I read with concern about Mr Goh Chok Tong having undergone two medical procedures in the last few weeks and also the news that in the upcoming weeks, he will undergo 20 sessions of radiotherapy (ESM Goh to undergo radiotherapy after removal of lump, Dec 19).

For a 79-year-old, his fighting spirit and cheerful disposition in the face of these medical issues are admirable. But it is, nonetheless, certainly a stressful period for him.

I wish him good health and hope that with the best medical care to be accorded to him in the next few weeks, he will get to see the "clear blue sky" before Chinese New Year, as he wished.

On Facebook, he advised all to go for regular health screenings, thereby showing his concern for Singaporeans. Despite his present health condition, he looks beyond his own health issues to consider our well-being.

His fatherly demeanour, as well as his frequent advice to Singaporeans on various matters in his previous role of senior minister, has always endeared him to me.

I will never forget how once, in the early 1980s, at the Ministry of Home Affairs headquarters at Phoenix Park where I worked for two years, I came face to face with him along a corridor and he smiled and acknowledged me. I was part of the office staff then. He was then a Cabinet minister, but he showed no pompousness or aloofness, despite his commanding stature.

I wish him good health for many more years to come.

May he have many more years to enjoy his retirement.

Low Siew Hua