Vote for ST’s Singaporean of the Year 2025 from Jan 19 to 31
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The nominees for ST’s Singaporean of the Year are (top row, from left) Ms Lydia Susiyanti Sukarbi, Mr Edmund Wee, Ms Peggy Yee, Mr Robert Sim; (bottom row, from left) Dr Chen Shiling, Mr Darryl Lee, Mr Ganesh Kumar, Mr Steven Goh.
ST PHOTOS: NG SOR LUAN, AZMI ATHNI, DESMOND WEE, SHINTARO TAY, LIM YAOHUI, KEVIN LIM
- Eight nominees are in the running for The Straits Times Singaporean of the Year 2025, recognised for impacting society. Public voting is open until January 31.
- Nominees include Lydia Susiyanti Sukarbi, Edmund Wee, Peggy Yee, Robert Sim, Dr Chen Shiling, Darryl Lee, Ganesh Kumar and Steven Goh, each contributing uniquely to society.
- The winner receives a trophy and $20,000, with other finalists receiving $5,000. Prizes also include stays at Millennium Hotels and Resorts and tickets from Singapore Airlines.
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SINGAPORE - A healthcare advocate for adults with intellectual disabilities and the founder of a charity that helps hoarders are among the eight nominees for The Straits Times Singaporean of the Year 2025 award.
Public voting begins on Jan 19 and will close on Jan 31 at 7pm. Votes can be cast at str.sg/soty2025vote
The winner will be announced at a ceremony in March.
The annual award, now in its 11th year, recognises a Singaporean person or group for making an impact on society. It also pays tribute to Singaporeans who have put the country on the world map or have persevered to overcome great adversity.
A panel of judges comprising ST editors, UBS representatives and individuals who have made their mark in various fields will make the final decision in February, while also taking into account the results of the public vote.
For the 2025 iteration, two other awards were added to recognise a broader group of Singaporeans.
The International Impact Award will honour a Singaporean or local organisation that has made a positive impact outside of Singapore, while the Young Singaporean of the Year award will recognise a Singaporean under the age of 18.
The awards are organised by The Straits Times, and presented by UBS Singapore. The official airline partner is Singapore Airlines, and the global hotel partner is Millennium Hotels and Resorts.
These are the eight nominees for ST’s Singaporean of the Year:
Lydia Susiyanti Sukarbi
Three times a week, children gather at a void deck in Ang Mo Kio Street 23 to fill their tummies before school. The breakfast spread is prepared by 36-year-old Lydia Susiyanti Sukarbi, who started providing free morning meals to underprivileged children in her neighbourhood in February 2025.
The former school canteen stall vendor started the initiative after seeing how some students would go hungry during recess so that their younger siblings would have money for food.
When Ms Lydia first started the initiative, she would fork out $300 to $400 a month to buy the food items. Now, with cash and in-kind donations from the community, the mother of six comes up with about $200 a month to keep the programme running.
Edmund Wee
Mr Edmund Wee, chairman of home-grown publisher Epigram Literary Foundation, has taken many bold steps and pushed boundaries to advance Singapore literature.
Among his achievements is initiating a landmark agreement with five major South-east Asian publishers to publish Epigram Books Fiction Prize winning entries annually through 2028, solving longstanding distribution challenges.
Under his leadership, Singapore titles have also successfully entered international markets such as the United Kingdom, the United States, Albania and Italy.
Peggy Yee
Veteran lawyer Peggy Yee has spent almost two decades advocating for people with mental health conditions, autism, intellectual disabilities and other invisible needs.
The 61-year-old’s passion was sparked some 30 years ago while working on a case of a young man who faced charges for importing bomb components.
He displayed atypical social behaviour and did not seem to understand the gravity of his crimes, and she felt that more could have been done to help him.
Ms Yee, who runs her own law firm, does pro bono work on criminal and civil cases for individuals with invisible disabilities.
Robert Sim
Digital analytics consultant Robert Sim is one of Singapore’s most active contributors to Wikipedia, dedicating about 10 hours a week contributing to the platform.
Since he first encountered the online encyclopaedia as a teenager, the 37-year-old has made more than 79,000 edits.
His contributions span a wide range of Singapore-related content, from public figures to historical timelines, as well as the creation and maintenance of the “Index of Singapore-related articles”.
Chen Shiling
Physician Chen Shiling has dedicated her career to improving healthcare access for adults with intellectual disabilities (IDs), after witnessing how untreated medical and emotional issues can severely affect this group.
In 2014, Dr Chen founded the non-profit Happee Hearts Movement and IDHealth, Singapore’s first community-based, full-service clinic dedicated to adults with IDs. IDs include, but are not limited to, Down syndrome and autism.
Since its opening, the clinic has served about 500 people with IDs and over 1,000 caregivers.
Darryl Lee
Nanyang Polytechnic nursing student Darryl Lee has been answering emergency alerts as a community first responder since the age of 16.
The 20-year-old, who carries a first aid kit at all times, responds to these alerts at all hours of the day, and often drops whatever he is doing to assist people in medical distress within his vicinity.
Using the Singapore Civil Defence Force’s myResponder app, Mr Lee has so far responded to 77 calls for help, including 65 cardiac arrest cases.
Ganesh Kumar
What was once a barren nine-storey-high hill covered with grass and lalang is now one of Singapore’s largest community gardens after Mr Ganesh Kumar, his father and their domestic helper started gardening there in 2020.
Mr Kumar, 41, had initially planted a pink hibiscus plant to help him cope with the grief of losing his mother. The Woodlands Botanical Garden is now a 4,000 sq m community garden, home to more than 350 plant species and 300 animal species.
Other than supporting local biodiversity, including several vulnerable species, the garden is also a community space that hosts some 20 major events yearly such as cultural performances, biodiversity talks and pet walks.
Steven Goh
Mr Steven Goh, 47, began his journey in community service after a chance encounter with an elderly woman who lived in a home overflowing with junk. This led him to rally volunteers to clear her home.
He went on to start the charity Helping Joy in 2012, which helps elderly individuals living in unsafe and cluttered homes.
Helping Joy has since decluttered more than 300 homes and supported over 800 elderly people.
Mr Goh and his team also continue to care for beneficiaries through regular check-ins as well as end-of-life support.
About the award
The award, which began in 2015, is organised by The Straits Times and presented by UBS Singapore. The official airline partner is Singapore Airlines, and the global hotel partner is Millennium Hotels and Resorts.
The 2024 award went to Mr Koh Seng Choon, the founder of Dignity Kitchen, for setting up a foodcourt that has employed people with disabilities since 2010.
Former nurse Ronita Paul and volunteer coordinator Geraldine Lee, who founded Arc Children’s Centre in 2011 to give children with cancer a chance to enjoy a normal childhood, jointly won Singaporean of the Year 2023.
The Singaporean of the Year winner will get a trophy and $20,000, presented by UBS Singapore, which has supported the award since its inauguration. Other individuals or groups chosen as finalists by the panel of judges will receive $5,000 each. The winner will also receive a five-night stay at any of Millennium Hotels and Resorts’ global properties. Other finalists will get a three-night stay at one of Millennium Hotels and Resorts’ global properties.
Singapore Airlines is sponsoring a pair of business class tickets for the Singaporean of the Year, and a pair of economy class tickets for the other finalists.
