Heavy Heart and Salute

I wanna dedicate this post to the Passing of a Great Man, Dr Goh.

I am great admirer of great men, great in terms of the legacies they leave to community, be it country, sports, arts, the needs of specific groups and not so much, the material aspects (like millionaires, but rather millionaires who give alot back to society). They display values and qualities such as passion, idealism, altruism, integrity, which I value alot and whom I would see as role models. Through these years, again and again, my heart were struck with awe and sadness, Pan Shou, Guo Bao Kun, S Rajaratnam to name a few.

When I heard abt the passing of this Great Man, the chief architect of Our Modern Independent Nation, I was shocked and saddened. So, today, I spent the whole day reading about his legacy and watching the commemorative documentary. Tears flowed. Haiz, I have active tear glands.

Being born as post-independence generation, my knowledge of this great man is from history texts and of course, when i was working and research on education policies for some papers. His contributions to the nation is too big, too instrumental to be mentioned in words here. Anyway, there are alot more able writers who can do that. There are some policies that I might not agree, there are policies that were deemed as controversial but all in all, he has left indelible footprints and fingerprints in the many facets of our Modern Nation.

In present days when sound values, strong work ethics, dedication and pioneering spirit are becoming harder to come by, when relationships are becoming more and more transactional, his legacy is a strong and clear reminder of what true leadership is about, what true care, serve and lead is about, what true passion is about.

For those who is reading this post, spend some time to learn about what and how this great man has done for our Nation, in his own unique, visionary, hands-on and yet quiet and simple ways.

I would like to share this quote from the Straits Times, 15 May 2010 Page D08,

"Towards the end, he bemoaned how putting education in the service of the economy had cultivated conformity rather than creativity. In a 1970 speech, he was openly critical of the examination-oriented education system: 'The idea of education as a search for truth, the excitement for intellectual inquiry and speculation - all this are given lip service and little else. And so we have in Singapore intellectual conformity in place of intellectual inquisitiveness. And it all adds up to a depressing climate of intellectual sterility. if we are completely honest with ourselves, I think we can detect in contemporary Singapore a strange and striking similarity of intellectual climate and social values with Victorian England, together with much of the hypocrisies and cruelties of that age.'

At the end of his political career, he was sceptical about the role government played in the area of culture and intellectual life. In an interview on retirement, he said:'Let's not despise material gains. And there is also a need for some soul. You must never ask the government to provide for the needs of the soul... I don't think you want the government to provide comfort for the soul. This is very dangerous. After some time, we tell you what to think. We must not underestimate the ability of Singaporeans to think for themselves and come to their own judgement. We can persuade them, but in the end, they make up their own minds.'"

I salute you, sir.

We are blessed to have you as one of the chief stewarts.

Rest in Peace.