Singapore Prize Winners Announced
SINGAPORE – Khir Johari’s hefty tome The Food of Singapore Malays took 14 years from concept to print but has made it to the top of this year’s triennial NUS Singapore History Prize, scooping a cash prize of $50,000. The book beat five other shortlisted works to win the prize that was mooted by NUS Asia Research Institute distinguished fellow Kishore Mahbubani in 2014 to mark SG50.
The prize recognises books that have had a significant impact on our understanding of Singapore’s past and heritage. Mahbubani, who is also a former diplomat, said the prize was important because it showed that you don’t have to be a professional historian to write about the country’s history. “We want to encourage the public to become interested in Singapore’s history and we think this is a good way of doing that,” he told The Straits Times.
Runner-up was Reviving Qixi: The Forgotten Seven Sisters Festival by Lynn Wong and Lee Kok Leong, which won the first runner-up award with an unattached prize of S$10,000. Theatres of Memory: Industrial Heritage Of 20th Century Singapore by Loh Kah Seng, Alex Tan, Koh Ken We, Tan Teng Phee and Juria Toramae came in third place and received S$20,000. The judges were impressed by the depth of the work and the wide range of sources that went into it. “This is a work of exceptional scholarship, ranging widely and deep in its coverage,” the jury wrote in their decision.
NUS awarded four other authors special commendations of S$10,000 each for their outstanding works. The prize was presented by Singapore president Tharman Shanmugaratnam and chairman of the NUS council Tan Sri Dr Khoo Bee Yin. The glitzy ceremony saw the likes of actor Sterling K. Brown and actresses Hannah Waddingham and Mbatha Yen walk the so-called green carpet, which was made of recycled materials. The bands One Republic and Bastille performed at the event. Former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who is a trustee of the environmental organisation Earthshot, also spoke at the event.
NUS said it was a privilege to be able to recognise the quality of the entries for this year’s prize, and its winners were deserving of the recognition. The prize is funded by an anonymous donor. NUS will continue to look for ways to grow the prize fund to support more outstanding publications in the future. For the latest news, follow ST on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, and subscribe to our Telegram channel. For breaking news, you can also get our updates on the go with the ST app. Download it here for iOS, or here for Android. You can also get our stories straight to your inbox by signing up for our newsletters here.