Celebrating the Singapore Spirit
The Singapore Story is one that has been chronicled many times over. The story of a small city-state with limited resources triumphing against all odds. The story of a country punching above its weight; chalking a series of impressive firsts on the global stage — hosting the inaugural Youth Olympic Games in 2010, inscribing Botanic Gardens as the country’s first UNESCO World Heritage site in 2015, and winning its first Olympic gold medal in 2016.
In June 2018, it achieved another historic first by hosting the meeting between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. The short preparation time notwithstanding, the DPRK-USA Summit is an expression of the Singapore Spirit, manifested in the readiness and “allhands-on-deck to make it happen” attitude of everyday Singaporeans from different backgrounds, working tirelessly while paying attention to every preparation detail, harnessing their ingenuity and will to make it a proud and successful event for Singapore.
The Singapore Story is a story of the spirit of our people — determined, optimistic, resourceful, ambitious and down-to-earth. A story of Passion Made Possible. As Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong aptly put it — the Singapore Spirit is “the determination that makes us press on in the face of tough times, and the confidence that Singapore will prevail.”
As the country celebrates its 53rd year of independence, meet some of the ordinary Singaporeans and experience the Singapore Spirit through their stories.
DOUGLAS NG - Spreading the Singapore Fishball Story
Douglas Ng, 27, is the millennial Singaporean hawkerprenuer behind The Fishball Story, and a key character in the Passion Made Possible film series produced by the Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI), which features stories of everyday Singaporeans pursuing their passions.
The journey began with his love for his grandmother’s handmade fishballs - which had ignited his passion to share his love for the cuisine with others. In fact, his fishball noodles have had both locals and Michelin inspectors hooked; making an appearance on the Michelin Bib Gourmand Guide, alongside other famous Singaporean delights.
While many might not find the hawker trade desirable, Douglas aspires to debunk such misconceptions and preserve the hawker culture. He firmly believes the job requires much passion and dedication to the craft.
Riding on his success in Singapore, Douglas is now looking towards a new
chapter for The Fishball Story and introduce a taste of his noodles overseas.
Qin YunQuan - Protecting women in Singapore and beyond
As a chief executive and instructor of Kapap Academy, a selfdefence school in Singapore, Yunquan, 29, seeks to equip people, especially women, with the skills to protect themselves.
Picking up an Israeli martial art called kapap in her first year as a bioengineering student, while recovering from an eating disorder, she came across traumatic stories of fellow students who were assaulted; which inspired her to become a full time martial arts instructor. She has since adapted kapap to create the Modern Street Combatives, a customised self-defence system for women.
In 2017, more than 8,000 students were trained; and a portion of the students come from disadvantaged backgrounds or are victims of abuse. Yunquan envisions taking the programme to the region and beyond, to countries like India, Malaysia, China and Australia.
KathY Xu - Saving our region’s sharks for future generations
For her love of sharks, 36-year-old Kathy Xu left her teaching career to start The Dorsal Effect in 2013.
While swimming alongside a whale shark in Exmouth, Australia, in 2011, Kathy thought to do something to prevent the extinction of sharks; so that future generations could have the same opportunity to swim along them, rather than just read about them through books.
After a stint at volunteering with the education arm of Shark Savers Singapore, she set up The Dorsal Effect, in Lombok, Indonesia, which was aimed to wean shark hunters off the cruel trade of hunting sharks, which was popular due to the high demand of shark’s fin.
In fact, The Dorsal Effect hopes to convert the livelihood of shark fishermen through eco-tourism, and get them to take tourists out on snorkelling and beach hopping boat trips instead.
SYafiQah Omar, Sing-Suen SOOn and azi fuad - Creators of Asia’s first ethical subscription box
Sonder Social is a start-up by three Singaporean women — 29-year-old Syafiqah Omar, 27-year-old Sing-Suen Soon, and 27-year-old Azi Fuad, which introduces lesser known social enterprises within the region through quarterly subscription boxes.
In 2016, Sing-Suen and Azi Faud, both working at the Singapore Committee for United Nations Women, decided to come together to do something for the nonprofit sector. Syafiqah was roped in at a later stage after her internship and volunteering experience in Pakistan.
The trio puts together socially conscious products from communities in the Asia Pacific region into special subscription boxes, which are themed around positive values that resonate with them. The boxes are packed with goodies such as woven pillowcases from Vietnam, jewellery made by survivors of human trafficking in India, beeswax wraps from Thailand, nuts from the Philippines, etc.
One box at a time, the trio hopes to effect change, raise awareness about regional social enterprises; and improve standards of living of marginalised communities.