Tribute to my father, Tang Seng Huang @ Tan Seng Huang
This is a compilation of snippets I wrote on my FB page. Warning : Please do not read if
you feel uncomfortable about reading such private and honest (straight from the
heart) stuff -
It's 2.35 am and I am still quite awake. I want to put more of my thoughts down
before my memory fails me. Why did I join politics? Actually, my late dad was
pretty instrumental. Ever since I could remember, he was a strong Rocket
supporter.
Let me share about my late dad. My late grandfather died when my
dad was only a toddler. My widowed grandmother had to take care of four children
by working odd jobs. My dad had to quit school to start work after finishing
his LCE. He worked from rank and file and retired as a junior manager in
Guthrie Chemara. He was the sole breadwinner.
Despite his handicap, he was a great table tennis player, so I was
told. He was truly an inspiration to us. He could jump and run faster than any
other able bodied person. In fact, he preferred to jump up and down the
staircase instead of walking. I never really felt that he was handicapped
except for the fact that one of his legs was much smaller than the other.
My dad's friends told me that he was very good in Maths. He joined
Guthrie's after he left school and never left the company except for a short
stint in Indonesia. He made sure we went to his former school, ACS. He had
foresight too. He sent me for computer lessons when I was in Form 3 or 4. He
managed to bring up four children and educate us with a miserly salary.
He was my best friend when I was growing up. He brought me to
watch movies when I was only a kid. He was an avid "Movie News"
reader. I learnt about a lot about Hollywood stars from those magazines. In the
process, I was unwittingly trained to read and write English. He taught himself
how read and write in Chinese as he was a banana person (Yellow skinned but
speak the white language i.e Chinese but can’t read or write in Chinese).
After learning chinese on his own, my dad could read chinese and
even preached in chinese. He was helping out in the church. He doted on me,
being the eldest. My sisters can attest to that. He always told me that I
should have been born a son. I was a tomboy.
Being the firstborn, I was expected to be family's spokesperson in
my father's absence. He brought me as his companion for his company functions
as my mom, being Chinese-educated was not very comfortable socialising with my
dad's colleagues. I was trained as a socialite that way ! Due to my
unsatisfactory results (might I add, the quota system), I couldn't read law in
the local university.
I shall write a tribute to my cousin, Tan Moh Huat, my cousin and
my mentor. Moh Huat was like a son to my dad. I sort of followed whatever Moh
Huat did as he was 9 years older than me. He went to science stream, I too went
to science stream even though I couldn't fathom why one needs to calculate the
speed of the raindrops falling on the car windscreen at a certain degree with
the car travelling at a certain speed ?? I was non-plussed !
Moh Huat then went on to become a lawyer. So I wanted to follow
his footsteps. Hence, I chose law. Anyway, back to my dad. He was financially
strapped, earning a meagre salary and feeding 5 mouths. He advised me to work
in a bank and find a nice man to settle down. That was the only instance of
which he was not gender sensitive, due his dire financial situation. I was very
adamant to read law. I told him I will go for the college with the lowest fees.
I found one college that offered LLB London (External). It was more like a
tuition centre.
Despite being the cheapest, my dad had to struggle really hard.
Seeing his struggle, I decided to put all my efforts into my studies. I
travelled daily back and forth between Seremban and KL. On a daily basis, he
would ferry me to and fro between the bus stop and our house. He was a very
patient man.
After I graduated with flying colours (more on that later), my
other mentor offered me a job in Lee Boon Peng and Co. It was my first job and
I am still happily practising my law for the past 16 years. Talking about
foresight, my dad paid for my braces as I was quite broke as a chambering
student earning RM700-00 a month. He said the image is very important. One must
look good in order to create a good first impression!
My dad was a selfless person who put us first before anything. He
never thought of going for escapades or vacations without us. He only travelled
for work purposes. I remember being puzzled when I overheard him telling my mom
that he was returning his per diem allowance to his company as he couldn't
finish spending his allowance. Guthrie sent him to Nigeria, Indonesia, Vietnam
and UK for work. He would return and share very interesting anecdotes about
each country.
One thing about my dad. He was an interesting person. He could
hold an audience with his animated conversation and wit. In Nigeria, he said
that the lizards were as big as iguanas. He said imagine many iguanas
scrambling all over the walls and ceilings. That sent shivers down my spine. He
said that he specially requested to see how the natives live in Nigeria. He was
brought to a remote village and was given a warm welcome. The village head
invited him for a meal and the interpreter told him that the villagers prepared
the best meal for him. With much anticipation, my dad went to the dinner
expecting a sumptuous fare only to be served with a plate of gooey stuff. Much
to my dad's chagrin their best dish was fufu, made of mashed yam, cassava and
vegetables. Another interesting account was he said one day, he went into the
kitchen and found the cook playing with a big fat worm. He asked whether it was
her pet. She smiled and said that it was her dinner !
My father was a very honest, meticulous and loyal employee. He was
so meticulous that he would bring along his notebook to see his ex boss,
Christie Roberts, when summoned. He used to come back and said that it was not
easy working for Roberts as he was very fastidious. I used to imagine my dad
being bullied at work and my heart sank everytime.
That was a lesson for me to be empathetic towards my own staff. He had to
endure all these hardships because he was the sole breadwinner.
Nowadays, young people's threshold is pretty low. They will
quit or choose to become their own boss at the slightest reason. But all's well
that ends well. The great Christie Roberts came to my dad's wake. In fact, he
was one of the few of the "big guns" or my dad's ex-bosses in Guthrie
Chemara that came for the wake/funeral. I greeted him being the spokesperson
(as usual). I was trying to be as cordial as I could. All my bad thoughts, all
my preconceived thoughts all disappeared and my heart melted when I saw the
tears in Christie Roberts' eyes. Here he was, touted as an arrogant and no
nonsense guy, shedding tears for my dad. My dad must have done something great
to deserve such honour!
Our last family photo (with my father) together.
Seated from left to right : My father, Tang Seng Huang and my mother, Tang See Moy
Standing from left to right : My youngest sister, Tang Lee Chen; my third sister, Tang Lee Yan; my second sister, Tang Lee Lee; my goodself; and my husband, Aldrin Chan
