Season 1 - Episode 15 | Creating Circles of Life with The Gentle Warrior: Mrs. Ivy Singh (Singapore)

Mrs. Ivy Singh-Lim is possibly one of the best-known larger-than-life personalities in Singapore. She champions various causes and walks the talk in living a purposeful life. Join Dr. Ramesh as she catches up with Singapore's infamous firebrand and Gentle Warrior in the lush, green paradise of BollyWood Farms, an organic farm Ivy co-founded with her husband Lim Ho Seng.

While there are many who do not agree with Ivy's views, which she expresses in straight and colourful terms, we hope you'll be able to hear the deeper message that lies beneath her tough talk and provocative views.

You're guaranteed a spirited, no holds barred discussion on entrepreneurship, women and leadership, spirituality, and creating a Circle of Life.  With characteristic authenticity and raw honesty, hear how Ivy cares deeply and fights for Singapore her country, her people, and for humanity.

To rejuvenate your senses and enjoy some amazing farm-to-table really fresh food, you're welcome to visit BollyWood Farms and the surrounding Kranji Countryside.

To learn more about Entrepreneurship with Dr. Ramesh, get your copy of The Big Jump into Entrepreneurship 2.0 on Amazon.com or www.Dr-Ramesh.com.

Host: Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra, Author, Podcast Host and Founder of Talent Leadership Crucible

Guest Speaker: Mrs. Ivy Singh-Lim, Founder, BollyWood Farms

#EntrepreneurialMindset #Entrepreneurship #Entrepreneur #Singapore #Success #Farmpreneur #OrganicFarm #Founder #IvySingh-Lim #Dr.RameshRamachandra #TheBigJumpintoEntrepreneurship2.0 #CrisisReadyMindset #TalentLeadershipCrucible #Thriving #AgeofDisruption #BollyWoodFarms #SingaporeNetballAssociation #KranjiCountryside #SCWO #LimHoSeng #KarpalSingh #TanLayKoon #Lim Ho Seng #GentleWarrior #GentleWarriors'Trust #CircleofLife

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Transcript

To rejuvenate your senses and enjoy some amazing farm-to-table really fresh food, you're welcome to visit BollyWood Farms and the surrounding Kranji Countryside.

To learn more about Entrepreneurship with Dr. Ramesh, get your copy of The Big Jump into Entrepreneurship 2.0 on Amazon.com or www.Dr-Ramesh.com.

Host: Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra, Author, Podcast Host and Founder of Talent Leadership Crucible

Guest Speaker: Mrs. Ivy Singh-Lim, Founder, BollyWood Farms

#EntrepreneurialMindset #Entrepreneurship #Entrepreneur #Singapore #Success #Farmpreneur #OrganicFarm #Founder #IvySingh-Lim #Dr.RameshRamachandra #TheBigJumpintoEntrepreneurship2.0 #CrisisReadyMindset #TalentLeadershipCrucible #Thriving #AgeofDisruption #BollyWoodFarms #SingaporeNetballAssociation #KranjiCountryside #LimHoSeng #KarpalSingh #TanLayKoon #GentleWarrior #GentleWarriors'Trust #CircleofLife

Ho Lai Yun  00:02

Hello and welcome to Thriving in the Age of Disruption. Today, Dr. Ramesh and I have come out to the countryside fringes of Singapore, and are walking into the lush green paradise, that is BollyWood Farms, an organic farm founded by Mrs. Ivy Singh-Lim. Known as the Gentle Warrior to many Singaporeans, she is possibly one of the best-known larger-than-life personas in Singapore. Born into a very wealthy family, she champions various courses and walks the talk in living a purposeful life. While there are many who do not agree with her views, which she expresses in straight and colourful terms, we hope you'll be able to hear the deeper message that lies beneath her tough talk and provocative views.

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  00:50

Good morning, Ivy, and welcome to Thriving in the Age of Disruption podcast series. I'm so excited to see you in person and to have this interview.

Ivy Singh  00:59

Ramesh, I'm delighted to see you too, because you're just as beautiful. You are a good friend and I have missed you. And it's a pleasure to see you again.

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  01:08

Yeah, I've missed you too.

