Ho Weng Toh and Kenny Tan
Ho Weng Toh:
A New Chapter Begins
In 2020, I crossed 100 years. As I look back, I recall with fond memories the wonderful adventures and romantic encounters of my life. Yes, romance plays a great part in life. It makes life interesting and for me, every special lady that crossed my path had a romantic song. These songs are still embellished in my heart; those beautiful sweet, sweet moments. How I wish they remain.
My life has been filled with a mixture of youthful adventures of simple and fun-loving events that helped see me through the course of 10 decades. However, it was not always rosy as I encountered many crossroads and struggles. Nonetheless, they have taught many valuable experiences which enabled me to live a fulfilling life.
The first 30 years of my life for me was tough. I was born and raised in Ipoh, a small mining town, in Malaya (now Malaysia). My parents were migrants from Canton, China. They were married in the old traditional arranged marriage and had 11 children. Coming from a large family, we had limited resources - hence, I set out in life with nothing to fall back to. It was a one-way traffic. Failure is not in my book.
Born under the Chinese Zodiac year of the Monkey, I was ever active and restless; leading a fun and mischievous childhood, and always testing the limits.
As fun and games were part of my life, I developed a great passion for sports and was an all-rounded sportsman at school, excelling in Soccer, Table Tennis, Badminton, Billiards and Athletics.
While a student at St Michael's Institution, 1poh from 1927 -1938, 1 joined the Scouts where I learnt many things through the scouting movement that helped me be street smart and adaptive. Apart from the scout's motto which taught me to always be prepared, the core values were also useful to me later in life. The many outdoor activities and scouting adventures provided me with the platform to be resourceful, resilient, and be a team player.
While growing up, I was greatly influenced by how my father brought us up. He taught us more by example than by words and through the example of his life imparted to us the Confucian values of Filial Piety, Loyalty, Family Unity, Frugality, and Diligence. These values helped shaped my life and saw me through difficult times during WWII.
Although my father had little formal education in China before coming to Malaya, he recognized the importance of giving us a good education. And so, when I was looking for new horizons, he gave me his blessings to study in Hong Kong and even supported the idea of approaching my wealthy tin miner uncle, Ho Kok Yew to sponsor me for my studies in Hong Kong.
My journey to Hong Kong in 1939 was an opening to new horizons and adventures. However, there were several unexpected and significant turning points that changed the course of my life.
WWII
Soon after my arrival in Hong Kong, WWII started with the Japanese invasion of Hong Kong. My studies at Hong Kong University (HKU) were rudely interrupted by the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong. There was much hardship and conditions got so bad that it was difficult to continue my studies. Plans were initiated by some teaching staff of HKU, for students to leave Hong Kong for China in the hope that we could continue our studies.
In the summer of 1942, together with some 25 HKU students, we managed to flee from Hong Kong to Free China and became student refugees. It was a very dangerous harrowing journey through Japanese lines. After 3 weeks of the arduous journey, we arrived at Pingshi, Guangdong and I became a student refugee at Sun Yat Sun University.
I was having a tough time struggling to survive as a student refugee and was getting nowhere with my studies. I was caught up with nowhere to turn to; with no friends and money was fast running out. Life was bleak for me.
In the autumn of 1942, by sheer chance, I came across a Chinese Air Force (CAF) advertisement recruiting pilot trainees. In desperation, I applied and was called up for selection. I managed to pass both the stringent CAF written exam and physical tests. This opened the door for me to be trained as a pilot in USA and eventually paved the way for me to become a B-25 Mitchell bomber pilot.
At every juncture of my training, I told myself that I cannot fail - It would bring me back to "student refugee" status. After enduring a vigorous "One Year Miracle" flying training, I graduated and received my diploma and air force wings.
On my return to China in 1944, I was attached to the Chinese American Composite Wing (CACW) 1s' Bomb Squadron, based at Hanzhong, China, under the command of General Claire Lee Chennault, the renown leader of the "Flying Tiger". I flew combat missions over Japanese-occupied China till WWII ended in 1945.
In 1947, I joined CATC (Central Air Transport Corporation) and flew commercial flights throughout China doing relief and repatriation operations. This lasted till the Kuomintang lost the Civil War in 1949 and that left me stranded with no future. However, a turning point came with the start of the Korean War and the unexpected opening of aviation in Singapore. This prompted me to leave China and join Malayan Airways Limited (MAL) in Singapore.
