DISTINGUISHED ARTS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES ALUMNI AWARD 2020
AWARD RECIPIENTS
Mr Yatiman Yusof
Mr Niam Chiang Meng
Ms Lim Sau Hoong
Mr Ravi Menon
Dr Liang Wern Fook
Mr Yatiman Yusof (Geography and Malay Studies '72)
Mr Yatiman Yusof graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Geography and Malay Studies from the University of Singapore in 1972.
He was educated at Sang Nila Utama Secondary School in Singapore from 1961 to 1964 and was trained at the Teacher’s Training College between 1965 and 1968.
Mr Yatiman was a teacher from 1965 to 1978. He became a journalist from 1978 to 1984 and took on the role of Advertising Manager of Berita Harian and Berita Minggu of The Straits Times Press (1975) Ltd from 1984 to 1986. While there, he was awarded a fellowship at Wolfson College in Cambridge University, UK, from March to June 1984.
From 1984 to 2006, Mr Yatiman served as a Member of Parliament for the Kampong Kembangan Constituency (1984 - 1987) and Tampines Group Representation Constituency (GRC) (1988 – 2006). He was then appointed Parliamentary Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1986 to 1992 and Senior Parliamentary Secretary till 1996. From 1997 to 2006, he was the Senior Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Information and the Arts (renamed Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts in 2001). He retired on 30 May 2006. From 2009 to 2015, he was Non-Resident High Commissioner of Singapore to Rwanda.
Mr Yatiman is currently a board member of the Singapore Press Holding Foundation and Non-Resident High Commissioner of Singapore to Kenya. He is also Chairman of the Malay Language Council of Advisors, Programme Advisor of the Department of Malay Studies at the Singapore University of Social Sciences, as well as Board Member of Bright Vision Hospital.
Mr Yatiman writes poems and will be publishing his fourth book. He also enjoys badminton, football and golf. He is married to Sadiah Kalyoni and they have four children.
Mr Niam Chiang Meng (Economics '83)
Mr Niam Chiang Meng was educated in the National University of Singapore and attained a Bachelor of Social Sciences (Honours) in Economics in 1983. He obtained his Masters in Public Administration at Harvard University in 1991.
Mr Niam is currently the Chairman of the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA).
He is also the Chairman of Gardens by the Bay Pte Ltd, an appointment he held since Dec 2017, and MediaCorp Pte Ltd, since April 2018. He was the Chairman of the Media Development Authority (MDA) of Singapore, an appointment he held from January 2011 till 1 Oct 2016, and was also a Board Member of Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore from Jan 2013 till 1 Oct 2019.
Mr Niam has served in various capacities in the Ministries of Finance, Trade and Industry, Health, Law and Information, Communications and the Arts. He was seconded to the Singapore Broadcasting Corporation in 1993 and held the position of Vice President (News), Television Corporation of Singapore from 1994 to 1997.
He was appointed Permanent Secretary (Information, Communications and the Arts) from 1997 to 2001. He helmed the Housing and Development Board from 2002 to 2004, before he was appointed as Permanent Secretary (Community Development, Youth and Sports) from 2005 till March 2011. From 1 January 2001, he was appointed Permanent Secretary of the National Population and Talent Division, and concurrently the Permanent Secretary of the National Climate Change (Prime Minister’s Office) from 1 October 2012 to 29 July 2016.
He is married with 3 sons.
Ms Lim Sau Hoong (Chinese Studies '83)
Ms Lim Sau Hoong graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Chinese Studies from the National University of Singapore in 1983.
She was CEO and Executive Creative Director of 10AM Communications, an advertising agency that she founded in 2000. Since its founding, 10AM has garnered more than 300 awards including Cannes, the One Show, the British Designer & Art Directors club, Clio and Communication Arts. Prior to the founding of 10AM communications, she spent 12 years in both BBDO Asia (Singapore) and Ogilvy & Mather (Singapore, Beijing & Shanghai) as the head of the creative teams, attaining more than 400 awards for the two agencies.
