Chew Chor Meng: I’m like a newborn baby

SINGAPORE – Veteran actor Chew Chor Meng’s newly published biography is titled Stages Of Life and chronicles his life from his troubled childhood and his years as a television star to his struggle with Kennedy’s disease, an incurable neuromuscular disorder.

Ask him what stage of life he’s in now, and he will tell you: “I’m like a newborn baby”.

“When I look at these old photographs of me (in the book), in which I look so young and boyish, I think, ‘Is that me? Was I like that?’” he said. “There might only be another 20 or 30 years left to my life. I want to start over. I’m going to put one step in front of another, like a baby.”

At 47, Chew knows he is a changed man. Each day, for him, is a fresh start; and he hopes recording his experiences in a book will inspire others. The biography, which was born out of a discussion with his manager at Mediacorp, has been two years in the making. While telling his story in WhatsApp voice recordings sent to his biographer, Chew said, “all my emotions flowed easily”.

“I’ve been working in Mediacorp for 25 years. So much as happened, including my illness. If this book, which records my story, can help and encourage people – why not? I think that would be meaningful,” he said, adding that there is also a tie-up with a worthy cause.

“If you visit www.giving.sg, you can get my book for a S$50 donation, and proceeds will go to Focus On The Family. So, I hope to be able to do some charity work through this channel.”

Chew’s fans will relish the pictures and anecdotes from the 1990 Star Search winner’s glory days – but the bigger picture, really, is that living a life in television has helped Chew live life outside of it.

In 2008, when he was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy, he said that he knew “how to deal with my emotions” and was able to come to terms with his condition faster “because of all the acting I had done”.

“Of course, it wasn’t easy,” he elaborated. “When I first got the diagnosis, I was too numb to even cry – it was only one week later, when I looked at my children, that the feelings surfaced. And when I went out, people looked at me differently and said things that hurt me.

“I was very much affected by that. After all, as a ‘celebrity’, if you walk slowly with a limp and you can’t even climb stairs – it’s embarrassing. But slowly, I learnt to let go,” he continued. “People’s looks and comments don’t bother me any more.”

And, for 25 years and counting, Chew’s passion has kept him motivated to keep doing the job he loves. “The most important thing in life, I feel, is to know what you want in your life, what your real purpose is, and plan for that.”

Chew will start work on a web drama in March, and is slated to return for the second season of the Channel 8 drama 118 late this year.

That’s why, for this “newborn”, every day is a happy day. “Every day that I’m able to walk, breathe and eat, I’m happy. When I wake up, I feel I’ve lived another day, and that’s a bonus.”

He added: “Don’t take anything for granted. Always focus on the positive; don’t magnify your problems.”

Stages Of Life is available at major bookstores.