Who will be ST Singaporean of the Year?

DPM Tharman will present the award to winner in ceremony on Feb 6

Finalists of The Straits Times Singaporean of the Year 2016. PHOTOS: SINGAPORE GENERAL HOSPITAL, THE NEW PAPER, COURTESY OF DR CHEW KHONG YIK, ST FILE
Finalists of The Straits Times Singaporean of the Year 2016 include (from left) Joseph Schooling, Nathan Hartono, John Shu and Jabez Tan. PHOTO: ST FILE
The Range Rover Evoque (above), a luxury compact SUV. Ten of these cars, as well as two Jaguars, will be used in a fleet that will ferry the ST Singaporean of the Year 2016 finalists to the award ceremony next Monday.
The Range Rover Evoque (above), a luxury compact SUV. Ten of these cars, as well as two Jaguars, will be used in a fleet that will ferry the ST Singaporean of the Year 2016 finalists to the award ceremony next Monday. PHOTO: WEARNES AUTOMOTIVE

They have had their achievements honoured at Parliament House.

Paralympians Yip Pin Xiu and Theresa Goh, as well as Olympian Joseph Schooling and his parents Colin and May Schooling, have had an open-top bus parade, and meetings with fans at schools and malls.

Next Monday, the Paralympians, Schooling's parents and 10 other individuals and groups who are finalists of The Straits Times Singaporean of the Year 2016 will be arriving at the award ceremony in a fleet of 10 Land Rovers and two Jaguars.

The ceremony will be held at UBS Business University, formerly the Command House, a national monument near Adam Road.

Other finalists for the award, supported by bank UBS Singapore, include Dr Tan May Yen, 37, Dr Lim Chien Chuan, 52, and Dr Chi Wei Ming, 47. The three doctors at Sims Drive Medical Clinic were the first to sound the alert about the first locally transmitted case of Zika last August.

Also in the running for the award are Dr Sudha Nair, 59, the first social worker to be elected a member of the Public Service Commission, and Mr Eric Lew, 43, executive director of the home-grown Wong Fong Industries.

Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam will be the guest of honour at the ceremony, where the second Straits Times Singaporean of the Year will be announced.

Ms Corinne Chua, Wearnes Automotive's general manager for Jaguar Land Rover, said it is proud to sponsor the fleet of vehicles for the award. "We recognise Singaporeans' efforts and perseverance despite great adversity, making the community a better place through their selfless acts and putting Singapore on the global stage with extraordinary achievements," she said.

The Singaporean of the Year will win a cash prize of $20,000 and a trophy. The other groups of nominees will each get $5,000.

Last year, saleswoman Noriza A. Mansor, 51, took home the award. She helped an elderly man who had soiled himself in public.

UBS Singapore country head Edmund Koh said this year's finalists "have demonstrated phenomenal acts that exhibit strong will and hearts of generosity". "They give us a reason to celebrate the triumph of the human spirit," he added.

After a public vote closed last month, the final decision on the winner was made by a panel of 15 judges which took the vote into consideration. The panel includes editors and senior writers from The Straits Times and also social entrepreneur Saleemah Ismail, Lim Hoon Foundation chairman John Lim and Mr Aaron Maniam, founding chairman of the National Youth Council Academy's advisory panel.

Finalist Ashvin Gunasegaran, who had rushed to the aid of a car accident victim last May, said: "I really want to meet everyone else and hear their stories." The Fuchun Secondary School student, 12, will attend the ceremony with his parents.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on February 01, 2017, with the headline Who will be ST Singaporean of the Year?. Subscribe