Peter Tan – The Digital Awakening
Living One Day At A Time
Robin Gibb has died at the age of 62. By far, the Bee Gees is still my all-time favourite trio of musicmakers. I grew up loving their songs, singing their songs. My favourites include Words, Massachusettes and I Started A Joke, the last being the one that I sang the most while coaxing accompaniment from the guitar. Incidentally, Robin wrote and sang that song. He will be sorely missed. Farewell Robin. Your music shall live on forever.
My Ah Tneoh, my youngest maternal aunt’s husband, has passed away shortly after noon. He was 88. We were close as extended families. Ah Tneoh would usually drop Ah Cheng Ee off at our place on Sunday afternoons when we were staying at Jalan Terengganu. Both she and my mother would then potter around the garden or just enjoy each other’s company.
In the evenings, Ah Tneoh would come back to pick her up. That was the routine for many years until they moved to just a stone’s throw away from us. After that, Ah Cheng Ee would come over by herself. Ah Tneoh would drop by occasionally still whenever they return from running errands.
The last time I saw Ah Tneoh was at my wedding banquet in 2009. Ah Tneoh and Ah Cheng Ee were as close to me as parents as they ever could be. Among them, I have always felt loved. I am distraught. His passing is sorely felt. Rest in peace Ah Tneoh.
Former Chief Minister of Penang Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu passed away today at age 91. Long after he left the Chief Ministership of Penang, he was still remembered for all the progress that he had brought to the island, especially the setting of of the Free Trade Zone (FTZ) in Bayan Lepas. I have not met him in person but I have heard of the great things he had done to develop Penang to become the Silicon Valley of the East. This development opened up employment opportunities for so many Penangites then and now. My late father, a Consulting Supervising Electrical Engineer, benefitted greatly from the many factories that were set up there that employed his services. Tun Dr Lim is a true son of Penang worthy of the respect and admiration accorded to him by every Penangite. Rest in peace Tun, we will remember you for a long time to come.