Identified for her unique creative talent, Ms Lim was invited to join the Planning Committee for the 2008 Beijing Olympics' Opening Ceremony as visual advisor and contributed to the success of the Beijing Olympics. She headed the Shanghai World Expo 2010 Singapore Pavilion Advisory Panel from 2008 to 2010 and chaired the Speak Mandarin Council (Singapore) from 2008-2011. She was also Chairperson for the Public Education Committee of the National Council for Problem Gambling, member of the National Parks Board and Director of the Singapore Chinese Orchestra Board. In June 2013, Ms Lim was appointed Chairperson of the Chinese Development Assistance Council (CDAC) Stakeholders Communications Committee and she is currently the Vice-Chairperson of the 6th Singapore Note and Coin Advisory Committee, an Independent Director of NTUC FairPrice, Ascendas Funds Management and a Non-Executive Director of MultiWater Holdings Ltd.
She was nominated as one of the top three most influential persons in media, marketing, and advertising in Singapore. In 2007, she was awarded the President’s Design Award and Designer of The Year for her contributions to media, marketing and culture to Singapore.
Mr Ravi Menon (Economics '87)
Mr Ravi Menon graduated with a Bachelor of Social Science (Honours) in Economics from the National University of Singapore in 1987. He also holds a Master's in Public Administration from Harvard University. A two-time winner of the Prime Minister's Book Prize, Mr Menon was a prefect and scout leader at Raffles Institution where he had his secondary education.
Mr Menon has been Managing Director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) since 2011. Prior to his appointment at the MAS, he was Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Trade & Industry (2007-11), where he led the ministry’s work in economic strategy, international trade, energy policy, and research and development; and Deputy Secretary at the Ministry of Finance (2003-2007), where he was responsible for fiscal policy and government reserves. He spent the first 16 years of his career at the MAS, which he joined in 1987.
On the international front, Mr Menon is a member of the Financial Stability Board (FSB) Steering Committee. He chaired the FSB Standing Committee on Standards Implementation (2013-2017), the International Monetary and Financial Committee Deputies Meetings (2011-2015) and the APEC Senior Officials Meetings (2009).
A recipient of the Singapore Government’s Meritorious Service Medal and Public Administration (Gold) Medal, Mr Menon has served on boards in the public, private, and people sectors. He was chairman of the Singapore Co-operation Enterprise; deputy chairman of the Central Provident Fund Board; and a board member of the Housing and Development Board; Singapore Totalisator Board; Agency for Science, Technology, and Research; Civil Service College; and National Research Foundation. He was also on the board of directors of DBS Bank, the largest bank in Southeast Asia.
Mr Menon is currently chairman of the Institute of Banking and Finance and serves on the board of trustees of the Singapore Indian Development Association, a community volunteer group.
Dr Liang Wern Fook (Chinese Studies '89 and Master of Arts '92)
Dr Liang Wern Fook graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Chinese Studies from the National University of Singapore in 1989.
He was the most outstanding student in his cohort and received the NTUC Gold Medal, as well as the Tong Kit Ming Memorial Medal for having distinguished himself in Chinese Studies in the final examination in 1988. Dr Liang obtained a Master of Arts (Chinese Studies) with NUS in 1992 and he was then conferred a doctoral degree (Ph.D in Chinese Studies) by National Technological University (NTU) in 1999.
Maestro, writer and educator, all in one - Dr Liang Wern Fook is multi-talented in numerous genres of creative art and highly respected in various cultural aspects in Singapore.
Dr Liang is currently the Associate Professor (Adjunct) with the Chinese Studies Department, Nanyang Technological University. He is also the Language Director for Xue Er You Language Centre. He was voted the "Most Popular Writer" by local students in 1990 and "Person Who Best Represents the Xinyao Spirit" in a 2003 poll. To date, Dr Liang is the only artist who has received the National Arts Council's Young Artist Award (Literature, 1992) and the prestigious Cultural Medallion (Music, 2010) across different arts genres. He has over fifteen publications of literature writing, and to date has over two hundred songs, two Mandarin Musicals to his name.