Chua Thian Poh 
receives Distinguished Service Order

SINGAPORE — He is a property tycoon, well-known as an active Chinese community leader and philanthropist who is particularly supportive of education.

For his contributions to society, Mr Chua Thian Poh, head of developer Ho Bee Investment, has received the Distinguished Service Order, heading the list for this year’s National Day Awards. The Order is awarded to those who have performed within Singa­pore any act or series of acts constituting distinguished conduct.

Speaking to TODAY, Mr Chua said he was quite surprised to receive the award, but added that he could not have achieved any of what he had accomplished without the help of various teams that he had worked with in various capacities. “You need a cohesive team (that) has the same vision to work together to make things happen. So, I would like to thank them and I definitely would like to share the joy (of winning the award) with them,” he said.

A man of many hats, Mr Chua not only is chairman of both networking group Business China and the Chinese Development Assistance Council Board of Trustees, but also leads several Chinese community organisations. These include the Singa­pore Federation of Chinese Clan Associations and the Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan.

He has also been lauded for his philanthropy, having been conferred the President’s Award for Philanthropy in 2012 and named among four Singa­poreans who have given generously by Forbes in June. In particular, Mr Chua has pitched in to boost college education.

In his personal capacity, Mr Chua donated S$5 million to Nanyang Technological University to establish the Chua Thian Poh Entrepreneurship Education Fund. In 2011, he established the Chua Thian Poh Community Leadership Programme at NUS University Town with a gift of S$5 million to develop the next generation of community leaders.

Having completed only secondary school education, Mr Chua stressed the importance of higher education to “nurture the young, shape them to become good people who can contribute to our society”. “Our society doesn’t just need economic stability, we also need a lot of youngsters coming forward to recognise this community work,” he said. “I think everyone has the heart (to know) how to give back to society. I would like to encourage all people, especially the younger generation, to take the first step.”

This year, 3,354 individuals were honoured across 19 categories at the National Day Awards. Other top recipients included Professor K Satku, former director of medical services of the Ministry of Health; Mr Po’ad Shaik Abu Bakar Mattar, member of the Council of Presidential Advisers; and Ms Jennie Chua, immediate past chairman of Community Chest and chairman of Alexandra Health System. They were awarded the Meritorious Service Medal.

Ten Home Team front-line officers from the Singapore Police Force and the Singapore Civil Defence Force, who were among the first on the scene during the Little India riot last year, were awarded the Commendation Medal for their dedication to duty and courage. Mr Lim Nghee Huat, MediaCorp Chinese news and current affairs editor and chairman of Mountbatten Citizens’ Consultative Committee, was also among the Public Service Star recipients.

Correction: A previous version of this article stated that 3,197 individuals were honoured at the National Day Awards. This is Incorrect. A total of 3,354 individuals were honoured at the awards. This article was edited on Aug 9, 2014 at 3.44pm.