He then moved to Penang, and where he began attending the Han Chiang High School.
He began submitting his literary works to Chinese-language publications in both Malaysia and Singapore.
He then returned to Pahang to become a teacher, but left for Singapore to study at Nanyang University shortly after in 1958.
He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Chinese literature from the University in 1961, after which he became a secondary school teacher and an editor the Ming Pao.
He returned to Singapore in 1976 and was made the president of the association, a role he held for 20 years.
[6] He also left the Ministry of Education to join the Stamford College Group,[3] and published Glimpses of the Past, a collection of his short stories.