A toddler’s farewell to doctor who helped bring him to life

 A fertility method recommended by Dr Wong Kar Lin helped his friend Azly Ahmad and wife Eliana conceive after a decade of trying.

Azly Ahmad, his wife Eliana and their son Anaqy, with the late Dr Wong Kar Lin, whom Anaqy affectionately called ‘Gong Gong’, or grandfather.

GEORGE TOWN:

Three-year-old Anaqy stood before a coffin, peered through its glass panel and looked at the man he knew as “Gong Gong”, or grandfather.

“Gong Gong has fallen asleep,” he says.

“He doesn’t know that the grandfather he loves wasn’t just sleeping, but has gone forever,” said his father, Azly Ahmad, 40.

The man in the coffin was Dr Wong Kar Lin, 73, a friend and former colleague who had helped Azly and his wife, Eliana Abdullah, 38, conceive after a decade of trying for a child.

Wong died when a landslide struck his home in Paya Terubong on Oct 25.

Azly, a safety and health officer at a semiconductor company, said he had known Wong for more than 15 years as a colleague and friend.

He said Wong, the company’s occupational health doctor, was an expert in his field and a generous soul.

“He was always willing to teach me and was very humble, even though he was already a ‘sifu’ in his field,” Azly told FMT.

Azly Ahmad with the late Dr Wong, an occupational health colleague who became more than a friend.

However, it was only in 2021 that Azly learnt that Wong also helped couples who had difficulty having children. Azly and Eliana, a human resources manager, had not previously sought fertility treatment.

They eventually turned to Wong for help. He recommended a fertility method that resulted in a pregnancy a year later.Wong was the first person outside the couple to learn the happy news.

Azly said he learnt of Wong’s death last Sunday and struggled to come to terms with it. It was at Wong’s wake two days later, at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit, that Azly discovered his friend had kept his good deeds secret.

Wong’s widow, Chang Mei Nuo, was never aware of the help her late husband had provided to Azly and Eliana.

Azly said Wong’s kindness showed that differences in religion need not stand in the way of friendship, love or helping others. He hoped Anaqy will grow up understanding what “Gong Gong” did for their family, and that the boy will one day bring the same hope to others.

“Anaqy should inherit Gong Gong’s sincerity, love and generosity. Not just become a great doctor, but someone who can give others hope, help them heal and leave something good in their lives.”

Quietly helping others

Wong’s generosity was also remembered by his longtime friend, Dr Lek-Lim Chan, a Kuching-based instructor in a fertility method that helps women understand their fertile days.

Chan said Wong had helped many couples who struggled to conceive, often without charge, except for blood tests. Wong was never too proud to ask for help, despite having taught Chan years earlier.

“He is a very humble doctor,” Chan said, adding that Wong found helping couples so fulfilling that he continued the work into his 70s.

Wong had also quietly helped elderly people in care homes and never boasted about what he did for others. - FMT