Who is Scott Martin?

In what sense do you mean?

In terms of his role within TBI.

He is no longer working for USG; he is working for TBI Pasar Kaliki (Paskal), a franchise school in Bandung.

What was his former role?

He used to be the school manager of Jalan Jawa and then Jalan Riau after they moved address. This was not the most profitable TBI Group School, but it had long had the highest number of students.

We will talk about why TBI group schools removed him later. Let’s go back to his roots.

He was born in Adelaide, South Australia. Like Luke he was born in 1975 and they both went to primary school together, probably in Port Noarlunga, just to the south of the South Australian capital.

How long has been friends with Luke Preece?

The two of them went to primary school together, so I think they have known each other for 30 years.

Did Luke confess to you that Scott Martin had been his friend for years?

I knew Scott’s name because Luke said what a good guy he was. But he never told me that his pick for the manager of Jalan Jawa was his friend from his home town. He definitely concealed that matter from me.

How did you find out that the manager of Jalan Jawa had been Luke’s best friend for 30 years?

It was Jodi- also known as Jamila Sheik- who told me.

When was this?

Probably a month or two after Scott became manager of TBI Jawa. This would be some time around May or June 2010. Basically, she was furious about the whole affair.

How did you come to talk with Jodi-Jamila about this matter?

She told me in a private conversation in Jakarta. She said she had refused to travel from Bandung to Jakarta with Luke Preece because they had had a falling out. She said she was outraged that Luke Preece had appointed Scott Martin as manager of Jalan Jawa. “Did you know that the two of them went to Primary School together?” she had said, clearly angry about the whole matter. I didn’t know. It was really the first time I had a conversation where someone criticized Luke trenchantly.

We have been called ‘insane’ for presuming that Luke has stooges. Clearly Jodi thought that Scott was Luke’s stooge or crony or she wouldn’t have been so angry. Did you get the impression she thought it was morally wrong?

Oh absolutely.

Was her only objection that Luke had appointed his best friend?

No, it extended far beyond that point. Though that was the root of it.

What other issues did she raise with the appointment?

There was a whole list. First, Scott hadn’t even been the company long and had never been Academic Team Leader. He jumped a whole level straight into the job. Second, Scott had performed badly in his CELTA and at one point had been judged in danger of not passing. He was regarded as academically weak as a teacher as well and had not inspired his students. Jodi basically thought it was a scandal that a weak teacher who had never been Academic Team Leader should be put in charge of over 1000 students. What made it even worse, as Jodi told it, was that Ra**a had served as Deputy School Manager for many years, doing an excellent job, and Jodi had been Actel. Jodi and Ratna had asked to run it together, but Luke would have none of it.

What else?

Jodi said that Luke had once been a great guy but he had changed beyond recognition since being appointed as Business Manager of 2010. He had become arrogant and high-handed.

Do you think Luke had been a great guy but the power went to his head and turned him into a corrupt and arrogant bully?

No I don’t. I think that he was always a con-man but Jodi hadn’t woken up to him until mid-2010. He had fooled her for years. Once he was Business Manager he no longer needed her, and he suddenly started showing his real face to her.

How did Luke respond to the waves of discontent coming off Jodi?

He was very disparaging.

What did he say?

He said he thought she was going through menopause and had become unbalanced and irrational. Whenever Jodi’s gripes was mentioned, he started referring to her as ‘a menopausal cow’ or talked about women’s hormones or some such. He also said that Scott Martin had been the only candidate for the position. He denied that he had rigged it in Scott’s favor. He said that Scott had a great history of success as a manager in Adelaide and that this business experience trumped anything else.

Can you see the pattern in Luke Preece’s behavior whenever someone questions him?

He gets hurt and offended and pretends to be the victim.

I also see that anyone who questions his morality and ethics is ‘too emotional’, ‘unbalanced’, ‘hormonal’ or just plain ‘crazy’. He seems to think that the definition of crazy is mentioning his unethical conduct.

Uhuh. Sounds right to me.

You can see Luke Preece on the left. Scott Martin is on the right.