REMEMBERING MY PA

I blog from the lanai, facing the door of my unit. I paused to think and looked towards the door. A figure passed by but looked my way before moving off. It was my PA. I know it. Yes, it was last night’s dream, an eve of Fathers’ Day brief dream encounter. I know he has a message….it will come to me later. I know it.

My Pa was an employee of CEB (Central Electricity Board), latter LLN and now TNB. His friend, the late Tan Sri Zainal (later the Chairman of LLN) gave him the job as a meter-reader in Taiping. The pay was meager and he held two other jobs keeping accounts at Universal Radio and the Coronation Amusement Park, to put bread on the table and to always give us the best (books, toys, comics) he could afford. He held on to these moon-lighting until he was transferred to Ipoh. Tan Sri promoted him to Inspector of meter readers when Penang and the mainland of then Province Wellesley opened up to heavy industries. His job was to register the readings of the factories. It was then that he was asked to “adjust” the readings for a “reward”. Can you imagine what an extra RM500 X # of factories will amount to?

He resisted. He could sleep soundly albeit with boisterous snoring.

He took early retirement because he did not want to die without paying up for the house.

To me, he was the gentlest of gentlemen. The harshest words he could utter was “Bloody Kai Tai” when watching live tournaments in football and badminton when our players did not give their best. By the way he took his first and last beer at my stag party!

Me, I am a poor shadow of my PA. I don’t think I will ever be even the shadow of my PA.

His first grandson, Bernard Khoo-Farquharson was born when he took ill. He kept asking if Patrina was bringing Bernie home from the Bahamas. But he kept Bernie’s photo on his bedside table. He could not hold on but I put Bernie’s photo in his clasped hand to take with him to Heaven. Dang, he is up there now lah taking care of all of us.

This Bette Midler song that we sang during his funeral service most appropriately (every line of it) sums up what my PA was to me. The whole verses of this song too appeared in his Orbituary Notice. I’d like to share with you, especially all you out there who cannot hug your PA today to wish him a Happy Fathers’ Day.

ASIDE: I played this song in one of the seminars I conducted. The next morning before the session one of my participants introduced me to her husband. The man, took my hands, shook it firmly and said: "Mr Khoo, I want to thank you for whatever you did. We have been separated for 3 years. Yesterday at 6pm, she called me and said that she was coming home."