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Living the Singapore Story: Celebrating Our 50 Years 1965-2015

Commissioned by the National Library Board

The official SG50 book, Living the Singapore Story: Celebrating our 50 years 1965-2015, celebrates five decades of nation building through 58 compelling and heart-warming accounts of Singaporeans.

Ngalirdjo Mungin started hawking satay on the streets. Like thousands of other hawkers, he moved to a stall in a food centre in the early 1970s which is now operated by one of his sons.

Dipna Lim Prasad

Architect Liu Thai Ker joined the Housing Board in 1969, and made public housing one of Singapore's finest achievements. He was chief executive of the HDB from 1979 till 1989, when he was appointed Singapore's chief planner till 1992.

Benson Puah set up and still helms Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay, Singapore's renowned arts centre. He also headed the National Arts Council from 2009 till 2013, during which time he had a bout with cancer, which is now in remission.

Orthopaedic surgeon Kanwaljit Soin is a champion of several national issues -  in particular, women's rights and support for the elderly -  and was Singapore's first female Nominated Member of Parliament. She was also the former presi

Lim Suet Kwee was the face of Singapore Airlines in the 1980s and 1990s appearing in print and broadcast ads. She was also the model for the Singapore Girl's wax figure in London's Madame Tussaud's wax museum.

Indoor skydiving is a relatively new sport involving a vertical wind tunnel but Kyra Poh, at 13, already holds the world record for the most backwards somersaults in a wind tunnel in a minute among others.

Raffles Hotel's only resident historian and longest serving employee, Leslie Danker, knows all the ins and outs of the famed hotel, even how high the hotel lobby is, down to the last millimetre.

The Entertainers:Top from Left: Najip Ali, television host; Eric Khoo, film director and Cultural Medallion recipient; Jack Neo, film director and Cultural Medallion recipient; Ivan Heng, theatre director (W!LD RICE) and Cultural Meda… — The Entertainers:
Top from Left: Najip Ali, television host; Eric Khoo, film director and Cultural Medallion recipient; Jack Neo, film director and Cultural Medallion recipient; Ivan Heng, theatre director (W!LD RICE) and Cultural Medallion recipient; Gurmit Singh,television host and film and television actor; Aaron Aziz, film and television actor; Hossan Leong, comedian and television host; Kok Heng Leun, theatre director (Drama Box) and Cultural Medallion recipient.
Middle from Left: Anna Lim, DJ; Liang Wern Fook xinyao music pioneer and Cultural Medallion recipient; Fann Wong, film and television actress; Billy Koh, songwriter and music producer; Zoe Tay, film and television actress; Kit Chan, singer and actress; Jeremy Monteiro, jazz pianist and Cultural Medallion recipient; Som Said, Malay classical dancer and Cultural Medallion recipient; Xiang Yun, film and television actress; Brian Richmond, veteran radio presenter; Ramli Sarip, rock singer and songwriter; Kuik Swee Boon, contemporary dancer and Cultural Medallion recipient.
Bottom from Left: Ken Lim, composer, artiste manager and music producer; Goh Lay Kuan, pioneer ballet dancer and Cultural Medallion recipient; Santha Bhaskar, Indian classical dancer and Cultural Medallion recipient; Ong Ken Sen, theatre director (TheatreWorks) and Cultural Medallion recipient; Lim Kay Tong, veteran film, television and stage actor; Joanna Wong, Chinese opera performer and Cultural Medallion recipient; Tay Teow Kiat, Chinese orchestra conductor and Cultural Medallion recipient, Atin Amat, pioneer Malay theatre practitioner (Teater Kami) and Cultural Medallion recipient; Patrick Chng, singer and local indie music pioneer.

LTC Shaiful Herman, assistant director in SCDF's HazMat Department was its first overseas government scholar, youngest SCDF officer to be promoted to major and then lieutenant-colonel and one of the youngest officers to head a fire station.

Lim Pok Chin, owner of household name Scanteak, went bust twice in the furniture business but now owns 100 stores in Taiwan.

Biologist Dr Juliana Chan has scored scientific breakthroughs with her nanoparticle research.

