Founder of Happee Hearts Movement Dr Chen Shiling crowned The Straits Times Singaporean of the Year 2025
Singaporean gymnast Amanda Yap and founder of Operation Hope Foundation Robert Kee named inaugural Young Singaporean of the Year and Singaporean of the Year (International Impact) respectively
Singapore, 19 March 2026 – Dr Chen Shiling, 45, founder of Happee Hearts Movement, a non-profit organisation that advocates for high-quality healthcare for people with intellectual disabilities (IDs), has been named The Straits Times (ST) Singaporean of the Year (SOTY) 2025. Dr Chen, along with ST Young Singaporean of the Year 2025, Amanda Yap, and ST Singaporean of the Year (International Impact) 2025, Robert Kee, received their awards from President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Patron of the Awards. President Tharman was also the Guest-of-Honour at the Awards ceremony held at Tembusu Canopy in the century-old heritage building, Temasek Shophouse.
Dr Chen began volunteering with people with IDs at Movement for the Intellectually Disabled of Singapore (MINDS) when she was 17. In 2014, she attended to a 40-year-old with Down syndrome, who had refused to leave home for weeks. Having visited him, she discovered multiple factors contributing to his withdrawal, such as worsening osteoarthritis and lack of confidence. Following weeks of treatment and improvement to his arthritis, and after working closely with his family, he finally stepped out of his home and returned to work for the first time in two months, bringing tears to his family.
This was a pivotal turning point for Dr Chen, who became convinced that holistic healthcare is crucial to the quality of life of people with IDs, and more should be done for them. She wanted to help these people and their families thrive. She decided to give up a promising career as a medical specialist and set up the non-profit organisation, Happee Hearts Movement, to run IDHealth – Singapore’s first community-based, full-service healthcare clinic to serve the complex needs of adults with IDs, later in 2014. She felt that these adults have a higher prevalence of other health conditions, such as mobility issues and sensory processing difficulties, and there was a need to fill this gap.
IDHealth has since served about 500 such patients and more than 1,000 of their caregivers. For caregivers, they are enrolled as patients if they have health issues. In 2024, the clinic’s scope expanded to include residents with IDs living in adult disability homes. Today, the upcoming expansion of IDHealth’s services in palliative care, dementia care, and preventive health is a culmination of years of work by Dr Chen.
For her impactful work in this area, Dr Chen was presented with a trophy as the SOTY winner, a cash prize of $20,000, a five-night stay at any of Millennium Hotels and Resorts’ global properties, and a pair of Singapore Airlines (SIA) business class tickets.
Currently in its 11th year, the ST SOTY award honours a Singaporean individual or group that has made significant contributions to society. It also pays tribute to those who have put Singapore on the world map or have gone beyond the call of duty to selflessly improve the lives of others.
Each of the other SOTY finalists received a certificate and a $5,000 cash prize, a three-night stay at any of Millennium Hotels and Resorts’ global properties, and a pair of SIA economy class tickets. The list of SOTY finalists can be found in Annex A.
Two new awards – ST Young Singaporean of the Year and ST Singaporean of the Year (International Impact) – were also given out this year.
To recognise younger Singaporeans who have contributed to society through their acts of service, selflessness or courage, Singaporean gymnast Amanda Yap was conferred the inaugural ST Young Singaporean of the Year 2025 award.
The 17-year-old made history by becoming the first Singaporean gymnast to compete in the finals at the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships held in Jakarta in October 2025. She also sat her O-Level examinations that month. The challenge grew when she qualified for the balance beam final, becoming the first Singaporean to achieve the feat at a world championship. She had to fly back and forth between Indonesia and Singapore, travelling between competition and exam halls to sit her papers and compete on the world stage. She eventually finished sixth in the championships. Amanda’s remarkable story drew international attention, with publications such as The Athletic documenting her journey.
Amanda was presented with a trophy and a cash prize of $5,000, on top of a three-night stay at any of Millennium Hotels and Resorts’ global properties and a pair of SIA economy class tickets.
Robert Kee, founder of Operation Hope Foundation (OHF), a charity for the underprivileged in Cambodia and Nepal, was named ST Singaporean of the Year (International Impact) 2025 – an award honouring a Singaporean or local organisation that has made a positive mark beyond our shores.
The entrepreneur has devoted his retirement years to serving underprivileged children and families overseas since 2001. As a philanthropist, he began doing this after discovering that poor accountability and fraud were common in the charity sector. After he founded OHF, he travelled monthly between Singapore and Cambodia for two years, determined to ensure that every dollar was properly used. It then expanded to Nepal, partnering non-governmental organisations to run another children’s home and poverty alleviation programmes. OHF has spent more than eight million dollars in Cambodia and Nepal, supporting thousands through its children’s home and building houses, wells and toilets for rural communities.
Today, Mr Kee, 77, continues to serve full-time as OHF’s founder and unpaid executive chairman. He has sheltered abandoned children, supported disadvantaged students and built homes in Nepal. He hopes to inspire more Singaporeans to contribute overseas.
Mr Kee was presented with a trophy and a cash prize of $20,000.
Mr Jaime Ho, Editor of The Straits Times, noted that the eight SOTY finalists had represented the very best of Singapore. He said, “Their lives remind us that heroism is not about a single grand gesture, but a persistent commitment to uplifting others. The finalists have shown us that even in a world that can feel complex and challenging, kindness, grace and determined action remain our most potent forces. They are the heartbeat of our community, and the embodiment of the Singapore spirit.”
Mr Iqbal Khan, President of UBS Asia-Pacific and Co-President of UBS Global Wealth Management, said, “UBS is privileged to be the founding sponsor of the Singaporean of the Year award. This award honours people who choose to take a step forward and in doing so, make an extraordinary impact. This year’s winners exemplify what is possible when courage and excellence are matched with empathy. Guided by a deep sense of responsibility and sustained effort, they have used their unique skills – whether in healthcare, sport or business, to make a meaningful difference, not just in Singapore but far beyond its shores. As a long-standing supporter of this award, we are proud to celebrate our winners and finalists, and be part of this movement that inspires action and service in our communities.”
The Singaporean of the Year 2025 Awards ceremony is organised by ST and presented by UBS Singapore. The official airline partner is Singapore Airlines, and the global hotel and awards reception partner is Millennium Hotels and Resorts, with Temasek Shophouse being the awards ceremony venue partner. More information about the judging panel for all the awards can be found in Annex B.
- END -