Ivy Singh  01:10

I know. The feeling is so mutual.

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  01:12

I want to start off with having you introduce yourself to the listeners.

Ivy Singh  01:16

My first introduction is always done this way when there's a crowd. My question is, "Do you know me? And how many of you are Singaporeans and do not know me? Stand up and this will be the last day of your life." Because I carry a knife on my belt. I think I'm the most photographed, most interviewed woman on this island. I dare say.

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  01:41

Definitely. 

Ivy Singh  01:41

Even more than actresses, etc. because I have such a bad reputation for being not afraid of Gods, governments, or ghosts, the 3G because I'm the 4th G. I am the Gentle Warrior.

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  01:57

That's a lovely introduction. You are the 4th G, Gentle Warrior. Tell us a little bit about the inspiration behind that.

Ivy Singh  02:06

When Ho Seng and I retired, Ho Seng was the one who started NTUC FairPrice. When we got married, he's my second husband and I remarried at 34. I met him at a supermarket. 

Ivy Singh  02:18

I was actually married first time when I was 21 to a lovely person, my father was disgusted, totally disowned me. And he told me that "You shouldn't get married." I didn't understand why at the time because you believe in love and all that. So after seven years of being married, I decided to sack my first husband and live for the next seven years, hunting, smoking, foraging, fishing. So at age 34, one day, the good God appeared and said to me, "Now, if you continue in this way, you are sure to die of something." "Right. So what should I do?" He said, "You should get married again." So I said, "Okay, and how should I do this?" Because I'm super rich; My father was a big landowner and all that; So I would work because I have to keep myself busy, not because I had to earn money. And the good God said, "Go to the supermarket." So I went to the supermarket. And there was this man standing there, and the caption said, "Buy one, get one free." So immediately, I introduced myself and after three days, we got married. 

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  03:25

You're not joking. 

Ivy Singh  03:26

Yeah, one was drunk, and one was desperate. And plus one was his daughter. Anyway, she was 16. And I told her, I said "Sweetheart, I'm going to marry your father, so don't give me any crap, okay. Because if you give me any crap, I will get rid of you. And if your father supports you, I will get rid of him too." I looked at this kid and she thought, "Who's this monster in my life?" So there is it, that's the third chapter of my life. And after seven years, I thought I should divorce him too. Because men get boring too after a few years. I mean, you've seen it all. You've done it. How many more ways can you be excited, right? So you must remember, I'm from the Warrior caste, but I knew that Ho Seng is an accountant by training, and he knows how much money I'm worth. Right? He will go to court, and all the judges in Singapore know what a wonderful warrior I am. Right? And he will start crying, and all the judges will also start crying, right? And he will give the example of how I tortured him. He will say, "She calls herself a Gentle Warrior, but she's not, your honour. You must give full attention when she speaks. Even when I'm so dead tired, she would put two razor blades on my eyes so that my eyes have to be open. If I close them, my eyes will get cut, you know." So he will cry, the judges will cry. And they will give him half my wealth, right? 

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  04:54

Oh no!

Ivy Singh  04:55

Because the Women's Charter protects not just women, it protects the bloody men as well. 

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  05:00

That's right. 

Ivy Singh  05:01

So he will take half. So I am a very practical person. If there's one thing I've learned, it is that I have a powerful father. I don't need a powerful husband. I need a good husband. I decided not to divorce him. And this year, we're celebrating our 40th anniversary. So anyway, he wanted to do retire, blah, blah, blah, and all that. And we want to go to Perth and my best friend's husband had a heart attack. So one day I was flying home, opened the newspaper on the plane, and read about the Green Circle Farmer. There is a tender in September, so straightaway we tendered for the land and we got the land. We started the whole thing here in the year 2001. So it took me months to quarrel with stupid donkeys, running the bloody Agriculture Department that farmers are not poor so we had to change their rules, I said. I call myself, 'the gentle woman farmer'. Ho Seng called himself 'the gentleman farmer'. My friend, Betsy, who was the secretary of the chairman of the tobacco company where we all work, British American Tobacco, she said to me, "Ivy, your English is very bad. You don't understand the word 'gentle woman'. There is nothing gentle about you and there's nothing woman about you." So I said, "I beg your pardon?" And she said, "Please don't call yourself a gentle woman. Okay? Call yourself, 'the warrior' because your father was a warrior. So you call yourself the warrior, then people will understand why you are so feisty." Then 2001, this World Trade Centre happened. And my husband said to me, “Darling, stop texting 'the warrior, the warrior'. Okay, you'll be arrested as one of those martyrs or whatever?" So I said, "What shall I do?" He said, "Add the word ‘gentle’ in front of it." So that's why from then on, I became known as the Gentle Warrior. The ‘gentle’ is put in at the front. 

