Translation Work

For the past couple of months, I have been assisting with the translation of a book from Chinese to English, prepared in memory of an elderly couple who passed away in Australia. The wife passed on in 2005, followed by her husband in 2006. They had migrated to Sydney to join their unmarried daughter, who had settled there earlier.

One of the couple’s other daughters, Ms. Wong Won Ying, who was once my Chinese teacher in primary school, still lives with her husband in Sabah. However, she often travels to Singapore to visit her son, who is now married to a Singaporean and has made his home there.

The commemorative book is a heartfelt collection of articles written by the couple’s daughters and grandchildren. Through their stories, I came to see the lives of simple migrants from China who worked tirelessly to build a livelihood and raise a family in Sabah. There was nothing glamorous or extraordinary - just the quiet dignity of ordinary people living ordinary lives.

From the writings, it became clear that the spinster daughter, who had lived with her parents until their passing, took their loss very deeply. This book was largely her way of paying tribute - a personal labor of love to honor the memory of her beloved parents.

Another West Malaysian has Left Us

Last week, our UMS-graduated engineer resigned and returned to West Malaysia, leaving our office a little short-handed just as several project deadlines were looming.

I had initially resolved not to employ another West Malaysian after our previous UMS graduate left for Singapore. His reason then was personal - he wanted to be closer to his girlfriend who was working in Johor Bahru. However, given the difficulty of finding competent graduate engineers locally, we eventually had little choice but to hire another West Malaysian, fully aware of the risk that he too might one day leave.

Still, his departure came as a surprise. He explained that his elderly father, who together with his mother runs a small roadside noodle stall, had recently broken his arm. Out of concern, he felt compelled to return home to persuade his parents to retire and close the business once and for all. When I asked what would happen if his parents insisted on continuing, he said he believed it was simply too dangerous for them to carry on at their age. He had long been uneasy about them having to rise at dawn every morning, riding a motorbike at 5 a.m. just to set up the stall.

I must admit, he was one of the most driven and reliable people we have had on our team - hardworking, dependable, and rare in today’s workforce. Paul would certainly agree with me that he is truly one of a kind and will not be easy to replace.