Recognised for service to the nation

NUS Distinguished Alumni Service Award recipient Mr Peter Seah Lim Huat has been awarded the Order of Nila Utama (With Distinction), the highest honour bestowed at this year’s National Day Awards.

Mr Seah, a Member of the Council of Presidential Advisers, was recognised for elevating the country’s healthcare, finance, aviation and education sectors as well as boosting its tripartite movement. In finance, he has helmed two of the country’s household names. He is currently the Chairman of Southeast Asia’s largest bank DBS Group Holdings, and was formerly the Vice Chairman and CEO of Overseas Union Bank which was acquired by United Overseas Bank in 2001.

As Chairman of Singapore Airlines, Mr Seah had been leading the national carrier to record revenues and passenger loads before COVID-19 – and the company’s digital transformation has continued despite the pandemic. He has also been the Chairman of the National Wages Council since 2015, strengthening the call for productivity-driven wage growth, flexible wage structures, and the uplifting of lower-wage workers. He was also the former Chairman of SingHealth.

Mr Seah is a graduate from NUS Business School’s Class of 1968 and continues to actively advise the School. He has been honoured by the University for his contributions to multiple key segments and industries of Singapore, and received the NUS Distinguished Alumni Service Award in 2017.

Mr Seah was among some 200 members of the NUS community to be honoured at the National Day Awards this year. The Awards recognise various forms of merit and service to Singapore, and are announced each year on National Day.

The Public Service Star (Bar), went to Mrs Fang Ai Lian, Chairman of the MediShield Life Council and former Governing Board Member at Duke-NUS Medical School. Another recipient of this prestigious award was Duke-NUS Medical School’s Professor Ho Lai Yun, who is also Clinical Professor at the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine (NUS Medicine).

Prof Ho holds roles at Singapore General Hospital and KK Women's and Children's Hospital, and had pioneered many multidisciplinary perinatal programmes in Singapore. He initiated congenital hypothyroidism screening and universal newborn hearing screening in the 1990s, which have become national programmes since then.

Prof Ho is also the Deputy Chairman of the Singapore Children's Society. He has played a leading role in building an inclusive, family-focused early childhood intervention ecosystem in Singapore.

The Public Administration Medal (Gold) was bestowed on Professor Fong Kok Yong, Governing Board Member and Faculty Member at Duke-NUS Medical School, and Professor at NUS Medicine’s Department of Medicine. He is Deputy Group Chief Executive Officer (Medical & Clinical Services) at SingHealth, and Senior Consultant for Rheumatology & Immunology at Singapore General Hospital.

Five members of the NUS community received the Public Administration Medal (Silver). They are:

• Professor Mohan Shankara Kankanhalli, Dean of the NUS School of Computing. He is also Professor at the School’s Department of Computer Science.
• Professor Shen Zuowei, Vice Provost (Graduate Education) at the NUS Office of the Senior Deputy President & Provost and Dean of NUS Graduate School. Prof Shen is also a Professor at the Department of Mathematics at the NUS Faculty of Science.
• Ms Fletcher Diane Cecilia, Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel at the NUS Office of Legal Affairs.
• Clinical Associate Professor Wong Kok Seng from Duke-NUS Medical School, who is also Deputy CEO (Clinical Services) at SingHealth Community Hospitals.
• Associate Professor Eugene Liu Hern Choon from the Department of Anaesthesia at NUS Medicine. He is also the former Chief Executive Officer of the National University Hospital.

View the full list of members of the NUS community who received National Day Awards this year.