ceo of ntuc income retiring at 58


what a coincidence! the chief executive of ntuc income, tan kin lian, is retiring at 58. i have written in to apply for optional retirement and if it is approved, i will also retire at 58. some may say 'what do you and he have in common?' or 'how can you compare yourself to a ceo?' like the chinese say "you want to compare leg hair with people?"

actually, we have a few things in common. we attended the same secondary school. then, he was living in a house about a kilometre from my kampong house. we were in the same secondary one class. he was my class monitor in secondary 1 b in raffles institution in 1962. the similarities end here.

he was one of the top students in the 1965 senior cambridge (today's equivalent is the gce o) cohort. he scored six points (6 A1s), a rare feat in those days while i managed 23 points. i learnt later that he left school after completing his senior cambridge to work because of financial circumstances. i went on to pursue my pre-university education but not at ri because i did not obtain a credit pass for my english language.

when you listen to the way he speaks on radio or tv, you find it hard to believe that he is a product of s'pore's premier school.

i remember him as a chubby boy who liked to read and who kept very much to himself. although he was the class monitor, he did not have an out-going type of personality.