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http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/Story/STIStory_808459.html
DR LIM Hock Siew came across as more than a caring family physician ('Barisan Sosialis leader dies'; Wednesday).
The long queue of patients waiting to see him was a testimony to his strong sense of service towards all his patients, young and old.
I was one of the many patients at his Rakyat Clinic in the 1980s as I had frequent bouts of throat infection.
Although he knew I was only an ordinary lecturer at a local polytechnic and more than 20 years his junior, he treated me with respect.
He showed great concern for my financial and emotional well-being when I was once jobless, and offered to waive his charges. When I rejected his help, he assured me that I could always pay when I got a job.
His soft-spoken, unassuming and humble demeanour underscored his role as the people's physician rather than as an entrepreneur. He never raised his charges even when patients needed more time with him. Not infrequently, I witnessed elderly patients spending half an hour or more with him.
His reassuring words, patience and empathy often gave patients the much-needed emotional lift for a speedier recovery, and endeared him to many.
From the way Dr Lim conducted himself in his years of medical practice, it is quite apparent that his past leftist ideological bent was founded on his sincere belief that it was best for the then poverty-stricken people of colonial Singapore.
Although he was proven quite wrong, his years of incarceration for his political and ideological beliefs demonstrated his tenacity, self-sacrificial spirit and determination in the face of adversity.
Given Singapore's then volatile political and social landscape, his dire mistrust and scepticism of a democratic system modelled on the Western world were understandable in hindsight.
His political activism, which challenged the ruling party of newly independent Singapore, should now be viewed in the right perspective.
His courageous contribution to the political scene at the expense of his family and personal freedom provided a formidable psychological force to ensure that any newly elected government of post-independent Singapore would have only one option - to be corruption-free and effective to improve the livelihood of the people.
As we thumb through the pages of history on Singapore's fight for independence, Dr Lim's courage, sacrifice and fighting spirit deserve more than a mention for young and old to uphold and cherish.
Yuen Kwong Chow