FATHER'S DAY

My late father

"What makes you a man is not the ability to have a child — any fool can have a child. That doesn’t make you a father. It’s the courage to raise a child that makes you a father.”
President Barrack Obama

It's 8.20 p.m. and that means about 3 more hours left of a day dedicated to fathers. Today during breakfast and lunch I saw quite a number of families enjoying a meal with their fathers. Unfortunately I couldn't do so as my dad passed away 5 years ago. Still I spent some time reminising about him and what a wonderful dad he had been to me and my sisters. Unlike President Obama's dad, mine was always there for me and I can proudly say that the late Mr Cheah Peng Weng was a true father in every sense.

Let me share with you some of my memories with my dad. Whenever I went back to Ipoh from teacher's training college in Kuala Lumour or university in Bristol for the holidays, Mr Cheah would go to the market and buy all sorts of seafood and vegetables that I like and cook them for me. He kept saying that I didn't have good food when I was away from home and so each time I was back he made sure that every dish on the table was the ones I like.

Once when I was at university in England and I hurt my back. I mentioned about it to him when I called home. The moment he put down the phone, my dad cycled to the nearest Chinese medicine shop and bought lots of medicated plasters and posted them immediately to me in England. He even brought my mum to the temple to ask the deity to protect me.

I think I made my dad very, very proud when I called back from England to say that I passed my degree with first class honours. According to my mum, he went and proudly told everyone (his students, the staff and teachers) in his school, his cronies and all the relatives. Actually he was already very proud of me when I was the best academic student during my college days but the First class honours was even better. Unfortunately my dad did not live long enough to see me getting my Masters degree in education. He would be even prouder.

However, I believe that my dad will always be with me and that he is always looking out for me. And that is why I will strive to one day earn my doctoral degree to make him the proudest dad in heaven.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!!