The death of Mr Sim Wong Hoo on Jan 4 took many by surprise.

Inventor, visionary and technopreneur all in one, Mr Sim brought fame and recognition to this city with his world-renowned Sound Blaster audio card that allowed PCs to produce quality sound.

Through this, he helped our tiny red dot punch above its weight in the technology world.

Many also admired Mr Sim for his unassuming ways. He came from a humble background, and studied at Bukit Panjang Government High School before getting a technical diploma at Ngee Ann Technical College, now known as Ngee Ann Polytechnic.

He also wrote a book, Chaotic Thoughts From The Old Millennium, a collection of short stories illustrating the value of creativity and initiative, which is available in our public libraries. I have read it several times and have learnt a lot from it.

We can also learn from Mr Sim’s remarkable ability to think out of the box, and translate his creative ideas into actions.

Singapore will always remember you, Mr Sim.

Teo Kok Seah