Dato’ Dr Para, a past president of MPA, passed away peacefully Monday (18 Aug) 8 am in Sydney at the age of 78.
Dato’ had not been well but was able to continue with his daily living activities and to indulge in some of the pleasures of life. However his chronic illness was complicated by the development of pulmonary fibrosis in spite of excellent medical care and therapy. This May 2015, the deterioration in his respiratory function became more obvious and his health steadily declined. He had to stay in bed more and required nasal oxygen when he experienced breathlessness.
Dato’ Dr Michael Khor (senior partner in my practice) and I visited him last week. He sat up to keenly await our arrival when he knew we were dropping in. He was able to talk but ran short of breath now and then and had to put on his nasal O2 catheter. I delivered to him a lovely bouquet of flowers from MPA that came with with all of our best wishes (image). Michael and I brought along a bottle of the very best and iconic Australian wine (Penfolds Grange 1996), and he was most delighted to receive this. The bottle was uncorked and everyone had a fair bit to savor (see image). He was realistic about the outcome and showed us the letters he had written to his loved ones. When it was time to say farewell, I thought he could hang on for a while longer. But we never know.
May he rest in peace,
Dr Koh Chong Tuan