SOUVENIRS featuring Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew's name and image as 'must-get' items for tourists visiting Singapore.
This was the brainwave of social entrepreneur Lois Ng who wanted to market souvenirs with a human element and thought of MM Lee as being most representative of Singapore.
But there was the daunting task of getting approval for her project and she was not confident at all.
After all, MM Lee's name or pictures had never been used for commercial purposes before.
In 2005, his lawyers wrote to two timeshare companies asking for an apology and damages after they had used a picture of MM Lee, along with a quote he once gave to the Reader's Digest magazine about his family holidays, on a brochure marketing their products and services.
But Ms Ng, 43, decided to give it a go. She wrote a two-page letter dated 3 Jul and sent it, together with a few samples she had made, to MM Lee's office.
'I figured it was a long shot, but decided to try my luck as I had nothing to lose,' she told The New Paper.
NO OBJECTION
Eight days later, she received an envelope bearing an Istana stamp.
She was almost certain it was a rejection letter.
'If he had approved it, I was sure there would be a thick stack of terms and conditions attached with the letter. But it was a thin envelope,' she said.
MM Lee's photo is printed on tiles about the size of 20-cent coins for the collection, which is called the Tile Story.
But when she opened the letter, her eyes fell on the words 'no objection' and she squealed in delight.
With the go-ahead, MM Lee souvenirs such as fridge magnets and name card holders have been on sale in five outlets since National Day.
Ms Ng, who has 15 disabled workers among her staff, believes her passion for giving the disabled opportunities to wean themselves off charity had struck a chord with MM Lee.
'The disabled are the poorest of the poor because of their handicap. But for some, their conditions are not that bad that they have to rely on charity.
'But they can't compete on equal grounds with people like you and me and are left behind by society. I believe they can be empowered to chase their own Singapore dream,' added Ms Ng, who set up gift-making company Studio You six years ago.
In her letter, she explained to MM Lee that if she got his consent, it would cause a phenomenal change to social entrepreneurship, which, she felt, is all about empowering the disabled.
'It takes a lot of courage for the disabled to walk away from the charity domain,' she said.
'Maybe it struck a chord with MM because when we were forced to separate from Malaysia, he had the challenging task of transforming Singapore when nobody thought we could make it.'
MM Lee's office declined to comment when approached.
But it is understood that he gave approval because he felt it was for a good cause.
Ms Ng said she conceived the idea about three months ago.
'I wanted to design something representative of Singapore for tourists to take home. There are buildings and flowers to represent Singapore but so far, there's no human element,' she said.
'And when you think about people who can represent Singapore, the first person that comes to mind is MM Lee.
'I pitched the idea to use his photos and tell the Singapore story using tiles, so I can't print his photos on T-shirts and sell them.'
Miss Ng said the letter did not indicate any limitations on what she could produce, as long as MM Lee's photos were printed on tiles.
She decided to print the photos on tiles about the size of a 20-cent coin and called the collection the Tile Story.
She likened the disabled to a tile which might not be eye-catching but can be transformed into something useful and beautiful.
And she rolls back her earnings into the business.
But Ms Ng is quick to debunk any misconceptions that she runs a charitable organisation.
Like other bosses, she demands high quality work from her staff.
'They deserve every cent they earn here,' she said.
A full-time assistant trainer at Studio You earns about $700 per month.
Students from the Spastic Children's Association School undergoing pre-vocational training work up to three days a week and get about $200 per month.
Miss Ng stressed that Studio You was set up based on three principles - courage, compassion and creativity.
'Everyone here has physical limitations and that's why I have to come up with flexible work schedules for different people,' she said.
'Some of them have difficulty sleeping at night and always come to work late but instead of reprimanding them, I encourage them and give them a longer period of time to overcome their weaknesses,' she said.
She also lets them take time off when they need to visit the doctor.
MUST-GET MOMENTO
Miss Ng hopes the Tile Story collection would eventually become 'must-get' souvenirs for tourists.
'In the past, it was the Merlion keychain. But I hope to change that. The Tile Story represents the creativity of our disabled.
'This is real, extraordinary and speaks of our tenacity,' she said.
'The Merlion is make-believe. Why not embrace the truth?'
She is hoping to obtain permission to create similar souvenirs of other founding fathers like Lim Kim San and S Rajaratnam.
Through her work, she hoped to raise awareness about social entrepreneurship.
'Hopefully, the industry can grow. This would be my Singapore dream,' she said.
Source:
http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg
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