Thank God For Failures
By Dr Timothy Cheng & Ong Juat Heng
If Dr Timothy William had not failed, he might not have won the highly coveted 2017 Merdeka Award, one of the most, if not the most, prestigious awards in the country.
During his schooling and undergraduate years, Timothy, 48, often came out tops. However, specialist qualification exams dodged him and he encountered repeated failures, causing him to be discouraged and demotivated.
These failures became financial constraints that led him to make major decision changes to his place of work and he ended up working in Darwin Hospital in Australia. Little did he know that this was the very place that he would meet the people who would lead him to his research in tropical/infectious disease and his eventual achievement.
Was it luck? Or the hand of God painting a beautiful canvas of Timothy’s life? “In retrospect, it is God’s timing that is far superior to all our planning and strategising for our future,” he said. Had he passed his specialist exams in one attempt, he might not have received the Merdeka Award and there would not have been press articles written about him, where he unashamedly proclaimed his Christian faith and even quoted Bible verses.
In his interviews with the local newspapers after receiving the award, he quoted (and it was published in the newspapers) Philippians 4:13 as his favourite verse since childhood. He said the verse reminded him that it was God’s strength that had enabled him to do so much more than he’s able to, and according to His will, not his.
In his case, God’s will had encompassed failures, and he promptly pronounced, “You must fail to succeed.”
WORK FOR GOD
“Work not for the money but for God’s glory,” Timothy told Asian Beacon. “Our work must therefore be at the highest level of professionalism and integrity.”
It is this attitude of excellence, premised on his desire for God’s glory to be manifested, that helped earn him the Merdeka Award. Timothy’s win was all the more outstanding considering that he was the youngest of the six recipients of the award, launched in 2007 in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of the country’s independence. The award recognises individuals or organisations that have left a lasting imprint on the lives of Malaysians.
Timothy won the award in the Health, Science and Technology category for his work and research in the effective treatment of a new strain of malaria, called Plasmodium Knowlesi. The findings of the extensive research by him and his team contributed greatly to the World Health Organisation’s guidelines for Plasmodium Knowlesi malaria, and changed the way this infection is managed globally.
GODLY HERITAGE
As a dedicated doctor, Timothy’s core principle at work has always been “patient first, no matter what”. As a committed Christian, he is convinced that his Christian values and principles at work, though not always accepted and popular, will eventually gain the respect of colleagues and superiors and eventually make a difference.
Timothy’s values were shaped by the Bible and his father, whom he proudly called his role model. “He was a school headmaster that was not only passionate about teaching but also impacting the lives of students under him,” said the father of four, who hails from Banting, Selangor.
During his growing up years, Timothy saw his father actively serving in various church ministries, despite his hectic headmaster schedule. This serving attitude spilled over to Timothy, who is now a regular speaker and actively involved in the youth ministry in Grace Chapel in Luyang, Sabah.
But Christians should not just “stay in church”, he said. “Christians should go out and be involved in the marketplace. Excel in science, in the arts. Be a good influence and expand your Christian influence far and wide in society.”
This Infectious Diseases Physician is certainly casting his godly Christian influence as the President of the Infectious Diseases Society of Kota Kinabalu and at his workplace at the Jesselton Medical Centre, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.
How does a Selangor son end up on Sabah soil? After graduating from the University of Malaya in 1995 as a young doctor, Timothy was posted to Tambunan, in the interior of Sabah, where he met the love of his life and future wife, Aida. He then went on to work in Hospital Queen Elizabeth, Sabah, and trained as an internal medicine specialist there. His interest in tropical medicine and infectious disease led him to a sub specialty training in Infectious Diseases and he spent three years in Hospital Kuala Lumpur and one year in Darwin Hospital before returning to Sabah to serve his country.
Reflecting on his Merdeka Award achievement, a national honour that celebrates the spirit of independence, Timothy said, “I hope and pray that Malaysia will always have her freedom of worship and religion, and that leaders of integrity and wisdom will rise up to lead her.”
Asian Beacon: Jan – Mar 2018 (Vol 50 #1, p19)
