Friend
By Ng Tze Yong
October 02, 2008 Print Ready Email Article
TO passers-by, his was the less familiar face.
Click to see larger image
TRUSTY COMPANION: Mr Ng Teck Siong and Mr Jeyaretnam selling Mr Jeyaretnam's book outside Centrepoint in 2002. --BH FILE PICTURE
They never missed the guy next to him - the one with the mutton-chop whiskers and the English drawl.
They knew this man well, as JBJ the opposition firebrand.
But he knew him better, as JB the friend.
For the past nine years, Mr Ng Teck Siong, a 67-year-old businessman, has been the trusty companion of Mr JB Jeyaretnam.
Mr Ng was the friend who teased the firebrand about losing his teeth, the kaki who gave him football updates on Arsenal, and the comrade who stood with him through his long and lonely political fight.
He was the one who, being 15 years younger, helped the ailing Jeyaretnam haul the books which he peddled around, almost every day.
'JB and I would hail a cab, pile about 30 of the books in the trunk together with our signboard, and off we'd go to sell them,' Mr Ng said.
The books described his ideas and experiences, and the duo peddled them at public areas with high human traffic, especially malls such as Raffles City, Centrepoint, Tampines Mall and Causeway Point.
Mr Ng said: 'Some people would walk by and shout, 'Hey, JB, how are you?' Others would give us dirty looks or even get into arguments with us.
'But the security guards were usually nice to us. They would buy us cakes.'
Usually, all the books were sold in an hour or two and the duo would go for lunch or dinner.
When they were at Centrepoint, they would go to a canteen at Cuppage Plaza, where Mr Jeyaretnam would order his favourite dish, grilled fish with rice, and a cup of teh-si kosong (tea with evaporated milk and no sugar).
When they were at Raffles City, they would head for the food court on the third storey, where Mr Jeyaretnam would go for a bowl of mee pok.
'He kept a simple lifestyle,' Mr Ng said. 'He was not a choosy eater.'
He first met Mr Jeyaretnam when he helped him campaign in the 1981 by-election in the now-defunct Anson ward, which Mr Jeyaretnam won to become Singapore's first opposition Member of Parliament.
In the following years, Mr Jeyaretnam's political career was embroidered in controversy. It was during this time that he sold his house in Singapore and moved to live with a relative in Johor Baru, Malaysia.
Whenever he was in Singapore, Mr Jeyaretnam would stay at an old cosy inn called Oxford Hotel near Waterloo Street.
He liked it because it was close to several churches in the area. Mr Ng said: 'JB was very religious. He told me he went to church in Johor every Sunday. In Singapore, he liked to go to St Andrew's Cathedral.'
The hotel was not swanky, but Mr Jeyaretnam knew the chambermaids and bellboys by name. They, in turn, called him 'Sir'.
Mr Jeyaretnam spent his weekdays in Singapore. He rested in JB on weekends.
In his free time, Mr Jeyaretnam liked listening to BBC radio, to keep up with world events.
Football kaki
And on Saturday nights, he would sometimes call Mr Ng to find out the match results of Arsenal, his favourite English football team.
Mr Ng said: 'I think at his age, he sometimes fell asleep watching the matches, and called me because he had missed everything.
'If Arsenal won, he would be very happy. He would say, 'Oh... that is good... I love it.' But if they lost, he would be very sad, and say, 'But why...'
'Sometimes, he would even ask me which formation the team was playing, whether it was 4-4-2 or 4-3-3. But I wouldn't be able to answer him.'
Hated by some, admired by others, Mr Jeyaretnam nonetheless appears as a larger-than-life character to many.
But it is his wicked sense of humour in his private moments that Mr Ng will remember.
'Sometimes, I would tell him, 'Look, JB, all your teeth are falling out'. And he would reply, 'You, what about you, you shortie!' Mr Ng said.
'He told us you needed that humour in order to live longer.'
The firebrand ended every day with a glass of red wine.
Mr Ng said: 'He was old, and the wine kept him warm. He would buy it from Cold Storage. It was the only luxury he allowed himself.
'He didn't even keep a handphone because he wanted to relax and not have people call him endlessly.'
Last year, Mr Jeyaretnam was discharged from bankruptcy. In April this year, he set up the Reform Party to stage a political comeback.
But he struggled to keep up.
