The passing away of Francis Wong is the passing of an era. I remember, as a teenager, 45 years ago, reading his bylines in the Straits Times under the pen name, Wong Tjilik. I do not recall what he wrote but remember the succulence of his words. Francis had a way with words, which he wielded like a sword. With words he cut through the tangled and the concealed. Brought light where the shadows lay. This talent was ultimately to bring him grief. In 1971, his editorship of the Singapore Herald, Singapore's rival English language paper to the Straits Times, came to an abrupt end with the Government's withdrawal of the publishing license. When it was all over, years later, I urged him to write up the whole episode, alas he wanted to put it all behind him. I can't blame him. It was a bitter episode he did not want to relive.

I first met him when the Herald moved into the People's Park Complex, which my firm had just completed. He wanted to write about the building. He understood the social philosophy of the design. Francis had "noblest oblige" i.e. the obligation of the noble, who would champion the downtrodden and the weak and would stand up for righteousness. His fault was that he could not stand "frog shit', as he called it.

I got to know him, as anyone could really know anybody, during and after the closure of the Herald. His last days at the Herald in 1971 were heroic days battling the charge that the Herald was a foreign owned "black operation" against Singapore's interest. When all was lost, Francis's heroism remained, fighting to the bitter end. Money came pouring in from the public in show of sympathy and support. I felt it was such a waste, as all that money would simply go to pay creditors. The Herald was in receivership once its license was withdrawn.

Together with a few individuals, many met for the first time then, we organised a totally Singapore-owned co-operative to take over, own and run the Herald. To guarantee a Singaporean editorial policy, an impeccable Singaporean board of trustees was formed. Talks were held with Mr. S. Rajaratnam, the then Minister for Culture, under whom was the power to grant the required newspaper-printing license. The signs were hopeful but there was comment that the co-op proposal was "old wine in a new bottle". Getting the message, I spoke to Francis who without hesitation, offered to step down and allow Ambrose Khaw, his assistant, to be the new editor if this meant the survival of the paper.

This is the measure of the man. Against his own ego and his own self interest, he would step down so that the paper may live. If Ambrose was acceptable, and he was not, the priority was clear, even though the decision must have felt to him a grave injustice. He never alluded to it. With his stepping aside, the co-op had to take the chance to revive the Herald. But alas, it was not to be. License was not granted. Perhaps it was a case of new wine in old bottles.

We kept in touch. Francis decided to reinvent himself. The next time I met him was in Kuala Lumpur. He had started a new career. He was through with newspaper journalism in Singapore. He was editing the Housing Developers' Journal, introducing into it a level of intellect and scope of discussion unheard off in real estate journals. The man's spirit was intact. He had all his wits about him. There was no bitterness. And over the three decades whenever we met it was thoroughly enjoyable to hear him theorise, tease out the hidden logic of a situation, cut through the frog shit! Francis knew how to live.

If we forget or take no trouble to understand the passing of such a personality as Francis, his independence of spirit, his concern for intellectual cogency, we will fail to kindle such a spirit in ourselves. I have no doubt that, sometime in the future, Francis Wong will be remembered as one of the heroes of his time: a man of courage and spirit. This is my tribute to the man.