EVERY year is filled with incidents — happy, unpleasant, fantastic, bizarre, mundane, unexpected, sad, glorious, devious, shocking, innovative, disgusting…. It’s a much longer list of adjectives, especially when you merge events taking place at a global level with the issues that you shoulder personally.
Depending on your glass half-full/half-empty perspective, you could either learn from experience for future reference, or be demotivated by what’s taken place.
As the clock ticks past midnight into the new year, how will incidents from 2024 sharpen and shape your view of 2025?
From personal to philosophical via poetic and professional, the comments from friends of STORM-ASiA carry hope for an optimistic world wobbling into the year ahead.
Prof Lim Soon Hock, Managing Director, PLAN-B ICAG
When you think of the impossible, nothing gets done, but when you believe in the possible, the impossible becomes possible to solve many of world’s problems in 2025.
Chong Huai Seng, Co-founder The Culture Story & Family Office for Art
Singapore will be celebrating its 60th birthday in 2025. As a member of the Merdeka generation, I’ve witnessed and participated in its transformation from 3rd to 1st world status in one generation.
PM Lawrence Wong, as leader of the 4th generation leadership, will be running the next lap with us, and he will be taking Singapore into a world of great power rivalries, regional conflicts and AI disruptions.
My wish is for him to have good health, infinite wisdom and to be able to inspire fellow Singaporeans to be more caring for others; and to be the best of themselves regardless of race, religion or class.
Laletha Nithiyanandan, Managing Director , Behavioural Consulting Group
The work I do is behavioural science based consulting and coaching for senior leadership teams. In view of the massive changes caused by AI, robotics and the way we work, I would like to help the leaders I work with to take a more human-centric approach and to use human talent more effectively. Basically updating the way they approach work to draw the best out of people and technology.
I am bit of a workaholic. So, in 2025, I would like to travel more for fun and leisure, make qi qong a daily practice, learn to play mahjong as several of my friends do, take long walks and make more time for family and friends.
Christopher Long, Founder, Azimuth Watch Company
Personally, working towards having more positive vibes.
And, globally, Trump had better deliver on his crypto vision and his boast to end the wars.
Dom Meli, Principal, People At Their Best
Bertrand Russell said the fact that an opinion has been widely held is no evidence whatsoever that it is not utterly absurd.
As we move into 2025, I am struck by how mixed up the world is, how truth has ceased to have currency that we can all agree on as a basis for cooperation and collective action.
Cooperation is an evolutionary imperative and today’s polarisation is an existential threat.
It is also an indicator of a Dark Age — opinion and superstition masquerading as fact. Little progress can come from this and despite the shiny trinkets all around us, very little innovation.
So, more than anything, I hope that we have access to a more universal planetary wisdom and that this ushers in for us better decisions about our future.
Wanting peace of mind has always felt like a regressive and conservative hope to me but now I understand that it is about faith that we are making good choices and that there is reason to believe in our common future.
On this basis I hope for peace of mind for us all.
Kenny Eng, Director, Gardenasia
My wish for 2025 is for businesses to put purpose at the heart of what they do.
Instead of only doing good after they succeed, let’s focus on doing good as part of how we succeed.
When purpose is built into a business, doing well and doing good go hand in hand, creating more impact and a better future for everyone.
Gerard Ee, Community Worker
I wish for the 3Rs of reconciliation, restoration and reason.
Dr Gerard Wong, CEO Salience Consultants, Father, Physician, Coach & Human Being
I wish that humanity will realise that collaboration is better than conflict, that peace is better than war, and that we are all beings in the same human race.
Janet Loh, Full-time corporate communications, part-time artist
2024 saw me rushing to meet deadline after deadline, and panicking at times.
My full-time work in corporate communications means deadlines are a daily affair and I should be used to them. But add that to deadlines related to my other life as an artist, that’s double the stress.
So, I will be a lot more discerning in 2025. I now have enough ‘street cred’ as they say, and experience, to be more confident of my style and pursue the direction I want. More importantly, I will muster the gumption to walk away from poorly organised shows that do not position me well, no matter how big or ‘representative’ the show might be. And I will overcome the ‘need to belong’ to certain arts groups or their major activities, to avoid chasing deadlines that are not worth the effort.
It’s about being selective and being bold enough to do your own thing.
Bernard Lim, Director, Advocacy and Communications, Dementia Singapore
2024 has been a very eventful year.
Grammy Award winner Richard Marx supported Dementia Singapore’s fundraising and advocacy concert in September at Our Tampines Hub.
This year also marked my second complete year in Dementia Singapore, a social service agency where I find the most purposeful and relevant reason to support and work in.
Professionally, I was invited to host the Pope Francis mass in September at the National Stadium with a 50,000 capacity crowd. It was an adrenaline and spiritually high experience.
Let’s smile a lot more and treat each other with greater respect and love in 2025.
Let’s stop all wars in the new year. The world is distraught enough.
Dr Sanjay Kuttan, Poet, Writer, Scientist, Philosopher
Love deserves freedom
Our fear of dying,
for those our loving keeps whole,
as our soul fears not.
Our soul meditates,
nestled in the heart of God,
loving peacefully.
Our peace resolute,
encircled by hopes and dreams,
of all those we love.
Our loves palmed forward,
guided by ridges and lines,
searching only truth.
Our truth yearns fresh air,
love trapped between rose petals,
plucked symbols of hope.
Our hope conquers fear,
courage needs no hostages,
love deserves freedom.
