Mr Yong’s finest achievement was not his illustrious career…it was love

Former chief justice Yong Pung How, who transformed the Singapore court system into a paragon of efficiency, passed away on 9 January 2020.

He was known to do what he thought was right for Singapore, rather than what was popular.

Mr Yong read law at Cambridge University and practised law for a while before going into merchant banking and finance. He was the chairman and chief executive officer of OCBC Bank from 1983 to 1989.

Mr Yong was seconded from OCBC to help build GIC, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund. He was GIC’s first managing director and started his first day at GIC with just a desk and an unusable telephone – he had no staff, and did not even have a chair.

Even though he achieved a lot in his lifetime, Mr Yong said in interview in 2004 that his best achievement had nothing to do with his illustrious career.

He said: “I would say it was the day I married my wife. We have been married for 50 years now, and I still consider her my best friend.

“To stay happily married with a good reputation and a close-knit family must be one of anybody’s happiest achievements in life, whatever the work you do.”

Thank you, Mr Yong for inspiring us to live a life of honour, purpose, and above all…love!

Info Source and Photo Credit: The Straits Times

Read the full articles here:

https://www.straitstimes.com/…/yong-left-an-impact-on-singa…

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/no-staff-no-chair-how-yong-pung-how-helped-build-gic

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