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  06:57

It's a racket. 

Ivy Singh  06:58

Anyway! Cheers, water! 

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  07:00

Yes, cheers!

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  07:01

That was an interesting introduction. Maybe I have two words - One is ‘charismatic’, and ‘visionary’. And that's how I would describe you. And the third word is actually ‘generous’. Because I've known you from way back. During the time when you started the farm, SCWO the board members, and you were just generous and welcoming. I think I must have been awkward there, being a little bit younger than the rest of them. Almost immediately, you asked me to come and serve in Netball Association. And that was great because in you, I saw a woman leader, who are just not up to forwarding the women's movement but who was also very passionate that we actually act on the words, that means we produce the results. As someone who is young and I had started my own company and was working for others, to me producing results was so important. I wondered, often, how did you actually become so skilled in producing results? Because like you said, you never had to work for money. But you did that to maybe contribute. So were you born with these skills? Or did you develop it?

Ivy Singh  08:15

I'm sure that first, fundamentally you must have it in your DNA. So whoever are your parents has got a lot of bearing on what kind of genes you develop. My young childhood was formed by my servants. In those days, we call them servants. Okay, so my father never told us who is God. He never told us "Don't do this," and "Don't do that." Neither did my mother. So my father was a very powerful person. He came to Singapore when he was 14 years old in 1920. And 29 years later, I was born in 1949. So my papa was, by the time I was born, one of the largest single landowner in this country. So when we were born, there were only rich landowner, farmers, kidnapper, and the bloody British. So you just drink Gin Tonics, speak like the Queen, and you know, about the British. The next group, the landowner, farmer, kidnapper. 

Ivy Singh  09:14

Kidnappers, very simple. Your servants and your bodyguards train you. So you tell your servants when you want to have a pee or a poo, you say "Heong Che, ngor aoi or liu." 'Or liu' means ‘pee’. 'Or si' means ‘poo’. One minute, two minutes, you don't come in three minutes, you are kidnapped! So, if my servant was looking after Mas Selamat, he would never have escaped. Right, she would have said "Say Chai, siong or liu le mm hou san mun, mou weng lei weng huoi, ngor chum chor nei tiu gau" which translated means, "Son of a bitch, you want to pee? Don't shut the door!" 

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  09:52

Wow. 

Ivy Singh  09:52

This is your servants, huh! And you want to drink you say, "Heong Che, mm goi nei lor  piu soi bei ngor, dor che." "Can you please get me a glass of water. Thank you." And her reply is "Chi gei lor!" "Get it yourself!" "Nei mo shau mo geok ah?" "You got no hands and feet?" "Nei feng tan ah!" "Are you retarded?" 

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  10:13

Wow. 

Ivy Singh  10:14

Okay, and your reply would be "Mm hai, Heong Che. Yat wei hou gou ngor lor mm tou." "No, Heong Sister, it is too high. I can't reach it." "Yi chee ngor lor pei nei, Mou gao chi ngor ah. Ngor mm hai hou chi nei gom lan tak han!" "Okay. This time I take for you. Don't disturb me anymore." 

