Published on 16 May 2025
Giving is more Blessed than Receiving
Professor Joseph Sung
Distinguished University Professor
Senior Vice-President (Health & Life Sciences)
Dean, Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine
Yesterday morning, I woke up at 4.30am to prepare a speech.
I woke up early because I knew Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine is going to receive a momentous gift on this special day. A gift from a person who inherited his father’s car spare-parts business, a humble shop at the beginning but scaled up into a large enterprise decades later. A person who has himself not received university education, but believe that education can transform a person’s life, and even a country. A person who was inspired by the late Tan Sri Dato Lee Kong Chian and committed to follow his footsteps, to support education and research. He believes that giving is more blessed than receiving. With immense respect and gratitude, we are here to thank you Mr Sim Hoay Cheok and the Sim Family.
I first met Mr and Mrs Sim at a dinner we hosted for a small group of donors of Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, back in 2023. That evening, I saw a couple sitting quietly next to my wife at the second table, not saying much. I moved over to greet them and found out that they have three sons, two of whom graduated from Nanyang Technological University. In appreciation, he established the Sim Yung Chong Scholarship for Chinese Medicine in 2013. And then in 2018, he further supported NTU by donating towards the Sim Yung Chong Medical Scholarship — both in loving memory of his late father.
One year later, I was told that Mr Sim wished to see me at his home. I gladly went. His home is nice but it’s not a big mansion (sitting next to Hua Chung College) like many hugely wealthy folks in Singapore. Mr Sim, walking with difficulty using a stick, came to greet me at the front door. In a matter of one hour’s conversation, I learned that this man has great vision and a beautiful dream – of following the example of the late philanthropist Mr Lee Kong Chian. And he had intentions to fulfill his dream to support medical education by giving a generous gift of $15 million to the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine. On that day, his wife and sons were present in the dining room, witnesses to our conversation. They showed full support for their father’s bold commitment. I was deeply touched.
And so yesterday, we were proud and immensely grateful to announce that under Mr Sim’s leadership, the Sim Foundation has committed to a generous gift of $15 million to support the university’s key medical education and research priorities. In recognition of this extraordinary generosity, it is our great honour to name the medical library at the LKCMedicine’s Novena Campus as the Sim Hoay Cheok - Sim Foundation Library. What makes this gift even more meaningful is that this gift is made to commemorate Mr Sim’s 80th birthday.
Mr Sim’s giving spirit is not just seen through his financial support. He took personal interest in meeting our students who benefited from the scholarship awards, attending their graduation ceremony, regularly meeting them to mentor and share his stories. Last night, we had four medical students from LKCMedicine’s Year Two to Four in attendance, joining us at the launch ceremony and dinner. I would like to remind our scholars to always remember the one who helped them to achieve their dream, and that one day, when you have the capacity to do so, do give and pay it forward to those who need your help.
Mr Sim’s story demonstrates well that the power to change lives is not reserved only for the wealthy and the elite. A good heart can change the world. A giving heart more so. Indeed, true generosity is not measured by how much we have, but by how deep we care. For that, on behalf of the School, it is with humility and gratitude that I present a small calligraphy artwork to Mr Sim which reads “Long live the kindness in your Heart.”
