A day like this must one day come.
My dear Uncle Hong Kang left us, last Sunday on Father's Day.
The Eulogy;
The attributes that make a great man is not through superiority or aristocracy, neither is it accomplished by worldly achievements. I believe what makes a man truly great, is the way he lived his life and all the lives he touches along the way.
For everyone present here today, I believe that in some way, my dear uncle Hong Kang has been a part of your life, no matter how brief a moment or throughout your entire lifetime. Some of you, more fortunate than me, may have known him a lot better. But I believe one thing for sure is that we have been both blessed to met him and proud to have known him. Because that’s how I feel.
So for those of you who don’t, I am here to tell you, how great of a man my dear uncle is.
For me, my Uncle Hong Kang is my favourite uncle and I have always been very proud to have him as my uncle. He had fought for our country and jumped out of aeroplanes. I don’t know anyone who else has done that, so his valour and patriotism made an impression on me as I was growing up. He also, always had a great sense of humour. I could remember about two years ago, when my dad told him, my mum was expecting another child, his first reaction was not to congratulate but instead he went, “Teck, how old are you?” My dad is 10 years younger than him. And my sister is 18 years younger than me. But this simple tease at my dad was backed by a sincere concern for my dad’s role in my sister’s life.
I believe that my uncle has lived his life to the fullest without any regrets. My only regret would be that I never got the chance to see him clad in his uniform, for I am sure would have an array of medals on it. I asked him about it once, of when he would wear it, he said maybe if one of his daughters got married to some General.
To me, he was a dotting uncle, never short of encouragement and advice, only he could tell you that you would someday be as good a golfer as Michelle Wie and actually take his word for it.
To my uncles and aunties, he was their beloved brother. He was a third of the 3 musketeers. A good friend and even a hero. His role in their lives has been everything but insignificant. I can see that they are all immensely proud to have just been a part of his life. As I reminisce with them through all the memories they have had together, my uncle was always there when you needed him to be. And I believe that my uncle’s baptism less than 2 weeks ago, will always be another fond memory they will all share.
From my observations, I found that nothing is too great an obstacle for this man. Even faced with cancer and staring death right in the eye, I don’t think he was ever afraid. I think he was only afraid of the grief we would bear by him leaving us. His bravery and strength has always been something I’ve admired.
My uncle has not stopped working a day in his life. If you didn’t know him any better you might accuse him of being a workaholic but I beg to differ. His dedication to his work never came in the way of his family. To him, nothing came second to his family and as for his work; he never ever took a day off if he could help it. Even through his battle with cancer, his priority was first his job then himself. His level of selflessness and commitment, is nothing but rare. To the extent, he would postpone his doctor’s appointments just to make sure everything at work is running smoothly. And I think the longest leave he has taken was the one he took just a few weeks ago.
So he had a job he enjoys, a loving family, and to top it all of, he was one really popular guy. I even found out that my friend’s dad was trained by him in RMC. Through the past few days while he was in the hospital, the masses of people that flocked to visit him was literally everyone who stepped foot onto that floor. But I think that was only a fraction of the people he knew. When you have friends rushing to your bedside, it is only a testament of the kind of person he is. And when those people range from his old personal driver from when he was serving in Malacca to the former Agung, the Raja of Perlis. That just says it all.
There is only so much I can say today, only so few words can describe my uncle’s life. I can only hope that it was a worthy attempt to depict such a great man.
On the 21st of June 2009, my cousins lost their father, my aunty her husband, his brothers and sisters, they lost a beloved brother, for me and all my cousins, we lost a dear uncle and to his friends, they lost a great comrade. But let me remind all of us, though he may not be here physically anymore but the memories we have of him will always live on, all the thoughts we shared, the dreams that he had for you and for me they still live on, for as long as we keep him in our hearts, he will forever live on in our lives.
And if you believe, until the day, we meet again.
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