Slowly, the Saturday late-night calls about Arsenal stopped coming, and he forced himself to stay off his grilled fish, mee pok and wine.
In his last few months, Mr Jeyaretnam started going vegetarian.
On Monday afternoon, hours before he died, Mr Jeyaretnam was at the High Court attending to two cases.
Mr Ng, who was there helping him, said MrJeyaretnam had asked for an adjournment at about 4pm because he felt unwell.
His assistant lawyer drove him home.
At about 1.30am, he experienced breathing difficulties and was rushed to Tan Tock Seng Hospital.
But that afternoon, just before leaving court, MrJeyaretnam had turned around and reminded MrNg about a meeting they had planned, saying: 'Don't forget. See you at noon tomorrow.'
The old war horse had looked like he was still strong enough to carry on, if just a little while longer, for the comeback he so wanted.Friend
By Ng Tze Yong
October 02, 2008 Print Ready Email Article
TO passers-by, his was the less familiar face.
Click to see larger image
TRUSTY COMPANION: Mr Ng Teck Siong and Mr Jeyaretnam selling Mr Jeyaretnam's book outside Centrepoint in 2002. --BH FILE PICTURE
They never missed the guy next to him - the one with the mutton-chop whiskers and the English drawl.
They knew this man well, as JBJ the opposition firebrand.
But he knew him better, as JB the friend.
For the past nine years, Mr Ng Teck Siong, a 67-year-old businessman, has been the trusty companion of Mr JB Jeyaretnam.
Mr Ng was the friend who teased the firebrand about losing his teeth, the kaki who gave him football updates on Arsenal, and the comrade who stood with him through his long and lonely political fight.
He was the one who, being 15 years younger, helped the ailing Jeyaretnam haul the books which he peddled around, almost every day.
'JB and I would hail a cab, pile about 30 of the books in the trunk together with our signboard, and off we'd go to sell them,' Mr Ng said.
The books described his ideas and experiences, and the duo peddled them at public areas with high human traffic, especially malls such as Raffles City, Centrepoint, Tampines Mall and Causeway Point.
Mr Ng said: 'Some people would walk by and shout, 'Hey, JB, how are you?' Others would give us dirty looks or even get into arguments with us.
'But the security guards were usually nice to us. They would buy us cakes.'
Usually, all the books were sold in an hour or two and the duo would go for lunch or dinner.
When they were at Centrepoint, they would go to a canteen at Cuppage Plaza, where Mr Jeyaretnam would order his favourite dish, grilled fish with rice, and a cup of teh-si kosong (tea with evaporated milk and no sugar).
When they were at Raffles City, they would head for the food court on the third storey, where Mr Jeyaretnam would go for a bowl of mee pok.
'He kept a simple lifestyle,' Mr Ng said. 'He was not a choosy eater.'
He first met Mr Jeyaretnam when he helped him campaign in the 1981 by-election in the now-defunct Anson ward, which Mr Jeyaretnam won to become Singapore's first opposition Member of Parliament.
In the following years, Mr Jeyaretnam's political career was embroidered in controversy. It was during this time that he sold his house in Singapore and moved to live with a relative in Johor Baru, Malaysia.
Whenever he was in Singapore, Mr Jeyaretnam would stay at an old cosy inn called Oxford Hotel near Waterloo Street.
He liked it because it was close to several churches in the area. Mr Ng said: 'JB was very religious. He told me he went to church in Johor every Sunday. In Singapore, he liked to go to St Andrew's Cathedral.'
The hotel was not swanky, but Mr Jeyaretnam knew the chambermaids and bellboys by name. They, in turn, called him 'Sir'.
Mr Jeyaretnam spent his weekdays in Singapore. He rested in JB on weekends.
In his free time, Mr Jeyaretnam liked listening to BBC radio, to keep up with world events.
Football kaki
And on Saturday nights, he would sometimes call Mr Ng to find out the match results of Arsenal, his favourite English football team.
Mr Ng said: 'I think at his age, he sometimes fell asleep watching the matches, and called me because he had missed everything.
'If Arsenal won, he would be very happy. He would say, 'Oh... that is good... I love it.' But if they lost, he would be very sad, and say, 'But why...'
'Sometimes, he would even ask me which formation the team was playing, whether it was 4-4-2 or 4-3-3. But I wouldn't be able to answer him.'
Hated by some, admired by others, Mr Jeyaretnam nonetheless appears as a larger-than-life character to many.
