How Newcastle University alumni Khaw Boon Wan and fellow Colombo Plan graduates helped shape Singapore

Dr Khaw had won a scholarship under the Colombo Plan, an intergovernmental scheme designed to help developing countries.

He completed degrees in engineering and commerce in Newcastle, winning a university medal for excellence, and later was awarded an honorary doctorate.

"You can imagine a young kid: Tertiary education is a game-changer, and to be able to get a foreign education in a developed country, that super-charged the game," Dr Khaw said at a ceremony at the Singaporean High Commissioner's house on Monday night where Newcastle lord mayor Nuatali Nelmes presented six Colombo Plan scholars with keys to the city.

"It's a life-changer. It was the key to the next chapter of my life."

The "next chapter" in Dr Khaw's life was entering the public service then becoming a leading figure in Singaporean politics as the country dragged itself to a state of prosperity. (It is now the sixth-best country in which to be born, according to a ranking in The Economist.)

He held ministerial portfolios in the key areas of health, development and transport during his career in the ruling People's Action Party, earning the moniker "Mr Fix-It" before retiring in 2020.

He told the audience on Monday, which included NSW Trade Minister Stuart Ayres, that the Colombo Plan graduates who studied in Newcastle in the 1960s, '70s and '80s had been "enriched" by the experience.

"Much has changed since then in both our countries," he said.

"We came back and put all we have into national building. Many of the alumni from Newcastle had the privilege of being participants in this nation building.

"We focused on economic development, and we managed to catch up, and Singapore graduated from the third world."

Dr Khaw was among the graduates to speak warmly of their time in Newcastle.

He convinced his girlfriend, Jean, to join him in Australia while he was studying, and the couple were married in 1977 in a registry off Hunter Street.

"Two young kids at the time, deeply in love, and we still do.

"The ceremony was witnessed by one of my professors and his wife and with many friends.

"We were so excited we didn't bring any wedding rings. It was a very embarrassing moment, but it was OK."

Monday's award ceremony was the highlight of a Hunter delegation to Singapore this week which is promoting the region as a place to visit and do business.

The delegation, which includes senior Newcastle Airport representatives, is also trying to secure an agreement with a Singapore airline to establish direct flights between the two cities.

Among the other accomplished alumni recognised on Monday was Professor Cheong Koon Hean, a former chief executive officer of Singapore's Housing and Development Board and boss of the city's Urban Redevelopment Authority from 2004 to 2010, overseeing the extraordinary transformation of the Marina Bay precinct.

Professor Cheong holds a first-class honours degree in architecture and honorary doctorate from Newcastle and a university gold medal.

"I made a lot of friends, and I think the university has given many of us a great education, and I really enjoyed my time there," she said.

"I must say that I think I had more fun than I studied. Fortunately, I graduated."

Another of the alumni, Peter Tay Buan Huat, said he was still in contact with some of his former lecturers.

"The two things that really stand out was the care and concern of the Novocastrians," the former Singapore Food Industries CEO said.

"Australia was certainly a land of milk and honey.

"In recent years I've been trying to see how I could pay back, because if I did not get the scholarship from the Australian government, I don't see how I could even go overseas, definitely not.

"But to even get a university education in Singapore, I wasn't sure I could do that, because my father was retrenched in 1968."

Dr Tay said he had become a "professional beggar" and raised about $1.5 million over the past decade for a University of Newcastle fund which helps disadvantaged Australian students.

The other Colombo Plan alumni honoured on Monday were Tan Chin Nam, a long-time senior public servant formerly in charge of Singapore Economic Development Board and a host of other key government authorities, retired banking executive Bill Chua and Jaspal Singh, a corporate adviser now serving as High Commissioner to Rwanda.

Mr Singh said the award would "occupy a place of pride in my home".

He said he and other scholarship holders had met at Singapore Airport in 1973 wearing suits.

"None of us had flown in an aircraft before," he said.

"My whole family came to see me off."

"When I arrived in Newcastle I was struck by the warmth of the people, the generosity of the people.

"Honestly, I felt like I'd died and gone to heaven. I'll never forget that."

Mr Singh said he always remembered the "generosity and the warmth with which the Australian taxpayer paid for my education".

"When I left for Australia my father gave me a ten-dollar bill. That's it. My cousin gave me a $2 bill or something like that.

"That's what I left with, so from the day I landed in Australia the Australian government looked after me. The amount they gave us was very generous. We could eat meat every day."

Cr Nelmes said the six alumni had been formally inducted as ambassadors of the City of Newcastle.

"Together, the Colombo scholars have many decades of experience and achievements spanning the political, business, housing, development and transport sectors which have greatly benefited Singaporeans and citizens the world over," she said.

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