Blog

[SINGAPORE] Journalists from The Business Times were recognised for their work over the past year at SPH Media’s English, Malay, Tamil Media (EMTM) annual awards on Friday (Apr 4).

Property correspondent Jessie Lim was awarded BT’s Story of the Year for her scoop related to Singapore’s largest money laundering case, where property agents and bankers gave and received hefty kickbacks to close luxury property deals with wealthy Chinese buyers.

Lim previously won Young Journalist of the Year in 2024, for her coverage on Singapore’s billion-dollar money laundering bust.

Said Lim: “I’m very grateful to the editors for the recognition, and this story felt like a team effort because some of the individuals I spoke to were introduced by fellow reporters.”

“Something that was different about this story was that it was mostly based on anonymous sources, because of the sensitive nature. My bosses made the call to allow some of them to be unnamed, to encourage them to be more open in their sharing,” she added.

BT’s Commentary/Feature of the Year went to banking journalist Tan Nai Lun, for her story exploring how Singaporeans increasingly view Malaysia as a prospective destination to retire due to its proximity to the Republic, the slipping ringgit and the rising cost of living in Singapore.

This is Tan’s first award from EMTM. The story was written for Brunch, BT’s weekend long read – out of her usual banking and finance coverage.

“I’m very thankful for the editors who helped me sharpen my angle to build a stronger story,” she said.

Her feature was borne out of a conversation with a former senior colleague, who wanted to eventually retire in Malaysia, and other acquaintances with retirement plans set for the country.

BT editor Chen Huifen said that she is proud of the winners and those who were shortlisted.

“The annual awards remind us that whatever role we play in the newsrooms can have an enlarged impact on the product we deliver,” she said.

“We may highlight the creators today, but we recognise that every creative piece of work is supported by many other people who made it possible.”

This year, each newsroom came up with three awards for their journalists, and each winner took away a trophy and S$2,000 in cash.

Besides the two awards above, BT also featured a third category: the Excellence Awards. These were given to four stories, and the journalists behind each winning story were awarded S$500. These winners include:

• A team of four who produced an interactive graphic that illustrates the cost breakdown and retail price of a Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid in Singapore, as well as price comparisons with Hong Kong and New York;

• Senior property correspondent Kalpana Rashiwala for her series of five Good Class Bungalow (GCB) transaction stories, reporting on the recent movements in the GCB market;

• A team of seven journalists, including BT’s Asean correspondents, who worked on a package of stories and infographics on the global chip war, exploring where various countries’ stand in the boom in cutting-edge chips and the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence, and;

• Vietnam correspondent Jamille Tran for her story on Vietnam’s death-row property mogul, Truong My Lan, and her efforts to repay hefty debts in a last-ditch effort to avoid execution.

Separately, the inaugural Editor-in-Chief (EIC) Award was presented to The Straits Times’ Story of the Year – “Stateless in Singapore”.

Wong Wei Kong, EMTM editor-in-chief, said: “The EIC Award recognises the best of our journalism for the year in both excellence and impact but, just as importantly, in representing most strongly the purpose and intent of the newsroom to connect with its audience.”

The annual ceremony honours the best work by journalists of the EMTM group in the past year. The group encompasses BT, ST, Berita Harian, Tamil Murasu, Tech in Asia and SPH Radio.