in order to strengthen their self image and confidence. I believe it is the right thing to do.
 

I do, indeed, acknowledge with appreciation the work of my teachers. But I do so at the right forum. I express my deep and sincere appreciation for their work before parents and students, at the Annual Cempaka Commencements, where students who excel receive their prizes and awards. Be that as it may, the real compliment to a teacher comes not when I praise them, but when their students do well. That is the true moment of glory for any teacher.
 

In a long paragraph, Dustin alleges that I had "lied" to the parent of a Year 9 student, regarding her performance in school and snidely implied that I had done this because she was Caucasian, causing  the girl to leave. I shall not name the girl or her parent, though Dustin, most insensitively, did.

Fact.This accusation left me aghast with astonishment. It is most unfortunate that Dustin brought up this case. I shall not name the girl or her parent, though Dustin, most insensitively, did.  

Out of respect for this girl and family, I will not go into details of why she is no longer at CILC. I will, however, say that the reason was a spill-over of unresolved circumstances when she was at CIS Cheras (where she was before she had transferred to CILC) and has nothing to do with anything at CILC or her ethnicity, as falsely implied by individuals who are blinded by malicious intent.

The Cempaka culture is one that inclusive, meritocratic, and secular. Cempakans and Cempaka parents know me well enough from my work over the last three decades.
 
 

Dustin said, in a long and rambling paragraph, that he was "dragged from lunch” and "yelled at (as one would yell at a pet who peed on the floor) for 45 minutes”, and that I had accused him of being late, and ridiculed his term as a teacher, saying that my time was valuable, etc.

Fact.
Again, I was astonished. This is pure fabrication. But then, we have come to expect this from him. The facts are as follows:

Dustin had an appointment to meet with me in the conference room of the Administration building at CILC. This had been fixed well in advance, because I wanted to tell him about his work, and the reasons why his probation was being extended. I waited for him in the meeting room. Also present were the Vice Principal for Academic Affiars, and the Head of HR.  But Dustin did not show up, and had to be called and reminded of the appointment.
 

When he finally arrived, I listed out his shortfalls, and the reasons for the deferment of his confirmation. He went, "Yes Dato, yes Dato, yes Dato, I understand Dato", to every reason I gave. He even took down notes as I spoke. At the end of the meeting, he thanked me for my candour, and for giving him another chance.
 

It was a normal business-like meeting. No raised voices. There were two witnesses present at the meeting - the Vice Principal, and the Head of HR. I never expected Dustin to bring this meeting up. But he did, in his letter, duly embroidered and decorated with descriptions of yelling, and naughty pets doing business on the floor.

"Freida told me that I should have made a (Tsunami) documentary (from the Japanese end).... so that we could better market our school....if she is willing to exploit people who have suffered a horrible disaster, who is she not willing to exploit? Shameful!" 

Fact.
This is a complete fabrication. I am startled and disgusted at the gutter level to which Dustin has sunk to make me, and the School, look bad.  

Let me give the facts. I did say we should should raise money, but I made no mention of marketing. I wanted to raise  funds for was for the Tsunami victims in Japan, (which we actually did). This was in line with all that we have been doing, over the last 28 years, in Cempaka's many community service programs. The Cempaka School community, with active participation of students and teachers, have raised a lot of money for dozens of campaigns and charities, fire and flood victims here in Malaysia, and for earthquake, flood, landmine, and hunger victims abroad. Cempaka Schools students have also raised money for worthy causes, such as for the 'Save the Turtles', etc. in support of campaigns by local and international NGOs.
 

Cempaka Schools had also made donations to several Cancer victims support programs. Indeed, I sit on the Executive Committee of the National Cancer Society (MAKNA), and Cempaka has participated in many community service programs. I consider participation in such activities an important part of the overall Cempaka education and experience. Cempaka Parents, Old Cempakans, and friends of Cempaka Schools, are familiar with our charitable, social and educational commitments over the last three decades. Cempaka students will continue to raise funds for charity. I shall continue to work hard, and will not be distracted by gutter allegations.

“Once her sea creature speech concluded, she began to ridicule the recent production of the “Angry 12”. I explained to her that I had not participated in the production at all. She told me that I was the drama teacher, and should have participated. I told her that I had only been a drama teacher for two weeks at that point. I was then told that I personally should have rearranged my class schedule to attend rehearsals at Cheras. If that was not possible, I should have directed the production via Skype.”
 

