Cover Tatler Singapore's management team with the award recipients of the Tatler Impact Awards 2024. (Photo: Max Chan)
Tatler Singapore's management team with the award recipients of the Tatler Impact Awards 2024. (Photo: Max Chan)
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Tonight, we recognised five inspiring individuals who have made positive and significant impact in Asia and beyond
This year’s Tatler Ball theme, Xanadu, is a metaphor for boundless potential and growth. In line with this, our ball honoured exemplary individuals who embody the spirit of Xanadu through the Tatler Impact Awards. Introduced earlier this month, the Tatler Impact Awards recognise Asia’s most influential and impactful leaders through four key categories: Innovation, Business, Culture, and Humanity.
In case you missed it: Xanadu: The 42nd Tatler Ball’s theme is a celebration of paradise and power
The Business Award was first presented to Secretlab’s Ian Alexander Ang and Alaric Choo for this exceptional business success. Ang and Choo are the dynamic duo behind Secretlab, a leading gaming chair company that has transformed the gaming experiences for enthusiasts globally. Since its inception in 2014, the local gaming chair company has been committed to continuous improvements and innovation from investing in new technology to enhance product quality to ensuring customer satisfaction through support programmes.
Above Alaric Choo
Alaric Choo
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With plans to expand further into global markets, maintaining their reputation as leaders in ergonomic design, the duo continue to redefine what it means to be at the forefront of the gaming industry. The duo were awarded a bottle of Hennessy XO Limited Edition by Kim Jones.
On stage, Choo shared: “This award is something that we appreciate a lot because there aren’t a lot of awards for businesses like us. It’s also a reminder for us to kind of step back and pat ourselves on the back and think about how far we’ve come over the years.”
Lawyer-playwright Amanda Chong is this year’s Culture Award recipient. Tonight, she was honoured for making a lasting impact in Singapore’s entertainment and arts scene. Chong is a distinguished international lawyer and accomplished poet from Singapore.
Above Amanda Chong
Amanda Chong
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During the day, she serves as the deputy senior state counsel at the Attorney-General’s Chambers, specialising in public international law, human rights, and environmental law. By night, Chong is a passionate writer. In 2018, her poetry collection Professions was shortlisted for the Singapore Literature Prize with her works having been included in educational syllabuses. In addition to poetry, Chong has written multiple plays including one woman show Psychobitch, the musical The Feelings Farm, and the award-winning play #WomenSupportingWomen.
Chong also co-founded the non-profit organisation ReadAble with the aim of improving social mobility. The organisation runs weekly English literacy classes for children and migrant women in a low-income neighbourhood.
“It was a surprise to me to receive this award because I still consider myself a young artist … I’m grateful to be recognised as someone who has pursued the arts alongside a full-time career as a lawyer,” Chong enthused. She was also awarded a bottle of Hennessy XO Limited Edition by Kim Jones.
Above Tamara Lamunière and Professor Jackie Ying
Tamara Lamunière and Professor Jackie Ying
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Next up was the Innovation Award, presented to an individual who has made significant technological advancements or achieved breakthroughs in the science or medical research field—and who better to receive this than nanotechnology scientist Jackie Ying. A leader in the global scientific community, Ying has previously been awarded the King Faisal Prize for Science laureate in 2023 and was the first scientist to be elected as a member of the US National Academy of Engineering in 2021.
In 2003, she established the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN) in Singapore where she served as an executive director until 2018. Under her leadership, IBN published over 1,330 papers and spun off numerous startups. She currently serves as an advisor to the Biomedical Research Council of A*STAR.
Along with the award, she received a La Mer suite of products. Expounding on her research, Ying shared: “I hope that this new therapy, by making them more advanced, more effective and less expensive, it will make an impact on making healthcare more accessible. I want to thank, in particular, my colleagues and staff at the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology.”
Above Koh Seng Choon
Koh Seng Choon
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This year’s Humanity Award, which celebrates individuals focusing on sustainability, was conferred to Koh Seng Choon. Choon is a pioneering social entrepreneur who founded Dignity Kitchen, Asia’s first community food court staffed by those with disabilities. Established in 2010, Dignity Kitchen aims to provide meaningful employment and training to disadvantaged individuals, challenging societal perceptions of disability. Koh’s philosophy centres on recognising abilities rather than limitations, fostering an inclusive environment where everyone can thrive.
Koh has garnered numerous accolades including the President’s Challenge ward. Today, he continues to advocate for greater inclusion and dignity for all individuals.
On receiving the award, he reflected: “You know you read about the Tatler magazine and you’d never expect that one day you’d be here. Thank you very much for the kind recognition.”
Together with the award, he received a bottle of Hennessy XO Limited Edition by Kim Jones.
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Amanda Goh was the former senior writer for Tatler Singapore.
