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The HEALTH | APRIL, 2018
exclusive
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A
S I sat at my desk, I carefully
ran through all my plans
for the Chinese New Year
celebration in my head.
Carried away, little did I hear my
editor-in-chief, until he summoned
me to his office for the second
time.
As I sat there, I felt
disheartened as he told me that
I had to be in Penang on Chinese
New Year, to interview this
particular family of doctors.
This was of course two
days away from the season’s
celebration, and I couldn’t help but
mutter my frustration as to what
could be that great of this family
that it warranted an interview, in
replacement of my holiday plans?
Nevertheless, I grudgingly
drove amidst the four hours of
traffic jam and the scorching heat
to Georgetown, Penang.
As I arrived at the doorstep of
the family’s house in Ross Road,
Georgetown, everything made
sense.
I could only think of the quote I
once read of Albert Einstein, which
says, “Our death is not an end if
we can live in our children and the
younger generation. For they are
us, our body are only wilted leaves
on the three of life.”
Being a rubber
tapper did not
stop the late
Lim Tang Too
from seeing his
children become
doctors.
Welcome
to the
Lim dynasty
Meet the prominent family in Penang that nurtured 46 doctors spread
among children, grandchildren and great grandchildren
by AMIRUL
AZREEN ZULKIFLI
aazreen@revonmedia.com
PRESCRIPTIVE
LAUGHTER
Daughter: Mom, can I
get a cat or a dog for
Thanksgiving, please?
Mom: No, honey. You will
be getting turkey, like
every Christmas!
F
AMILY reunion can be a bit of
a hassle, loud and sometimes
embarrassing in the most
inexplicable way, however
this is not the case for the Lim
family in Penang. Having 46
doctors with six currently in
medical school, it is not a surprise that
their Chinese New Year gatherings are
extra joyful from the very start. The
legacy of doctors began when the head
of the family, Lim Tang Too, a rubber
tapper, passed away in 2008.
ESPITE caring for his 11 children in poverty, it was
never an excuse for Tang Too to undermine the future
of his children.
Speaking to The HEALTH, the eldest son, Dato’ Dr
Lim Boon Sho explained how growing up was never
easy for both parents and his other 10 siblings.
“Back then, we lived in a rural area called Kampung Belemang in
Serom, Johor.”
“But we were forced to leave our village for Muar when our family
was constantly harassed by the communist who had demanded money
D
from my father. When we were
dislodged from Belemang, we did
not have any means of surviving.”
“Hence, the support we have for
each other was very important. In
the weekend, my brothers and I
went to the market to wash veg-
etables and clean fish. We earned
one or two ringgit and brought it
home.”
“At the end of the day, we were
given fish that was about to rot and
brought it home to share it with
the rest of the family.”
Boon Sho also recalled the time
when an old Chinese man regu-
larly bought them a loaf of bread.
“He was a very good old man.
He knew we were poor so never
missed in getting us a loaf of bread.
We were very fortunate to have
him,” he said.
Boon Sho also explained how
his father, Tang Too did a few odd
jobs before he managed to open a
small sundry shop which helped
the family to earn a subsistence
living.
From that moment onwards, the
Lim’s family of doctors started to
take shape.
“During the fruit season, my
father sold fruits. Basically he did
whatever necessary as long as he
could bring food to the family.”
“When it comes to education,
all of us studied really hard despite
of our poverty. Especially myself as
the eldest brother. I tried my best