I grew up in a traditional family where my mother was the homemaker and my father the breadwinner. It was the post-war era and as a religious teacher, my father's income was meagre. He worked hard and taught additional classes at night to make ends meet for us. We hardly had any contact with him as he always came home late, but he always asked if we passed or failed in our exams. He kept reminding us to study hard as he regretted not being educated in English himself.

Accepting His Dad's Wisdom

After I completed my school cert, I worked as a teacher for 7 years. At the age of 28, I got married. We had our first daughter and the PSC offered me a scholarship to learn Malay Studies & History at a university in Malaysia. It was a good opportunity but we had to make some difficult adjustments. Though it came with a stipend to meet my personal needs, I had to leave my wife and daughter temporarily in the care of my in-laws. Every month, I travelled between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore to be with my wife and daughter, sharing a cab with all the other guys.

Getting Busier

Upon graduation, I became the Assistant Senior Teacher of Sang Nila Utama Secondary School and later Principal of Tun Sri Lanang Secondary School. Then, I became a Member of Parliament. I became so busy with work - and weekends were especially eventful. My son who was 9 or 10 at the time complained to my wife, "Papa ni, meeting, meeting aje. Rumah tak ada! Bini tak ada!" (Daddy is always in meetings, as though he doesn't have a home or a wife!)

Making Full Use of Every Little Time Together

My wife and I made sure the children always had dinner with us so we could see each other. I disciplined them and guided them in their education - they would go for religious classes in the afternoon after attending English school in the day. They did quite well in school. I advised them to pursue higher education which they did.

My children are adults now so we only see each other on weekends. If they were to have problems at this age, I would offer my wisdom and advice.

When they were younger, we occassionally drove to Malaysia for family holidays. Those are fond memories now.

Submit your own dad story here and we will do our best to publish it.