Since he was a teenager, he was active in lifting-up the spirits to many people in the name of Education to all. He was a scout leader. He worked as a part-time sports journalist for a local newspaper to help pay his fees in order to take his ‘O’ levels exams. He worked as a teacher, a school principal twice and was a pioneer in the early years of nation-building of Singapore working as a Politician. He spent a lot of his time helping the community despite of his obligations to his family of 8. I was born in 1967, I remembered that my father was hardly at home only to find out later, old enough to understand that he was a Politician and a contributer in giving hopes for a better future. He worked with a lot with people, gave a lot of speeches, and stood for elections. I remembered watching him on the television. But he still made time for me and my siblings. Most significantly, a good religious upbringing. He also made time to bring us to the zoo, the Jurong Bird Park, Sentosa, Katong Park, funfairs, etc. He and my mum surprised me twice by attending my school concerts (unforgettable), bringing us all to his events and made me and my sister the ‘flower girls’ to thank the Guests of honour on the main theatre stage. I was 5 or 6 at the time. It was nice that he would involved us in most of the events he was involved in. When he travelled a lot abroad, he would bring us gifts. At one time, he constantly borrowed an old film projector and played P. Ramlee movies on the wall of our living room. That was fun, as in the seventies there were no colour tv. We saw a lot of malay movies, cartoons, like Tom and Jerry or Looney Tunes, little did we know that he was working for the Ministry of Culture. And of course little that I knew at the time, he was a politician. We love him a lot although he can be very strict at times. He would never scold us only if we missed our prayers. My father would leave all 6 of us every Saturday at the National Library near Coleman Street, made sure we spent all morning reading or attended some storytelling event there while waiting for my father to finish work nearby at the Parliment house. Thats how we cultivated our love for reading and literature. He never fail to show us where he came from too. At every school holidays we stayed at our grandmother’s Kampong house in Kuala Pilah, thats where he was born and my cousins would tease us, ” the city peeps are here! ” We loved the rural life as much as the city life we lived in. We had the best of both worlds.

All these experiences have kept us humble and being thankful for what we have. We didnt live as commoners, we had drivers and helpers before. We got free tickets to most events and with VIP seats. That alone would made us snobbish, but my parents have never encourage that and insisted on a religious way of upbringing, cultivating lots of gratitude and respect for the elders and family always. They instilled alot on the importance on education. Here is a photo of my father representing Singapore in one of his many conferences he attended.

My father have a fighting spirit in him till his last days. He has not able to move much and communicated only with his eyes and smiles while he was still alive. He has been always my inspiration, my hero and my motivator in life. He has done a lot for me and all my siblings and believing in us and knowing all of our potential. I would not be what I am today if not for my father. His self proclaimed Motto in life. ” Service to your family, your beliefs, your race and your country” and he has definitely lived up to that. My parents, showed more actions than words in the way they brought us up.

No words can express how much I love u Bak..you are being greatly missed…This is for you…

A tribute letter from the PM himself.

Later I received the news late of his passing, that was when I was about to board the flight to Stansted. Oh that was hard. I said Oh NO! so loud that everybody wondered what happened. I just cant believe. I had the choice to not take the flight but not this time. I wanted to pay my last respects which I did. I had the priviledge to go to the hospital with his family.

I met his family, who are ever so hospitable. A beautiful weekend stay with Mal’s sister, Angela and Jim and their three boys and Ged who is ever so caring who made me feel like home. I will never forget their generosity. I love the town they lived in called Northcote Road. Oh how I missed London. I really did.

Malcolm was like a father to me when I was studying in London. He was one of my best friend’s uncle and his contact was a useful one as I didnt know anybody in London.  He was a man with a big and warm heart. He helped me with my thesis and motivated me. His door is always open, and he always invites his friends over for rice and curry all the time. I remembered just sitting in the living talking for hours as he knows how much I miss my family in Singapore. He was not only like a father but a great man all put together. Things like this, one can never forget. I am ever so grateful to him always, taking every chance to visit him whenever I can.

Malcolm, you are deeply missed and you will always be in our hearts. London won’t be the same without you. But that wont stop me from seeing your family in London again.

Rest in Peace.

~ A best friend is like a four leaf clover, hard to find and lucky to have ~

~ Many people will walk in and out of your life, but only true friends will leave footprints in your heart ~

~ My best friend is the one who brings out the best in me. ~

~ To have a good friend is one of the highest delights in life; to be a good friend is one of the noblest and most difficult undertakings. ~

~ Friendship isn’t a big thing – it’s a million little things. ~

~ The best kind of friend is the one you could sit on a porch with, never saying a word, and walk away feeling like that was the best conversation you’ve had.~

~ A loyal friend laughs at your jokes when they’re not so good, and sympathizes with your problems when they’re not so bad. ~

~ We are all travelers in the wilderness of the world, and the best that we can find in our travels is an honest friend. ~

Forever in our thoughts

Here are some works he did with my SLR camera. He had a good eye for capturing a good moment. More to come later.

You are our inspiration. We love you very much. As you are in Sarajevo at this moment with your family, we have you in our heart and mind always, thinking of what you are doing and how you are doing. Eversince we met you, you have that great zest in you, much energy and spontaneity that we havent seen before. What is the most captivated feature from you is your beautiful cute smile. That never fail to capture our attention. Your mum is so proud of you and we know she is fighting strong like you do, the only difference is that you made it easier for her sometimes with your jokes and laughter.

I remembered when I first me you in Summer Festival in Gievenbeck and you keep asking your mum for 5 Euros and wouldnt say for what. In the end, you make us all smile when you went alone to a photo studio and took a great picture of yourself dedicated to your mom. How sweet is that from a 7 year old boy? That proves how thoughtful you are and sweet.

we wait for your return next week. Lets play some basketball and get all crazy again! Vik, our fighter and sunflower! See you next week