A tome that took 14 years from conception to completion has taken top honours at the triennial singapore prize, securing itself as a major Singapore literary title. Khir Johari’s The Food of the Singapore Malays: Gastronomic Travels Through the Archipelago pipped five other shortlisted titles to win the $50,000 cash award, which is the highest ever paid out by any Singapore prize.
The book, published by Marshall Cavendish, is a richly illustrated account of the history of Singapore’s Malay-speaking community from its beginnings through to the present day. It is the latest in a series of books by the author, who won a similar accolade for his first book, The Singapore Story – A People’s History, in 2021. The winner was lauded by the panel, chaired by Prof Mahbubani, as “a major contribution to our understanding of the complex relationship between the Malay community and Singapore”.
This year’s prize saw the highest number of submissions to date. The high quality of the entries led judges to issue, for the first time, two special commendations without attendant cash awards. They were Reviving Qixi: Singapore’s Forgotten Seven Sisters Festival by Lynn Wong and Lee Kok Leong and Theatres Of Memory: Industrial Heritage Of 20th Century Singapore by Loh Kah Seng, Alex Tan, Koh Keng We and Tan Teng Phee.
The prizes were presented at a ceremony held in the presence of President Tharman Shanmugaratnam. The ceremony also marked the launch of the NUS History Prize XI, with a new theme and a commissioned trophy in memory of the late Christopher Bathurst KC, Viscount Bledisloe.
Professor Miksic of the NUS Department of South East Asian Studies received a special prize for his work, which he describes as “a major contribution to our understanding of Singapore’s past”. He plans to use the prize money to fund future archaeological excavations and training exercises as well as to restore artefacts in his laboratory.
Mr Mahbubani congratulated the winners and commended the efforts of the nominating committee, which he described as an exemplary group drawn from academia, government and civil service, the arts, and private enterprise. The panel included Foo Hai Fellow in Buddhist Studies Associate Professor Joey Long; Foo Hai Fellow in Southeast Asian Studies Emeritus Prof Jack Meng-Tat Chia; senior curator Ms Jean Tay; and educator Dr Angeline Yeo.
NUS will hold a public exhibition of the six shortlisted works from March to May next year. The winner will be announced at a ceremony in October.
The prize is open to publications in all languages, although works about the history of Singapore are favoured. It was created in 2014 to support the national SG50 programme, which commemorated Singapore’s 50th anniversary of independence. The prize has become an international competition, open to all publishers worldwide. It is supported by the NUS Museum of Contemporary Art and the NUS Centre for Humanities and Social Sciences. For more information on the prize and submission guidelines, please visit the website.