Singapore Prize 2018 winners were revealed during a glittering ceremony co-hosted by actor Hannah Waddingham and musician Sterling K Brown in Singapore on May 11. Prince William led the judging panel, looking dapper in a dark green velour suit and dickie bow with other presenters strutting down a “green carpet”, symbolising its sustainable theme. Professor John Miksic’s book Singapore and the Silk Road of the Sea: 1300-1800 amazed judges and provided them with an account of Singapore’s early history that combined 25 years of archaeological findings into an account of Singapore’s early history.
NUS Asia Research Institute distinguished fellow Kishore Mahbubani first proposed this prize idea in an opinion column of The Straits Times in April 2014. Soon thereafter, an anonymous donor offered S$500,000 that could be invested annually to support this prize fund.
Mahbubani noted that this prize aimed to “celebrate Singapore’s unique heritage and national identity as a hub of multiple civilizations”. According to Benedict Anderson’s theory on nations being imagined communities, shared historical imagination plays a critical role in keeping societies together.
Prof Miksic’s victory is significant as it marks the first time the prize was bestowed for work concerning Singapore history. He described his research as providing a fundamental reinterpretation of Singapore’s past – including its role as an international trading port and Southeast Asian hub, literary records that suggest its existence prior to 1819 being specifically mentioned as well as literary references that could shed further light.
NUS Senior Advisor of University and Global Relations Professor Kishore Mahbubani recently told reporters that in future, the prize could expand to include fictional works about Singaporean history – such as 12 Years a Slave as an example. “Our aim is to help Singapore citizens better comprehend our history,” he stated, and may expand to include fictional works as sometimes history can best be told through various mediums. Winners in other categories were announced earlier this week. Max Maeder will receive a payout of one million Singapore dollars as part of Singapore’s Major Games Award Programme, which offers cash awards to athletes who win medals for Singapore at Olympic, Asian or Commonwealth Games. Lim Swee Teck will receive S$750,000. Third place swimmer Pang Wei Li will take home S$200,000; while the public vote award winner and their school will each be honored with S$18,000 from the Breakthrough Foundation. All prizes come backed with grants. Awards were presented at a ceremony hosted by state-owned Media Corp, featuring performances by One Republic, Bastille and Bebe Rexha as part of an evening concert series hosted by state-owned Media Corp theatre. Ministers attended as well as New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern who serves as trustee for Earthshot Foundation.