Hard to believe Yong is gone. We always said we’d catch up again after retirement, but life somehow got in the way.
Remembering him now, I’m grateful for the friendship and laughter we shared over the years.
In Memory of My Friend, Yong Loong
I first met Yong when we were poor students renting old weatherboard houses in Vic Park. Our kids were small then, and Phoebe and Kim took turns babysitting. Life was simple, but we had each other — and that counted for everything.
Having chicken rice at Jumbo on the Great Eastern Highway felt like a feast in those days. We took up beach fishing to stretch our student diet, often coming home from Swanbourne Beach with a few fish and a lot of laughter. To save money, we even took up rod building. I still remember scraping together enough for an Ugly Stik blank. Yong, eager to prove how strong it was — just like in the advertisement — proudly showed his father, only to snap the tip clean off.
“How can so clever and so stupid!” he laughed. That was Yong — able to laugh at himself with such good humour that everyone else laughed too.
We graduated in the midst of Perth’s “Banana Republic” economic downturn. Despite our MBA qualifications, the job market was bleak. I eventually found work with Sarawak Shell, while Yong stayed on. True to his never-say-die spirit, he retrained as an IT specialist and went on to work with Woodside — first in Karratha, then as a Technical Writer in Perth. It was during that time that we renewed our friendship, as if no years had passed.
I often said to colleagues that with his three degrees — in Engineering, IT, and Business — Yong was probably the most qualified man in the room. Yet he wore it lightly. Generous to the hilt, genuine in every sense, what you saw was what you got.
I have many fond memories of Yong — through our university days, work, fishing, and friendship. You couldn’t ask for a better mate.
Our heartfelt condolences to Kim, Jason, Siang and family. We shall miss him dearly, but we will always remember him — his laughter, his humility, and his strength of spirit.
