Tag: Arab Street

Throughout our stay in Kampong Gelam, there have been several funeral prayers conducted at Sultan Mosque for prominent community leaders who spent their life in His servitude, whose legacies helped set Singapore on a path of peace and progress. At MYF, we have a culture encouraging each other to take time to pay our last respect to our pioneer leaders, regardless of their fields. I didn’t think much of of it, then.

Just recently, the nation laid to rest one of its first-generation leaders, the late Mr Othman Wok. The funeral prayer was conducted at Sultan Mosque. The congregation itself was filled with changemakers, old and young. The sky teared heavily the moment when the casket was being transported in the pouring rain to a gun carriage to begin its journey to the burial site.

Witnessing the moment barely 5 metres away, its was solemn, drenched.

That moment, I realised the reason God placed me in Kampong Gelam.

He wants me to constantly be reminded of the contributions made by our pioneer leaders. The prosperity today could not be achieved without their sacrifices. More than I know, I needed these moments to gather strength to be steadfast in courage and passion into creating a better life, a better tomorrow for the community.

I was also reminded that there are no such thing as retirement on the path of service. You simply serve till your last breath and may our death too benefits the community, triggering reflection and repentance. When that day come, we can only hope that the next generation is ready to carry on the torch. Moving faster than us. Breaking more things than us.

It is up to us to live up to the legacy that was left for us, and to leave a legacy that is worthy of our children and of future generations.

It is no longer a question of how much we believe we owe those living in the future, not just our own children or grandchildren, but the generations of people who will come long after we are gone.