Mr Tan Wah Thong, the former Chairman of the ACS Board of Governors (1996- 2008) is indeed the model person ACS aims to produce. Known as a man of vision, he always gets the job done no matter how challenging. Among his many contributions to ACS and the Methodist Church in Singapore is the establishment of ACS (International) Singapore and ACS (International) Jakarta.

Mr. Tan completed his ACS education in 1956 and later from the Royal Naval Engineering College at Plymouth (UK). He went on to distinguish himself as a Weapons Electrical Officer in the Royal Malaysian Navy and subsequently became a key player in Singapore’s shipbuilding and marine engineering industries. He was the past Chairman of the Singapore Manufacturers Association (SMA), the Vice-President of the Singapore Federation of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SFCCI), and a council member of the Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF). And to those who know and have had the pleasure of working with him, he was certainly a warm and personable gentleman who exudes confidence and charm even when faced with major challenges.

We spoke to Mr. Tan on his illustrious career and here is what he shared with us:

ECHO: Mr. Tan, you spent about 8 years in the Royal Malaysian Navy as a Weapons Electrical Officer and later went on to a career in the shipbuilding and marine engineering fields. Was this your choice of career or did it happen by chance?

Mr. Tan: Singapore was part of Malaysia then. When President Soekarno of Indonesia launched Confrontation against Malaysia, I decided to serve Malaysia’s cause by enlisting in the Malaysian Navy.

ECHO: You received the Public Service Medal (PBM) in 2006 for services rendered to Singapore’s education. Can you tell us what you did to earn this medal?

Mr. Tan: I do not know exactly what I did to deserve such an award, but I guess it was in recognition of work I did for education in Singapore over the years as expressed in a congratulatory letter from the Director-General of Education, Ms Seah Jiak Choo. I was also truly honoured to receive a congratulatory letter from the Minister for Education, Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, thanking me for the outstanding contributions I made to education in Singapore.

ECHO: How and when did your involvement with the management of the ACS School start?

Mr. Tan: In 1995, the then Bishop of the Methodist Church in Singapore, Bishop Ho Chee Sin, an illustrious ACS Old Boy, asked me to be the Chairman of ACS Board of Governors (ACS BOG). I was not interested and as a matter-of-fact I turned him down twice before I finally accepted the position after much persuasion.

ECHO: What were the most challenging issues during your tenure as Chairman of the ACS BOG?

Mr. Tan: I came in at a time when MOE was about to start on a very intensive rebuilding programme called PRIME (Programme for Rebuilding and Improving Existing Schools). ACJC was the first to be extensively renovated, followed by the rebuilding of ACS (Barker Road), ACS (Primary) and Oldham Hall, and the expansion and major renovation of ACS (Independent) and ACS (Junior). We also started a major renovation of an old secondary school to house the newly-established ACS (International). Our total contribution to the above building programmes was about $80 million.

We were also faced with the challenge of improving the academic standards (and rankings) of the schools which were rather dismal then. We had to pull out all stops and were rewarded by vast improvements. There was the sterling performance by ACS (Independent) in the recent IB examination. What were outstanding were the world class results by the school’s first batch of 357 IB students.

They have indeed done us proud and brought honour and glory to ACS and Singapore. Now the ACS Schools are among the top schools in their own respective categories and have remained the most popular and most sought-after schools in Singapore.

Here, I would like to digress a bit to give credit to all the Principals of the ACS Schools. With humility, I dare say that our hand-picked Principals are the best in Singapore. They are a very focused team whose dedication and professionalism have played a major role in the achievement of our set objectives and aspirations.

ECHO: And what about the rewarding moments during your tenure as Chairman?

Mr. Tan: Perhaps the most rewarding is knowing that all the ACS schools have accepted the “ONE ACS” concept and are now functioning as one united family. There are of course many other rewarding moments that I cherish, among them the outstanding achievements of ACS (Independent) which has been the champion school in sports and games in 10 out of the 11 past years, and the recipient of The Schools Excellence Awards and The Best Practice Awards. ACJC and ACS (Barker Road) have also done the schools proud with their achievements in the academic and sports fields.

ECHO: Based on track record, you can certainly be categorised as a high achiever. Can you share with us what drives you on?

Mr. Tan: One has to believe in what one does. When I took on the chairmanship of the BOG, I was mindful that ACS is an incredible institution with a great heritage and culture and was therefore on the alert to uphold these qualities. There must be passion in what we do, and a strong focus on the objectives we set out vis-à-vis academics excellence (ranking), sports excellence and other strong CCA pursuits. We have been very blessed by a fantastic team of Principals whose understanding, dedication and professionalism have helped us to fulfill our delivery of holistic education.

ECHO: What is your vision of the direction ACS is heading and how do you foresee the Schools 20 years from now.

Mr. Tan: The basics remain the same. We are established as primary schools, secondary schools and pre-university schools to cater to Singaporeans. I am confident we shall still remain the schools of choice and shall be the envy of other Singaporeans who yearn for an ACS education. However, the schools must not be static; instead, they must continually adjust, upgrade, innovate and respond to the various challenges set by MOE and other agencies to remain relevant and in the forefront of the education scene.

Here again, may I digress to state that I have great respect for the professionalism of the MOE officials. When these officials, who are scholars and top educationists, initiate a certain policy or change, you can be assured that everything has been well thought out. Hence, we should not waste too much time evaluating and/or critically analysing the initiative and/or change. Instead, we must be bold and accept the initiatives and to lobby the MOE if we are left out in their schemes.

ECHO: How do you see the role of ACS OBA?

Mr. Tan: The strong symbiotic relationship between the ACS BOG, the ACS OBA and the Methodist Church must be preserved and safeguarded. In our context, the OBA is more than just an “Old Boys’ Club” as it plays a very important role in the management of the schools. As one-third of the ACS BOG members are nominated by the OBA with the President of the OBA serving as the Vice Chairman of the ACS BOG, it is therefore important that the OBA be vigilant and ensure that its nominees are people of good standing who have the schools’ interest and reputation at heart.