EULOGY FOR LEONGSAM - The Father of Twits 196X-2014
To members of Sammyboy Alfresco Forum; to PAP and Opposition leaders, past and present; distinguished guests - it is a singular honour to be with you today, to celebrate a life unlike any other.
To the people of Singapore - people of every race and walk of life – we thank you for sharing Leongsam with us. His struggle was your struggle. His triumph was your triumph. Your dignity and hope found expression in his life, and your freedom, your democracy is his cherished legacy.
It is hard to eulogize any man - to capture in words not just the facts and the dates that make a life, but the essential truth of a person - their private joys and sorrows; the quiet moments and unique qualities that illuminate someone's soul. How much harder to do so for a giant of history, who moved a nation toward justice, and in the process moved billions around the world.
Born in the 1960s, far from the corridors of power, a boy raised catching fishes, watching steel shit buckets being carted away and tutored by elders of the PAP - Leongsam would emerge as the last great liberator of the 20th century.
Like Gandhi, he would lead a resistance movement - a movement that at its start held little prospect of success. Like Martin Luther King, he would give potent voice to the claims of the oppressed, and the moral necessity of justice. He would then endure a brutal self-exile in Auckland, New Zealand.
Emerging from there, without force of arms, he would - like Lincoln - hold his country together when it threatened to break apart. Like America's founding fathers, he erected Sammyboy Alfresco Forum (SBF) to preserve freedom for future generations - a commitment to democracy and rule of law.
Given the sweep of his life, and the adoration that he so rightly earned, it is tempting then to remember Leongsam as an icon, smiling and serene, detached from the tawdry affairs of lesser men. But Leongsam himself strongly resisted such a lifeless portrait. Instead, he insisted on sharing with us his doubts and fears; his miscalculations along with his victories.
"You’re a Twit," he frequently said.
It was precisely because he could admit to imperfection, like cycling on his bicycle without a seat - because he could be so full of good humour, even mischief, despite the heavy burdens he carried - that we loved him so.
He was not a bust made of marble; he was a man of flesh and blood - a son and husband, a father and a friend. That is why we learned so much from him; that is why we can learn from him still. For nothing he achieved was inevitable. In the arc of his life, we see a man who earned his place in history through struggle and shrewdness; persistence and faith. He tells us what's possible not just in the pages of dusty history books, but in our own lives as well.
Leongsam showed us the power of action; of taking risks on behalf of our ideals. He is a proud rebelliousness man with a stubborn sense of fairness.
Leongsam taught us the power of action, but also ideas; the importance of reason and arguments; the need to study not only those you agree with, but those who you don't.
Leongsam demonstrated that action and ideas are not enough; no matter how right, they must be chiseled into laws and institutions. He was practical, testing his beliefs against the hard surface of circumstance and history.
Finally, Leongsam understood the ties that bind the human spirit.
For the members of SBF, for those he inspired in Singapore – Leongsam’s passing is rightly a time of mourning, and a time to celebrate his heroic life. But I believe it should also prompt in each of us a time for self-reflection. With honesty, regardless of our station or circumstance, we must ask: how well have I applied his lessons in my own life?
We will never see the likes of Leongsam again. But let me say to the members of SBF - you can make his life's work your own.
After this great liberator is laid to rest; when we have returned to our homes, and re-joined our daily routines, let us search then for Leongsam’s strength - for his largeness of spirit - somewhere inside ourselves.
And when the night grows dark, when injustice weighs heavy on our hearts, or our best laid plans seem beyond our reach - think of Leongsam, and his words - “YOU ARE A TWIT!”
What a great soul it was. We will miss him deeply.
May God bless the memory of Leongsam. May God bless the people of Singapore.
To members of Sammyboy Alfresco Forum; to PAP and Opposition leaders, past and present; distinguished guests - it is a singular honour to be with you today, to celebrate a life unlike any other.
To the people of Singapore - people of every race and walk of life – we thank you for sharing Leongsam with us. His struggle was your struggle. His triumph was your triumph. Your dignity and hope found expression in his life, and your freedom, your democracy is his cherished legacy.
It is hard to eulogize any man - to capture in words not just the facts and the dates that make a life, but the essential truth of a person - their private joys and sorrows; the quiet moments and unique qualities that illuminate someone's soul. How much harder to do so for a giant of history, who moved a nation toward justice, and in the process moved billions around the world.
Born in the 1960s, far from the corridors of power, a boy raised catching fishes, watching steel shit buckets being carted away and tutored by elders of the PAP - Leongsam would emerge as the last great liberator of the 20th century.
Like Gandhi, he would lead a resistance movement - a movement that at its start held little prospect of success. Like Martin Luther King, he would give potent voice to the claims of the oppressed, and the moral necessity of justice. He would then endure a brutal self-exile in Auckland, New Zealand.
Emerging from there, without force of arms, he would - like Lincoln - hold his country together when it threatened to break apart. Like America's founding fathers, he erected Sammyboy Alfresco Forum (SBF) to preserve freedom for future generations - a commitment to democracy and rule of law.
Given the sweep of his life, and the adoration that he so rightly earned, it is tempting then to remember Leongsam as an icon, smiling and serene, detached from the tawdry affairs of lesser men. But Leongsam himself strongly resisted such a lifeless portrait. Instead, he insisted on sharing with us his doubts and fears; his miscalculations along with his victories.
"You’re a Twit," he frequently said.
It was precisely because he could admit to imperfection, like cycling on his bicycle without a seat - because he could be so full of good humour, even mischief, despite the heavy burdens he carried - that we loved him so.
He was not a bust made of marble; he was a man of flesh and blood - a son and husband, a father and a friend. That is why we learned so much from him; that is why we can learn from him still. For nothing he achieved was inevitable. In the arc of his life, we see a man who earned his place in history through struggle and shrewdness; persistence and faith. He tells us what's possible not just in the pages of dusty history books, but in our own lives as well.
Leongsam showed us the power of action; of taking risks on behalf of our ideals. He is a proud rebelliousness man with a stubborn sense of fairness.
Leongsam taught us the power of action, but also ideas; the importance of reason and arguments; the need to study not only those you agree with, but those who you don't.
Leongsam demonstrated that action and ideas are not enough; no matter how right, they must be chiseled into laws and institutions. He was practical, testing his beliefs against the hard surface of circumstance and history.
Finally, Leongsam understood the ties that bind the human spirit.
For the members of SBF, for those he inspired in Singapore – Leongsam’s passing is rightly a time of mourning, and a time to celebrate his heroic life. But I believe it should also prompt in each of us a time for self-reflection. With honesty, regardless of our station or circumstance, we must ask: how well have I applied his lessons in my own life?
We will never see the likes of Leongsam again. But let me say to the members of SBF - you can make his life's work your own.
After this great liberator is laid to rest; when we have returned to our homes, and re-joined our daily routines, let us search then for Leongsam’s strength - for his largeness of spirit - somewhere inside ourselves.
And when the night grows dark, when injustice weighs heavy on our hearts, or our best laid plans seem beyond our reach - think of Leongsam, and his words - “YOU ARE A TWIT!”
What a great soul it was. We will miss him deeply.
May God bless the memory of Leongsam. May God bless the people of Singapore.
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