Page 20 - Stories_of_Older_Adults

I N S P I R I N G S T O R I E S O F T H E O L D E R G E N E R A T I O N

DR JASWANT SINGH

“I fulfilled my promise, Dad and Mum!”
by Amira Areena, Azza Izzatul & Koay Chee Loo
“

I wish I had the chance to tell my parents that I
had fulfilled my promise to them and I feel sad
they were not able to witness my graduation.
- Dr Jaswant

After graduating from high school, Dr Jaswant
worked as a temporary teacher in Jasin, Melaka
and at the same time, he was also in-charge of the
school Red Cross Society. One evening, his teacher Dr Jaswant was leading the 2nd platoon of the
advised the young Jaswant to pursue tertiary British Red Cross Society during Merdeka
Parade in 1957.
education by studying abroad. Seeing his potential,
his teacher encouraged him to reach greater
heights. "After years, you will see the people who come
back from overseas, becoming doctors while you will
still be a teacher. By studying abroad, you could
become a doctor," said Dr Jaswant's teacher.

Normally, we tend to settle on what works for us at
that time which in this case, puts financial stability
above our burning ambition. Despite this, a father
always wants his son to be the best version of
himself. A father would willingly carry all the Dr Jaswant Singh in his office
trouble to ensure nothing will hold his son back
from achieving his dreams. Dr Jaswant's father was no different and gave him three choices: to pursue
his studies in medicine, dentistry or veterinary science. He made a promise with his father and decided
to study dentistry in India.

However, things do not go as planned sometimes. Right before Dr Jaswant was to leave for India, his
father had a heart attack. This incident almost derailed his plans. “Mother, I have decided to give up on
studying abroad since father is ill,” he told his mother. “No, you must keep your promise,” his mother
objected. Hence, he braced himself and left Malaya to pursue his pre-university at Christian College,
Madras, India. He was later offered a place at the Dental College, Osmania University, Hyderabad, to
study dentistry.

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