Tony Tan Heads List of National Day Award Winners

The Straits Times

29 October 2018

Nearly 10 years before the National Gallery Singapore opened its doors to the public in 2015, then chief executive of the Singapore Exchange Hsieh Fu Hua was asked to join a committee in charge of shaping it.

It turned out to be one of his longest engagements. This year, Mr Hsieh, 68, marks his fifth year as chairman of the iconic gallery, which houses the largest public collection of modern art in South-east Asia.

For his contributions, Mr Hsieh received a Meritorious Service Medal yesterday.

He was one of 518 recipients conferred awards by President Halimah Yacob, with former president Tony Tan Keng Yam heading the list. The ceremony was held at the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) College Central.

… Yesterday, Dr Tan, 78, the Republic’s former president, became the ninth Singaporean to receive the nation’s highest civilian honour – the Order of Temasek (First Class) – “for his lifetime dedication to public service and his stellar service to his people and country”.

Dr Tan, whose public service career spanned nearly four decades, helped transform Singapore’s education system, armed forces, reserve management, and research and development efforts.

“The breadth and sweep of his service have been equalled by few,” his citation reads.

He left his job as OCBC Bank’s general manager in 1979 to enter politics and went on to helm five ministries. He has been credited with revamping the school system as education minister, championing the development of higher education, as well as laying the basis for Singapore’s universities to raise their international standing. He was elected Singapore’s seventh president, serving from 2011 to last year. The last to be conferred the Order of Temasek (First Class) was former minister S. Dhanabalan, in 2015.

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Last updated on 29/10/2018