Interfaith champion Siti Noor Mastura is ST Singaporean of the Year

Interfaith champion Siti Noor Mastura has been named The Straits Times Singaporean of the Year for 2018.

Ms Noor Mastura, 28, is the co-founder of non-profit organisation Interfaith Youth Circle, which conducts scriptural reasoning sessions, where people discuss passages from religious texts of different faiths that touch on common themes.

It also runs campaigns such as Break Bread Build Bridges, which encourages people from a community who celebrate a religious festival to host someone who is not from that faith so others can experience, say, Hari Raya or Christmas in the home of the host.

President Halimah Yacob presented Ms Noor Mastura with a cash prize of $20,000 and a trophy at the Istana yesterday.

The award, now in its fourth year, is organised by The Straits Times and presented by UBS Singapore.

It honours Singaporeans who have put the country on the world map, persevered through incredible adversity or made the community a better place through their selfless acts.

Madam Halimah paid tribute to this year's 11 finalists, saying: "From feeding the poor and providing shelter to needy youngsters to leveraging technology to reach under-served needs, you all share some common traits.

"You place the needs of others above your own and worked tirelessly for the community."

Madam Halimah said she hoped that their examples would inspire other Singaporeans to do good.

Singaporeans who made a difference celebrate at Istana event: