Another farewell to Uncle Lim

Slinki Malinki attended the funeral of the late Malaysian casino man Lim Goh Tong over the weekend at Genting Highlands on the border of Selangor and Pahang. He was quite moved. He sent some pix and a well-written report of his experience.


The towel with the red ribbon is the traditional cloth they give out to all the funeral guests. This is in addition to the something sweet and something red that are handed out at traditional funerals (red to ward off the bad spirits, and sweet to lift your own spirit). Somebody said that the towel is only handed out for a greatly loved one, someone that you would cry in sorrow on the demise of, and the towel is for you to wipe your tears.


This a photo montage of Lim Goh Tong throughout the years. The Chinese press ran it. The Malay and English press are more sensitive to use pictures of the founder with successive PMs and big shots. But the Chinese press has no problem celebrating just the man himself, and how he has an avuncular look through the years.


The last picture is what truly tugged at my heart strings. The poster speaks for itself. It was a farewell not to a Tan Sri, not to a "founder", but simply to "Uncle Lim". There were many school children and handicapped kids at the funeral procession. I gather that Lim Goh Tong had been a generous benefactor to the needy.

But what I found inspiring was seeing the school children joining in with full respect. I overheard some of them saying how they wished they could get closer to the cortege to pay a proper last respect.

And while walking with the funeral procession, I saw some of the handicapped children struggling with their ungainly strides, when asked by their minders whether they wanted to rest, said they wanted to continue walking.

To me, that was the spirit of Lim Goh Tong fighting the odds living on...