Singapore, 13 June 2007...Final-year National University of Singapore (NUS) undergraduate Melvin Koh has won the first prize in the MAS-ESS Essay Competition 2006 (University category) for the second year running. The 24-year-old majors in Economics at the NUS and is enrolled in its University Scholars Programme. Hwa Chong Institution continues to top the Pre-University category.
2 Jointly organised by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Economic Society of Singapore (ESS), the sixth MAS-ESS essay competition was opened to tertiary and pre-university students who submitted entries on the topic, “The Asian Financial Crisis 10 years on: What has changed and what we have learnt?”
3 The winners received their prizes from Special Guest Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Minister for Education and Second Minister for Finance, at the ESS Annual Dinner this evening.
| | Pre-University Category | University Category |
First Prize | Mr Yuen Pak Man & Mr Wee Liang En (joint entry)
Hwa Chong Institution
Cash Prize: $2,000 | Mr Koh Kint Hock Melvin
National University of Singapore
Cash Prize: $5,000 |
Second Prize | Mr Bryan Cheang Yi Da & Mr Nicholas Dominic Lim Zi-Jie (joint entry)
National Junior College
Cash Prize: $1,000 | Mr Leong Chee Kian
Nanyang Technological University
Cash Prize: $2,000 |
Third Prize | Mr Chai Chaoyi & Ms Mou Xiao Lei (joint entry)
Hwa Chong Institution
Cash Prize: $500 | Mr See Kok Heng
The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
Cash Prize: $1,000 |
4 Commenting on the MAS-ESS Essay Competition, Dr Khor Hoe Ee, Assistant Managing Director of Economics at MAS and President of the ESS said it continues to meet the objective of encouraging students to develop a better understanding of economic and financial issues relevant to Singapore and the region. “Many of the entries in both categories were of a very high quality. We are very pleased to see students thinking critically and creatively about such issues and demonstrating the ability to express their thoughts effectively.”
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