It
is with the greatest sadness that my father—Lau Choon Kit—has passed away in
the morning of 23 April at the age of 78 years. He was the fourth child of
Chinese immigrants from Fujian Anxi. Before he married my mother, he was a
primary school teacher in Kuala Lumpur. He later started his own business which
he experienced both good and bad times. He retired at a relatively early age
for health reasons but he was always positive about life. He has dealt with his
diabetes and related illness gallantly in recent years in general and in the
last two weeks in particular.
He
had always cared about his children’s education. He had never coerced us in
taking up specialties of his choice but he gave us visionary guidance in terms
of our study abroad destinations. As a consequence, our seven siblings were
spread out across the Pacific—in Tokyo, Los Angeles, Sydney and Malaysia—from 1983.
I have always joked with him that: “Father, you are more far sighted than all
the leaders from APEC, because you have Lau family’s branches in key places at
the Pacific Rim” and he always noted smilingly. He was always proud of his
seven children’s attainment--four Ph.D. (two from Japanese universities, one
each from an American and an Australian university, respectively), two Masters
(Japan and Australia), and one undergraduate (Japan).
The
siblings are so grateful for his care and love, without which, we could not have achieved what we are now. Although he did not live an
extravagance life but he has always feel more than luxury to watch our
achievements. Our family will certainly miss him more than words can say, particularly the thunder of his voice. Although we mourn him with great sorrow, but at the same time we also cheer him for embarking on a new journey. “Father, your memory
will live on with us forever. May you look over us—just like you have always
done—from the other side ”
