‘Office boy’ grateful for lifetime employment

Loyal worker: Mohan showing a picture of him taken right before he started working for The Star in 1979.

GEORGE TOWN: Four decades is a long time to serve in a company, but Chandramohan Ramu Pillai has done just that for the past 42 years.

Serving The Star since Valentine’s Day in 1979, Mohan as he is known, is the longest-serving employee of Star Media Group.

He recalled turning up for the interview in a pair of shorts and a T-shirt at 10am. He was told to clock in at 3pm the same day.

“I was 17; I had never owned any formal wear then,” he said.

So he rushed to Campbell Street and bought two pairs of long pants and two long-sleeved shirts.

“I lived four doors down from The Star’s Pitt St office, so it was easy to go home, change and turn up for work,” said Mohan, who is now chief office helper/messenger.

He started out as an office boy with the editorial department and was later transferred to the administrative side for a few years before returning to what is now known as the content department.

Back then, he said it was very hectic with three shifts.

“We would have to send the pages for checks. Once the printing plates were ready, we would carry them downstairs.

“We would bring the copies upstairs for proof-reading before printing could continue.

“There was always something that needed to be done. Now, everything is done online,” he said.

Mohan, 60, also recalled the wild frenzy during the Komtar fire in 1983 and the ferry tragedy in 1988.

“All of us had to be on standby at work. The Star printed extra copies, so there were more things that needed to be done,” he said.

Over the years, he even volunteered to sell copies of the newspaper during the annual property fair and Starwalk events.

“Once, it was my wedding anniversary and I was volunteering at the property fair. My colleagues got me a cake to celebrate my anniversary. It was a memorable occasion,” he said.

Mohan said he had seen many of his colleagues retiring over the years.

“Now it is my turn. It will feel odd. I am trying to savour these few months as I retire on Dec 30, my 60th birthday. It has been a wonderful 42 years,” he said.

He said he was so used to his routine of waking up at 4am and catching the 6am bus to get to the office.

“Once I retire, I will pursue other ventures but not going to work every day will be difficult,” he said.

Mohan said he would always be grateful to the company as he managed to buy a house and educate his two children.

Another long-serving employee is S. Ratnakumar, who joined the company in 1979 after a friend, who was employed at The Star, recommended him for the job.

“I was living in Brickfields (Kuala Lumpur) at that time and would come to work at The Star office which was at Jalan Travers then,” said Ratnakumar, who has served 42 years in the production department.

The bachelor, who will retire in a few months, recalled how he almost left for Singapore to work when The Star was shut down for several months during Operasi Lallang.

“I was about to leave for Singapore to take up the job when I received a letter from The Star calling me back to work when the paper was allowed to resume operations again,” he said.

He ditched his plans to go to Singapore and returned to the company.