The Straits Times / The Business Times News on Hyflux

Philip Yeo and Olivia Lum get Nikkei prize

TOKYO - MR PHILIP Yeo, the man who put Singapore on the world's science and technology map, and Ms Olivia Lum, who developed Newater, have been awarded the Nikkei Asia Prize this year.

Mr Yeo, 59, is chairman of Singapore's Agency for Science, Technology and Research. He won in the science, technology and innovation category.

Ms Lum, 45, is chief executive officer and president of the Hyflux Group. She took the honours in the category of regional growth.

The prize has been awarded annually since 1996 by Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Japan's leading business daily, to three Asians or institutions that have made significant contributions to improving the lives of people in Asia. The newspaper is also known as the Nikkei.

The third winner this year is Ms Sophiline Cheam Shapiro, the artistic director of Cambodia's Khmer Arts Academy.

She won in the culture category for her efforts to restore her nation's classical dance tradition.

The Nikkei, in announcing the news yesterday, said Mr Yeo showed strong leadership in drafting and implementing Singapore's science and technology strategy, particularly in the biomedical sciences.

Ms Lum was applauded for her company's development of the Newater system, which turns waste water into water for drinking and industrial use.

'Despite obstacles, Mr Yeo pressed forward to achieve his target, while Ms Lum took less than 20 years to come up with a technology now sold in Singapore, China and even the Middle East,' said Mr Yutaka Nakai, Nikkei's deputy general manager for international affairs.

'Both of them did what the Japanese themselves would have liked to do. They had a dream and were able to realise it. We therefore want to applaud them,' added Mr Nakai, who is also secretary for the administration of the prize.

Mr Yeo and Ms Lum are the first Singaporeans to win the prize. They will receive their awards in Tokyo on May 24.

The first time Singapore won the Nikkei prize was in 2000, when the Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology was recognised for technological innovation.