Singapore - New Horizons
In 1951, I found myself in the shores of Singapore and new adventures took off as I embarked on my flying career with MAL, the predecessor of Singapore Airlines (SIA).
MAL, started operations in 1947, with 3 Airspeed Consuls and was operated by expatriate pilots. By 1949, the Airline started replacing the Airspeed Consuls with 6 DC-3s and embarked on an expansion and this opened the door to recruiting local pilots. I joined MAL in 1951, together with 3 other pilot friends and became the first few Asian pilots to join the company.
I spent the next 30 years of my flying career with SIA and saw the Airline grow from a fledgling Airline of 6 DC-3s, operating out of Kallang Airport, to a modern international Airline.
By 1963, I became an instructor pilot and had the opportunity to train and nurtured several generations of young local pilots from trainee cadets to their command. It was very gratifying to see them grow and eventually had successful careers at SIA.
Like all good things in life, my exciting flying career and all the accompanying adventures that went with it came to an end when I reached 60 and had to retire from SIA in 1980.
It was certainly a memorable journey and it was gratifying to witness the immense growth, development, and success of our National Airline - becoming one of the best airlines in the world.
Living a Long and Happy Life
Now at 101, I'm still in reasonably sound health and hope to have more good years. Every new day, I am thankful to God for the opportunity to enjoy the beauty of life with both family and friends. Being able to have meals together; engaging in chats about life; sharing our experiences, concerns, and aspirations - talking about the changing times and the impact on our country and the younger generation.
As a centenarian, I now reflect more and more on life and beyond. Often, I find it amusing when people I meet asked "what is my secret of living to 100." 1 tell them that I don't really have an answer; there is no magic formula. However, when I reflect more about it, perhaps I can say that it boils down to one's attitude and lifestyle.
Having a positive attitude in life is important as it has helped me see situations in a different light; contributing to good health and success.
Perhaps what keeps me going is my wide range of interests. I have a strong passion for people, sports, and travel that has enabled me to live a long active, and fulfilling life. I value my friends dearly and would often travel the globe to reconnect with friends living overseas. Till this day, I still maintain contact with friends all over the world. I also find great consolation, that even after retirement, many of my ex-colleagues still continue to maintain contact with me and include me in meaningful activities.
The world we live in today is complex. The politics and pace of advancement through IT make life interesting and challenging. All these keep me keenly interested, and I spend a great deal of time staying abreast with both local world affairs through reading, watching TV news, and exchanging views with people of all walks of life and ages.
My Hopes for Singapore
I witnessed the vast political changes in Singapore from the colonial years to self-government and finally our independence. Those were challenging times, there were struggles and tribulations.
Since then, we have come a long way and we should always cherish what we have achieved and never forget how we have reached here. Invariably, how well we can ride the waves of time depends on us. How we love our country and how united we are.
My hope is that our "Little" Red Dot will become a "Super" Red Dot; Where our nation can continue to prosper and advance. Where our people can enjoy good quality living; where there is peace and harmony. For this to come about, we need to continually innovate and be ahead of the curve...invest in our young with education; provide the right environment to nurture and develop great thinkers and leaders. Thus, the youth of tomorrow is our hope for a better Singapore.
I end by leaving a little reflection which I wrote, in 1948, a day before Easter, while flying from Hankow (now Wuhan) to Nanjing:
We get out of Life
Just what we put into it.
If we want happiness
We must first learn to make others happy: If we want love and kindness
We must first give devotion & affection
Nothing can hurt us save only as we let it—
Each failure brings us nearer to success
If we but profit by our mistakes.
A lot of people seem to think
The greatest accomplishment in this world
Is to live it without work.
Kenny Tan:
My Story
I am a humble local neighbourhood boy who had called Tampines and now — for 26 years — Pasir Ris, home. I have also spent a good part of my life in Australia from 2009 to 2018.
Having lived all my childhood years in the eastern region of Singapore, I had spent a great deal of time at Changi Airport. The airport is such a meaningful place for Singaporeans from all walks of life, one that we could all freely visit to send and receive family and friends, for shopping, to study, and even a place we could go on romantic dates. Beyond the boundaries of the terminals, there were many behind-the-scenes activities that contributed toward making Singapore an air hub. I was therefore inspired by the possibilities that aviation could bring.
