He designed a greeting card and gave it to NTUC secretary-general Lim Swee Say, who visited him at the Singapore General Hospital (SGH) on Monday - the first day of Chinese New Year.

Mr Seng's message in the card read: 'Press on in the Year of the Oxen. Do not fear the opposing tides.'

In sharing Mr Seng's message yesterday with some 500 unionists and staff of the National Trades Union Congress at its annual Workplan Seminar, Mr Lim described it as an example of how Singaporeans could exhibit 'positive energy' even in adversity.

'Even though he (Mr Seng) is recovering in hospital, he is also projecting his positive energy to the rest of us,' he said.

Mr Seng, an NTUC assistant secretary-general, is recovering from 14 per cent burns on his face, arms, back and chest. He has undergone two skin grafts since being attacked by a resident at the Yio Chu Kang Community Club on Jan 11.

Dr Chua Chee Lay, a friend of Mr Seng for some 30 years now and who visited him at the SGH Burns unit on Sunday, said yesterday that the MP was recovering well.

Recounting the two-hour conversation they had on Sunday, he said Mr Seng told him that 'the worst is over'.

Mr Seng also told him: 'Things are only going to get better. There is nothing to feel sad or depressed about.'

Dr Chua - the chief executive of Chinese language research centre CL Lab and who is one of Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew's Chinese-language tutors - also said that Mr Seng was in good spirits and could move and walk slowly in his ward.

'There was not a mention or hint of the pain he was going through...He even joked about how the nurses shaved his head because his hair was burnt,' Dr Chua told The Straits Times.

Mr Seng told him that he was thankful for the steady stream of visitors over the past weeks, including MM Lee, who had visited him five times since his admission. The most recent visit was last Saturday.

Dr Chua said he observed Mr Seng signing cards, sporting the same message as the card given to Mr Lim Swee Say. These were given to doctors and nurses, colleagues and friends, and MM Lee as well.

The writing exercise was part of rehabilitation to prevent his hands and fingers from becoming stiff.

'Though his fingers were swollen, he had a firm grip of the pen and his handwriting was not affected,' Dr Chua said, adding that the injuries were now 'patches of healing scars and raw wounds'.

At yesterday's NTUC event, Mr Lim said that Mr Seng's greeting card and message was part of the reason why he has decided on a new initiative for the NTUC's website.

Called the 'Positive Energy Cooperative' and targeted for launch in about two weeks, it is a portal where workers, unions and companies can submit pictures and comments on how they are coping with the downturn or have benefited from the labour movement.

The only condition is that these experiences must project 'positive energy' just like Mr Seng had done, said Mr Lim.

He said he got the idea from the New York Times, which invited readers to submit well-wishes to the new United States administration on Jan 20, the day that US President Barack Obama was sworn in.

'We thought it was a very good way to harness the positive energy of the nation because on the ground, we see a lot of positive responses from companies, workers and unions,' Mr Lim said.

'We do not deny that the global situation is getting from bad to worse, but it's important that workers of Singapore do not have an impression that we're in a helpless or hopeless situation.'

Mr Cyrille Tan, general secretary of the United Workers of Electronic and Electrical Industries, said it could help keep workers informed about the wide range of help provided by the labour movement, such as skills upgrading programmes and career counselling.

'It can also encourage unionists in their work to help jobless or retrenched Singaporeans,' said Mr Tan, who added that his union would contribute regularly to the webpage.