EyeWorld Asia-Pacific September 2014 Issue

Arthur was a visionary and a giant in Singapore medicine. He was a world leader in clinical and academic ophthalmology and made substantial contributions to the field. He founded the Singapore National Eye Centre, which is now one of the world’s leading eye hospitals. He also conceptualized the Singapore Eye Research Institute, which has over the last two decades made discoveries that advanced the diagnosis and treatment of major eye diseases, such as myopia, glaucoma, and diabetic retinopathy. He put Singapore medicine on the world map, serving as President of the World Ophthalmology Congress and Secretary General of the Asia Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology, which he helped set up. Arthur not only built institutions, but mentored generations of eye surgeons and lit the lives of millions of people around the world. His mantra was: “If you operate on one man, you restore vision to one man, but if you teach your colleagues how to perform quality cataract surgery, they will solve the problem of cataract blindness in the world.” Driven by this greater mission, he trained more than 5,000 specialists in the 10 eye centers that he has helped establish in China, restoring the vision of one million blind cataract patients there. I knew Arthur to be a generous and gracious man. As the Chairman of the Universities Endowment Fund, he led by example and inspired others to do the same, increasing the endowment many fold. His fund-raising efforts have given the gift of education to future generations of NUS graduates, and helped us to become a society that cares for the less fortunate. Arthur’s legacy will live on as we remember his life, his contributions and lessons. My thoughts are with you and your family during this time of sorrow. LEE Hsien Loong Prime Minister of Singapore Prof. Arthur Lim, a giant father figure to an entire generation of ophthalmologists, has just left us. I will never be able to thank him enough for all that he gave us so generously. All the institutions he established, the lessons and the memories will live on. May God bless his soul always. Vivian BALAKRISHNAN Minister, Environment & Water Resources, Singapore Honorary Senior Consultant & Past Medical Director, Singapore National Eye Centre, Singapore Prof. Lim was an inspirational mentor. He painted for us a vision and a hope that if we aimed high, worked hard, and dreamed big, anything was possible. He urged us on to achieve for SNEC and SERI what we never thought was possible in a short span of 25 years–to start from scratch but now compete neck and neck with the best in ophthalmology globally. We must continue his legacy and complete the journey he set us on. WONG Tien Yin Medical Director, Singapore National Eye Centre, Singapore In the history of ophthalmology in Asia, Arthur Lim was a leading figure championing Asia to the forefront for many decades. Considered Singapore’s Father of Ophthalmology, Prof. Lim established not only Asia’s leading centers of excellence in the Singapore National Eye Centre and the Singapore Eye Research Institute, but developed sight restoration initiatives throughout Asia, and played key roles in establishing academic ophthalmology here. He was a true giant, and his legacy lives on in all of us. Donald TAN Immediate Past Medical Director, Singapore National Eye Centre President, Asia Cornea Society, Singapore TRIBUTES FROM AROUND THE WORLD It was with great sadness that I heard the news of the passing of a dear friend and mentor, Prof. Arthur Lim. Arthur achieved so much for ophthalmology in Singapore, the Asia-Pacific region, and internationally, but in addition there is a deep sense of personal loss for those whose lives he touched. I vividly recall the first time I met Arthur when he first established the Asia Pacific Intraocular Implant Society in the 1980s. His vision of the importance of a regional group focused on cataract surgery and intraocular implants like so many of his insights proved to be correct and that small group has grown into APACRS and all its associated activities. Similarly, he planted the seed for many other societies, which now contribute to education and training in the Asia-Pacific region. He entrusted me with the future of the Asia Pacific Intraocular Implant Association and therefore changed my life as he did for so many others whom he met, guided, and invested time in their future and careers. He achieved all this with an enthusiasm and engagement with life that was truly inspirational. The tasks he set out to achieve in establishing the Singapore National Eye Centre and so many other institutions required a major personal effort from Arthur and were accomplished with joy, enthusiasm as well as determination. We are all diminished by his loss and will remember to keep on working toward his common goal to advanced ophthalmology and look after our patients. On behalf of APACRS, I would like to extend our deepest sympathy to his family and friends—we will always honor his memory by continuing our efforts. Arthur, you will be missed by all...but never forgotten. Graham BARRETT President, Asia-Pacific Association of Cataract & Refractive Surgeons (APACRS) President, Australasian Society of Cataract & Refractive Surgeons (AUSCRS) Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Western Australia Prof. Arthur Lim was a warm, friendly individual who worked tirelessly for the cause of ophthalmology in Southeast Asia. His treatises on glaucoma and cataract surgeries are world renowned for their content, espoused out of his personal wisdom. He had visited India on several occasions and has many friends from this part of the world. To the grief-stricken family and ophthalmologists in Southeast Asia and all over the world, Sankara Nethralaya offers its condolence. S.S. BADRINATH Chairman Emeritus, Sankara Nethralaya, India Extraordinary and audacious Singaporean, great ophthalmologist and mentor of all the past and present ophthalmic leaders of the Singapore National Eye Centre. He will always live in our memories. Prof. Lim, you left a great legacy! We will always continue to carry the flames of ophthalmology for Singapore! ANG Chong Lye Chief Executive Officer, Singapore General Hospital Senior Consultant and Past Medical Director, Singapore National Eye Centre, Singapore