One of the Many We Crossed Path in Life - Low Wooi Kiang

Company annual lunch just before Chinese New Year in 2007.
This is one of the photos uploaded by Low Wooi Kiang in the
chat group. Low Wooi Kiang is seen standing at the back row
second from left.
My son Paul (standing at back row 4th from left) was with our
firm undergoing training while studying for his civil engineering
degree at Newcastle University, Australia .

We’ve lost count of the number of people who have come through our company - joined, contributed, and eventually moved on. Low Wooi Kiang is one of those individuals. He was with us for just over a year, from mid-June 2006 to mid-July 2007.

Originally from Sungai Petani, Kedah, Low studied at Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) and, upon graduation, joined our office as an engineer. Like many who work far from home, the pull to return to his roots was understandably strong. After a little more than a year, he left us and headed back to Peninsular Malaysia, eventually landing a job in Lumut, Perak - a neighbouring state to his hometown.

When we visited Lumut in February 2012 (read here), I made an effort to look him up. Unfortunately, we couldn’t meet due to a prior commitment he had. At that time, he was already working with a construction company specializing in offshore structures for the oil and gas industry.

Recently, Low created a chat group to reconnect with his former colleagues from his 2006–2007 stint. He shared a collection of photos - memories from his time with us - including a selfie he took with me back in January 2015, when we unexpectedly ran into each other at KLIA2 while I was en route from KL back to Kota Kinabalu.

Throughout life, we cross paths with many people. Some stay longer than others. Some move on and are never seen or heard from again. It has always been my hope that these encounters, however brief, are mutually enriching - that they leave a positive mark and make a difference, however small.

My encounter with Low Wooi Kiang has certainly done that. It has given me a sense of satisfaction and quiet achievement, knowing that in some way, our time together was meaningful and lasting.

23 January 2015