He did not even have enough money for transport so he tried to look for jobs around the neighbourhood of his brother’s apartment where he stayed.
Mr Jamil was not successful in his job hunt.
With a wife and two young daughters in Indonesia to support, he was desperate to find a job to support the family.
“I had to start from zero again and it was very difficult for me to get a job,” said Mr Jamil.
That was when he decided to call up Mr Nathan Arputhasamy, a case manager from the Singapore Corporation of Rehabilitative Enterprises (SCORE), for help.
“I didn't have to wait for long, as he immediately recommended me a job,” said Mr Jamil.
“So without thinking too much I accepted the offer to go for the interview,” he added.
The job application process was a tedious one for Mr Jamil.
However, when Mr Jamil saw how much dedication Mr Nathan put in to help him secure the job, he decided to persevere and try his best to get the job so as not to disappoint Mr Nathan.
Mr Jamil eventually got the job.
But that was not the end of his work challenges.
He was to start work as a welder at Keppel Singmarine Pte Ltd on March 2010 but was absent from the first few days of work.
This was because he kept missing the company-provided bus on the first few days of work as he did not know where the pick-up point for the company bus was located.
Unable to afford even the cost of his own transportation to work and not knowing how to explain to the company for his absenteeism at work, Mr Jamil called Mr Nathan for help.
“He did not have enough money, he was not used to getting up early to go to work and he was not sure of the transport routine so I had to call the company's human resource department and do some explanation on his behalf,” said Mr Nathan.
“The company was very tolerant of the Yellow Ribbon Project candidates, not just by offering them the job opportunities but also with helping ex-offenders adapt. Not many employers are willing to do that,” he added.
“This man came all the way from Selarang Park Drug Rehabilitation Centre (where SCORE case managers are based) to lend me support. He put a lot of effort on me,” said Mr Jamil.
He added: “All the while I had nobody to ask for help so I called him a lot of times because I did not know which channel to call for assistance. For me it was a great help to have a case manager.”
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