Khir Johari’s The Food of the Malays – Gastronomic Travels Through the Archipelago won this year’s triennial award by outshone five shortlisted books to take home this year’s $50,000 cash award.
Kishore Mahbubani, former Singapore diplomat, established this annual prize to commemorate Singapore’s 50th birthday and award authors for writing on its history and region. Professor John Miksic won this inaugural prize with his work Singapore and the Silk Road of the Sea: 1300-1800.
Prof Miksic’s book was widely applauded as it laid the groundwork for “a fundamental reinterpretation of Singapore’s place in Asian history”. Mahbubani first proposed this prize through an opinion column wherein he called upon philanthropists to donate the sum. Mahbubani himself eventually donated S$50,000 himself as endowment fund support from an anonymous donor.
At a gala hosted at Singapore’s state-owned Media Corp theatre, this prize was presented. Over one hundred guests, including celebrities, politicians and business leaders attended. Under the theme ‘Finding Solutions to Repair Our Planet’ and with performances by One Republic with Bastille and Bebe Rexha as guest vocalists. William himself participated in an athletic dragon boat race; additionally meeting many Singaporeans while learning more about local organizations working to protect wildlife and revitalize ecosystems.
At an event focusing on sustainability, the royal couple wore sustainable pieces from brands like Alexander McQueen and Stella McCartney at an event. Prince Philip donned an old dark green blazer while Duchess Kate chose an Alexander McQueen floral print dress as part of her attire.
On 7 November, The Environmental Prize will host its third annual awards ceremony and grant winners up to S$1 million as catalytic grants to accelerate and scale up their environmental solutions. Following this ceremony will be a week of thought leadership and innovation with global leaders, businesses and investors from Singapore exploring exciting collaboration opportunities; during which members of the public will get close and personal with TEP finalists to learn about their innovative yet impactful solutions that aim to help repair our planet – more information can be found by clicking here.