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Article and photos contributed by Chua Ai Lin, Writer/Editor, Bar Council

Being away from home and family is never an easy thing to do. Apart from the deep sense of nostalgia, there are the never-ending cravings for certain delicacies, which simply taste different, and far less delicious, when eaten elsewhere. That’s the price that Sarawakian, Kindsey Ak Chikros, has to pay and she puts up with it because she loves her job as a receptionist at the Bar Council Secretariat.

Taking a step back in time, Kindsey came to West Malaysia for a holiday in 2007, not realising then that it would take her more than a year to set foot in the Land of the Hornbills again. “I guess you could call it fate. I came here for a holiday with my aunt. Shalini Margaret Proctor, who was a secretary at the Bar Council then told me about this vacancy at her workplace. I thought I’d give it a try and here I am, almost two years later to the day,” says Kindsey.

Every morning, Kindsey reaches her workplace at 7.00 am, just to avoid the peak hour traffic jam, puts on her receptionist’s headset at 8.30 am and starts off her day. Apart from greeting and assisting walk-in visitors, her responsibilities include taking calls from anyone calling the Bar Council’s general number, including Members of the Bar and members of the public. She shares her task with Mohd Zakhiri Abdullah and Cheong Chee Kein. On an average day, they pick up about 600 calls between the three of them, which means each one of them responds to, on average, one call every 2.4 minutes.

“A lot of people assume that a receptionist’s job is very easy. Well, I can’t speak for others but I can tell you that being a receptionist at the Bar Council is one of the toughest things I‘ve ever done. It can get very challenging, even more so during peak periods. There are times it really seems as though the headset is a permanent extension of my head. There are also days when I had to go without any drinks or toilet breaks throughout the whole eight hours,” laughs 24-year-old Kindsey good-naturedly.

Picking up calls also means that Kindsey never knows who might be at the other end of the line. “Occasionally, we bear the brunt of the frustrated callers’ emotions. It’s not the most pleasant experience to get an earful for something that might not even be our fault. But you learn to take it all in stride. That’s part and parcel of being the front-liners of an organisation. Having loads of patience obviously helps a lot.”

“On the bright side, most of the visitors and callers appreciate what we do and take the time to be courteous and to say thank you. In fact, some of them treat us like friends, whether face-to-face or over the phone, especially if we’ve built up the rapport over a period of time.”

“In addition to that, I’m really thankful that Zakhiri, Cheong and myself make such a great team. I also enjoy working with the rest of the Secretariat’s staff. Since I’m away from home, my colleagues are like my family here. They play a big part in giving me a reason to come to work every day.”

“My most memorable experience is Talent Night 2008 where our colleagues from every department dressed up according to different themes. Our theme was “supernatural beings” and that was really fun. Alawiyah Muhd Yusof (Secretary) put on dark make-up and there were knives ‘sticking’ out of her head! Then we wrapped Mohd Shah Zainudin (Despatch Clerk) in layers and layers of toilet paper to transform him into a credible mummy. I especially enjoyed the Thriller dance performance where Ezane Mansor Obaid (IT Officer) was Michael Jackson! That was an amazing night for all of us. I hope that more such events will be organised.”

“I still miss my family but it’s much easier now compared to in the beginning. I really want to thank Dato’ Tony Fernandes for giving us Air Asia. It’s wonderful knowing that I can afford to fly back for a bowl of laksa Sarawak whenever I feel like it,” ends Kindsey whose last visit back to Kuching was in June this year.

This is the first in a series of profiles of Bar Council personnel. Please click here to read the other profiles.