Why I Do What I Do is an original AsiaOne series where we showcase people with uncommon professions and what it takes to get there. In Why I Do What I Do: After Dark, a five-part spin-off, we take a closer look at the night owls who work while the rest of us are sleeping.
Most nights, Abdul Aziz can be found traversing SMRT’s train tracks by foot to maintain them and keep them running smoothly. But it’s not the odd hours that’s the toughest part of the job for the 31-year-old — it’s leaving his kids at night.
When we meet the permanent way technician after midnight at Clementi MRT station — deserted save for a handful of night shift workers — he’s in a cheery mood, chatting animatedly with his teammates at any opportunity he gets.
But the mood turns sombre when the discussion turns to the challenges of the job.
The father of two maintains he’s accustomed to the odd hours and even loves “working under the moon”, but leaving his five-year-old son and baby daughter is something he’ll never get used to.
“When I go to work, he will say ‘nak ayah’, which means he wants me,” Aziz tells us, choking up. “It’s just sad. Sometimes I’ll tell him, ‘I have to. If not, how are we going to eat?'”
Another poignant memory was when he celebrated Hari Raya with his colleagues instead of his family some four years back, Aziz tells us.
“We all had to work, so we just went to the nearest mosque after our shift.
“I just feel sad lah. Because I need to sacrifice my (family) time for work. And yet I have my brothers to be with me on Hari Raya.”
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As part of his 10.30pm-to-8am shift, Aziz meticulously plans the night’s deployments and rectifies any defects he finds on the tracks.
It’s no simple task — each deployment sees the team of nine donning headlamps and lugging their equipment along a pitch dark track. The maintenance process itself also requires teamwork and getting their hands dirty, says Aziz, adding that’s his favourite part of the job.
“I think I feel that way because I served in the Singapore Civil Defence Force during my national service,” He explains. “They are fighting fires. We are maintenance. But the teamwork is the same.”
But despite the team’s best efforts, there are times when train delays happen — often causing much frustration for commuters — Aziz admits, but if there’s anything he wants commuters to know, it’s that he’s “always working on it”.
And despite the ups and downs, Aziz says there’s no other job he’d rather do.
If anything, it’s all worth it to leave a legacy for his kids, he says.
“Your father is always your first hero, you know? So I think he will feel I’m a hero to him. I think when he grows up, he will see more and appreciate more.”
