prime news 쐽 THE STRAITS TIMES SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17 2009 PAGE A6
More casual
approach
for
matchmaker
FROM
PAGE A1
interested in tapping the expertise of
such firms.
One of 10 such dating packages is
being offered for free to all former
SDU-SDS members. The first 1,000
other singles who sign up for it
through SDN’s website will also get a
free pass.
The rest can pick a $50 package –
the actual value could be more than
$500 – and have the Government pay
half the fee.
Asked whether the Government
should subsidise singles who want to
take up commercial dating services,
the SDN said that those who wish to
do so would still have to pay, but it
wants to encourage them to try out the
dating services and to promote the in-
dustry.
A spokesman said: “This is a special
tie-up with private dating agencies to
encourage singles to try out dating
services. While the Government
co-shares the payment, the dating
agencies have also contributed by
charging less than the full value of the
packages. This collaboration is to cata-
lyse the industry to grow.”
Former SDU-SDS member Mint
Kang, 26, a freelance writer, said the
changes were welcome.
“I suppose the people who called
the SDU Single, Desperate, Ugly can
still continue with Single, Desperate,
Needy. But I think it’s a better idea be-
cause it’s more casual and more inclu-
sive.”
She gave the sampler dating packag-
es the thumbs-up, saying: “It reminds
me of Jobs Credit because the Govern-
ment is paying for you to go on a date.
It’s Government-sponsored social engi-
neering. But it’s attractive because of
the variety.”
For more info on SDN, log on to
www.lovebyte.org.sg
ayiying@sph.com.sg
Arts Awards recipients
The Arts Awards were given
out at the Istana last night.
Four established artists
were given the Cultural
Medallion, and five
up-and-coming artists, the
Young Artist Award.
CULTURAL MEDALLION
RECIPIENTS
쐽 Ang Ah Tee, 66,
visual arts
쐽 Angela Liong, 58, dance
Madam Tham is planning to write a book on her relationship with her father, a key member of Force 136, which carried
out covert operations in what was then Malaya, against the Japanese during World War II. ST PHOTO: MUGILAN RAJASEGERAN
Medallion
쐽 Shui Lan, 52, music
쐽 Tham Yew Chin, 59,
literary arts
YOUNG ARTIST AWARD
RECIPIENTS
winner author
쐽 Boo Junfeng, 26, film
쐽 Anthony Chen Zheyi, 25,
film
쐽 Han Yew Kwang, 34, film
쐽 Ho Tzu Nyen, 33,
visual arts
쐽 Donna Ong, 31, visual arts
of 140 books
Tham Yew Chin never leaves
home without a notebook and
is a stranger to writer’s block
BY TAY SUAN CHIANG
CHINESE writer Tham Yew Chin
has raised two sons and a daugh-
ter, held down a full-time job and
during her 30-year writing ca-
reer, has published 140 books.
Just how does she do it?
“With very little sleep, just
about four hours a night,” said
the writer, whose pen name is
You Jin.
Her books, which have sold
more than a million copies, are
mostly about encounters with
people she meets in her life here
and abroad.
They have made such an im-
pact that she was awarded the
Cultural Medallion, Singapore’s
highest arts honour, last night.
In a ceremony at the Istana,
President S R Nathan also gave
medallions to visual artist Ang Ah
Tee, Singapore Symphony Orches-
tra conductor Shui Lan and danc-
er Angela Liong.
To date, including the four this
year, there have been 97 recipi-
ents, including poet Edwin Thum-
boo, musician Dick Lee and film-
maker Eric Khoo.
They receive the medallion, a
lapel pin and a certificate, and are
eligible for an $80,000 grant.
Madam Tham, 59, whose chil-
dren are aged 25 to 32, was until
June this year a Chinese-language
teacher at Pioneer Junior College.
She has also been a librarian, and
was a journalist at the now de-
funct Nanyang Siang Pau, a Chi-
nese-language daily newspaper,
in the late 1970s.
She quit teaching so that she
could have more time for writing,
which she does in the study of her
two-storey semi-detached house
off Holland Road.
“It was with much reluctance
that I stopped. I enjoyed working
as it helped me stay in contact
with society,” she said, about
leaving the teaching profession.
She still manages to squeeze in
time for another love, baking,
which she does sometimes in the
middle of the night. “When I’m
tired from writing, I bake to re-
lax,” she said. “Then I have my
cake and go to bed.”
Madam Tham was born in
Ipoh, and moved to Singapore
with her family when she was
eight. She is now a Singapore citi-
zen.
At age 11, she submitted her
first literary work, I Wish To Be A
Fairy Tale Writer, to a Singapore
Chinese-language newspaper and
it was published.
쏆 “My notebooks are as impor-
ON BAKING
“When I’m tired from
writing, I bake to relax.
Then I have my cake
and go to bed.”
Madam Tham
ON WRITER’S BLOCK
“Writer’s block only
comes when you have
nothing to write. For
me, it’s the opposite, I
have so much to write
about. Writing is part of
my life.”
Madam Tham
The Nanyang University gradu-
ate in Chinese language and litera-
ture had her first book published
in 1978. Entitled A Glimpse Of So-
ciety, it was a collection of spe-
cial features she had written for
the newspaper. Nine years later,
she published a book in Taiwan.
“Going international was a
high point in my career,” she
said. She has since published 65
books in Singapore, and 75 in Chi-
na, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Ma-
laysia.
Her work can be classified into
four categories: short stories, nov-
els, travelogues and essays. Some
of her works are studied in local
schools, and have been thesis sub-
jects in local and foreign universi-
ties.
The writer is also an avid read-
er. She said that when she travels
overseas for holidays, she always
packs a suitcase full of books –
both fiction and non-fiction
ones.
“My husband always shakes
his head when he sees this,” she
said.
Her husband, Mr James Lim, is
an engineering consultant. He
cannot read Chinese so has not
read any of her works.
“It’s good, as it allows me to
write whatever I want about
him,” she said with a laugh.
Apart from books, she never
leaves home without notebooks,
into which she pens her thoughts.
tant as my passport. Without
them, the trip is wasted.”
She said that being awarded
the Cultural Medallion is “a com-
ma, not a fullstop”.
Now that she has more time
for writing, she plans to write a
book on her relationship with her
father, the late Tham Sien Yen.
He was a key member of
Force 136, which carried out cov-
ert operations in what was then
Malaya, against the Japanese dur-
ing World War II.
Writer’s block, she said, has
never been a problem.
“Writer’s block only comes
when you have nothing to write.
For me, it’s the opposite, I have
so much to write about. Writing
is part of my life,” she said.
Artists like her form an impor-
tant part of Singapore’s talent
pool, said Rear-Admiral (NS) Lui
Tuck Yew, Acting Minister for In-
formation, Communications and
the Arts.
In his speech at the ceremony,
he said the artists are a key
source of the content that enables
the Republic to become a distinc-
tive and lively city for the arts.
He said: “This pool has to
grow continually so that we can
attain higher levels of artistic ex-
cellence, and create works that
embody a strong Singaporean
character and resonate with the
people.”
taysc@sph.com.sg
For more on the award recipients,
turn to Life! pages E6&7