Kerala-born Gopinath Menon settled in Singapore in 1954. He was Singapore's chief transportation engineer from 1991 till he retired in 2001 and recalls the introduction of the system that led to today's electronic road gantries. He teaches at Nanyan

As one of the PSA's elite quay crane operators, Tommy Lim Chee Kiang has soared ahead in his work since joining as a truck driver in 1997.

Unlike some, retired teacher Paul Fernandez was eager to live in an apartment. He paid $12,500 for a flat in Queenstown, Singapore's first public housing estate, in 1973 - and has lived there since.

From 1970 to 1988, engineer Tan Suan Yong helped turn the hills and mosquito-infested swamps of Jurong into Singapore's first industrial estate.

Aziza Ali opened Singapore's first fine-dining Malay restaurant Aziza's, on Emerald Hill.

Singapore Athletes:Top from Left: James Wong, athletics; Savannah Siew, sailing; Sheik Alaud'din, silat; Zainal Abidin, squash; Saiyidah Aisyah, rowing; Lee Wung Yew, shooting; Feng Tianwei, table tennis; Jing Jun Hong, table tennis; Joscelin Yeo, s… — Singapore Athletes:
Top from Left: James Wong, athletics; Savannah Siew, sailing; Sheik Alaud'din, silat; Zainal Abidin, squash; Saiyidah Aisyah, rowing; Lee Wung Yew, shooting; Feng Tianwei, table tennis; Jing Jun Hong, table tennis; Joscelin Yeo, swimming; Syed Abdul Kadir, boxing; Melanie Martens, hockey; Eugene Teo, waterpolo.
Middle from Left: Laurentia Tan, para equestrian; Neo Beng Siang, basketball; Quah Kimg Song, football; Muhammad Shakir Juanda, silat; Grace Young, bowling; Tan Eng Bock, waterpolo; SS Dhillon, official; Veronica Shanti Pereira, athletics; Micky Lin, netball; Tan Yoon Yin, official; Majid Ariff, football; Annabel Pennefather, hockey; Tang Pui Wah, athletics; Jasmine Ser, shooting.
Bottom from Left: Robert Tan, para sports; Yip Pin Xiu, para swimming; C Kunalan, athletics; Nurulasyiqah Mohammad Taha, bocci a; Arumugam Vijiaratnam, hockey.

Architect Alan Choe was Singapore's first urban planner. During his time, prime land was sold to private developers to build malls and skyscrapers, transforming the skyline.

Singer-songwriter Dick Lee of Mad Chinaman fame writes the folk songs of Singapore today, including the much acclaimed National Day theme song, Home .

Dr Tai Hwei Yee took over the management of all Intensive Care Units in Tan Tock Seng Hospital when the SARS epidemic hit Singapore in 2003. A total of 33 people died and 238 were infected over three months.

Glenn Phua was found to be autistic when he was four. His talent as an artist was discovered later when he won an art competition. His original drawings sell for as much as $5,000 each and have been auctioned at charity galas.

Kenson Kwok, founding director of the Asian Civilisations Museum and the Peranakan Museum.

From his tough early days as a coffee stall assistant, Kopitiam Investment boss Lee Bee Huat now has more than 80 outlets.

Social entrepreneur Koh Seng Choon founded Dignity Kitchen, a food court and hawker training school for the disabled and disadvantaged.

Olivia Lum overcame a tough childhood to later start her water treatment company Hyflux. It listed on the Singapore Exhange in 2001 and is now a leading global desalination operation.

All in the family business are (L-R) Wong Chen Liong, brother Wong Chen Keng and nephew John Wong, who help run Phoon Huat. The company, best known for its Redman syrups in its early days, has expanded its product range to include marzipan from

Abd Rahman Khan Gulap Khan spent 35 years in the police force, most of it in the CID, attending to anything from homicide to the Hotel New World collapse, in which 33 people died.

Bird guide Lim Kim Seng holds the record set in 2012 for the most number of species spotted here in a year, 265 species. He can recognise 350 different birds and identify their calls.