A Journey Back in Time with My Wedding Day Chauffeur

I had another opportunity to visit Keningau after a lapse of over six years since my last trip in February 2019 (Read here). This time, I acted as my wife's personal chauffeur, driving her to attend a celebration function of the 40th Anniversary of IPG Keningau (Keningau Teachers’ Training College) on 08.08.2025.

For this visit, I made it a point to reconnect with Edward - our wedding driver who lives in Keningau. He was the chauffeur of the wedding car for my Blessing Wedding Ceremony back on 07.04.1979.

Once I contacted him upon my arrival on 07.08.2025, he was very eager to meet up. Without hesitation, he drove straight from his home and, about half an hour later, we were sitting together at Kedai Kopi Keningau, a well-known local coffee shop.

Edward has hardly changed, except for the inevitable passage of time. In fact, we had met once before, probably about fifteen years ago, when I joined a children’s ministry group of my Church visiting BCCM Keningau.

These days, he is happily married, blessed with five children (four daughters and one son) and an impressive eleven grandchildren. His eldest grandchild is already sixteen!

As we chatted, I uncovered some remarkable coincidences connecting our families. One of his aunts (his mother’s sister) happens to be the sister of the wife of one of my company directors. Another aunt was once my colleague during my time as a part-time RTM newsreader back in 1972–1973 (Read here). And to top it off, my youngest sister-in-law served as his wife’s bridesmaid at their wedding. Truly, the small-world connections never cease to amaze me!

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Talking about his recruitment as our wedding car driver - back in early 1979, I was just starting my career as a fresh graduate engineer. While planning my wedding, money was tight, and a luxurious wedding car was well beyond our budget.

One day, a youth fellowship friend mentioned that Edward had just gotten a brand-new red Datsun Sunny Saloon - a car that looked elegant enough to double as a wedding car. Without hesitation, I approached him with my request. To my relief and delight, he readily agreed, not only offering his car but volunteering to be the chauffeur himself.

At the time, Edward was in his final year at Kian Kok High School. His parents had purchased the Datsun for his use in Kota Kinabalu - a proud and treasured possession for any young man. Yet, with characteristic generosity, he readily placed both the car and his time at our disposal for this special occasion. It was a simple act of kindness, but one that left a lasting mark on our hearts - a gesture we will always cherish.