It is commonly said that you can take a Singaporean out of Singapore, but you can never take Singapore out of a Singaporean. This was evident during the time spent in both Melbourne where I first got my wings, and in Mackay, where I got the opportunity to do something extraordinary for the local community. Life can take an unexpected twist sometimes and I was given an incredible opportunity to return home to live a dream, nearly a decade later.
However, all of these did not come easy, nor did it take little effort. It was certainly not easy at that point; with the passing of a dear family member, the global financial crisis (GFC) of 2007/8, including the lack of belief and faith from certain circles when I mentioned to them about my ambition. All those factors complicated my decision-making. I was in a dilemma, then came day after National Day 2006.
Old is Gold
As a Gen Y, we had not the chance to witness the toil and hardship that our grandparents and great-grandparents have gone through for us all to enjoy the fruits that we have today. However, we must be thankful that there are still individuals like Captain (Retired) Ho Weng Toh, the last Flying Tiger, who, at 101, is still able to give us an account of his life's journey. For individuals like Capt. Ho to have witnessed Singapore evolve from the colonial years to independence through struggles and tribulations, we ought to value their advice, for they are gold.
My maternal grandfather too, who would have been 108 today and one I affectionately call Ah Kong, also survived World War II and the Japanese Occupation in Singapore. We were very close and lived together in my growing up years. He would often share with me his stories of wartime Singapore and how we came to be. However, Ah Kong passed on at an important juncture in my education journey just before my GCE A Level examination on the day after Singapore's 41st birthday. At that time, it was hard to fathom losing a grandparent because growing up, I was unable to fully experience the love of my grandmothers on both sides as they too had passed on when I was very young.
I would never forget one of Ah Kong's last words - "Go do what you love" - a phrase so succinct but came with great meaning.
I struggled and barely scraped through A Levels, only to graduate from Junior College into the global financial crisis. Being a zodiac Dragon did not help when many of my peers were also vying for very limited spots in the local universities. I remember reading that the GFC led to prolonged losses for the aviation industry in Singapore and eventually paved the way for cost-cutting and hiring freezes. Fortunately, I still had two years of National Service as a 'shield'.
To Aspire in Difficult Times
We live in a learned and practical society. Through my interactions with others, it would take something special, a deep yearning, for an individual to devote nearly a decade of his life to achieve an aspiration. Would it have been worth the trouble?
I was never the brightest, nor was I born with a silver spoon. I came from a middle-income family, blessed with two hardworking parents, whom till this day are frugal yet have big hearts. Surely, they had ambitions for my brother and I, but never forced their wishes upon us, as long as we knew the weight of our decisions. Whatever we wanted to do, we had to come up with a plan. And without an airline cadetship, my parents needed a lot of convincing.
It would have been prudent to trek down the traditional pathway of a Singaporean son, but I pushed boundaries despite my portly, bespectacled physique, astigmatized eyesight, and initial self-doubt.
And so, with one daring and calculated decision, I departed my comfort zone into the unknown and decided to take a non-conventional approach initially to advance my passion by learning to fly small piston engine-powered propeller aeroplanes in Melbourne, Australia.
That marked the start of my journey to become a private pilot, the experience of flight tasted spurring me to achieve even higher commercial standards until sometime in the beautiful autumn evening of 2011, I chanced upon a university advertisement on TV after the evening news about a study opportunity in aviation at one of Australia's oldest universities.
The effects of the GFC meant that a global airline hiring freeze had not abated, and I felt that this time could be ripe for me to further my studies. Hence, without informing my family prior, I enquired and applied for the Bachelor programme with all the credentials I had at that point, not expecting plenty from the other end whilst keeping an open mind.
I would shortly receive an invitation to meet with the Director of the aviation programme who had taken great interest in my situation in terms of where I was at in my flying training. Dr. Baxter would later grant me a year's exemption from the curriculum with a firm offer letter. Naturally, I was overjoyed and could not wait to inform my family whose only worry now was the management of my time between flying and university studies.
