Unsung Heroes: Pak Murtardo

Unsung: Not acknowledged or praised

Today I’m meeting up with someone who you may have noticed before. He roams around the school checking up on various equipment. He holds the keys to every room in PB3, yet he’s rather difficult to track down. His name is Pak Murtardo and this is the first issue of Unsung Heroes.

Every morning, from the 4th floor of Building B, Pak Murtardo goes down and checks up on the various appliances in each room. The AC system, electrical wiring, to even the loose door handles, Pak Murtardo puts all of his effort into maintaining the mechanisms that run the school as he’s the school’s main MEP (mechanical, electrical, and plumbing) man. He always has a wrench, electrical tools, and keys ready on him. Throughout the day he goes around the school, taking breaks in the basement or at the post upfront. He finishes up at 17:00 with another round from the 4th floor, making sure to turn off the lift along the way.

Prior to Springfield, he worked at SECOM, providing security systems to companies nationally. When he was in Kalimantan, he also worked as the MEP man for a company working on SWRO, Sea Water Reverse Osmosis, and BWRO, Brackish Water Reverse Osmosis, both being filtration systems for water. Prior to that, he worked as the MEP man for Pupuk Kujang, working on installations, water intakes from the river and how its transferred.

There’s a recurring saying about Pak Murtardo that goes, “When we need him, he’s not there. Though when we don’t need him, he suddenly appears.” When actually asked about it, he says that, “Well, not really. I always go around the school, roaming around. Though well sometimes, people just don’t happen to stumble upon me.”

And so that’s Pak Murtardo at work. A veteran in the water filtration industry, rather difficult to track down, yet less so to stumble upon-maintenance man for the school.