The farewell speech

As requested by JS, here’s the farewell speech I made earlier this afternoon for my former boss, who is retiring after 30 plus years of public service.

I’m proud to be here today as someone who has worked under Richard Lim.

Richard is a boss who empowers and encourages his staff. As a newcomer to HPB nearly 4 years ago, I appreciated how he’d make the time and effort to explain things to me.

Throughout his work, you could tell that Richard had a passion for health promotion and serving the public. Everything he did, he did with the best interests of the organisation and the nation. He was unafraid to speak his mind.

Richard played a key role in developing the Internet Section, as we were then known, by encouraging us to explore new frontiers, such as podcasting and mobile technologies. HPB is now viewed by many in the public service and beyond as a pioneer in these areas.

Richard was a boss who let us play hard as well. As chairman of the HWC* Sports & Games subcommittee, Richard encouraged us to get active. We have to thank him for getting some of us started on golf!

In time, I also discovered that Richard had a sense of humour, which made even the most difficult challenges more bearable.

Richard, you have set a great example for many of us as a mentor and a boss.

I can only hope, one day, to be as great a boss as you have been. And as good a golfer as you already are!

Thank you, Richard!

Man, we’re going to miss him.

*HWC is our Healthy Workforce Committee.