Ambassador Chan Heng Chee and prominent banker Wee Cho Yaw are the

Ambassador Chan Heng Chee and prominent banker Wee Cho Yaw are the recipients of this year’s highest National Day Awards – the Distinguished Service Order.

Professor Chan is Singapore’s Ambassador to the United States, while Mr Wee is chairman of United Overseas Bank (UOB).

The annual awards recognize those who have made outstanding contributions in public service or community work in Singapore. And this year, 3,010 individuals are being honored.

Professor Chan has been Singapore’s Ambassador to the US for the past 15 years.

She received the Public Administration Gold Medal in 1999, the Meritorious Service Medal in 2005, and now the Distinguished Service Order.

Speaking to MediaCorp in a phone interview, Professor Chan said: “I was pleasantly surprised, I hadn’t been thinking of awards. I didn’t think I was eligible for anything anymore!”

The other recipients of the Meritorious Service Medal are Changi Airport Group chairman Liew Mun Leong, President Emeritus of the Nanyang Technological University, Dr Su Guaning, and NTUC president John de Payva.

Source AFP