Prof Tommy Koh and Prof Peter Ng step down as Chairman of LKCNHM’s Advisory Committee and HoD, respectively

Professor Tommy Koh speaking at the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum’s 5th Anniversary e-Celebration event. (Photo credit: Iffah Iesa)

Since the establishment of the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM) in 2015, Professor Tommy Koh has been its founding Chairman. Come 31 March 2022, however, he steps down, “ending” his 18-year journey with a museum he helped create!

Prof Koh first visited the Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research (predecessor of the LKCNHM) in 2004 as Chairman of the National Heritage Board. He was pleasantly surprised then that a significant part of the century-old collection was intact and immediately advocated for the establishment of a natural history museum in Singapore, with this collection as its core. He energised NUS to eventually obtain substantial philanthropic support to build the Museum in 2010. Prof Koh became the Museum’s de facto “Chairman” over this period, and formally took on the role in 2015 when the LKCNHM finally opened.

Prof Koh said, “It is a joy to have helped NUS to build a world class natural history museum.  Singapore should have such a museum because it is situated in the middle of a region with the richest biodiversity in the world.”

During his term as the Chairman of LKCNHM’s Advisory Committee, Prof Koh worked actively to promote the Museum and its role as a safehouse for Singapore’s natural heritage, connecting the Museum with a multitude of local, regional and international opportunities, as well as significantly raising the institution’s international profile.

Speaker of Parliament and Deputy Chairman of Mandai Park Holdings Mr Tan Chuan-Jin to chair the Museum Advisory Committee

Speaker Tan Chuan-Jin (Photo courtesy of Speaker Tan’s team)

Taking on the mantle as the new Chairman of LKCNHM’s Advisory Committee is Mr Tan Chuan-Jin, Speaker of Parliament and Deputy Chairman of Mandai Park Holdings.

He said, “Professor Tommy Koh, Professor Peter Ng and the team at LKCNHM have established an institution that is respected and recognised in our region and beyond, and one that we can all be proud of. We thank them deeply for their labour of love. As a biophilic city, there is much that we can celebrate but there is also much that we can still learn, to appreciate and to further nurture our biodiversity. LKCNHM is a key player in this effort.”

Professor Peter Ng, Head of LKCNHM, to pass on the baton to Associate Professor Darren Yeo, current Deputy Head of LKCNHM

Professor Peter Ng (left) and Associate Professor Darren Yeo (right).

Concurrently, Professor Peter Ng, Head of LKCNHM, will hand over the reins to his successor, Associate Professor Darren Yeo, currently Deputy Head of LKCNHM, in July 2022. Prof Ng helmed the Museum as Head of Department since 2015 after it became an academic unit; prior to that, he had been Director of the Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research since its formation in 1998.