Michael Lim, 53, married late in life. He was 41 when he tied the knot with his Filipino wife and a year later, his daughter was born in the Philippines. The couple stayed several years in the Philippines where Michael had some business.

In 2006, Michael brought both his wife and daughter back to Singapore where he tried unsuccessfully to apply for a permanent resident’s status for his wife. Then bad news struck the family – his wife suffered kidney failure and passed away soon after, leaving their 8-year-old daughter entirely in his care.

“I was active in parenting even while my wife was alive. And all the more so, when I became a single-parent”, mused Michael. “Up till this day, I’m still single!”

How does Michael manage, bringing up a daughter on his own? “No more business trips. I spend a lot of time with her at home. Talk, play, help with her studies… My daughter and I are very close.”

Michael’s relationship with his own father had not been close. “I hardly saw my dad when I was young. But when he was bedridden in his old age, I went back to take care of him, and then we got closer.”

To learn how best to bring up his daughter as a single-dad, Michael decided to “get educated through the Bible”. He would study the Bible and then teach his daughter, telling her stories and explaining what is right or wrong.

Father and daughter are able to would “talk about anything under the sun”. What about having a new mother for his daughter? “Oh yes, we talk about that too! But my girl will show me her fist whenever I suggest re-marrying so that she can have a new mother,” laughs Michael.

This speaks volumes of Michael’s success as both “father and mother” to his only child.

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