New AWARE President's Husband: Quiet, Devoted to Religious Activities

The Straits Times ran this article on 18 April 2009:

Quiet, devoted to religious activities
By Tan Dawn Wei

IF HIS wife is a livewire, he is the quiet one.

Friends say Dr Alan Chin Yew Liang, 51, has never been known to be the life of the party.

In fact, he stopped going to parties in recent years, preferring to devote his time to religious activities, said a longtime friend.

Dr Chin made his presence felt at the Aware AGM on March 28 even though he could not vote.

Aware has long accepted men as associate members and he joined recently. His wife joined in January this year.

Old guard members at the AGM said that he was one of the many unfamiliar new faces who turned up and, during the elections, he helped to count votes.

Later, when they checked to find out who he was, all they could find was that he had penned six letters to The Straits Times between May and August 2007 speaking out against the homosexual lifestyle, and citing the higher incidence of HIV cases among homosexuals.

In one letter, he said that homosexuals could change their sexual orientation.

He and his wife, Josie, have been attending the Anglican Church Of Our Saviour at Margaret Drive since 2001.

They were married in the 1980s at the Anglican St Andrew's Cathedral, soon after he graduated from medical school at the National University of Singapore.

He and three classmates set up Lifeline Medical Group, which has since expanded to encompass nine general practitioner clinics and one aesthetic clinic.

Among the partners is well-known watch collector and horology expert Bernard Cheong, 51, who has known Dr Chin since they were first-year medical students.

'He's a nice guy, and he and Josie are a very loving couple. I would definitely want him as my doctor,' Dr Cheong said with a hearty laugh.

When The Straits Times called him, Dr Chin declined to be interviewed, but asked to be contacted through his e-mail address.

He did not respond to questions nor subsequent messages.

But in an interview published in the Singapore Medical Association's newsletter in January 2007, he described himself and his interests.

He said his parents had the biggest influence on his early life, and his father told him when he was in primary school that God gave him intelligence and he would succeed if he worked hard, he said in the same interview.

He said that he spent Sunday mornings going to church and spending time with his family, his favourite book was the Bible, and his favourite song was Faith by Jason Upton, an American Christian singer-songwriter.

He also let on some nuggets about himself: his biggest indulgence was buying a BMW Cabriolet and he thought everyone should watch The Lord Of The Rings because it was the 'best show and trilogy ever!'.

The BMW Cabriolet has since given way to a Toyota MPV, a friend said.

In the same 2007 interview, when asked what he wanted to be remembered for, he said: a loving husband and father and a loyal friend.