KUALA LUMPUR: Grounded by strict medical orders in Australia, Datuk Ling Hee Leong had to endure the heartbreak of bidding his father Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik a final farewell through a live video feed.
Clearing the air over his brother’s absence at the funeral yesterday, Datuk Ling Hee Keat (pic) said Hee Leong was undergoing a six-week medical procedure that doctors say cannot be interrupted.
“Unfortunately, what happened has happened, and there is no one missing this more than him,” Hee Keat told reporters, adding that his elder brother had been closely following the wake and funeral proceedings via a live feed.
Hee Keat said despite his ongoing medical condition, Hee Leong had made multiple trips back to Malaysia this year to be by their father’s side, with the most recent being just two weeks ago.
“He came and spent a long weekend with us. Our father was still stable then. That is why he decided to go back and start his treatment, hoping that in six weeks’ time, he could return and be with the family again,” he said.
Hee Keat said under other circumstances, his brother would have been involved in every aspect of the funeral preparations.
“It is because of the continuous treatment that, unfortunately, he can’t be here. Otherwise, he would be the first person to be involved from morning to night, because that is the kind of person he is,” he said.