I knew deep down that this opportunity would push me harder and beyond my limits, but by early 2014, not only was I fully-licensed as a commercial pilot, I had in my hands an aviation degree with distinction, and a recipient of the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering Dean's excellence award for an aviation thesis. It was certainly one of the proudest moments in my life, and too, for mum and dad. I scored a paid internship at one of aviation's forefront organisation, the International Air Transport Association (IATA), where I had to put off flying for a while.
To Stay Or Move
Flying is a specialised skill and takes time to hone. Putting it off for an extended period results in a decrease in skill, which was why the next four years remained imperative to the make or break. The perks of a non-flying role within IATA were good, and I was provided job stability and the ability to travel. The effects of the GFC were still keenly felt in the years after and I continued to find it challenging to land a flying role.
Desperate as I was, I stayed the course. And it was a blessing in disguise that IATA decided to freeze its own headcount although I was left without a salary at the end of my year-long internship. I went back to Australia with the savings and invaluable experience I had amassed with the organisation and furthered myself in advanced flight training, seeking endorsement on a bigger aircraft type and learning to work effectively in a multi-crew environment.
It was almost impossible to time the aviation market. All these years post flight-training, I had tried umpteen times, but failed, to get through the doors of our national airline or its subsidiaries. I was in the pool with many equal or more experienced candidates and found myself stuck in a Catch-22 situation. I sorely needed a big break after the multiple rejections in Singapore and abroad.
Although this was beginning to take much longer than anticipated, I did not relent. Once again, I left for Australia in an attempt to build up my flying experience but truth be told, even with a working holiday visa, I failed to get any job offers from the many resumes and emails I had written to charter companies from South Australia to the Northern Territory. Later, I found out that they were not going to give it to temporary visa holders like myself, deemed as risky moves for their payrolls and when local headcount was prioritised.
The Break I Needed
Nevertheless, sometime in 2018, I was granted a wonderful opportunity to live in Mackay, tropical North Queensland where I found myself getting to know an owner who was willing to rent out his aircraft. It was the perfect backdrop for someone who needed to hone his flying skills, and at the same time, be able to provide a unique opportunity for the local community of the Mackay-Whitsunday region to experience the Great Barrier Reef and the many beautiful islands there. The not-for-profit scenic flights I organised with the local community were very well-received and I was beginning to appreciate why I first entered aviation. Alas, I would be in Mackay when I received the call from Singapore to return for an interview for a flying position. I recall it was a very emotional moment.
The Singaporean in me was certainly filled with so much excitement knowing that it was now time to head home to finally be able to do something I had always dreamt of one could only think of it as a miracle.
Seek To Encourage And Support
My family and partner are my pillar of strength and will always be. They have kept me going, even when times get rough. COVID-1 9 might have decimated the global airline industry, but akin to the story of Singapore, through the struggles and tribulations, there will always be light at the end of a dark tunnel.
I know there are others out there who may be faced with similar circumstances, but make no mistake that with determination and perseverance, and some luck, we will likely be able to achieve our goals and aspirations.
Never mind me trading off my pilot uniform for 14 months to pack masks, distribute hand sanitisers and assist locals facing financial and employment difficulty among many others during the border closures around the world. It is only a small but gratifying way to give back to my community and in so doing, helped open my eyes even wider.
I am grateful that Singapore has been able to protect many of our livelihoods and recognises the role we play in rebuilding our economy as we recover from the pandemic and learn to live in the new normal.
But, yet again, I lean onto the fact that as a learnt and practical society, we must never forget to be outward-looking and compassionate. We must open our eyes to those who have less and see in our hearts to help them get up on their feet. For a country to do well, the people cannot act alone nor think only for themselves. Additionally, never take our success for granted. While we strive toward our ambitions, do not forget to be equally supportive toward those of your loved ones and friends as well.
The Road Ahead
Life throws us lemons sometimes, and sometimes it may take longer than it should. We may also start off at different points, but we are given opportunities to chart our own paths. Some will be risky, and some will pay off, but it is how you will make the best of the sourest of lemons.
Having just turned 33, I share the hope I will be able to live to be a centenarian like Captain Ho. Whilst I may have taken a longer path to get to where I am today, I recognise I too have a runway of learning and upskilling ahead of me.
And, reflecting on my journey past and the road ahead, keeping a positive attitude in life, having strong pillars of support, making sacrifices, and at times, having to make hard decisions despite the headwinds will help us in overcoming bumps along the way and keep us from veering too far off-course.
