IN MEMORY OF A GOOD FRIEND
By Ernest C. Teo l 27th March 2008

MATTHEW HII 29th February 2008 A fellow diver, instructor and a good friend. The first time I met this guy was on my first trip to Sipadan Island . That was also the same year I started my diving, his and the start of a new friendship among me, Foo Sze Lee and him. We kept teasing him ‘old man' as he was a little older than us and he goes to bed early – 9pm ! But as years past, we realize the guy was actually filled with fun and a straight person.

He earned his PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer, EFR and Nitrox Instructor rating the following year. For many years, he runs a successful sports gear and equipment retail in Bintulu which was also his base called Sports House. Today, the business is succeeded by his wife, Esther with the help of his children and faithful employees.

He once told me that if he wanted to play a sport, he will try to go all the way but would just dump it immediately if he finds it not suitable for himself after a while. Normally, they only last him 3 months the most but scuba diving is the only one that last with him for years. I would say he fell in love with the sport and the underwater world.

Throughout the years, he had introduced scuba diving to many around Bintulu and Sibu including certifying quite a number of them. As a pro-conservationist, he encourage the local industry in Bintulu to protect the underwater environment, assisted in trying to save a Bridled whale in KK and did not want to rent filled air tanks to hunters.

As a PADI Instructor, he was very rigid in the standards producing many good divers and encouraged them to travel often enjoying their new lifetime skill. And when I started my career as a professional diver, he had on numerous occasions supported me in terms of gathering divers for trips and teaching materials.

For the many years to come, he will be in our mind and heart wherever we travel.