When One Door Closes, Another Door Opens

As I have mentioned previously, I retired from the Sarawak Civil Service last year after serving more than 35 years. I retired at the peak of my career as the Resident of Sibu. As the Resident, I am responsible for the administration of Sibu Division and as such, I wield much authority. Working life was hectic and there were so many decisions to make. Therefore my transition to retirement is not easy. Truth be told, I still feel a bit lost now and am still unsure of what goals that I should set for my retirement.

When I retired last year, I was hoping that the State Government would offer me a post in an advisory position. However, after 1 year has lapsed, I need to accept that this door has closed. After some serious thought, I decided to become a trainer. There are a number of reasons for this. Firstly, being a trainer will allow me to tap on my experience of 35 years as a civil servant. The wealth of knowledge and skills that I had acquired over the years can be passed down to the next generation of civil servants.

Secondly, I have always been passionate about sharing my skills and knowledge with the younger generation even when I was still serving. These young generations are our future leaders and their impact on society is tremendous. I have always considered myself a teacher and mentor to those that I work closely with. Training will be something that I can perform with great passion.

Thirdly, training is something that I can do on a part-time basis. As such I will be semi-retired instead of fully retired. This will give me the flexibility to pursue my other passion, traveling. I will still be in control of my time and I can schedule my training so that I can still take long vacations abroad.

I have taken 2 concrete steps to become a trainer. I have already registered my company with the Inland Revenue Board. I have chosen the name Creative Success Enterprise and I will collect my certificate of incorporation early next month.

Secondly, I have attended the 5-day Train The Trainer in Kuala Lumpur. Upon completion, I had been issued a certificate and now I am a certified trainer with Human Resource Development Commission. Over the period of 5 days, I gained so much knowledge and practical tips that will be most useful for me as a trainer.

I look forward to my first session of training.