EULOGY to Francis Ng, DTM
Delivered on Wednesday, 25 December 2013
by Geoff Andrew, DTM
Thank you for being here today as we remember Francis Ng.
My name is Geoff, a friend of Francis for more than 12 years since being a fellow participant in the February 2001 Money Mastery “boot camp” and later became his Toastmasters Mentor when Francis became a Charter member of the Club which I created with KC See at Money Mastery in July 2002. So, I have probably known Francis longer than anybody else here today - apart from his family members.
We are here today, Christmas Day, when Christians would normally be celebrating an important religious festival and people from other religions – Taoists, Buddhists, Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs and others – would be enjoying a public holiday. So it is a mark of our respect and affection for Francis that so many people are HERE – and hopefully Francis’s daughters Natalie & Natasha (who have flown back from the US), his sisters and nephews & nieces can take comfort from this, knowing that there are many, many others who share their loss.
The golden rule of public speaking is : “Stand up, Speak up, Shut up”
In Toastmasters, there are 2 types of people who “Stand up” :
Those who stand up to be highlighted – who are are happiest when the spotlight is being focused on THEM – Francis was definitely NOT one of them
And those who stand up to be counted – people who are there to do the work whenever & wherever there is a need. Francis was a PRIME example of somebody who would normally be the first to raise his hand and say “Yes, I can do that”
In Toastmasters, he has always been willing to volunteer for the hard work, usually as an unsung-hero.
We hold more than 200 Speech Contests in the Klang Valley each year with each contest requiring a team of experienced and unbiased Judges. A key task is to find a Chief Judge. Francis would normally be the first person to be approached because the contest organiser knew that he would find the team of judges & ensure they were at the right place on the right day. In fact, he would normally provide one EXTRA judge – just in case!
Francis helped to create more new Clubs than almost anyone – in the early days, I would often take the lead and he would help; later, he would take the lead and I would help. Many very successful Clubs exist because of Francis’s efficiency, enthusiasm and commitment.
Convention organisers around West and East Malaysia should be forever grateful to Francis for acting as unpaid salesman for the delegate packages – he often signed up more than 100 delegates solely because of his contact lists, his efficiency and his hard work.
And his dedication to Toastmasters is reflected in the long list of offices he held – Club Secretary, Vice-President Education and President at Money Mastery followed by Area Governor for 5 Clubs, Division Governor for 30 Clubs, District Public Relations Officer for Peninsular Malaysia and then Lieutenant-Governor Marketing. But he was not just “doing a job”; he was also successful.
Several past Toastmasters Leaders have acknowledged his invaluable contribution to their work. And he received the ultimate recognition as Area Governor of the Year (against competition from 80 other leaders), followed 12 months later by Division Governor of the Year. I believe he is the ONLY person to achieve this dual feat.
It is true that Francis was not the greatest speaker, BUT he was capable of delivering GREAT speeches.
I can clearly remember – early in his days as a Toastmaster – when he phoned me one evening to say “Geoff, guess what, I won the Money Mastery Club speech contest”. He was very proud of that achievement.
And some of you here today were with me at the Toastmasters District Convention in Kuching in 2009 when had to deliver a 2-minute speech to persuade 300 delegates that he should win the contest to become the new Lieutenant-Governor Marketing for Peninsular Malaysia. Azmi Shahrin and I can testify how many hours of preparation and rehearsal went into that speech, but he delivered it to perfection – and won the contest.
Punctuality was a word which many of us associate with Francis. The old phrase “Why be on time? - nobody will be there to know that we were on time” is a phrase which would NEVER be spoken by Francis. He believed that even being on time was NOT good enough. He promoted and practised the importance of being early. I still remember the 2nd-ever speech given by Francis in Toastmasters. The assignment theme in those days was “Mean what you say”. His subject ? You guessed it – punctuality.
Many people are surprised that Francis and I were good friends because he, a Malaysian citizen, did believe in punctuality, whereas I have picked up the bad habit over my 20 years in this country of constantly being “on Malaysian time” !
In the Christian religion, they have a Pope Francis and they have a Saint Francis. Now, our Francis – Francis Ng – was NOT a Saint. Like all of us, he had his faults, he had his
weaknesses. He could be annoying, he could be frustrating and he could say unpopular things to people.
But, I would suggest to you that the list of his qualities, his strengths, his good points FAR outnumber and outweigh the negatives. He was loyal, reliable, dependable, helpful, committed, hard-working and had many, many more good qualities.
So, on balance, I would rather have one Francis than 1000 other types of people.
I think Natalie & Natasha would also like to know how their father has “Made a Difference” in so many people’s lives –
In Toastmasters, he was one of the most active of the 7000 Toastmasters in Malaysia and, through his various roles, he truly made a difference to their development as leaders, as communicators and as people
In Money Mastery, he was closely involved over a 10-year period dating back to 2001, being the most supportive Money Mastery graduate, helping Mastery Asia CEO, KC See – as an unpaid volunteer - with the support work at Boot Camps and preview sessions. In doing so, he helped to make a difference for thousands of participants to become more aware about entrepreneurship and money management
In Rotary, he was a Club leader working tirelessly to help and make a difference for the disadvantaged in our society by fund-raising and community service.
How many of us can really claim to have made such a difference for so many people ?
In Toastmasters, we have a much-used slogan “Friends helping friends succeed” and because friendship was a major part of what Francis was about, I would like to close with a few words which will be known to many of you and will be VERY familiar to all of you who have been through the Money Mastery programme.
At the end of every Money Mastery boot camp (after 60 hours of intensive learning and sharing), up to 150 participants form a large circle, holding hands with their new friends and singing “That's What Friends Are For”, written by Elton John and Burt Bacharach.
Francis was not a good singer – and neither am I – so I will read the words of the chorus, which in my view help us to recall the true spirit of friendship and the true spirit of Francis :
Keep smiling, keep shining
Knowing you can always count on me, for sure
That's what friends are for
For good times and bad times
I'll be on your side forever more
That's what friends are forSo, farewell friend, farewell Francis – Gone, but never forgotten.
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