Fact.

“Sea creature?”  I am amazed how Dustin can fabricate, and slant what I actually said to make me sound weird and unreasonable! Let me say directly and simply what happened:
 

1. Dustin was employed because he gave a good early impression. I got the impression from his letter to me when he joined the School that he was keen to learn, and was full of initiative. That was a quality I like in my teachers - imagination, and ready to find new ways to solve problems. One day when I asked him about “Angry 12” (that was being rehearsed in Cheras), he replied that he was new and did not know anything about it. He was based at CILC, on another campus. I told him, with the intention of introducing him to the way we solve problems at Cempaka, that being at CILC was not an excuse for being ignorant about the main production at Cheras. We have modern facilities. He could follow it on Skype and keep in touch with the director.

His words above seem to directly contradict an email I received from Dustin, which is shown below.

2. The issue was one of the staff members being aware and connected, andcooperating with one another, whenever possible. It is not good for staff members to exist in separate compartments. I had wanted it to be a learning moment for Dustin. I wanted him to be aware of what was happening in drama in the other campuses, to discuss with teachers on the other campuses on the progress and direction of the show.
 

3. I had wanted Dustin to learn to be imaginative, and to be adept at solving problems.  Teachers at Cempaka cooperate with one another, (they share information, resource materials, swap classes, etc. to solve day to day problems). I told him that he should have skyped and kept in touch with the play director, and followed the progress of the play. He should not have remained complacent and ignorant.
 

That was all there was to it.

“To continue the circus, she told me that she was going to have the primary school children perform the play, and do it better than the original high school production. I have no idea how she thinks the primary school children will benefit from doing a play beyond their mental capacities, and about murder and violence to boot.”
 

Fact. 

“Angry 12” is not about “murder and violence”. Dustin has misrepresented the play. No. There is no gory murder scene at all. The short play is about values. It is a short, simple play, set in a jury room, and deals about prejudice, justice and fair play.
 

Children today are intelligent. One should not underestimate their sensitivity and perceptiveness. They know about fairness and unfairness, about fair play and justice at an early age. Children are particularly sensitive to injustice and unfairness. The play demonstrates how good values like objectivity and fairness lead to justice, and prejudice and unfairness lead to injustice.
 

As it is about teaching good values, I was prepared to try it out on our young children. If Dustin thinks it is all a “circus”, he is welcome to his opinion. It makes no difference to my work.
 

"Also ... she outright lied to me, claiming that she had attended several previews of the show were (sic) she offered advice and guidance. I know this is a lie, as multiple sources from students to teachers told me that she had cancelled every preview. I do not appreciate being lied to by my employer."

"... she should be barred from theatre entirely."

Fact.I am amazed how Dustin can tell such lies! The fact is, I did preview the play “The Angry 12”, at 2 p.m. 0n 26 April, 2011.  The play director was present. Dustin was nowhere to be seen.

In the conversation mentioned, I also inform Dustin that, over the years, I had previewed several Cempaka Box Office productions, and my suggestions had the singular purpose of improving the performances. This is known to parents and friends who had attended our highly acclaimed productions such as "We Will Rock You", "West Side Story", "Fame", "Beauty and the Beast", and many more. Right now, I am advising our staff during the rehearsals of our next production "Seussical", based on the much loved cartoon character, Dr. Seuss.
 

My involvement and experience over many years in Cempaka's stage productions are well known to parents, students, theatre lovers, and newspaper critics, who attended our annual performances.

However, Dustin, a youthful teacher who joined the school staff just a few months ago, saw it fit to judge my character, and my three decades of service, experience, knowledge, and established track record.
 

"... At this point she went off on a tangent about sea turtles and jelly fish, which had no bearing on our conversation at all. It was at this point that I seriously began to suspect that her mental state had been compromised either by age, medicine, or some condition..."

Fact.Dustin's allegation is a deliberate juxtaposition of several points I made in my comments. He purposely jumbled them up, so that they would appear disorderly, disconnected, incoherent and nonsensical. He wants me to appear as someone mean, demented and senile. 

