PEACE-MAKER

We mourn the passing last December 8 of our dear friend, the industrialist Dr. Chen Lipkeong of Malaysia.

A medical doctor-turned businessman — with interests in property, energy, and gaming — Dr. Chen was also known for his philanthropic works not only in his beloved country but throughout Asia. A visionary business leader, he also had a profound understanding of world history and of global issues and challenges.

Dr. Chen was more commonly known as Tan Sri, owing to the honorary title conferred to him by the King of Malaysia.

He founded NagaCorp Ltd, which is “one of the world’s most profitable gaming companies, and the largest gaming entertainment company in the Mekong Region. Its wholly-owned subsidiary NagaWorld owns, manages, and operates Phnom Penh’s only integrated hotel-casino entertainment complex, which owns a casino license with a 70-year tenure (until 2065) and a 51-year monopoly (until 2045). The company was the first gaming IPO on the Hongkong Exchange, and was the first foreign-owned company with operations in Cambodia ever listed overseas.”

In paying tribute to its late founder, the company said: “Dr. Chen had established a solid foundation of the Group after more than 28 years of steady growth. His many years of entrepreneurial, business, and managerial experiences had been instrumental to the Group’s success. Under Dr. Chen’s visionary leadership, the Group has been achieving remarkable growth and development after years of careful navigation of the business and skillful and strategic management.”

Indeed, Tan Sri had left an indelible mark on the business landscape. His legacy is a testament to visionary leadership, entrepreneurial spirit, and the transformative power of bold ideas. 
 

Yesterday, Dec. 16, our family commemorated the death anniversary of our beloved daughter, Katrina Casimira, whom we lovingly called KC. She would have been 35 years old this year but God summoned her back into His home in 2004.  

We were nine years old when we lost our dearest mother, Casimira Claveria de Venecia; and our father, Judge Jose Ravago de Venecia Sr., when we were in our thirties, but no sorrow is as deep as losing one’s own child.

It has been said that that the natural order of things is that parents bring children into this world; they do not naturally see their children leave it. 

Our wife Gina and we have since learned to live with the pain of losing her although the emotional void never really goes away. The anguish never really stops since we feel that part of us also died. As years went by, we also learned to remember KC with joy rather than with sadness. We have been comforted by the fact she is now with God, in a place of everlasting peace and happiness. 
 

By God’s grace, we will turn 87 years old nine days from now, on Dec. 26. 

For some time now, we feel that our “batteries” have been slowing down, but we are not complaining. 

We are forever grateful to God and the Filipino people for the opportunity to have taken part in some epochal events in our nation’s life. We have known up close and worked with men and women who helped shape the history of our country and of the world. 

We have also initiated a few things that have become game-changers and landmarks in our country’s economic, political, and social history.

Incidentally, Dec. 26 also marks the death anniversary of our brother-in-law, Bonifacio ‘Boy’ Nakpil, husband of Elizabeth, younger sister of our wife Gina. Boy Nakpil, who served as our special adviser when we were Speaker of the House, succumbed to Covid-19 in 2020.