JOSEPHIANS | LUMEN
19
Not one to pass over any opportunity that comes his way , it is no wonder Mr Fang ends up wearing many hats . We all knew he is prominent in the fencing arena as a former national fencer and President of Fencing Singapore but during our interview with him , we discovered he was a national triathlete first before being a fencer . Other positions held include being President of Modern Pentathlon Association , Vice President of Skiing and Snowboarding Federation and Director of Singapore Institute of International Affairs . He also recently started a sports consultancy and still finds time to freelance as a journalist .
Interestingly , Mr Fang was not part of the Fencing Club while he was a student in SJI from 1989 to 1991 as it was full then . In fact he was in Air Rifle , Swimming and served as a librarian . As he candidly puts it , he was ‘ good in swimming and wrapping books ’.
His passion in sports comes across even in yet another role he plays . As a Nominated Member of Parliament ( NMP ), he pushes the sports agenda strongly believing ‘ sports contribute to a person ’ s personal development ’ - something ingrained in him during his SJI days . For him sports offer reallife entertainment and drama that also inspire - better than what television dramas can achieve . His dream is to see Singapore have a sporting culture that is vibrant . He envisions a day when families do not throng shopping malls but spend it at a rugby match or swimming championships , and when the children indicate interest in pursuing sports , they will have their parents ’ full blessings instead of discouragement . By improving the standing of sports here in meritocratic Singapore , he hopes that we can move away from constantly viewing results as key in measuring the amount of success attained by sportsmen .
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in life , one is always in a race , be it against oneself or others , so we must not be obsessed with internal issues or we will lose our competitive edge .
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One way in which he intends to highlight issues particularly sports , journalism , regional politics and economic environment that are close to his heart , is to use a thematic approach that he employed in his maiden speech in Parliament : communication , competition and passion . To improve on communication , Mr Fang believes that the government should take a more proactive approach in explaining its actions , the full range of implications and the sacrifices made to the citizens in order to prevent misunderstandings . With regards to competition , he is convinced that everyone has a role to play . He feels Singaporeans should lose the xenophobic attitude that many have towards foreign talent . Other nations are looking at us to see how we react to foreigners , thus our competitiveness will be affected if they note we are unwelcoming to foreigners at all levels . He surmises that in life , one is always in a race , be it against oneself or others , so we must not be obsessed with internal issues or we will lose our competitive edge . There is also a need to remedy the lack of ‘ connectedness ’ among Singaporeans towards our country . He observed people are too ‘ fast to point fingers ’ but ‘ slow to think of a solution that they can be a part of ’. They also ‘ seem to have forgotten who they are and what they have achieved comes from the environment they have been in .’ He feels that more effort should be put in to ensure people will be ‘ anchored ’ to Singapore ; that is to have a strong sense of patriotism towards Singapore .
Mr Fang lives out the ethos of SJI . He underscored , ‘ Being of service to something bigger and broader than yourself ’ had often resonated with him from his days in SJI . Clearly , it still does today ; as he keeps reiterating throughout the interview : “ Remember where you come from and whatever chance you get , you have to give something back to that system or that society .”
Thank you , Mr Fang for walking the talk . We appreciate your setting aside time in your already busy schedule to provide three Secondary Two Josephians this opportunity to interview you .
Facing page : Responding to a question posed
This page ( top ): Noah , Marc and Dylan after the interview at SIIA
This page ( bottom ): Nicholas Fang in the SJI Prefectorial Board ( circled )