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[h=1]S'pore's Mr Fixit[/h]
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The New Paper
Thursday, Aug 11, 2011
When you've got a crisis, that no one can fix....who're you going to call?
Gerard Ee!
He's Singapore's very own Mr Fix-it.
Problems with the National Kidney Foundation (NKF)? Call him.
Ministerial pay headache? Call him.
Public transport costs need a review? He's your man.
Mr Ee, 62, a retired accountancy and charity sector veteran, said in an interview with The Straits Times in February that his interest in charity had developed at an early age.
Affectionately known as "MrCharity", Mr Ee said that he was influenced by his father, the late Dr Ee Peng Liang, who was the founder of the Community Chest and also known as "The Father of Charity".
Mr Ee's can-do attitude is a quality Singaporeans can all identify with.
The former Nominated Member of Parliament was thrust into the public spotlight in 2005 when he took a tattered NKF and restored public confidence in it.
It was no easy task, and he admitted that taking the helm of NKF was "probably the scariest thing" he had ever committed himself to.
"My first request was to be shown to the room I was to operate from," he told The Straits Times in February.
"I closed the door... I pulled out my rosary and started praying. I had never handled anything like that and I was petrified," said the father of two.
Then, earlier this year, he got another call.
This time, it was from the highest echelons of the Government asking him to look into a highly-controversial issue: ministerial salaries.
This time, he had a much more sombre take on his role.
He said in an interview recently: "It's a challenge and when I thought about it, I sincerely believe that I can do a fair job. I can keep an impartial line.
"The most crucial thing is that you must not feel obligated one way or another."
Most recently, Mr Ee, who is also the chairman of Public Transport Council (PTC) was asked to look into another hot-button issue - the possible increase of public transport fares.
It's Mr Ee's delightful humour in the face of crises that has warmed Singaporeans towards him.
In 2008, he had a serious personal health scare - he was diagnosed with Stage 3 colorectal cancer with a tumour the size of a tennis ball.
This resulted in the removal of part of his small intestine and over half a metre of his large intestine. That was followed by 12 sessions of chemotherapy.
But he steadfastly held on to his sense of humour.
Mr Ee, who lost 25kg after the operation, once told The Straits Times: "I told my friends I had a free liposuction with the operation."
Of his high-profile work, Mr Ee told The New Paper: "It does lead to a loss of privacy in that one gets recognised in the streets. There is always someone pointing and whispering about me.
"Of course I feel flattered and really I feel very shy. I have my detractors. When a task is done I just move on with my life.
"I have learnt not to live with regrets and just aim to make today a better one than yesterday. It is always nice to be complimented and criticism is never easy to take.
"But that just makes me human. The bottom line is that I remain just plain old me, warts and all. I enjoy simplicity in life."
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The New Paper
Thursday, Aug 11, 2011
When you've got a crisis, that no one can fix....who're you going to call?
Gerard Ee!
He's Singapore's very own Mr Fix-it.
Problems with the National Kidney Foundation (NKF)? Call him.
Ministerial pay headache? Call him.
Public transport costs need a review? He's your man.
Mr Ee, 62, a retired accountancy and charity sector veteran, said in an interview with The Straits Times in February that his interest in charity had developed at an early age.
Affectionately known as "MrCharity", Mr Ee said that he was influenced by his father, the late Dr Ee Peng Liang, who was the founder of the Community Chest and also known as "The Father of Charity".
Mr Ee's can-do attitude is a quality Singaporeans can all identify with.
The former Nominated Member of Parliament was thrust into the public spotlight in 2005 when he took a tattered NKF and restored public confidence in it.
It was no easy task, and he admitted that taking the helm of NKF was "probably the scariest thing" he had ever committed himself to.
"My first request was to be shown to the room I was to operate from," he told The Straits Times in February.
"I closed the door... I pulled out my rosary and started praying. I had never handled anything like that and I was petrified," said the father of two.
Then, earlier this year, he got another call.
This time, it was from the highest echelons of the Government asking him to look into a highly-controversial issue: ministerial salaries.
This time, he had a much more sombre take on his role.
He said in an interview recently: "It's a challenge and when I thought about it, I sincerely believe that I can do a fair job. I can keep an impartial line.
"The most crucial thing is that you must not feel obligated one way or another."
Most recently, Mr Ee, who is also the chairman of Public Transport Council (PTC) was asked to look into another hot-button issue - the possible increase of public transport fares.
It's Mr Ee's delightful humour in the face of crises that has warmed Singaporeans towards him.
In 2008, he had a serious personal health scare - he was diagnosed with Stage 3 colorectal cancer with a tumour the size of a tennis ball.
This resulted in the removal of part of his small intestine and over half a metre of his large intestine. That was followed by 12 sessions of chemotherapy.
But he steadfastly held on to his sense of humour.
Mr Ee, who lost 25kg after the operation, once told The Straits Times: "I told my friends I had a free liposuction with the operation."
Of his high-profile work, Mr Ee told The New Paper: "It does lead to a loss of privacy in that one gets recognised in the streets. There is always someone pointing and whispering about me.
"Of course I feel flattered and really I feel very shy. I have my detractors. When a task is done I just move on with my life.
"I have learnt not to live with regrets and just aim to make today a better one than yesterday. It is always nice to be complimented and criticism is never easy to take.
"But that just makes me human. The bottom line is that I remain just plain old me, warts and all. I enjoy simplicity in life."
