chilled out with friends last night at this sweet new place called wine flair @ thomson, located along thomson rd (duh!).. instead of the usual thomson prata place, we decided to give this place a try.. turns out it was pretty good.. they played oldies and served good food and drinks.. found out to my surprise that sussie and andrew lee broke up a month and a half back, always thought they were an item, well fortunately she seemed to be taking it very well last night.. things werent too chummy between leow and his gal too.. while walking back to our cars, she tripped while walking, then broke down in front of sussie, leow was nonchalant, fucking de javu i tell ya.. more evidence that august has been a fucked up month for relationships sigh.. me, baey, yeelin, now sussie and leow? how fucked up can it get in a month?.. i guess it must be some kind of renewal thingy eh, a time when everybody's in back in the pot again haha
ok enough of bitching and whining! the topic of the day actually is hon sui sen.. since i've been studyin in hss library the past week, i decided to check out who this guy really is..

wikipedia search return:
Hon Sui Sen (Chinese: 韩瑞生, b. 1916, d. 1983) was born in Penang in the British Straits Settlements and was educated at Saint Xavier's Institution. Hon was top-placed in the 1932 Senior Cambridge Certificate Examination. In 1935, he commenced studies at Raffles College, Singapore, graduating in 1938 with a Class I Diploma in Science.

After graduation, Hon entered the Straits Settlements Civil Service as a Police Court Magistrate. Following this, he assumed responsibilities as a Deputy Collector of Land Revenue prior to the Japanese Occupation of Malaya and Singapore. After the War, Hon remained with the Land Office and by 1957 had become Land Commissioner. In 1960, Hon was attached to the World Bank for an economic management course, where he met Albert Winsemius. Dr Winsemius led the United Nations Survey Mission to Singapore in late 1960, and was to play a major role in the formulation of Singapore's national economic development strategy.

Hon returned to serve as the first Chairman of the Singapore Economic Development Board or EDB (1961-1968), and then as the Chairman of the Development Bank of Singapore or DBS (1968-70). He was also council member of the Singapore Institute of Management from 1965 to 1968. Hon formally retired from the Civil Service in 1965, but his involvement in Singapore's economic development continued unabated. In 1970, Hon succeeded Goh Keng Swee as Minister of Finance and served in that capacity for 13 years until 1983. In 1982, Hon was named the Economic Minister of the Year by the Euromoney magazine.

As Chairman of the EDB (founded August 1, 1961), Hon played a key role in the implementation of Singapore's industrialisation strategy, with the Jurong Industrial Estate (JIE) as the first major project. Sited on swamplands in the west of Singapore, the JIE soon became the centrepiece of an industrialisation programme that stretched from garments and toys to petrochemicals and electronics. The first factory in Jurong, the National Iron and Steel Mill, was opened on August 2, 1963. By 1968, there were some 300 factories employing 21,000 people in Jurong. In conjunction with the development of the industrial estate, satellite towns were built in the west of Singapore, transforming the Jurong area into a centre of both industrial and residential development.

During his time with DBS, Hon was a supporter of the establishment of the Asian Dollar Market and thus played a key role in the development of Singapore's financial services industry.

Subsequently as Finance Minister, he established the Bases Economic Conversion Department to oversee the conversion and commercialisation of lands and facilities that had been left behind by the British military following their withdrawal in 1968. Hon also played a major role in the development of Singapore's tourism industry, beginning with the transformation of Pulau Blakang Mati, an previously fortified island off the southern coast of Singapore, into a resort destination under the new appellation of Sentosa Island.

Hon passed away while in office as Minister of Finance on October 14, 1983.

There! to all the HON-ny bastards out there haha, ya learn something new everyday! haha.. turns out he's names on some old dollar bills too.. hope it brings me good fortune for the midterms then!