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Finally and, mysteriously, Dustin turns and aims his venom at my husband, someone he hardly knows. This is further evidence of his malice.

3.  Dustin's Allegations Against Dato Hamzah.

"I would recommend that Hamzah not able (sic) to teach the girls creative writing. Teaching is not a hobby, and should be left to people who know what they are doing."

Fact.Dato Hamzah has volunteered his time to teach the students to write well, as part of the School's many "enrichment" activities. He attended ancient universities, holds a Postgraduate Degree, and had spent 34 years of his life serving the country in the upper levels of Diplomacy and Public Administration. He had addressed senior military officers in the Ministry of Defence, and university professors and undergraduates. Internationally, he had addressed United Nations bodies in New York, Geneva, and Montreal. He has written on diplomatic, economic and environmental issues. He is qualified to conduct a university seminar, let alone teach a class in Secondary school.

It is odd, to say the least, for a young, inexperienced schoolteacher to volunteer to sit in judgement on the competence of a 74-year old former senior Civil Servant and Diplomat. Perhaps this attack on my husband is an extension of his vindictive rant against me.
 

"I'm sure that Hamzah's grasp on grammar is perfect in reference of his own school days, but alas this is decades later."

"... also I find the racist undertone of his speech to be offensive."

Fact.1. Here Dustin misses the point completely. True, the meaning of words, expressions, and phrases evolve and, sometimes, rapidly, but the rules of grammardo not. Dato Hamzah is well aware of this. That is why he insists that students should be taught proper grammatical English. After having learnt the rules, they can then shape their expressions creatively in any way they like. But for now, they must learn the rules of grammar. Dustin does not appear to understand this basic distinction. 

2. Young teacher Dustin had never sat in or observed Dato Hamzah conducting a class. I wonder what gave him the right to pass judgement on Dato Hamzah’s competence?
 

3. I also wonder what gives young teacher Dustin the right to brand Dato Hamzah a racist, after listening to him speak only once? That was when Dato Hamzah was discussing points for a debate on a topic relating to US military intervention in other countries.  It was a debate practice, and Dato Hamzah was teaching his students to argue logically and robustly on both sides of the issue of military intervention.

What is so “racist” about that?

CONCLUSION

I wish to conclude by quoting from Dustin's arrogant closing paragraph,

"... You have created a "Cempaka Culture", a culture of fear... you have surrounded yourself with bootlickers... Well, you are wrong! Your shortsightedness is laughable. Your greed is disgraceful. How dare you peddle first world ideals, and operate such a shifty, third world operation yourselves. In any other country you would have been sued for bankruptcy years ago..."

Really? A shifty, third world operation?  Well, let me quote  from Dustin's email addressed to me, the Vice Principal, and the Chairman, dated 4 May, 2011:

"...I was saddened that my performance has not been readily (sic) satisfactory to the board.... and ask for your help in this matter. I love this school, the students, and my position very much. My heart and mind are aligned with Cempaka's mission statement, and I truly believe in our philosophies. If you feel that I am not performing my duties adequately, I wish to know what area I may be lacking so that I may immediately address the issue... I am committed to this institution, and I hope that we will have a long and fruitful relationship. I look forward to your guidance. Thank you for your time and understanding.

Mr. Dustin North, CILC English Department."

These two sharply contradictory statements, from his own hand, would seem to reveal for all to see, the elements of dishonesty, duplicity and malice in the character of Dustin North.   

Dustin is an angry young man because he was not confirmed in his post, with a loss of a rise in pay. He admitted it as much in his letter. It is all about money. I can understand that. Sadly, however, the dishonesty, wild accusations, malice, and purple language, are unbecoming of a teacher in any school.
 

Ordinarily, the letter deserves to be ignored. However, as it was posted on the Net, I owe it to the Cempaka family, and a wide circle of Cempaka friends, to respond to it openly.

Thank you for your patience in reading through this response. 


Yours truly,


Dato Freida Pilus,
Founder/Mentor Cempaka Schools.
Principal,
Cempaka International Ladies College.

End text

I will respond to this in another blog post as this is already very long. But don't you think that this letter is so elegant and diplomatic? If it were me, I'd be screaming vulgarities already. That's why I admire Dato' Freida. True Cempakans will always stand by you no matter what.