12-Year-Old Overcomes Grief to Fulfill Promise to Late Father in PSLE
Adapting to the new Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) grading system, introduced in 2021, which focuses on individual performance instead of comparing students to their peers, has been a challenging task.
For 12-year-old Kingsley Bai, however, there were even more daunting challenges – challenges so severe that they could have made him give up on the PSLE at any moment, challenges that even adults would struggle to bear.
Imagine being Kingsley, an ordinary Primary Six student, finding it hard to concentrate on studies while your parents constantly urge you to study more and enrol you in various supplementary tuition classes.
Then, one day, a month before the PSLE, you come home from tuition to receive shocking and tragic news: your father, only 38, had suddenly passed away.
Kingsley’s late father, Mr Ronald Bai, was a real estate property agent on a business trip in Bangkok when he suffered a brain aneurysm.
Tragically, he passed away before the ambulance could reach him.
This tragedy struck at the end of June this year, just two months before the official commencement of the PSLE oral examinations.
Young Kingsley, understandably, had little time to mourn or prepare himself for the exam, which was less than two months away. The task seemed virtually impossible.
Left with his 44-year-old grieving mother, Mrs Bai, and an older brother, Kingsley’s situation was dire.
Mrs Bai herself was engulfed in heart-wrenching sorrow.
She not only had to cope with the loss of her husband, who had vowed to be with her till the end, but also had to be strong for her children, who needed exceptional support to face the upcoming PSLE.
Despite his young age, Kingsley understood his mother’s pain and displayed maturity beyond his years.
As he wrote in a Facebook post after his father’s passing, he was determined to excel in the PSLE, fulfilling his father’s last wish. His father had worked hard to pay for his tuition.
In Kingsley’s own words: “I love you I promise you that I will do well for PSLE.”
Kingsley’s only wish was to have given his father one last hug before he left for his business trip to Thailand.
Kingsley’s Facebook page revealed that his grandfather had passed away just a few years earlier, a loss that was difficult for him at the time.
Yet, in just a few years, he faced the sudden loss of his father as well.
Kingsley, however, never gave in to these life challenges and remained committed to his promise to his late father.
His family provided immense support. His uncle, 37-year-old Mr Ethan Peh, dedicated three to four days a week to help Kingsley with his studies.
Most importantly, Mr Peh also stepped in to fill the role of a stand-in father.
Despite his demanding job at a bank, Mr Peh not only found time to study with Kingsley but also occasionally bought him chocolate as a reward and encouragement.
According to Shin Min Daily News, Mrs Bai extended special thanks to the teachers at St. Andrew’s Junior School for their support and assistance during this difficult time.
Thankfully, Kingsley’s efforts paid off.
On PSLE Results Release Day, 22 Nov, Kingsley was thrilled with his satisfactory achievements.
Excited by his success, his first instinct was to share the good news with his late father.
Speaking with Shin Min Daily News, Mrs Bai expressed her support for Kingsley’s dream of becoming a police officer and his desire to contribute to society.
