THE STRAITS TIMES ASIANS OF THE YEAR

About:

• The Asian of the Year award recognises a person or people who have contributed significantly to improving lives at home or in the wider region.
  
  
• It is given by The Straits Times, an English-language daily newspaper based in Singapore.
  
  
• The award was first given in
  
  
• Past Recipients:
  • 2012: Then Myanmar Prime Minister Thein Sein.
    
    
  • 2013: Joint award for Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
    
    
  • 2014: India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
    
    
  • 2015: Posthumously to Mr Lee Kuan Yew.
    
    
  • 2016: Five Asian pioneers working in the intersection of technology and commerce were honoured as The Disruptors - the first time the award went to a group. Binny Bansal and Sachin Bansal, co-founders of flipkart were among the list.
    
    
  • 2017: Chinese President Xi Jinping
    
    
  
  
  

2018 Awards:

• People: The four men named for the 2018 award are as follows –
  • The late Mr Ng Kok Choong, the Singaporean paraglider who was acclaimed for his rescue work in the aftermath of the earthquake in Central Sulawesi;
    
    
  • Indian Navy helicopter pilots P. Rajkumar and Vijay Varma whose death-defying rescue flying saved dozens of lives during the floods in Kerala, India; and
    
    
  • Dr Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman for Indonesia's National Agency for Disaster Management (BNPB)
    
    
  
  
  
• Organizations: Singapore's Mercy Relief and the Jakarta-based ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management were also recognised.
  
  
• By honouring “The First Responders”, It is only the second time the award has gone to a group since it was instituted in 2012.