K. SILADASS

Speech of K. Siladass on his eightieth birthday

on 30^th June 2018

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies & Gentlemen,

Time melts away reminding us that we are growing older. The weak mind seeks to find solace along the way. We cannot defeat time. It follows you as shadow. There was a time when old age was thought to be a sin. And if that is not enough, old age was also considered as a burden. So, chaps like me had to find a way to be sober in this world and choose a middle course between a world which had scant respect for old age, and a world full of affection surrounded by friends and relatives.

Aging is not a sin, nor is it unnatural. It is part of life. But the negative perception about old age and aging had become proverbial. There is a feeling that aged persons are a nuisance. But when I see you all gathered here this evening, I feel assured that I am not a nuisance. However, something remarkable happened this year which had earned some modicum of respect for old age.

From the time the Fourteenth General elections was announced there was significant shift in the thinking of the people. There were clear indications that TunDr Mahathir Mohammad will be the Prime Minister should the coalition were to form the next government. He was ninety-two years old. There was a general feeling. What can an old man of ninety-two, going ninety three do? There were video clips showing the daring exploits of TunMahathir. Driving alone in pouring rain, horse riding, reminding the viewer of Yul Brynner in Magnificent Seven and the accompanying Elmer Bernstein’s music. Many must have begun to realisethat it must be a fun to be ninety-two going ninety-three. Nice feeling though to those like me who were turning to be octogenarians.

Then came May 9^th. The people’s verdict was, Tun Mahathir led coalition should form the next government, and Mahathir should be the Prime Minister. Overnight everything changed. Until then old aged people were thought to be burdensome: castigated and neglected. When Mahathir took office as the seventh Prime Minister the deep-seated traditional negative attitude towards old aged people changed. There was all of a sudden immense respect for old aged persons.

Not only that: everything old was promptly displayed and honoured. The old inexpensive watch Mahathir wore, and not forgetting my half-a-century old friend Lim Kit Siang, who is still wearing a watch he bought few decades ago became focal point of discussion and admiration.

There is an Arabic proverb: If you don’t have an old man buy one. I hope old age has acquired a new definition and meaningful respect.

So much so, everyone wants to be old or wants to look old. And I am glad too see you all who have come to see how an old chap is getting along. After seeing you all ladies and gentlemen. I remind myself of what Rabindranath Tagore, the Nobel Prize laureate wrote:

                I do not wish to die

                        in this lovely World.

                I wish to live as man

                        among men.

Yes, that is what I hope for. After seeing your support I want to live many more years to enjoy your warmth, or until you get fed up. My old friend Dr Lee Man Pin could not make it to this party but phoned me and said that he will definitely attend my hundredth birthday. I want to live until then and see him.

By your presence this evening you have assured me that life begins at eighty. And I will certainly respect and honour your sentiments. Thank you.

Thank you my dear friends from near and far. You will always be on my mind.