Governance and Board of Trustees

The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund is a Trust governed by a Board of Trustees, supported by a team of full-time staff headed by a General Manager. Our governance policy outlines the roles and responsibilities of our board. The fund was awarded the 2022 Charity Transparency Award (CTA) by The Charity Council The CTA recognizes charities with good disclosure practices and transparency standards.

* Board members do not hold staff appointments and are not remunerated for their board services.

* All trustees are appointed, by majority vote, for a term of three years. No trustee shall serve on the board for more than 10 years. The Treasurer is appointed for a maximum limit of three (3) consecutive years.

* STSPMF has in place a conflict of interest policy that requires, inter alia, that [Trustees], and any staff, volunteer and major donor, declare any interest in contracts of STSPMF or organisations that STSPMF has dealings with, and to abstain from discussion, decision-making and voting on the matter. STSPMF has no related entity. The Board ensures that there are documented policies for internal controls and processes, financial matters and regularly monitors the charity's key risks and expenses.

* STSPMF believes in upholding the highest level of integrity. The fund has a Code of Ethics for Board, staff and volunteers and a whistle-blowing policy.

*Board self-evaluation is conducted once in three years to assess the performance and effectiveness of the board. The board achieved an overall score of 97% in the most recent evaluation.

*STSPMF abides by an Anti-Money Laundering / Countering Financing of Terrorism policy, which sets out the measures adopted by the charity to guard against the risks of money laundering and terrorism financing in the course of its charitable activities.

 

The Trustees are:

 

Jaime Ho Chun-Wei

Chairman (since 1 February 2023) and Trustee (since 13 January 2023)

Jaime is the Editor of The Straits Times, where he is responsible for all aspects of the newsroom's operations and growth.

Before joining SPH Media Group in October 2022, Jaime’s career had spanned more than 25 years across journalism and the Singapore civil service. He served in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs between 1997 to 2013, overseeing issues such as bilateral relations with Europe and climate change, while also serving in Washington, D.C. and Geneva.

Jaime joined Mediacorp in 2013 as Associate Editor before becoming Deputy Chief Editor. He was appointed Chief Editor of CNA Digital in January 2016, a role he held until April 2022. Under his leadership, the team successfully navigated a period of significant audience growth, and the platform won several accolades. Jaime also wrote extensively at Mediacorp and fronted several broadcast events for CNA.

From June to October 2022, Jaime was also a Partner at FGS Global, a global strategic advisory, where he led its Singapore office and its operations locally and regionally.

Jaime graduated from the National University of Singapore with a BA (Hons) in 1997, and also holds a Master in Public Management from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in 2006.

 

Arthur Lang

Treasurer (since 20 October 2021) and Trustee (since 16 October 2015) 

Mr Arthur Lang, 50, was appointed Group Chief Financial Officer of Singtel on 1 April 2021. He also oversees the management of the Group’s regional associates and its portfolio of strategic telecom investments. He is spearheading Singtel’s efforts in GXS, the regional digital bank joint venture with Grab.

Arthur joined Singtel in January 2017 as CEO, International. Before joining Singtel, he was Group CFO of CapitaLand, where he also ran CapitaLand’s real estate investment management business. He was awarded the Best CFO (Large Cap) at the 2015 Singapore Corporate Awards. Prior to CapitaLand, Arthur was at Morgan Stanley where he was Co-head of the Southeast Asia investment banking division and Chief Operating Officer of the Asia Pacific investment banking division.

Arthur was named Chairman of the National Kidney Foundation in November 2020. He is also a board member of Bharti Airtel, Intouch Holdings, AIS, GXS Bank, Singapore Tourism Board and sits on the Advisory Board of the Lee Kong Chian School of Business, Singapore Management University. In 2018, Arthur was awarded the Public Service Medal for his contributions.

Arthur has an MBA from the Harvard Business School and a BA in Economics (magna cum laude) from Harvard University.

 

Karamjit Kaur

Secretary (since 1 October 2020) and Trustee (since 1 October 2020)

Karamjit is News Editor of The Straits Times. She has been with the newspaper since 1995 and was writing on aviation for 16 years before taking on a supervisory role in 2019.

She is now focused on working with journalists, especially the younger ones, to grow the newspaper’s reach across all platforms.

A National University of Singapore graduate with honours, Karamjit is a music lover and loves taking long walks.  

 
 
 
 

Lee Su Shyan Jeanette

Trustee (since May 2022)

Su Shyan joined The Straits Times in 2000. She previously headed the newspaper's daily economic and business news coverage since 2010. Under her leadership, the team has bagged awards for scoops and investor education. Trained as a UK chartered accountant, Su Shyan has won several business journalism awards at ST as well as from investor body Securities Investors Association of Singapore (SIAS) for her corporate governance stories and business reporting. She has also headed the Investor Relations and Corporate Communications functions at SPH. Presently, Su Shyan is an Associate Editor at The Straits Times where she focuses on investing issues and financial literacy. 

 

Jennifer Lewis

Trustee (since 30 April 2018)

Jennifer Lewis currently advises GIC on the strategic management of their internal and external communication activities. She joined the sovereign wealth fund in 2007 after more than twenty years as a journalist with television, print and online experience. She was the founding Editor of both Straits Times TV, Singapore’s first television news organisation owned by a newspaper, as well as STOMP (Straits Times Online Mobile Print), a news website that leveraged online tools to change the way news was received and distributed in Singapore.

