A tribute to the late Mr Sim Miah Kian

 Mr Sim Miah Kian

14 December 1919 - 5 May 2014

YMCA Trustee (1984 - 2014)

Vice-President, YMCA of Singapore (1974 - 1986)

It is an honour to be asked by the family to give this tribute to the late Mr Sim Miah Kian, an old friend of mine and one of the longest serving Directors of the YMCA of Singapore. 

As a school boy, he became associated with YMCA before the war as a student in YMCA School of Commerce. His choice of studying in YMCA School of Commerce was a very wise one because of the learning of English, shorthand and typing and the consequence of all this gave him the tools to deal with the world of commerce and finance and from his hard work he became successful in these fields. His association with the YMCA may have initiated his interest in Christianity. 

His actual conversion took place at the age of 50 and after being blessed with many promotions at the managerial level with leading financial institutions he accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Saviour and gave his life to the True Manager Lord which gave him much happiness. He became a very dedicated and committed Christian and was ready to give anything he could to promote social enterprise and community development.

He recognised early in his life the need for a good education and was always grateful for the doors that opened to him as a result of his commercial classes in YMCA. He did not have any hesitation to serve on the YMCA Board when asked to and he did this for many years. His love for God and his walk with Him moulded his character and richly encouraged any of those who came into contact with him at the YMCA. Being a dedicated and committed Christian, Mr Sim devoted much of his time at the YMCA through Christian works and chaired the religious committee for many years. In his later years he became President of the Singapore Bible Society.

Mr Sim often confided in me his approval of the association’s interest in the betterment of the community particularly through the YMCA. Did you know that when the first Singapore Council of Social Service was formed Mr Woon Wah Siang called a meeting of some 40 heads from religious bodies, voluntary welfare organisations and various municipal departments to mobilise community support for voluntary social service.

This first committee which was headed by Dato Lee Kong Chian had 4 YMCA directors in the first executive committee and Mr Sim was made treasurer. When the Bukit Ho Swee fire occured in 1961 causing 15,000 people to be homeless this Council raised nearly $700,000 within a month to help them.

Mr Sim treated everyone with the same unfailing courtesy and good humour! He always had a ready smile for anyone who came into contact with him. His cheerfulness and natural friendliness won him great respect. Some 20 years ago he retired as a YMCA Director and was made an Honorary Member with his distinguished accomplishments in the banking and finance industry. Mr Sim proved to be a great help to me particularly during the rebuilding period after World War II. He organised fund raising projects and was always willing to help when his services were needed. He took on the responsibility as Co-Trustee for the new YMCA building and stood up with 3 others as guarantors for a $10,000,000 loan from DBS Singapore.

The Community has lost a very good supporter and I personally have lost a good trusted friend and advisor.

Goodbye Miah Kian and may your soul rest in peace in the arms of our Lord and Master Jesus Christ.

Dr Robert Loh Choo Kiat

YMCA Trustee
President, YMCA of Singapore (1970 – 1992)

The above tribute was delivered by Dr Robert Loh at Mr Sim Miah Kian's memorial service on 30 May 2014.