By Ng Tze Yong
October 02, 2008 Print Ready Email Article
TO passers-by, his was the less familiar face.
Click to see larger image
TRUSTY COMPANION: Mr Ng Teck Siong and Mr Jeyaretnam selling Mr Jeyaretnam's book outside Centrepoint in 2002. --BH FILE PICTURE
They never missed the guy next to him - the one with the mutton-chop whiskers and the English drawl.
They knew this man well, as JBJ the opposition firebrand.
But he knew him better, as JB the friend.
For the past nine years, Mr Ng Teck Siong, a 67-year-old businessman, has been the trusty companion of Mr JB Jeyaretnam.
Mr Ng was the friend who teased the firebrand about losing his teeth, the kaki who gave him football updates on Arsenal, and the comrade who stood with him through his long and lonely political fight.
He was the one who, being 15 years younger, helped the ailing Jeyaretnam haul the books which he peddled around, almost every day.
'JB and I would hail a cab, pile about 30 of the books in the trunk together with our signboard, and off we'd go to sell them,' Mr Ng said.
The books described his ideas and experiences, and the duo peddled them at public areas with high human traffic, especially malls such as Raffles City, Centrepoint, Tampines Mall and Causeway Point.
Mr Ng said: 'Some people would walk by and shout, 'Hey, JB, how are you?' Others would give us dirty looks or even get into arguments with us.
'But the security guards were usually nice to us. They would buy us cakes.'
Usually, all the books were sold in an hour or two and the duo would go for lunch or dinner.
When they were at Centrepoint, they would go to a canteen at Cuppage Plaza, where Mr Jeyaretnam would order his favourite dish, grilled fish with rice, and a cup of teh-si kosong (tea with evaporated milk and no sugar).
When they were at Raffles City, they would head for the food court on the third storey, where Mr Jeyaretnam would go for a bowl of mee pok.
'He kept a simple lifestyle,' Mr Ng said. 'He was not a choosy eater.'
He first met Mr Jeyaretnam when he helped him campaign in the 1981 by-election in the now-defunct Anson ward, which Mr Jeyaretnam won to become Singapore's first opposition Member of Parliament.
In the following years, Mr Jeyaretnam's political career was embroidered in controversy. It was during this time that he sold his house in Singapore and moved to live with a relative in Johor Baru, Malaysia.
Whenever he was in Singapore, Mr Jeyaretnam would stay at an old cosy inn called Oxford Hotel near Waterloo Street.
He liked it because it was close to several churches in the area. Mr Ng said: 'JB was very religious. He told me he went to church in Johor every Sunday. In Singapore, he liked to go to St Andrew's Cathedral.'
The hotel was not swanky, but Mr Jeyaretnam knew the chambermaids and bellboys by name. They, in turn, called him 'Sir'.
Mr Jeyaretnam spent his weekdays in Singapore. He rested in JB on weekends.
In his free time, Mr Jeyaretnam liked listening to BBC radio, to keep up with world events.
Football kaki
And on Saturday nights, he would sometimes call Mr Ng to find out the match results of Arsenal, his favourite English football team.
Mr Ng said: 'I think at his age, he sometimes fell asleep watching the matches, and called me because he had missed everything.
'If Arsenal won, he would be very happy. He would say, 'Oh... that is good... I love it.' But if they lost, he would be very sad, and say, 'But why...'
'Sometimes, he would even ask me which formation the team was playing, whether it was 4-4-2 or 4-3-3. But I wouldn't be able to answer him.'
Hated by some, admired by others, Mr Jeyaretnam nonetheless appears as a larger-than-life character to many.
But it is his wicked sense of humour in his private moments that Mr Ng will remember.
'Sometimes, I would tell him, 'Look, JB, all your teeth are falling out'. And he would reply, 'You, what about you, you shortie!' Mr Ng said.
'He told us you needed that humour in order to live longer.'
The firebrand ended every day with a glass of red wine.
Mr Ng said: 'He was old, and the wine kept him warm. He would buy it from Cold Storage. It was the only luxury he allowed himself.
'He didn't even keep a handphone because he wanted to relax and not have people call him endlessly.'
Last year, Mr Jeyaretnam was discharged from bankruptcy. In April this year, he set up the Reform Party to stage a political comeback.
But he struggled to keep up.
Slowly, the Saturday late-night calls about Arsenal stopped coming, and he forced himself to stay off his grilled fish, mee pok and wine.
