L-R: Mr. Huang Shang Bai, Prof. Limsoon Wong (me!), Minister Teo, Prof. Phua, Dr. Lee Hing Yan.
L-R: Mr. Huang Shang Bai, Prof. Limsoon Wong (me!),
Minister Teo, Prof. Phua, Dr. Lee Hing Yan.
L-R: Mr. Allen Chong, Mr. Leslie Pakianathan, Mr. Pillay,
Mr. Damien Wong, Mr. Les Danger field, Mr. Alex Fung.
Over a hundred members and friends of ICAAS came to the gala dinner. Notably, there were some members who returned all the way from Vietnam (Dr. and Mrs. Koh Teng Nam) and Canada (Mr. and Mrs Huang Shang Bai). And there were also representatives from the Imperial College alumni associations of Hong Kong (Mr. Leslie Pakianathan) and Malaysia (Dr. Foo Ban Ngian). I dare say every generation of the alumni was present, starting from the 1960s through the 2000s, including a handful of current undergraduate students. For me, there was the great pleasure of a reunion with many of my schoolmates from the late 80s, a few of whom I had not met for more than 10 years. Here are some photos of the guests.
L-R: Prof. Limsoon Wong, Dr. Foo Ban Ngian, Minister Teo Chee Hean.
At the start of the gala dinner was a slide show of a selection of photographs from the 25 years of activities of ICAAS. Mark Wong did a fantastic job in preparing the slide show. It was greatly enjoyed especially by the "senior" generations of ICAAS, as it brought back many fond memories from the founding days of ICAAS. After the slide show, a special congratulatory video message from Pro Rector Dr. Tidu Maini was shown. Many members were very touched by this special message.
Towards the middle of the gala dinner, we had a big celebratory "yum-seng" lead by all the past and present executive committee members who were present. For those of you who are not familiar with the custom of Singapore, the "yum-seng" is a traditional toast that requires a loud exercise of the vocal cords! A photograph is shown below to illustrate how this was done.
L-R: Dr. Lee Hing Yan, Mr. Mark Wong, Mr. Huang Shang Bai, Prof. Limsoon Wong,
Prof. K. K. Phua, Mr. George Ong, Mr. Allen Chong, Mr. William Ku,
Mr. Leong Yim Sing, Mr. Alex Fung, Mr. Damien Wong.
In conjunction with the 25th anniversary celebrations, ICAAS established the ICAAS Distinguished Service Award to be given annually to an individual who had made sustained and outstanding service to ICAAS. The inaugural award went to Prof. K. K. Phua, the founding president of ICAAS. Here is a photo of Minister Teo presenting the award to Prof. Phua on behalf of ICAAS.
Right after the award presentation ceremony, the ICAAS 25th Anniversary Commemorative Magazine was distributed. The magazine was edited by Dr. Lee Hing Yan, and contained messages, photos, and vignettes capturing the founding and growth of ICAAS. Two of the photos that particularly drew my attention was from a visit of Sir Eric Ash that were taken with Minister Lee Yock Suan (who was the Minister for Education at the time the photo was taken) and with Dr. Lee Chiaw Meng (who was a retired Minister for Education at the time the photo was taken). Together with Minister Teo Chee Hean (who was Minister for Education until he became Minister for Defense a couple of weeks before the gala dinner), we have three Ministers for Education amongst the alumni in Singapore! Here is a photo showing some members with their copies of the magazine.
After the gala dinner, we held our 26th AGM and elected the following members to the 26th Executive Committee: Prof. Limsoon Wong (President), Dr. Lee Hing Yan (Vice President), Mr. Allen Chong (Hon. Secretary), Mr. Han Neng Hsiu (Treasurer), Mr. Chen Hung (Member), Mr. Alex Fung (Member), Mr. Mark Wong (Member), Mr. Chew Chun Liang (Youth Wing chairman), and Mr. Toh Poh Joo (Youth Wing Vice Chairman). Here is a photo of some members of the 26th EXCO:
Dr. Lee hing Yan, Prof. Limsoon Wong, Mr. Mark Wong, Mr. Allen Chong,
Mr. Alex Fung, Mr. Chen Hung.