‘We only got closer in recent times, when someone suggested we gather once every semester to catch up on old times,’ shared Mr Seto Man Chap over the phone when asked about his friendship with Mr Tan Kim Cheng, ‘ so we decided to meet up at least once every semester for lunch at a coffee shop or hawker centre.’
Joining them for their quarterly lunches were Mr Hector Chee, Mr Jaswantlal Singh and Mr Tan Jin Siew, where they would reminisce the great times as teachers and update each other about their families and what they were up to. Since the passing of Mr Tan, Mr Seto confesses that none of them have taken the initiative to continue the quarterly lunches.
‘I will call Hector and Jaswant soon. We should catch up,’ he mentioned quietly, as a self-reminder rather than as part of the tele-conversation.
When in RI, Mr Seto taught Science to the lower secondary students in the afternoon while Mr Tan taught Humanities to the upper secondary students in the morning. They rarely met but for the major school events where teachers had to collaborate to plan out the programme.
‘We would talk most when planning events like Sports Day and Founder’s Day. I was the sports secretary and he was the teacher in-charge of National Cadet Corps (NCC). We rarely met in the common room for teachers too, as when he was busy marking papers, I was already teaching in class. Yet when we got together, we could connect really well.’After leaving RI, both teachers did not stay in touch much except for the occasional conversation when they were invited back to school for Founder’s Day or when they met at the late Mr Philip Liau’s home for Chinese New Year dinner.
‘After we decided to have our quarterly gatherings, I would drop by his home sometimes to say enquire about his well-being, especially after his wife passed away. He lived near me you see, and since we became closer I would often drive us to RI when we were invited back. We would also decide when and where our next lunch session should be then.'
In fact, Mr Seto had gone to Mr Tan’s home a few days before his passing to discuss the next get together. It was then that he found out that Mr Tan was getting ready for yet another cruise.
‘I had suggested to him the date for the next get-together but he asked if we could postpone it as he was going to go on another cruise. He loved cruises, Kim Cheng did. He was always going for at least one every other month. That was the last time we spoke.’
When asked how he found out about Mr Tan’s passing, and how he was coping, Mr Seto was silent for some time.
‘Someone called me up to read the newspaper about him being missing. One of my first few reactions was to deny the news – that somehow it was not Kim Cheng whom they were writing about. The next few days, I kept driving past his block, hoping a light would be switched on in his unit, always noticing his car parked at the same spot. I lost a really good friend, and for quite a while it was hard to accept that he is gone,’ Mr Seto confided, choking up towards the end.
Of the Tan Kim Cheng Fund for Character Development, Mr Seto agrees that it is a good way to remember his friend. He was always invested in the school, even though he last taught in RI a couple of decades ago.
‘He was a wonderful man and a loyal friend. The Fund will go a long way in remembering his passions and encouraging students to pursue their interests.’