©The Straits Times, Singapore
NOT J.B. Jeyaretnam the opposition politician but JBJ the loving husband, father and grandfather.
In an emotional funeral service at St Andrew's Cathedral on Saturday, his sons - Kenneth and Philip - paid tribute to a side of their father's that only they knew.
Their eulogies left many of the 600 friends, family, opposition politicians and activists packed into the church teary-eyed.
Mr Jeyaretnam died of heart failure on Tuesday, Sept 30. He was 82.
His elder son, Kenneth, 49, spoke first and talked about his father's devotion to the family.
He remembered building a pirate ship out of an old mattress when he was younger and how his father gamely played along.
He recalled a letter from his father saying that he was so excited to hear that he had got a first class honours degree in Cambridge university that he could not sleep.
He also remembered the family tradition of going to Robinsons to pick out a Christmas gift, a habit Mr Jeyaretnam kept up even when bankrupt.
'He always insisted on accompanying Jared to Robinsons on Christmas to choose him a present, a trip I remember taking with him from my own childhood,' he said, referring to his 11-year-old son.
'Over the past week people have asked me how it felt to have a father who put politics first and family second. The answer to this question is I don't know, because my father put his family first always,' he said.
Mr Philip Jeyaretnam, 44, also spoke on the lesser known aspects of his father's life, such as how he got into trouble in school in Muar, how dedicated he was to his faith and how devoted he was to his wife.
Mr JBJ had met his British wife, Margaret Walker, while studying law in London and she had campaigned with him as he tried to win a parliamentary seat. She died in 1980 of cancer, just one year before he won the Anson by-election and got elected an MP.
'Her memory stayed with him and kept him going in his darkest moments,' said Mr Philip Jeyaretnam.
The body was later cremated in Mandai. He leaves behind his two sons and four grandchildren.
No comments:
Post a Comment