No stopping them
Thestraits
EVEN heads of state need to have their eyes checked every so often. And they usually do so once every one to two years, says Leow, who has prescribed glasses for three Singapore presidents – the late CV Devan Nair, former president S.R. Nathan and Tony Tan Keng Yam.
“They behave like normal people. The bodyguard stays outside, they do not come into the shop,” he says.
Leow owns Star Optical at Delfi Orchard, which he opened in 1961 at Clifford House in Collyer Quay. The business relies mostly on customers who have been going to the shop for decades as well as some high-profile ones. These include Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong, 74, and former Deputy Prime Minister, the late Toh Chin Chye.
Walk-in clients are few and far between these days and business is slowing down, says Leow, who has one shop assistant. Still, he has no intention of retiring just yet.
“I will continue working since I’m still agile. It is not a very tedious or heavy workload and it helps people. After all, eyesight is so important.”
The father of three works 5.5 days a week. His wife is 82-year-old housewife Beh Gaik Keow, his childhood sweetheart. They live in a semi-detached house near Holland Village. Their three children have moved out.
His eldest daughter is in her 50s and lives in Singapore while the youngest is in her 40s and lives in New York. Both of them work in the fashion retail industry. His lawyer son works in Hong Kong.
Leow obtained a diploma in optometry at Northampton Polytechnic in Britain in the late 1950s. During the 1960s, he was an optician for the British Army in Singapore.
He also played a part in the early days of contact lenses, which were introduced in Singapore in the 1960s.
He and eight other opticians formed the Singapore Contact Lens Society to educate the public on the proper use of the lenses. They helped dispel myths such as the story of a woman whose contact lenses melted when she went near a barbecue pit.
Leow is still a member of the organisation. He keeps up to date with new trends in his field through the weekly journal Optician from Britain.
Even after 54 years, he still takes it upon himself to ensure that every customer walks out of his shop with a well-fitted pair of contact lens or spectacles. This means checking on little details, down to making the glasses rest with the right amount of pressure on the bridge of the nose.
“Running a successful optical shop requires a friendly approach, good service and accuracy. Satisfied customers make me happy,” he says.