Welcome back, Oon

Welcome back, Oon

COMMENT

He once told me that Singapore's young sportsmen should stop moaning, be proactive and, working with their coaches, come up with a detailed individual programme that would help them to continue to develop athletically while in National Service.

Oon Jin Teik, at the time chief executive officer of the Singapore Sports Council, insisted that if teenagers had the talent, were bold and disciplined, Mindef would help.

Last year, Mindef agreed to defer Joseph Schooling's entry into National Service until August 2016, as the talented swimmer pursues his dream of winning Olympic gold.

I like Oon.

I believe he is passionate about growing and improving Singapore sport, and, crucially, passionate about doing it the right way.

His new appointment as Chief Operating Officer of the Singapore Sports Hub Pte Ltd is a shot in the arm for the consortium, and the country.

A former national swimmer who has two Asian Games bronze medals to show off and Olympian stamped on his passport after he represented the nation at the 1984 Los Angeles Games, Oon has intimate knowledge of the requirements of athletes.

He spent six years as CEO of SSC - from 2004 to 2010 - and until recently, was a leading executive at multi-million dollar water solutions company, Hyflux Pte Ltd.

CONTACT LIST

The 51-year-old has chalked up sizeable public and corporate sector experience and also assembled a contact list of leading names pockmarked around the world that he can call upon.

He owns a formidable arsenal and the Sports Hub clearly recognised this.

Oon is a Singapore face at the top management table of the consortium, which features a host of partners from around the globe.

He will replace Poh Yu Khing, who will still be an important member of the Sports Hub's leadership team.

The $1.3 billion project is a unique public-private agreement between the Singapore Government and the consortium.

It is a partnership, not a relationship of schoolmaster and student, and I know Oon understands that.

The consortium wants to generate healthy returns for their considerable investment, while the Government's aim is to turn that part of Kallang into a healthy and vibrant hub of activity for all Singaporeans.

There is a balance that needs to be struck, compromises have to be made and Oon is capable of building the bridge.

He has made presentations to the Cabinet, and earned the trust of many key figures in the public and private sector.

I was disappointed when it was announced that the first official event at the new National Stadium was going to be a concert by the Singapore Chinese Orchestra.

It should have been a football match, but, that was the thinking of a sports-mad person.

I know that the Singapore Sports Hub's annual events calendar will always feature sports and various other entertainment.

I'm not sure if it would have made any difference to Oon if a football match or rugby game would have kicked off first at the 55,000-capacity National Stadium, but I know he loves sport.

During his time as SSC CEO, Singapore enjoyed its most succesful Asian Games in 2006. The women's table tennis team also ended a 48-year-old medal drought when they won Olympic silver in 2008.

Oon was a key figure in the organising team when Singapore hosted the 117th International Olympic Committee Session in 2005.

He also played leading roles when the country hosted the inaugural Asian Youth Games in 2009 and the first Youth Olympic Games in 2010.

He was directly involved in setting up and launching the bidding process to build the Sports Hub, and gave advice to the Government about each interested consortium.

Oon was also very involved in the Changi Motorsports Hub initiative, and the failed project will rankle him.

But, he would have learnt lessons from it, and that will hold him in good stead.

As SSC CEO, he worked hard to change the working relationship with national sports associations, striving to turn it into a partnership.

I once lobbied him to work for a Liverpool-Manchester United clash to open the Sports Hub.

I said I would settle for a battle between the All Blacks and the Wallabies or the Springboks.

That's not going to happen.

But Oon really does get it. It's good that he's back in Singapore sport.

leonardt@sph.com.sg


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