MY FATHER, MR. LIM YONG KEAT

I speak of my dear papa as if he is still with us. And very much so. I feel he should still be with us here on earth. But we have to come to terms that he is no longer with us....yet so much alive in our hearts and lives. I thank God that my father wrote about his childhood, about his life. It was a great effort for him to log on and email me all that he has written. I am glad I have those with me and I hope I will be able to get it published within the next year. 

MR. LIM YONG KEAT
(20 Sept 1939 - 3 Jan 2014)
My papa in his favourite shirt....
taken during Hari Raya (August 2013)

Yesterday, I was at the IJM building to look through papa's things, as they were required to be shifted out of his office room. Since retiring (I really don't know when he retired as he never seemed to have!) he was given a room, being one of the founders of IJM and ICP.  My father is a very humble man. Even with his vast experience and qualifications, we have NEVER seen a time where my father talked about it. It was only after his death that we knew what a great person he was....we heard so much from the staff and people who knew him....of what he had done. There is so much that have been shared... and I will be getting staff, friends and people who knew my father -  to share some of the things my father has done that have left a lasting impression on their lives. 

One of the Chinese calligraphy scroll that I brought back had my father's name on it...but being the 'banana' that I am, I didn't understand what it meant, so I asked a friend to translate for me. She said this is what it meant :

LIM YONG KEAT....TO HAVE RIGHTEOUSNESS IN DOING ALL THINGS BOTH IN HEAVEN AND ON EARTH, TO LIVE A SIMPLE LIFE, NOT COVETING AFTER EXTRAVAGANCE. SOW IN TEARS BUT YOU WILL REAP, AND BLESSINGS WILL FILL YOUR HOME.

I don't know whether my father specifically asked the calligrapher to write this or someone asked, but I DO know this is WHO my father is and this is the WAY he lived. Papa, I love you and miss you so very much. Thank you for the legacy of giving that you left to me and my children and to their children. 

These photos were taken on papa's 70th birthday in 2009