CNY 2022 lunch
CNY lunch at XiYan was a jolly affair with many smiles and laughter ringing throughout the room. Many had not seen each other since COVID started and there was much catching up to do. Everyone found innovative ways to catch up on the 2 years lost whilst keeping to the safe distancing rules while Food was scrumptious as it always is at Xiyan and the portions were well thought out. Everyone had a wonderful time and many thanks go to the host of each of the 6 tables. L-R: Michelle Liem, Junie Foo (Host), Yong Ying-I, Chong Siak Ching, Jessica Tan L-R: Koh Soo Boon, Michelle Cheo, Fong Cheng Hong (Host), Chin Ean Wah , Engelin Tay L-R: Laura Hwang, Lee Suet Fern, Chew Lee Ching, Elaine Kim, Goh Swee Chen (Host, not in picture) L-R: Leong Wai Leng (Host), Carmee Lim, Tracie Pang, Quek Bin Hwee, Elaine Yew L-R: Tania Oh, Susan Chong, Cheong Koon Hean, Jessica Cheam, Tan Yen Yen (Host, not in picture) L-R: Helen Quek, Angelene Chan, Mildred Tan, Chua Sock Koong, Saw Phaik Hwa (Host)
Annabel Pennefather Award 2021
The Annabel Pennefather Excellence Award 2021 was awarded to 2 deserving young women – Jasyln Hooi, 21 and Cheung Kemei, 16. Jasyln Hooi Shuttler Jaslyn Hooi Yue Yann is a national athlete on the rise. She first represented Singapore at the Youth Olympic Games in 2018 in Buenos Aires where she finished 4th in the Women’s Singles. Since then, Jaslyn has participated and won a bronze at the 2019 SEA Games, and is set to take on the region’s best at the SEA Games this year. In September 2021, she claimed the Women’s Singles title at the Polish International, making it the best win in her career thus far. Among one of the top local shuttlers, Jaslyn won the Women’s Singles title at the Singapore National Open Championships consecutively in 2020 and 2021. Jaslyn joined the Singapore Sports School in Secondary 1, before moving on to the Diploma in Business Studies (DBS) course offered jointly with Ngee Ann Polytechnic. She extended the completion of her Diploma programme to pursue her badminton career seriously while working towards equipping herself with a Diploma certificate. Besides being an outstanding national athlete, Jaslyn is also a conscientious student-athlete in class. She graduated in May 2021 with an impressive 3.8 GPA score. Since completing her Diploma programme, Jaslyn has been playing badminton full-time. She aspires to play well in bigger tournaments this year and to make it to the Top 80. Her ultimate goal is to make it to the 2024 Olympic Games and is determined to give her best effort to make her dream come true. Cheung Kemei Cheung Kemei has already garnered several achievements under her belt at the tender age of 16. Last year, she qualified to participate in the World Junior and Cadet Fencing Championships, and Asian Junior & Cadet Fencing Championships, but Singapore decided not to send a team for the former while the latter was cancelled due to COVID-19. Kemei has had an outstanding year at local national and age-group competitions. The foilist punched above her weight to win a gold at the Singapore Senior Championships in February. She also won another gold medal for the U17 Women’s Foil Individual at the Singapore Cadet Nationals, a silver each at the Singapore Senior Tournament and Singapore Senior Challenge, 2 bronze medals in U20 Women’s Foil Individual at the Singapore Junior Nationals and Singapore Junior Challenge and a bronze at the Singapore Senior Nationals. Her eyes are set on making it to the final list of competitors for the upcoming SEA Games and hopes to represent Singapore at the 2022 Asian Games. Kemei is currently in Singapore Sports School’s International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP). As Kemei has been marked as an up-and-coming fencer, she has been granted to take up the extended IBDP by International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO) and World Academy of Sport (WAoS). This allows her to push her sporting goals forward as she can complete the IBDP in three years instead of the usual two years. Kemei is determined to fly the Singapore flag high at the Olympic Games in the future. About the award The Annabel Pennefather Excellence Award aims to recognise graduating female student-athletes between the ages of 16-25 who have achieved outstanding sporting excellence in their fields. Recipients of these awards should also demonstrate good moral character, conduct, strong leadership, passion, integrity and community spirit. This award is sponsored by the International Women’s Forum (IWF) Singapore Education Grant, managed by the Community Foundation of Singapore.
The search for peace in Afghanistan webinar
It was an intense run up to the webinar “The search for peace in Afghanistan” with 155 sign ups from all over the world. The impressive panelists came forward even though some were personally under challenging circumstances to promote this important cause. Humaira Rasuli’s sharing on the situation on the ground was eye opening. We learnt that it was such a herculean task just to have a meeting with the defacto authorities in Afghanistan to keep WJO operating and obtain approval to continue its work. Hasina Safi spoke very authoritatively and powerfully on the good work done by the government while she held her Ministerial position. It was amazing how her passion for the cause came through and overcame the trying circumstances under which she had made the presentation. Nema Milaninia shared like a true advocate – confidently and clearly putting forward his insightful knowledge on the challenges in taking perpetrators of crimes to justice. Karima Bennoune’s skill as moderator was truly admirable – aptly summarising the issues presented and sensitively crafting the next lead on questions. Natasha Latiff was very composed as she fielded questions with insightful knowledge and much passion. She has worked tirelessly in dealing with the many matters that went into organising this webinar, even as she was heavily involved in the evacuation of her colleagues and other WJO survival issues. The message for search for peace has been well communicated to the attendees of the webinar. It is our hope that it would go some way towards garnering global efforts in reaching out to alleviate the plight of the people of Afghanistan. By Arfat Selvam, edited by Tania Oh
Ballet at Singapore Dance Theatre
“Dance is the hidden language of the soul” – Anon. Generously sponsored by Laura Hwang, this private performance showcased the legendary Goh Choo-San and award-winning Tim Rushton’s choreography. Energetic, vibrant, beautifully choreographed and executed contemporary pieces led to the standing ovation at the end of the dances. The opening dance, “Fives” reflected the vibrancy in the music and showed the exceptional agility of the male dancers. In the final “Evening voices”, the highly styled movements compositions brought about by the excellent control of the dancers exuded the fluidity of waves. Together with the soul stirring music from Rachmaninov, it was indeed a feast for the soul. Our Singapore talent and branding are ready for the world stage.