In his last few months, Mr Jeyaretnam started going vegetarian.
On Monday afternoon, hours before he died, Mr Jeyaretnam was at the High Court attending to two cases.
Mr Ng, who was there helping him, said MrJeyaretnam had asked for an adjournment at about 4pm because he felt unwell.
His assistant lawyer drove him home.
At about 1.30am, he experienced breathing difficulties and was rushed to Tan Tock Seng Hospital.
But that afternoon, just before leaving court, MrJeyaretnam had turned around and reminded MrNg about a meeting they had planned, saying: 'Don't forget. See you at noon tomorrow.'
The old war horse had looked like he was still strong enough to carry on, if just a little while longer, for the comeback he so wanted.Friend
By Ng Tze Yong
October 02, 2008 Print Ready Email Article
TO passers-by, his was the less familiar face.
Click to see larger image
TRUSTY COMPANION: Mr Ng Teck Siong and Mr Jeyaretnam selling Mr Jeyaretnam's book outside Centrepoint in 2002. --BH FILE PICTURE
They never missed the guy next to him - the one with the mutton-chop whiskers and the English drawl.
They knew this man well, as JBJ the opposition firebrand.
But he knew him better, as JB the friend.
For the past nine years, Mr Ng Teck Siong, a 67-year-old businessman, has been the trusty companion of Mr JB Jeyaretnam.
Mr Ng was the friend who teased the firebrand about losing his teeth, the kaki who gave him football updates on Arsenal, and the comrade who stood with him through his long and lonely political fight.
He was the one who, being 15 years younger, helped the ailing Jeyaretnam haul the books which he peddled around, almost every day.
'JB and I would hail a cab, pile about 30 of the books in the trunk together with our signboard, and off we'd go to sell them,' Mr Ng said.
The books described his ideas and experiences, and the duo peddled them at public areas with high human traffic, especially malls such as Raffles City, Centrepoint, Tampines Mall and Causeway Point.
Mr Ng said: 'Some people would walk by and shout, 'Hey, JB, how are you?' Others would give us dirty looks or even get into arguments with us.
'But the security guards were usually nice to us. They would buy us cakes.'
Usually, all the books were sold in an hour or two and the duo would go for lunch or dinner.
When they were at Centrepoint, they would go to a canteen at Cuppage Plaza, where Mr Jeyaretnam would order his favourite dish, grilled fish with rice, and a cup of teh-si kosong (tea with evaporated milk and no sugar).
When they were at Raffles City, they would head for the food court on the third storey, where Mr Jeyaretnam would go for a bowl of mee pok.
'He kept a simple lifestyle,' Mr Ng said. 'He was not a choosy eater.'
He first met Mr Jeyaretnam when he helped him campaign in the 1981 by-election in the now-defunct Anson ward, which Mr Jeyaretnam won to become Singapore's first opposition Member of Parliament.
In the following years, Mr Jeyaretnam's political career was embroidered in controversy. It was during this time that he sold his house in Singapore and moved to live with a relative in Johor Baru, Malaysia.
Whenever he was in Singapore, Mr Jeyaretnam would stay at an old cosy inn called Oxford Hotel near Waterloo Street.
He liked it because it was close to several churches in the area. Mr Ng said: 'JB was very religious. He told me he went to church in Johor every Sunday. In Singapore, he liked to go to St Andrew's Cathedral.'
The hotel was not swanky, but Mr Jeyaretnam knew the chambermaids and bellboys by name. They, in turn, called him 'Sir'.
Mr Jeyaretnam spent his weekdays in Singapore. He rested in JB on weekends.
In his free time, Mr Jeyaretnam liked listening to BBC radio, to keep up with world events.
Football kaki
And on Saturday nights, he would sometimes call Mr Ng to find out the match results of Arsenal, his favourite English football team.
Mr Ng said: 'I think at his age, he sometimes fell asleep watching the matches, and called me because he had missed everything.
'If Arsenal won, he would be very happy. He would say, 'Oh... that is good... I love it.' But if they lost, he would be very sad, and say, 'But why...'
'Sometimes, he would even ask me which formation the team was playing, whether it was 4-4-2 or 4-3-3. But I wouldn't be able to answer him.'
Hated by some, admired by others, Mr Jeyaretnam nonetheless appears as a larger-than-life character to many.
