Last of Caldecott (translated from my column in MyPaper, 30 Apr 2015) Star Awards 2015 ceremony, held successfully three weeks ago, is a highlight of our entertainment scene. I was privileged to be invited as the guest of honour at the first session and presented the Rocket Award to Shaun Chen. Three years ago, I partnered Huang Biren to present the Best News Award to Lan Liting and the Best Current Affairs Award to Huang Zhuoxiong and Ceng Yueli. It was my pleasure to acknowledge the achievement of an artiste who has improved by leaps and bounds, and to encourage journalists who have provided us with the latest and best news and current affairs programmes. This year's award ceremony also has a special significance as Mediacorp will move from the broadcast centre at Caldecott Hill to Buona Vista’s Mediapolis@One-North, making this ceremony the last of the Star Awards to be held at Caldecott. The Caldecott Broadcast Centre became operational in 1937 as the transmission centre for Broadcasting Corporation of Malaya. In the last 78 years, due to historical developments and organisational restructuring, its name has changed several times: 1937:Malayan Broadcasting Corporation 1963:Radio and Television of Malaysia, Singapore, RTM(S) 1965:Radio and Television of Singapore, RTS 1980:Singapore Broadcasting Corporation, SBC 1994:Television Corporation of Singapore, TCS 1999:MediaCorp Singapore As a child, I watched quite a bit of television and was familiar with the SBC and TCS. I still have a deep impression of programmes such as “Variety 83” 《缤纷83》, “Talentime” 《斗歌竞艺》, “The Golden Couple” 《天生一对龙凤配》, “The Perfect Match” 《金童玉女一线牵》, “Family Hour” 《三开时间》, “Flying Fish” 《小飞鱼》, “The Awakening” 《雾锁南洋》 and “Men in the Net” 《网中人》. I remember the first time I went to Caldecott Broadcasting Centre was in the 1990s for a radio interview to publicise the theatre productions I produced. From the TV screens and radio broadcasts, one could not imagine what the production and recording studios really look like. Actually, for a national broadcaster, Caldecott Broadcasting Centre is very modest and simple. Located near MacRitchie Reservoir, it is about 5 to 10 minutes' walk from the main road, and surrounded by terrace houses, semi-detached houses and bungalows, all high-end private residences. I remember when I was back in Singapore for my undergraduate summer vacation, a friend who was working as an assistant producer at the then SBC asked me to be an extra on a set, playing Edmund Chen’s colleague. The character had no name but had a few lines of dialogue. I had no prior experience in a television drama and Edmund Chen even told me off for blocking his scene! After becoming a Member of Parliament, I have more opportunities to go to Mediacorp. I mostly go on Capital 95.8FM and 938LIVE for radio interviews on topical issues. I have also been on TV programmes “Talking Point” and “Good Morning Singapore” (which ended last year) a few times. For “Good Morning Singapore”, I had to arrive at the studio pretty early around 7am but fortunately, Mediacorp is near my home. Besides these more serious programmes, I am fortunate to also have the opportunity to be invited to light-hearted programmes to show another facet of me, such as “Laughing Out Loud”, “The Chinese Challenge” and “On The Couch”. In addition, I have also participated in game shows “Gatekeepers” and “Don't Forget The Lyrics” to raise funds for charity. In 2010, I was invited on a major fundraising programme “Ren Ci Charity Show” and played the role of Zhu Yingtai (Felicia Chin)’s father of who opposed her marriage to Liang Shanpo (Elvin Ng) in The Butterfly Lovers. Back in 2000, for the theatrical production “Madam What’s Next” during the Chinese Cultural Festival, we received support from Mediacorp whose artistes took part in the performance – Vivian Lai as Green Snake, Yao Wenlong as Xu Xian and Chen Tianwen as Fa Hai. For the charity theatre production “Like Me. I Like” last year, I had the opportunity to act with Mediacorp DJs Foong Wai See and Kun Hua on stage. Life is like a drama and drama is like life. Whether at Caldecott or Buona Vista, a big stage or a small one, we should all play our own roles well. Let us put on a great show so that we will not live in vain.