This morning I attended the farewell rite of the funeral of Mr Tan Kim Pah, the former village head and Thambapillay Rukun Tetanggas chairman of 4th mile, Old Klang Road. He passed away at the age of 85 on the morning of 30th October 2014. I came to know Mr Tan, a righteous and helpful person, when I first became the MP for Seputeh. He used to stay in a humble wooden house at 4th mile, Old Klang Road. He was an ardent local leader and social worker. He had helped many poor families and had contributed to the well being of the households at Old Klang Road area. Whenever any family at Old Klang Road faced calamities like fire and flood, Mr Tan was always the first to be there to assist. Mr Tan had also helped the house owners and the government in resolving the compensation issue arising from the government’s expansion of Old Klang Road and the subsequent construction of New Pantai Expressway more than 10 years ago. He was very understanding when handling the thorny issues of various demands that had cropped up. It was because of his cooperation with me as an elected rep to serve the community at Old Klang Road area that caused him to be at logger-head with the MCA members at Old Klang Road area. He was hauled up by MCA Disciplinary Committee (DC) in mid 2000s for allegedly “helping me in the 2004 general elections campaign, though he did not so. I was told that he had told the then DC Chairman of MCA, Chan Kong Choy that my service to the community was No: 1” and he was proudly showing a thumb up sign when he praised my service. He, together with few other MCA members, were later expelled by MCA. However, he did not join DAP after his expulsion from MCA, but he still served the people at Thambapillay area at Old Klang Road, particularly the illiterate and down-trodden. Mr Tan’s health had deteriorated in the last few years but he was always reluctant to go for medical check-up or to receive treatment until last one year. Mr Tan was one of those un-sung heroes who had strived for the betterment of the community and contributed to nation building. He will always be remembered by the people whom he had blessed during his lifetime.
Posted on: Sun, 02 Nov 2014 06:15:25 +0000
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