Ivy Singh  10:33

Now, I also speak Hokkien, etc., because my Papa had six Chinese women. “Pai ngor, pai luck wa buoy ki liao.” That means he had a different woman and Fridays, Saturdays, I can't remember. Like God, he rested on Sunday. My father was a God to me. He could do anything. He could protect me from anything. We were rich enough to do anything. But the most important thing we learned is discipline. Because smart children usually are very, very naughty. So if you don't have discipline, you can never make it. We were disciplined. He never disciplined us. But the servants did. And the bodyguards did. Right? And if you report to him and say "Papa, you know, the servants beat me." And he asks you, "Why did the servants beat you?" And you said, "I don't know." And he said, "Okay, I'll ask the servant to come and tell me why he beat you." And you're petrified of the servants - You dare not tell a lie in front of the servant. That's why in schools in the old days, when your teacher beats you, you dare not tell your parents because your parent will beat you again. To me, I think we have lost this element of disciplining children. 

Ivy Singh  11:50

Okay, then I was sent to St. Anthony's Convent. At St. Anthony's Convent, your driver is being sent and deliver you to the nun. They open the door; they close the door. And you look around, "Wall is damn high." And you tell yourself, "Look, this is a prison. You cannot escape." Okay, so you will behave yourself. Alright, so the discipline there as well. They trained you. You ring a bell, you walk. You ring a bell, you sit. You ring a bell... I tell it was a school with fantastic discipline standards and values of charity of truth, etc, etc. And I think my father made the right decision to send me to that convent because when you're young, the most important thing is discipline. If you're disciplined, you can be trained to do anything. But if you don't have the discipline, you got a problem, isn't it? They make you pray all the time. You pray in the morning. You pray after recess, you pray... They make you pray so much that several of my friends became nuns. And I tell you something, if I had completed my education in St. Anthony's convent, I think I would have become a nun. God save the Convent, and God save the Pope. Because if I became the nun, I will ask the Pope, "Why is God a man? Jesus is a man, Buddha is a man, Prophet Muhammad is a man and Allah is a man, and we all say Amen! Isn't it?" So God saved all these people and sent me to Katong Convent. Now Katong Convent is also another beautiful convent with slightly different value system. Discipline, and they encourage you to sing and dance because of Katong Convent and it's got a broader sense of education in rounding of a person in singing, acting, and dancing. I think my greatest skills of singing, acting, and dancing and speaking were developed. 

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  13:47

What I'm hearing is that there were three core pillars to developing your personality and character. One was, of course, you were gifted by your parents, right? But then there was that early discipline, whether it was with the servants, or it was in the schools, and I think you're pointing to something very important here - You can be a genius, or you can be really smart, but if you don't have the discipline, you can't make anything out of your life. And yes, that's true. That's missing in today's society. People just don't want to give themselves to that structure called 'discipline'. Two, is ‘values’, about how you picked that up at St. Anthony's Convent, values of charity, being truthful. And then the second Convent, which was almost like the finishing school, which empowered you to express yourself, and to become the person with the skills in acting and dancing and singing, where you're very well known for being this exceptionally expressive person. 

Ivy Singh  14:53

My father, of course, did play a part. And what he taught us was about teamwork and who we are. The teamwork is this - When you ask him, "Papa, I want to climb this tree." He will never say 'Yes' or 'No'. He will ask you, "Why do you want to climb the tree?" And you say, "I am going to pluck that fruit." "Why are you gonna pluck that fruit?" "So that I can see if I can eat it?" So he said, "Well, do you need to climb the tree?" Then you look at him, "Papa, you think of a bird and can fly up there?" And you look at him and then he said, "Take a stick and throw it at the fruit and then it will fall down." But if you're a smart kid, you will say that "Papa, that fruit looks a bit soft. When it falls, it might break." So he said, "Well, ask your brothers to help you to hold the cloth so that the fruit drop."

Ivy Singh  15:47

You see, but in these days, when you look at the kids or when they ask their fathers anything - "Don't run! Don't jump!" Don't this. Don't that. Don't everything. I can't stand it. So who are we? We are super beautiful because we are mixed blooded. We are super smart. Because we are half Indian and half Chinese, the strongest mixture, I believe. We got super memory and all that. So how do you teach your child about who you are? My father was a Hindu. My first mother is Cantonese. My mother is Hokkien. And they all believed in whatever they wanted to believe. My father never insisted. So he built an Indian temple in Chander Road, the Sri Lakshmi Narayan Temple, a Northern Hindu temple. He built a Chinese temple in Moonstone Lane where I was born, he built a tomb for a Muslim woman, also in Moonstone Lane on the property we owned. My brothers all went to St. Andrew's school, because we owned all the land next to St. Andrew's school, next to the river, and he sent me to St. Anthony’s Convent. 

