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The late Mr Linn In Hua wrote in his unfinished memoir: “Fate was harsh to me. My ambition to become a scientist has gone; my hope now rests on my next generation!” Indeed, the Endowment Fund set up in loving memory of Mr Linn will help to facilitate future generations of students to fulfill their dream in pursue of a tertiary education.

Born in 1924 to a poor family of 8 children in the island of Jinmen, Fujian province, the late Mr Linn’s journey in formal education was interrupted multiple times by war and financial hardship. During the Japanese occupation, the creative teenage Mr Linn ventured into backyard manufacturing of recycled paper, lipsticks and compasses to help support his family. His secondary school education resumed in Chung Ling High School after the war but financial circumstances forced him to withdraw from higher secondary to work as a mechanic. Over the years the young entrepreneur moved on to set up an engineering company in partnership. However the thirst for knowledge and aspiration in pursuing higher studies and an academic career never left him. At the age of 33 and already a father of 2, he gathered enough resources to pursue his dream in London. He first took “O” and then “A” level as a private candidate and gained entrance into University of London to study Physics. Fate had it that, just one year before graduating, he had to suspend his studies to return to Malaysia to salvage the mismanaged business, which was in such a state that “after a year, the plan to resume my studies was abandoned, and to date I am still an undergraduate.”

Like many Chinese businessmen of his time, through hard work and perseverance, business grew and so did the sense of calling in giving back to the society. The boy who fled Jinmen with his family as refugee became, decades later, the President of the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry (1987-1989). His active involvement in contributing to the society also included participation in the management committees of numerous educational boards and welfare organizations, such as the former Vocational and Industrial Training Board, Tan Kah Kee Foundation and the Singapore Buddhist Lodge.

Mr Linn passed away in October 1998. While it was his regret that he did not have a chance to complete his university education, the endowment fund from his estate will help other deserving students today in completing their tertiary education.