I began to know more about this “Iron Man” of DAP more closely when I served as his special assistant when he won the parliamentary seat for Ipoh Timur in 2004. I realised then that his devotion and sensitivity towards the affairs of the nation is amazing, unmatched by anyone in DAP.

His zeal and focus in politics is something many young people should emulate. Whenever there parliament was in session he would often work until the wee hours of the night to prepare his press releases based on the answers to his parliamentary questions in the day and he would issue them by four or five am, getting two to three hours of sleep in the process. Such work devotion is highly commendable!

As for being my superior, he would often give me the freedom to do my work and trust me to handle the job matters such as handling residents’ complaints on my own. The only gripe I have is that I often have to stay up late to translate his press releases into Chinese as he works energetically even in the dead of the night!

Though he is often seen as a strong willed man, there is a softer side to him. One day I accidentally saw a picture of his wife in her younger days in his wallet. Even though he is usually busy at work, his heart is always with his family.

Having said all that, I would like to wish Kit Siang good health always!