It was not an easy weekend for me. You see, one of my old school friends – one whom I’ve known since primary school days – passed away.
Beng, our macho sea-faring ex-captain, fought a hard fight against the Big C and never gave up until the end. Though he stayed in Sabah for much of his working life, he was among his family in Penang when he passed away on 18 Dec 2007, three days after his 54th birthday.
Some of his old school friends – both in Malaysia and Singapore – knew he was ill and we were actually planning to visit him last weekend to cheer him up but it was not to be. Instead, we were a sorrowful group that visited his wake or funeral service.
Derek, Teik Kooi, Kheng Hock, Kah Kheng, Kok Hin, Boo Teik and I were at the funeral on Saturday while Hock Leong and Leong Teik attended the wake. Many others who could not make it sent their condolences to Beng’s wife, Amy, and their children.
Last weekend reinforced in me the Lord Buddha’s teachings of the impermanence of life. Grieving is good for the soul as one attempts to come to terms with one’s personal loss but the more important lesson is that life must still go on. Amy and the children – all grown up and in fact, Amy is already a grandma – will learn to cope and move along, just like all of us will do too.
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Dear SSQuah,
I happen to chance on this article and thank you for writing about my father.
On behalf of the family, we thank you for the write up.
Sincerely,
Shannon Ng (Mr)
P/S: typo on the date as it was 18 Jan 2007 instead of 17 Dec 2007.