Ivy Singh  16:44

So we could go to church. We could pray to whatever, he never told us who to pray to. But he asked us this, every morning, you look at the Sun and then you ask yourself, "Who am I? What am I? Where am I? When am I? And why am I?" Then you realise that you are God. You can create. You can nurture. And you can destroy. It is called God the Creator, the Nurturer, and the Destroyer. 

Ivy Singh  17:18

Okay. But Hinduism is a first recorded philosophy of life. And it came to the conclusion that God created all of us. If you don't nurture when you create, you will destroy. Very simple. So when you come to that realisation that you are actually God. And there's a lot you can do. I am super rich. And when I die, I think I'd be even richer. So what should I do with all this that I have? I'm not children because I believe that the instruction from God not to eat the forbidden fruit is very simple. God didn't want us to reproduce like animals. Okay, if we were to reproduce, there was in a spiritual way.  So to me, I believe that I am God. And I can do a lot of things. I can create, I can nurture, and I can also destroy because sometimes, you need to destroy, to rebuild. 

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  18:19

That's right. That's really profound, how you've described your thinking around God, and the three aspects of creation, nurturing, and destruction. 

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  18:35

So Ivy, we heard how it was growing up, being connected to nature, seeing, and understanding that you're part of the Universe. And in my experience, I know that it's different from discovering one's purpose in a personal development program. The biggest issue about all this is that people think that just because they have discovered a purpose, and that's all they want to focus on, it's about themselves. But actually, part of discovering one's purpose is what we can do to contribute out there. So I want to move into a new conversation, and that is about your spiritual journey. Can you take some time to describe it for us?

Ivy Singh  19:17

I think that it is very well - Describing that people must first go back to really who they are, right, to the day you were born, to the background that you are from, then what you think going forward, you can do. Because unless you go back to really understanding it, and getting enlightenment, like what your role is, you could create a lot of havoc in the world. So at 73, I think I have finally come to realise my real role, and then all the time from young, I've been trained to start doing that. I hope by the time I'm 80 that I'll be fully enlightened. Another seven years to go. Yeah. After all Buddha died when he was 70, I believe that when you reach that level of enlightenment, you know it already. 

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  20:14

Yes. And it's time to go. 

Ivy Singh  20:16

Yeah. 

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  20:17

What you're also saying here is that it's a journey and we have to keep on that path. Because that's like the biggest objective to who we are and why we're here. And what we're doing. 

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  20:31

Your father, obviously, was an extraordinary entrepreneur, and he had an entrepreneurial mindset. And at some level, you have an entrepreneurial mindset. I think, actually, the entrepreneurial mindset is what we need in today's world of disruption because there is so much of change, and we can't cope with the change if we don't know how to adapt, to pivot, to be able to change our thinking. So what do you think is the biggest barrier for us to have an entrepreneurial mindset?

Ivy Singh  21:00

I notice one thing about Singapore parents, and Singaporeans, whenever you ask Singaporeans the question, the first word that comes out of their mouth is 'no'. That when I talk to my staff and ask them a simple question, "Why is this?" Their answer is 'No'. And that irritates me. I said, "It is not 'No'. Answer the question." "What time is it?" "No." I think it's the whole culture of the country. You must remember, with all due respect, Lee Kuan Yew was the very strong leader, and nobody's dared to say 'No' to him. So that's a culture that's inculcated in our education system, in everybody, and whenever they are faced with something, it is 'No'. But my father taught me the thing about looking at things and question why. So if your kid comes to you and say, "I want to do this." Instead of saying 'No', you ask your kid ‘Why’, and then you will be surprised that a kid maybe has a damn good idea that you never thought of. So if we don't bring children up to understand why are you doing this? What are you trying to achieve? How are you trying to overcome a problem? If you keep saying 'No', they will just sit there and be a donkey, or a robot. Many of the ones running many of government agencies are full of these people. They never have thought of what to do in a situation. And this is the biggest problem because they have never been running businesses. I collected rent when I was 14 years old. 

