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SINGAPORE – Peng Tsu Ying, a 92-year-old pioneer educator who has worked in the deaf-hearted deaf community in Singapore for decades, died on Wednesday (October 24th).
The cause of death was heart failure due to old age, said Dennis Tan, a 52-year-old teacher, who considered Mr. Peng a mentor.
Born in Shanghai, Mr. Peng lost hearing around the age of five as a result of a childhood illness.
He came to Singapore with his wife, who was also deaf, and founded in 1954 the School of Chinese Signs for the Deaf of Singapore, where she teaches shanghain sign language to deaf children.
In 1963, the school merged with the Oral School for the Deaf and became the Singapore School for the Deaf (SSD). Mr. Peng was one of the directors.
The school, which was run by the Singapore Deaf Association (SADeaf), was closed last year, as enrollment had declined in recent years.
Ms. Hanisnah Kasmuri, a former 50-year-old SSD director, recalls Mr. Peng as a firm but kind mentor.
She started as a teacher in the school around 1985, thinking it would be a temporary job.
"But seeing her enthusiasm and her love for sign language and people really touched me," said Ms. Hanisnah, who resigned after 22 years and who now owns a business center. 39; learning.
"He encouraged and motivated me to stay in spite of the challenges, he was a father figure and was never stingy with his praise and encouragement."
In an article on the SADeaf Facebook page, its president, Martin Marini, said that Mr. Peng had spent 35 years of his life teaching, inspiring and guiding generations of deaf students.
"Mr. Peng's extraordinary leadership and immense contributions (…) are widely recognized as we deplore the loss of our pioneering founder and educator," he wrote.
Mr. Peng was also not the type to allow his disability to prevent him from taking part in racing and grand prix racing races in the 1950s. He was often seen running down tracks in open-top sports cars like his Lotus Super Seven.
In an interview in 1975, Mr. Peng stated that he had participated in motorsports to prove that "deafness does not interfere with being able to do anything".
It inspired the trust of other deaf people, said Tan, a student at SSD and a teacher at Lighthouse School.
"He encouraged me to play sports against my hearing comrades," he said. "He has won many trophies during his years of racing … (He has learned that) deaf people can do anything but hear."
Mr. Peng is survived by three children, seven grandchildren and three great-grandchildren, according to his obituary in The Straits Times.
A vigil will take place at 33A Swiss Club Road until Saturday (October 27th).
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