It’s National Day, and not only are we celebrating Singapore’s birthday, we are also celebrating people who have contributed greatly to Singapore.
And by that, I don’t mean those who’ve faithfully paid their income taxes in full since the beginning.
Granted, do keep up the good work.
I’m talking about people such as Mr Bobby Chin Yoke Choong, Mr Timothy James de Souza, Madam Kay Kuok Oon Kwong and Mr Kwa Chong Seng.
On 9 August 2023, it was reported that 6,598 individuals have received National Day honours this year.
Four individuals, however, are conferred the Distinguished Service Order, one of Singapore’s highest national honours, due to their contributions to Singapore.
Mr Bobby Chin Yoke Choong, former chairman of the Housing Board (HDB)
When Mr Chin was chairman of HDB, he led the agency to deliver affordable and accessible public housing to the people of Singapore.
That’s right, for those of you who are enjoying BTO flats, this is the man you have to thank.
He helped enhance housing policies and schemes as well as introduce new types of housing.
He had also strengthened the corporate development and governance structures within HDB by forming an Audit and Risk Committee to monitor and manage risks.
Other than his work within HDB, he had also contributed as a member of the Council of Presidential Advisers and the chairman of the MediShield Life Review Committee.
Mr Timothy James de Souza, a member of the Founders’ Memorial Committee
For years, Mr de Souza has been involved in the community in various ways.
As a member of the Founders’ Memorial Committee, he helped with the conceptualisation of the memorial.
This includes its objectives and form through engaging and consulting with Singaporeans.
Since 2010, Mr de Souza has also been a member of the Presidential Council for Minority Rights. and was the chairman of the Pioneer Generation and Merdeka Generation Appeals panels since 2014 and 2019 respectively.
During his tenure, Mr de Souza has been instrumental in forming policies and processes to manage appeals.
Madam Kay Kuok Oon Kwong, former chairman of the National Healthcare Group and chair of Yale-NUS College Governing Board
Madam Kwon was the chairman of the National Healthcare Group (NHG) from 2009 to 2021.
During her tenure, she had led the group through major events, including the integration of NHG and Alexandra Health System.
She was also critical in setting up the National Centre of Infectious Diseases (NCID) and leading the NCID during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Yes, the same NCID that we didn’t know exist before COVID-19.
As the founding chair of the Yale-NUS College Governing Board, Madam Kuok ensured that the college continues to deliver good quality education on a greater scale.
Mr Kwa Chong Seng, former chairman of Singapore Technologies (ST) Engineering
Mr Kwa has made “exceptional contributions” to Singapore’s national defence and the Singapore Public Service.
As the chairman of ST Engineering, he helped to lead the company in strengthening national defence capabilities and preparedness, growing critical home-grown technology as well as engineering manpower and expertise.
When Mr Kwa was the deputy chairman of the Public Service Commission, he helped ensure a strong pipeline of leaders with the right qualities and values for key appointments.
You can view the full list of award recipients here.