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  22:43

Wow. 

Ivy Singh  22:44

Yeah. Because both my brothers were abroad. I was number three. So I collected rent. So if you just imagine a 14-year-old collecting rent already, writing my father's rent receipts, I even calculated the milk man's delivery of milk to our house. In those days were how many chuppaks, you know. And things like that. And how much you pay the worker, and how to train yourself to talk to the worker. I know it's all from young, you're in that business already.

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  23:18

So what do you want the Singapore government to focus on? 

Ivy Singh  23:22

Singapore is the richest country in the world. Why should people's claim to fame is that they live poorly for the past 40 years. They should say, "I live poorly, and I am going to change it!. That's why I'm going into politics.” Stop telling me your father is a taxi driver. I am not impressed. I want to hear “My father is so bloody rich, so bloody powerful. I'm going into politics because I don't need money.” I should use my strength, my wealth, etc. to make first my community and then my country. I'm generous. Why not? Because I can spend all my money. The people who have thought about, oh women power and all that. Look at the British monarchy, Japanese monarchy, etc., girls cannot become the queen unless there's no boys, right? So from there already, you went and thought what equality? What women's rights? It is all bullshit. Okay. Look at our situation in Singapore. How many people do we have? How many women are in politics? We have a lot of smart women, but they don't want to be there because they know the system is not up to their value system. I would not go into politics unless the party that I joined is guided by my same values. And that is very, very difficult to find. If I can find, as I said, nine women who are exactly like me, rich, powerful, beautiful, not worried about anything, and have the same value system and also drink whiskey- 

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  25:04

Yes.

Ivy Singh  25:04

I would start a party. But it's very difficult to get nine other people to have the same value system as I have. And that's why I think a lot of women don't get married because it's very hard to find a husband, who has their own value system.

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  25:19

True.

Ivy Singh  25:19

It's very true because if you have very high value system, there's very few people who can match it. 

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  25:26

Going back to the entrepreneurial mindset, what you've pointed to is that it starts off with that simple thing, which is to just ask the question, 'Why' versus being stuck with it's a 'Yes' or 'No'. And if we learned how to think through the process, and to solve that problem, we'll become resourceful in life. We'll know how to manage risks, or uncertainty, and we definitely will know how to create value. As a 14-year-old, you had the best education in being the future entrepreneur.

Ivy Singh  26:02

And most important, you can smell a rat, and you can smell bullshit because we know the smell of cowshit, bullshit, chickenshit, or real shit or what shit. So nobody can give you any BS. Simple.

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  26:18

That's really interesting. You seem to be pointing to the need to be self-discerning, right?

Ivy Singh  26:23

The world is full of BS's, especially in a country like Singapore, or like carpetbaggers, from the West or the East, the North are all coming here, like sharks because they can smell blood. So you should look at all the women who are being conned. I watched this program on TV that day, a woman can transfer $300,000 to somebody she's never met. Why did she do it? 

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  26:52

Do you have any advice for young women aspiring to do something with their life? Or even women who are older who think that they have something in them and they want to express it out here in the world? 

Ivy Singh  27:05

Well, I don't think it's only women. I think we must teach children. We must teach children that they are born for a reason. So the first thing in the morning, jump up, look at the sun and say what is my role today, and then go and do what you have to do. Don't get up in the afternoon. This was something that my father never allowed us to do. If we sleep beyond 7 o'clock, he will switch off that main switch so all the air conditioners will go off so we wake up. So like me, I wake up at 5 o'clock every morning, and you meditate a bit and think about life, review what you think you're going to do for the rest of the day. So just encourage kids to love life. Every day, to say "What shall I do?" If you just teach children that kind of attitude, what I call the warrior attitude, they will all do well. And then the most important thing is they must always know that they have somebody to go to, who will seriously help them. 

