IMF chief officer, late batik artist, national fencer recognised by Berita Harian awards

SINGAPORE - Ms Shirin Abdul Hamid was no stranger to being a minority in most of the settings she found herself in, whether it was as the only Malay student in the lion dance troupe at National Junior College, or as one of fewer than five female undergraduates in a class of 100 at Coventry University.

It only steeled her determination to stand out. In January, the 54-year-old will take on the role of chief information officer and information technology department director at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington, DC.

The appointment caps an illustrious career that took her from chief technology officer at the United Nations Development Programme for 11 years to director-general and chief information officer of the information technology department at the Asian Development Bank for close to six.

In recognition of her outstanding achievements, Ms Shirin was awarded the Berita Harian (BH) Achiever of the Year on Wednesday night (Dec 22) at a ceremony at the Grand Hyatt Singapore. As Ms Shirin is currently in the Philippines, her sister, Ms Zabrina Abdul Hamid, received it on her behalf from the guest of honour, Transport Minister S. Iswaran.

Ms Shirin said she was honoured to receive the award and hoped the work she does can serve as inspiration to others.

"Perhaps somewhere out there, there is a little girl who may one day want to make a significant mark in the world, and that is what I hope I will inspire by this award," Ms Shirin told reporters by video link from the Philippines a day before the ceremony.

Being a woman in the male-dominated tech industry took plenty of grit.

"You have to be confident. I think a lot of the time women feel secondary to opportunities out there and there is always a reason why you feel like a secondary individual in that setting," she said.

"But I think you can hone in on your strengths... You have to learn how to excel and to be confident about yourself."

Ms Shirin said she had been in quarantine during a visit to Singapore in September when she got the phone call that she had the IMF job.

"My husband and I were looking at each other like, 'Wow, that was so unexpected,'" she added.

The IMF said in a press release on Oct 20 that her selection was the outcome of an internationally competitive process, and that she had a proven record of spearheading IT modernisation campaigns at large international organisations.

Mr Mohamed Saat Abdul Rahman, editor of the Malay-language daily, said that Ms Shirin's achievements in the field of IT and technology were an inspiration.

"She has made the community, country and other women proud, making her an excellent role model and a worthy recipient of this award," he said in a speech at the ceremony.

BH also honoured the late Cultural Medallion batik artist, Mr Sarkasi Said, with the Achiever of the Year award.

Mr Sarkasi died of kidney failure on Oct 14 at the age of 81. Through his artist name Tzee, he showcased Singapore batik to the world in exhibitions, and served on committees for the Malay Heritage Centre, National Arts Council and Modern Art Society.

His son, Mr Ika Zahri Sarkasi, accepted the posthumous award and said it honoured his late father's contribution to the community.

National fencer Kiria Tikanah Abdul Rahman, 21, was also lauded with BH's Young Achiever of the Year award. Her accomplishments include being one of the 23 athletes who represented the Lion City in the Tokyo Olympics in July.

Ms Kiria began fencing at the age of eight after coming across a fencing club in a shopping centre with her parents.

"I didn't know what it was, I just saw that people were poking each other with sticks and as a child, I thought that was pretty cool," she said.

The second-year chemistry student at the National University of Singapore faced the world No. 1, Ana Maria Popescu, at the world's largest sporting event.

"To me it felt like I've come full circle with the sport, as I started with watching the Olympics on TV, and now I'm on TV at the Olympics," she said.

Like Ms Shirin, Ms Kiria said she would like to inspire the younger generation.

"The Olympics used to seem like a very big and impossible dream for me, but I managed to achieve it. So my advice to the younger generation is to never be afraid to have big dreams," she said.

This year's awards were supported by Fairprice Group.

Mr Iswaran said the Malay/Muslim community has made significant strides in education, employment and income.

"We all take pride in these achievements as a nation, always recognising that they have been made possible by the community's collective and sustained efforts at upliftment through education, skills acquisition and lifelong learning," he added.

He said: "The personal journeys of Tzee, Shirin and Kiria, illustrate the multiple pathways to success that many Singaporeans are availing themselves of, in the arts, sports, finance, science, engineering, or technology but also in many new emerging fields."