Goodbye, Kee Phaik Cheen

I first knew Kee Phaik Cheen and her husband, Dr Choong Sim Poey, in 1990. That was when Dr Choong became the president of the Penang Chess Association. By then, Kee Phaik Cheen was already a Penang state executive council member in charge of the state's tourism efforts. Very friendly, very warm, very exuberant and known to friends and foe in the political arena as Penang's Iron Lady. This was a no mean comparison with the UK's Margaret Thatcher, which in itself says a lot of the respect that people in Penang gave her. Glowing respect from political friends, grudging respect from political foes

Madam Kee Phaik Cheen, later to be bestowed a Dato' award by the Penang Governor, passed away yesterday at 2.40pm after a long fight with the Covid-19 virus. My heart goes out to Dr Choong and family. The last six weeks or so have been very trying. When I learnt that both of them had been infected by the virus - she was hospitalised in a private hospital around 20 June while he was treated at the General Hospital as his infection was milder - I was in a quandary. Not wishing to be too inquisitive, I dared not intrude much into their private affairs. After all, it was a very trying time. Once or twice I resorted to messaging Dr Choong but I couldn't do more, unfortunately. 

Then news filtered in a week ago that her condition had taken a turn for the worse. There were also rumours flying around in social media, even a confirmation that her condition had somewhat stabilised. But then yesterday afternoon, a message from her husband came with the dreaded news that Kee Phaik Cheen had indeed passed away.

During the time when her husband was the chess association's president, I would sometimes see her whenever the committee had our meetings in their Island Glades home in the evenings. But it was always a quick hello before she disappeared into the depths of the house, not wishing to interrupt our meetings. She attended several of the association's functions, especially the opening or closing ceremonies of the Penang Chess League in the 1990s. After the new government had taken over in 2008, she retreated from politics but was still very active socially otherwise. 

Once or twice after that, I met her at the couple's new house in Jesselton Garden on the island when I visited Dr Choong. In the last two years, I was fortunate to have bumped into her on several occasions in a hair salon of all places. I knew that we shared the same hair salon but our paths had never crossed there until lately. So it was a good time to reconnect and catch up. However, the pandemic soon put an end to all this.

So rest in peace, Dato' Kee Phaik Cheen. It was an honour knowing you.