The Love Story Of Ho Bak Hai And Nio Chor Kong

Q: What’s your love story?

Bak Hai: A friend introduced us. Back then, relationships and marriage were very simple… I liked her personality and humble attitude, and felt that I got along well with her. So things took off from there, and we got married a year later. During those times, most people held their wedding banquets and rites at home, as did we.

Chor Kong: Bak Hai was unemployed when I met him. After we got married, we started a tentage rental company together, Nanyang Inc. We dedicated several decades of our marriage into growing the business together. Today, Nanyang Inc has grown from a team of six people to about over sixty employees, and is currently run by our two sons. I’m proud that we’ve built a good foundation to provide the best for our children.

Q: What do you love most about your spouse?

Bak Hai: This is a very difficult question! It was her character that really appealed to me. Even though Chor Kong was not very educated (very few people were, back in the day), this did not affect her confidence at all. She is very headstrong and daring, even more than I am.

Chor Kong: I get along very well with him, and we have gone through a long period of ups and downs together. A large portion of our married life together was spent on running the business, and we worked very hard together. We make a good team.

Q: How would you describe your relationship?

Bak Hai: We are still very loving after all these years. Of course we still have our arguments, but the most important thing is that we are able to give in to each other. We understand each other’s characters well, and are always able to reach a level of compromise.

Chor Kong: I wouldn’t say that we are the romantic sort of couple, but our personalities click well and we make the most of our marriage. Now that we have retired, we travel a lot more together – in fact, we just returned from a week-long holiday in China. At home, we mostly spend time with our grandchildren, and it’s such a joy to do so.

Q: What is the best thing about living as a married couple?

Bak Hai: The happiest part of our lives started from the moment we decided to build a family together. We have two sons and a daughter, and it is a blessing to watch them grow, achieve success in their lives, and even have children of their own.

Chor Kong: We went through a stable, peaceful fifty years together and that is good enough for me. When there were challenges along the way, we faced them and overcame the obstacles together – but other than that, the ‘normal’ days we spend together are good enough for me.

Q: How about an example of the difficulties you faced together?

Chor Kong: Several years ago, there was a time when our business was going through a rough period. But this did not affect our marriage, or the relationship between us. Instead, we depended a lot on each other. An assistant of ours brought us to church (we were non-believers then); it was a life-changing experience for us in terms of religion, family and business – everything began picking up from that moment and has been smooth sailing since then, and things have only been getting better and better.

Bak Hai: I only remember the beautiful memories! (laughs)

Q: What are your tips for a successful and long-lasting marriage?

Bak Hai: There are no secrets to that! Just be a good person, do the right thing, and God will bless you. As long as you uphold your morals and beliefs, everything will work out fine.

Some girls are very pretty, but they have poor personality. Their beauty doesn’t last forever. Don’t go finding yourself a husband or wife just based on looks; they must have intelligence and character, too. But of course, Chor Kong is also beautiful!

Chor Kong: Be sincere when communicating with your partner, and do your best in everything that you have committed to achieve together.

Q: Any plans for your upcoming 50th anniversary this year?

Bak Hai: Our son recently asked us whether we could show and pass him any wedding photography Singapore that we took together as a couple over the years, so I think he probably has something planned out for us.

Chor Kong: We suspect that our son is going to arrange something for us! We’re a simple couple, so we have never really celebrated our anniversaries in a fancy way.