Hi grandchildren, and children too,
This article in the Star (not my favorite newspaper preferring to call it wastepaper instead because they are but tools of the discredited MCA and BN) "A happy, final farewell to McKay" caught my attention because this is what I want too for that inevitable day when I say my final goodbye to all of you. If we believe in heaven, then a funeral is a day for celebration and not tears because we are transiting to a better place.
The custom for funeral is for a photo of the departed to be displayed throughout the ceremony. I wonder how I would look like in my final days but if possible, I would like this unusual photo of myself be the one used because that is how I would like to be remembered:
In case you forgot how that rare photo above was captured, see My first grandchild at his grandpa's birthday gathering.
A happy, final farewell to McKay
By LEE YEN MUN
yenmun@thestar.com.my
KUALA LUMPUR: Tears not allowed – but happy memories were very much welcomed.
Family and friends said goodbye to independent film critic Benjamin Donald McKay by wearing attire of happy colours to his funeral, accompanied by pop music and much laughter.
Departure: Friends and family of McKay smiling while sharing a fond memory. Standing by the coffin are (from left) film-maker Amir Muhammad, McKay’s friend Abdul Ghani Mohd Fariq, mother Barbara and younger brother Alexander.
By the coffin of which his body laid was a table decorated with teddy bears and origami cranes, bearing messages of love from the people whose lives he touched.
About 100 people attended the funeral at the Xiao En Bereavement Centre here yesterday morning, including film-maker Amir Muhammad, writer Bernice Chauly and students of the late McKay.
McKay’s body was later laid to rest at the Nilai Memorial Park.
Amir remembered McKay as full of wit and insight.
“He had a strong sense of fair play and a champion of the minorities,” said Amir, who had known McKay since 2005.
The deceased’s family – mother Barbara, brother Alexander and stepfather Tony Sevil – travelled from Australia to bid their last goodbyes.
In her eulogy, Barbara fondly related her son’s destined calling to move to Malaysia.
“He called me from Brisbane saying, ‘Mom, I have finally found what I want’,” she said.
The paint artist said her son was passionate about movies, particularly works from South-East Asia.
“(The late) P. Ramlee was like god to him,” said Barbara.
McKay had made Kuala Lumpur his home since 2005 and taught film and television studies at the Monash University Sunway campus.
Other tributes dedicated to McKay, who was also a writer, carried similar sentiments of his laidback and loving personality.
Self-acclaimed drag queen Edwin Sumun described the late arts activist as a supportive and an all-embracing friend.
“When I decided to do ‘drag’ again last year, Benjamin was the only one who welcomed me,” quipped Edwin, who emceed the ceremony as his alter-ego Shelah.
McKay was found dead on the kitchen floor of his condominium here last Monday after succumbing to a heart attack.
He was 46 years old.
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