Father and Son - Both Professional Engineers

On 19 August 2024, during a briefing at the JKR Sabah Headquarters for a potential government road project, I had the unexpected pleasure of meeting Steve Sulis and his father. This time, however, he was no longer the bright teenager in the news (Read here), but a fully qualified Professional Engineer, actively involved in the consultancy practice in his father's firm.

In the course of our conversation, I also learned that his father, once an active consulting engineer, is now semi-retired. Naturally, the expectation is for Steve to carry forward the family’s professional legacy, ensuring continuity of their consultancy practice.

It was a gratifying moment - to witness how a young student’s dream, once reported in the papers, had indeed blossomed into a reality almost two decades later.

On reflection, I could not help but draw a personal parallel - my own son, Paul, also chose the path of civil engineering (Read here) and is today a qualified Professional Engineer practicing in Singapore (Read here). In a way, both Steve’s journey and Paul’s remind me of the enduring value of guidance, hard work, and the continuation of legacies across generations.