Fitting gift for JurongHealth staff

Last Friday, the chief executive officer of JurongHealth Services, Mr Foo Hee Jug, played Santa Claus.

He gave his staff T-shirts specially printed with front pages taken from The Straits Times over the years.

Mr Foo, 49, had ordered the T-shirts, launched last week to celebrate the 170th anniversary of The Straits Times, after he read about them in the paper.

He said: "When I first saw the collection, I thought to myself, 'Wouldn't this be such a unique Christmas gift?'"

He liked the T-shirts so much that he ordered 30 of them. He was also doing his bit for charity as part of the money from the T-shirt sales will go to The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund, which gives pocket money to 14,000 children from low-income families every year.

Associate Professor Cheah Wei Keat, chairman of the medical board at JurongHealth, had a good laugh when he received a T-shirt bearing the headline "Queen sees Chinatown" from 1972, when the Queen of England visited Chinatown. Said the 50-year-old: "The T-shirts are also a great way of remembering the significant events in Singapore's history."

Over 500 T-shirts have been sold and sales have totalled over $17,000. The T-shirts cost between $30 and $32 each and come in 30 designs, bearing headlines such as "Singapore is out", published on Aug 10, 1965, when Singapore separated from Malaysia; and "Chewing gum to be banned", from 1991, when it was banned in Singapore.

Dr Thomas Soo, 53, director of primary care services and consultant of health and wellness at JurongHealth, was pumped up to receive a T-shirt with advertisements printed on the front and a bold headline which reads "Here's good health".

He said: "The material is very comfortable and I might just wear this later when I go jogging."

The Straits Times T-shirts can be ordered at www.1845wearyourhistory.com, and shipping is free.

To receive the T-shirts before Christmas, orders must be placed by Tuesday. Buyers can also choose to collect their T-shirts on Dec 23 at News Centre, 1000 Toa Payoh North, from 10am to 8pm.

omaramir@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on December 13, 2015.
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