Never Stop Writing

My dad is probably my biggest supporter and with his help, I wrote about my mum and the daily challenges a midwife faced in her work.  I will never forget the excitement of seeing my first Letter to the Editor published in The New Straits Times in 1970.  

Looking back, this was possibly the point where I wanted to make journalism my career.  Even as I went from one job to another in a colourful career, I remembered dad's words of encouragement to, "Never stop writing!"

Personal note in background – This is an excerpt from a note which my dad wrote to me and enclosed with a delivered packed lunch.  Fresh out of college, I walked into an office in Johor Port to ask if they needed any staff and I secured my first job with a shipping company.  From the first day, I worked overtime and at odd hours to ensure that the ship’s manifest was completed to sail off with the ships. In the early days of Johor Port, there were no shops to buy food.  So when dad sent home-cooked meals to me, he would enclose a little note with some news update and jokes to tease me. Once he even enclosed two short lengths of matchsticks for me to prop up my tired eyelids!