Jennifer served on the Board of the Singapore International Foundation (SIF) from 2007 to 2015. She currently chairs the ‘Arts for Good’ Advisory Panel and sits on the Board Trustee of The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund. Jennifer also serves on the Board of OnePeople.sg, an organisation launched by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to champion racial harmony initiatives in Singapore.

 

Zakir Hussain

Trustee (since 1 October 2020)

Zakir Hussain is Political Editor and Singapore Editor at The Straits Times. He joined the paper in 2005 as a political reporter before taking on the role of a foreign correspondent, and was based in Jakarta as Indonesia bureau chief from 2012 to 2014. He was also political editor, foreign editor and news editor, before taking on his current role.

Zakir has a bachelor's degree in history and politics from Oxford University, and a master's degree in journalism from Columbia University, both obtained on a Singapore Press Holdings scholarship. He is also a vice-president of the Singapore Press Club, and a board member of Gardens by the Bay. 

 

 

 

Belinda Charles

Trustee (since 16 October 2021)

Mrs Belinda Charles has been working with the Academy of Principals (Singapore) especially in the area of mentoring, while being a part-time lecturer with the Psychological Studies Academic Group at the National Institute of Education.  

Mrs Charles came up the traditional route from a classroom teacher to become the head of department before becoming a vice-principal. After completing her Masters in Education under a Ministry of Education Scholarship, Mrs Charles became principal of Bukit Batok Secondary School for 4 years, then St Andrew’s Junior College for 12 years, then St Andrew’s Secondary School for 9 years. She retired in 2010.


As a long-serving school principal, Mrs Charles sat on several committees at education headquarters and was involved in important education review committees including Thinking Schools Learning Nation, leading to her being conferred the Silver Public Administration Medal. In addition, she was an adjunct lecturer with the National Institute of Education in the 1990s, the Regional Representative for Asia-Oceania for the International Confederation of Principals from 2008 to 2011, and also sat in various other committees including the Broadcast, Publications and Arts Appeal Advisory Committee, the SingTel Customer Advisory Council for Education, the Infocomm Education Work Group and the Speak Good English Movement.

 

 

David Hoe

Trustee (since 16 October 2021)

David Hoe is a business analyst with YTL Powerseraya & was conferred the President’s Volunteerism & Philanthropy Award: Leader of Good (Youth) in 2021. 

David is the founder of I Am Talented, which seeks to provide students from disadvantaged backgrounds with opportunities to discover their talents in non-academic pathways. During the Circuit Breaker period in 2020, David also founded Project Stable Staples, where they provide financial assistance for large families living in rental communities. Currently, he also wears the hat of a council board member for the National Youth Council & District Councillor for the Central Singapore Community Development Council. 

Prior to his current profession, David was a pioneering educator at Eunoia Junior College and a community partnership officer at the Ministry of Education, UPLIFT programme office. 

 

Deanna Ong

Trustee (since 1 November 2021)

Deanna Ong is Chief People Officer and Managing Director at GIC, responsible for Human Resource & Organization, and Corporate Governance for the GIC group. GIC is a global investment management company established to manage the foreign reserves of the Government of Singapore, investing in public equities, fixed income, real estate, private equity and infrastructure assets. 

As Chief People Officer, Deanna oversees people strategy to attract, develop and  retain talent for enterprise performance, seeded with the right values and culture  for GIC. As part of the Group Executive Committee, her areas of focus include talent strategy, leadership development, reward and engagement for organization effectiveness. As Company Secretary, she oversees corporate governance and client  relations. 

Deanna was previously Director Finance from 2009 to 2014, where she headed the Finance Group responsible for financial management across GIC’s portfolio, covering financing arrangements for assets, tax planning, investment holding structures, accounting and management of revenue and expenditure. 

Deanna is a board member of Swiss Re Ltd, and an advisory board member of  Nanyang Business School. She holds a Bachelor of Accountancy from the Nanyang Technological University of Singapore and completed the Stanford Executive Programme.

 

 

Amanda Chong

Trustee (since 16 November 2021)

Amanda Chong is a lawyer trained in Cambridge and Harvard, who writes on her lunch breaks. She was the top candidate at the Singapore Bar in 2013 and has served on the United Nations Expert Group on Trafficking in Persons. She is currently a Deputy Senior State Counsel at the Attorney-General’s Chambers, and is appointed to the Panel of Advisers to the Youth Court. 

Amanda’s poetry has been engraved on the Marina Bay Helix Bridge and included in the Cambridge International GCSE syllabus. Her first collection of poetry, “Professions”, was shortlisted for the 2018 Singapore Literature Prize. She was playwright for the musical “The Feelings Farm” produced by the Esplanade in 2021. 

Amanda also co-founded ReadAble, a non-profit which aims to improve social mobility by empowering children and migrant women in low-income communities with literacy. She was awarded the President’s Scholarship in 2008 and the Singapore Youth Award in 2018.

 

 

 

 

Key Management

Lau Hui Ling

General Manager (since June 2023)

Hui Ling leads the team at The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund. Prior to this, she held different commercial roles in the airline industry, spanning across planning, business development, project management and marketing. 


Hui Ling has a Bachelor of Social Sciences (Honours) from National University of Singapore.

 

CONTACT US

[email protected] The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund
1000 Toa Payoh North
News Centre
Singapore 318994