A Shared, Fond Memory of Nanyang University

I still well recall the day when my third brother graduated from the only Chinese medium university in this region, Nanyang university, after slogging a number of his useful years in the Yunnan campus. But now my brother is no more. He now lay buried in the Christian emetery in Jurong, not far from where he once had worked hard and played hard to earn his degree. If he were alive, I do not know what he would have said about what the Singapore government had done to his Alma Mater. He would have felt angry and disappointed, I am sure.

There is no denying the fact that those who enrolled in the mathematics and science courses in Nanyang were simply brilliant in these fields. This is of course very true because of the students from Chinese secondary schools are most proficient in mathematics and science. And my brother hailed from the premier school in Malaya, the Chung Ling Secondary School (钟灵中学) in Penang. He really enjoyed his undergraduate days. He was very active in campaigns for collecting donations for Nanyang University. In those days, almost all the Chinese in Malaya and Singapore were solidly behind Mr. Tan Lark Sye (陈六使) in his efforts to set up the only Chinese medium university in Southeast Asia.

My brother was one of the first batch of students to graduate from Nanyang University. Armed with a degree in commerce specializing in business administration, he secured a sales manager trainee post in the then well-established Lever Brothers (利华) in Kuala Lumpur. Things did not go well for him, however. An Indian colleague made things difficult for him. This colleague did not hide his dislike for and bias against anyone who was Chinese educated. He thought a degree from Nanyang university was nothing. But my brother's performance proved him wrong. In fact, most students who finished their secondary school education at Chung Ling in those days were equally proficient in both English and Chinese. As they were also well versed in mathematics, they possessed a quality for excellence. The English boss, Mr. Johnson, was impressed with my brother's fine work in the company. My brother, however, later on became lackadaisical in his work, because the love bug had stung him.

After a long period of being away from Singapore, my brother reunited with his sweetheart, who was educated in a convent in this island city. In Singapore, he joined the famous soap and cooking manufacturers, Lam Soon Company (南顺). He held a sales manager position for many years. I think he felt more at home in Singapore. He got in constant contact with his Nanyang schoolmates. These Nanyang connections had carved a niche in the business set-up. Through his contact with these influential businessmen, he made his pile, so to speak.

Unfortunately, my first and second brothers lost a great deal of money and were on the verge of bankruptcy. This situation came about because through their business friends, they got themselves secretly involved in speculating on the rubber market. As a result, they owed a substantial amount of money to a rubber buying company in Kuala Lumpur, Bee Seng and Co. This company sued them. Luckily for them, they did not jump into the sea. Instead, they implored my third brother, the Nanyang graduate, to help them. He readily agreed. He got these two "gamblers" off their debtors' clutches. Then they swore eternal gratitude to him. Many a time, after that, he gave them financial assistance. This goes to prove that a Nanyang University graduate is capable of doing many wonderful things.

There are many Nanyang university graduates who have done their Alma Mater proud. My brother was only one of the many. He influenced me a lot. I am glad he epitomized the Nanyang spirit. Nanyang live forever!

(按：原载 1992 年《南洋大学全球校友联欢会特刊》103页。)