TOMORROW (24.04.2005) IS GUCH’S SECOND ANNIVERSARY

My dear Kirkbyites,

Tomorrow will mark the second anniversary of our departed friend and colleague, Dato Guch. Time really flies!

You all would recollect that on receiving news of the passing of Guch in Melbourne, Australia on 24 April 2003, we collected donations for an obituary. The response was overwhelming and exceeded our expectations. It only meant that Guch had many caring friends.

Well, the obituary was published in The Star on 1-5-2003 - a day after Guch’s funeral - to bid farewell to Guch. I forwarded this obituary to all of you for your information. Then on 24 April 2004, on the first anniversary of Guch’s demise, Phee Eng placed an advert in The Star to commemorate this occasion. But unfortunately only a very few Kirkbyites noticed it.

A few months ago, when Fook Wah was in Penang, we took a decision as to what to do with the balance of the money. Some wanted to insert another advert to observe Guch’s second anniversary. Others felt that it did not serve any useful purpose and that only The Star would benefit from it. Finally it was decided to donate the balance of the money to Hospice in memory of Guch.

That decision was once again confirmed last night for implementation. Fook Wah was again present on this occasion. Not only that. The decision was confirmed in Fook Wah’s new apartment in Penang.

Accordingly, this morning Rosalyn, Phee Eng, Fook Wah and I went to the Hospice Centre in Penang, located along Jalan Air Itam, next to the Methodist Boys’ School and presented a cheque of RM2255 to the CEO/Medical Director, Rumah Hospice, Dato Dr Devaraj. The cheque was dated 24 April 2005 and made out to the National Cancer Society of Malaysia, Penang Branch. The receipt mentioned that the donation was made in memory of Dato Guch.

The occasion was captured in Fook Wah’s camera. I’m confident that Fook Wah will circulate this when he finally goes back to London.

We can confidently believe that Guch would have wanted it this way. A caring person like him would have wanted us to do something that would have served a worthy cause.

We miss you Guch - you will live long in our memory.

With very warm regards,

Rama