Shanmugam Asogan

7 July 1959 to 25 December 2005

‘The righteous one knows the legal claim of lowly ones.’ – Hebrew proverb. This well describes our dear fellow lawyer, S Asogan.

Whilst the world was celebrating Valentine’s Day in 2004, S Asogan, my friend of 26 years, was diagnosed with stomach cancer. Subsequent surgery confirmed our worst fear that the cancer cells had spread. Asogan was handed a deadline of six months to live. However, he was not prepared to surrender and succumb without a valiant fight. He fought the disease until his last day when the cancer finally overwhelmed his body and claimed his life.

Once again as the world was celebrating Christmas Day in 2005, my friend, Asogan passed away at the National University Hospital at 6.30pm.

With tears in my eyes I travel down memory lane, tracing the 26 years of friendship that Asogan and I shared.

I vividly recall meeting Asogan at law school at the National University of Singapore in 1980. We travelled together everyday in the bus to law school since we were living in the same HDB estate. We attended lectures together, sat next to each other in the lecture halls and went for lunch together. Some of our classmates would jokingly call us a ‘husband and wife’ team since we were always seen together.

Our friendship continued after graduation. We regularly met for lunch. Even when I was living overseas, we corresponded with each other through letters since e-mail was virtually non-existent in those days. I had the privilege of being the first friend to meet his fiancee, Ming Hwei (who later became his wife) since Asogan wanted his fiancee to be introduced to me before others.

In the later years of his practice, Asogan practised as a sole practitioner under S Asogan & Co. However, he was also determined to balance his law practice with his spiritual life and successfully did so. He was always prepared and willing to do his best for the interest of his clients. Running a lucrative and profitable practice was not his primary consideration.

In 2004, Asogan shifted his practice to my office premises since there was sufficient office space and legal work to be shared together. Our clients were comfortable with the work arrangements between Asogan and I. Never once did Asogan take advantage of or abuse our working relationship for his personal financial gain. He was cautious to protect his credibility and integrity. He was truly a trustworthy and reliable man.
 

As a husband, Asogan was loving, caring and faithful to his wife of 16 years. Almost daily, they had lunch and dinner together and jointly spent their weekends. Asogan was my only friend to the best of my knowledge who every year without fail, would personally compose a poem expressing his love and appreciation for his wife on their wedding anniversary. Such a romantic and sentimental husband he was!

Asogan was an athiest in his law school days, but subsequently became a Jehovah Witness. He was prepared for and did serve detention on several occasions for refusing to serve his army reserve duties. However, Asogan was not against serving national service which is non-military in nature. Asogan defended the rights of Jehovah Witnesses to practise their religion freely in Singapore. Thus Asogan was well-known amongst criminal court judges as a ‘JW lawyer’.

Asogan believed in the resurrection hope. This is a Bible-based hope for humans to enjoy everlasting life under peaceful conditions on a restored paradise earth.

In the last six months before his death, Asogan was in severe pain but he rarely expressed his suffering to anyone. He lost weight rapidly but maintained his stature. He quietly and steadfastly continued to work in the office, meet his clients and attend court hearings up till the last week of his death. He never complained or sought to obtain sympathy from opposing counsel due to his medical condition. He was a determined man and refused to yield to his disease without a fierce battle.

I was greatly moved by the number of persons including the legal fraternity and judiciary who turned up at Asogan’s wake to express their condolences to his wife. Everyone who knew Asogan casually or personally had only these words to say about him, ‘Asogan was a gem of a person’ and the tears that flowed freely at the crematorium speak for themselves.

Farewell my good friend and sleep well until Jehovah resurrects you from your sleep. I would like to conclude by reproducing a verse, one of Asogan’s personal favourites from the Holy Bible, which he upheld in his personal life:

My delight is in the law of Jehovah,

And in his law I read in an undertone day and night.

And I will certainly become like a tree planted by streams of water,

That gives its own fruit in its season

And the foliage of which does not wither,

And everything I do will succeed.

                                                                               Psalms 1:2–3

Sinnaiah Kalai Arasan

Kalai & Co