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SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2017
news Meet the family who let their feet do the talking
The more the merrier, all walking together
WHEN Sunday, Nov 26, 7am WHERE Starts at National Stadium, Singapore Sports Hub HOW Register online at tnpbigwalk.sg REGISTRATION FEE $25 (Early-bird sign-ups enjoy a 25 per cent discount) WIN Lots of lucky draw prizes to be won, including the Grand prize of an Osim uLove Massage Chair (bespoke version) worth $9,585!
National Steps Challenge
(Above, from left): Mr Eric Ng, Mr Owyong Kong Khiong, sisters Serena, Margaret and Violet Kang, Ms Connie Wu, Ms Kang Jia Lin and Mr Jeffrey Kang at the Jubilee Big Walk in 2015. (Below) The family at MacRitchie Reservoir. PHOTOS: COURTESY OF CONNIE WU ARUL JOHN
Keep a lookout for the Kang clan at the National Steps Challenge The New Paper Big Walk. Avid walkers Eileen Kang, 56, and her husband Eric Ng, 57, a site supervisor, rarely miss their weekly outings. So much so that Madam Kang, an office administrator, invites family members to join in their regular walks. And these family members will be joining them in this year’s Big Walk. Among them are Madam Kang’s siblings Violet, Margaret, Jeffrey, Serena, 55, and Serena’s husband, Mr Owyong Kong Khiong. Madam Kang’s niece, Ms
Connie Wu, an associate programme director in her 40s, and a friend are also taking part in the Big Walk but they registered separately for the event.
The youngest member of the two groups is 20, the oldest, 65. Said Madam Kang: “We have done this for several years. Walking is a good way to pass
The National Steps Challenge, launched by the Health Promotion Board (HPB), will be back for a third campaign. You can find out more about the upcoming National Steps Challenge Season 3 and how you can sign up and collect your free HPB steps tracker. Terms and conditions apply. Visit stepschallenge.sg for more information.
the time, bond, and share stories about the past. “Once, we walked from Bukit Timah Hill along the old railway track, to the old Yeo Hiap Seng building. “We have walked from Labrador Park to Chinatown for breakfast and have gone for walks on Pulau Ubin.” Mr Ng said the group of them usually walk on Sunday mornings, from about 6.30am. They had taken part in the Jubilee Big Walk in 2015. Ms Wu said: “We took part in the Big Walk this year because it will be a great platform for us to do a fun activity together.”
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SMU president to step down, local varsities renew leadership SANDRA DAVIE, THE STRAITS TIMES
Yet another university, Singapore Management University (SMU), is searching globally for a new president. Earlier this month, SMU board chairman Ho Kwon Ping sent an e-mail to the faculty and staff announcing that current president Arnoud De Meyer, who took charge seven years ago, has asked to step down by the end of next year. Mr Ho said while the board of trustees would have wanted Professor De Meyer, 63, to continue, the board also fully respects his desire to step down. At the board’s request, Prof De Meyer has agreed to assume, on a part-time basis, a role in
continuing to help shape SMUX, an experiential learning programme where students tackle real-world problems by taking on projects from companies and community organisations. Mr Ho said SMU-X — Prof De Meyer’s brainchild — has gained much traction and become a buzzword for experiential learning and is well on its way to becoming an integral part of SMU’s pedagogical DNA. A search committee comprising several board members will work with a global executive search firm to drive the search for SMU’s fifth president. Earlier this year, The Straits Times reported that the National University of Singapore (NUS), Nanyang Technological
University and Singapore University of Technology and Design were searching worldwide for new heads to lead them in their next phase of growth. The leadership renewal comes as Singapore’s tertiary institutions, mindful of disruptions in the economy, are revamping curriculum and launching work-study programmes to better prepare their students for work. A few SMU academics have suggested that Professor Lily Kong, who moved from NUS two years ago to take up the position as provost at SMU, is a strong contender for the post. Prof Kong, the first woman to be appointed provost of a publicly funded university here,
had served in several senior academic positions at NUS, including vice-provost of academic personnel. Well-known internationally as a social-cultural and urban geographer, she has more than two decades of solid experience as an educator, researcher and senior academic leader. Mr Ho praised Prof De Meyer’s leadership in his e-mail, saying that he had “more than delivered as president, leading SMU through a new phase of growth and excellence in many important ways”.
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FOR MORE, READ THE STRAITS TIMES TODAY
Mr Chen Yi Quan. TNP PHOTO: WENDY LIM
94 works of art for LKY’s wouldbe 94th birthday AUDREY LEONG
Sitting inside a loft in Clarke Quay are two paintings — one of Singapore’s founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew, the other of a room in his 38, Oxley Road, house. They are part of the 94 works in The Tao of Lee Kuan Yew art exhibition, which started on Sept 16 — Mr Lee’s birthday — to commemorate what would have been his 94th birthday. Held at INSTINC in Soho2@The Central, the exhibition ends tomorrow. The seven artists featured had got together to plan for it two years after Mr Lee’s death on March 23, 2015. Mr Chen Yi Quan, 34, one of the exhibition’s artists and main organiser, said: “After Mr Lee’s death, there were a lot of exhibitions commemorating him. I wanted to do something that was not runof-the-mill.” Inspired by Mr Lee’s integration of Chinese philosophies with Western ideologies, Mr Chen scoured online platforms for interviews Mr Lee gave to get inspiration for the 25 works of art he contributed to the exhibition. The exhibition also features Mr Chen’s pet, a twoheaded turtle, a symbol of peace and harmony. Other artists involved include Miss Samantha Lo, who was arrested in 2012 for spray painting “My Grandfather’s Road” on public roads. Miss Lo’s contribution, first shown in 2015 at her solo exhibition at The Substation gallery, is a visual pun combining American streetartist Shepard Fairey’s iconic “Obey” poster and the Hokkien phrase for “your father”. She told The New Paper: “My artwork resonates with the theme of the current exhibition and is a meaningful way to remember Mr Lee’s legacy.”
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