I’ve acknowledged Oon Jin Teik for 38 years; this interview seems ordinary. We were in the same 12 months in junior university, where he became a high-profile, however low-key scholar. He became a countrywide swimmer, an accomplished violinist gambling with the Singapore Philharmonic Orchestra, and head prefect at Anglo-Chinese School. He was also named Singapore’s Sportsboy of the Year in 1980, our first year at Anglo-Chinese Junior College. But he wore his achievements modestly. He becomes famous but quiet and shy. He did not dangle out with the jocks inside the canteen. He did not strut across the way a few lesser-decorated athletes did. He kept his head low – literally – and always appeared a touch bashful.
Today’s lunch is the commercial enterprise, as we are meeting to speak about his new position. Last month, he was named the new chief executive officer of the Singapore Sports Hub.
Built at a fee of $1.33 billion and spread over 35ha, the Sports Hub includes the National Stadium, Singapore Indoor Stadium, OCBC Arena, OCBC Aquatic Centre, and Kallang Wave Mall. He was its leader running officer in view that 2014 and performing CEO after the surprising departure of his predecessor, Mr. Manu Sawhney, last May. He has chosen to work at one of the govt suites at the National Stadium. Our lunch is courtesy of SATS Delaware North, at the back of the catering and food and beverage at the Sports Hub.
A table has been set in the middle of the room, which overlooks the stadium’s unique purple and white stands. Today, the pitch within the center is a sea of brown sand because the grass is in the nursery; it is a non-pitch season. A menu on the desk reveals that lunch will comprise a salmon appetizer, chicken consomme, pork, and black woodland cake. Oon, 54, walks in, a blazer over an open-collared shirt. The remaining time we might meet changed to nearly three years ago. Barring a bit more gray in his nonetheless-thick hair, he seems to have not changed much from what he was in college. His way, too, has remained constant for these years.
He has constantly been frank and polite, and he is so today, like when he thanks the waiter whenever the person brings us the food and fills up our glasses of water. Nice” is a phrase that frequently appears when human beings talk about him. My Sports desk colleagues say he is popular in sporting circles for being a decent man. But interviewing him can be frustrating because even as he’s happy to talk, he’s guarded and does not reveal tons or provide good sound bites. As a colleague said, “he is a pleasing chap; however, interviewing him is like panning for gold”.
I congratulate him on his appointment, which he accepts without fuss.
Although he isn’t new to the Sports Hub function, he is excited because he now has the potential to “actually pass ahead and direct the delivery that manner”. The Sports Hub – especially the National Stadium – has had its share of challenges and horrific press because it opened in June 2014. The proceedings have included the negative first-rate of the grass pitch, a leaky roof, and a muffled sound system. There has been an additional body of workers’ morale issues. Much of that has been constant, and chief amongst his challenges now is ensuring enough activities and occasions to draw the crowds. HE COMES to the action with a unique heritage of handling sports at one-of-a-kind levels.