Ivy Singh  28:04

So any woman who got a problem, or a husband who beats them or whatever, come and see me, that bastard will not live for more than a day to do it again. We one of the richest countries in the world. Whenever I hear of disadvantaged family, families who have no food, etc., it makes me sick. We have enough money in this country to make people live a dignified life and we can afford it. Very simple. Lawrence Wong has been nominated; I will be writing to him soon. "Give children all free education who were born in Singapore, right up to university level. If they can't get into your universities in Singapore because we don't have enough universities for our population, send them abroad, let them go, give them a loan, an interest-free loan. When they come back, they pay." That is very simple, just that. "Wipe out all freehold land and institute a 120-year lease so that the government controls all the land like China does, like Indonesia does, so that no family becomes forever rich." Okay, so that is why I have no children.

Ivy Singh  29:27

When I die, I have already started a trust called “The Gentle Warriors' Trust”. Not Ivy Singh's Trust, but there are a lot of other women whom I like to think are also Gentle Warriors. They don't have as much money as me, maybe 1 million or 2 million but they can also donate it to this Gentle Warriors' Trust. I have a group of very intelligent, experienced women who sit on the Board. And people always ask me about, "Ivy, how do you know they will do what you want them to do?" I said very simple, it is in their conscience. I cannot control their conscience. But I believe that there is always an equalisation at the end of our life. I believe that what you do in this life has a bearing on your future life. I think I must have been a very wonderful person in my past life. I have never turned on a computer in my life. This is my 3G Nokia phone to this day. I have never made a coffee in my life. I've never cooked in my life. I've never cleaned my shoes in my life. I am 73 years old. I am super bloody blessed. I believe because in my past life, I am good. Look around you. Look how many rich people are there left? It is getting less and less. So you know why? Because most of the rich people are evil and not thinking of the next life.

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  30:59

So when you look at disruption, one of the key things is that life is not going to go the way you expected it. And that becomes a setback. For some of us it actually becomes a crisis. How have you dealt with setbacks in your own life?

Ivy Singh  31:14

When I turned 50, my best friend's husband had a heart attack. So I thought I'm gonna get a heart attack too. I went to a few good doctors, especially the heart doctor who say "Look, stop being paranoid. Do an angiogram." So, I had an angiogram done when I was 52, I think. Then my eyesight. I had a cataract operation at 52. I got it a very perfect eyesight. My friend, a doctor, he told me to drink whiskey, instead of taking Xanax. He told me, "I'm a doctor sitting next to you on the plane, you won't have a panic attack, right? And if you do, I know what to do." So when I got on a plane, I said, "Now what should I drink?" And he said, "Your usual." So, six Whiskeys later, because it takes six hours from Perth to here. Every hour, one Whiskey, I arrived happy and not psycho. 

Ivy Singh  31:58

So I think when you're faced with an issue, you must get the right mentor, the right person, the right doctor, the right lawyer, or the right whatever. Don't listen to, especially women, who will tell you all kinds of things because they themselves are not strong people. So unless you speak to a strong woman who doesn't care about setbacks, like my eldest brother is a doctor, he always says to us, "If your left hand is cut, you still got your right hand." You look at people, they lose their arms, they lose their leg, they still make it. You watch on Netflix, I just saw a very interesting show called ‘The Orphans’, you know. Twelve orphans, and they formed a football team. They made it. They are smaller and they are all that, but they made it. And there's so many shows nowadays you can watch, which actually tell you that your mind is the most important. Rules and regulations must be there, right, but you must choose which rule and which regulation to follow. And if you think that that rule and that regulation is stupid, then you must get to the person who's making those rules to change it. For example, when Ho Seng and I took over this land, the rule was only one single storey house, no more than 185 square metres because our leaders, they think farmers are poor. Look at all the western farmers, they're super rich. They grow enough to export to us. We got a stupid mentality. We think money is important. Money is only paper, you can smoke it, you can steam it. Money is only paper. Okay, so these are the few kind of lessons that you must institute into people so that they don't have this mentality that there's something small, and then "Ah, it's the end." You must have the right mentor.

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  33:53

That's right. Just to recap. So, you're talking about the right mentor and also the right support structure and making sure that person is an expert is important. Number two is, don't be constrained by the 'No's'. So it's almost like reframe it and look at 'Why not', right? So, it all boils down to what is your perception? Are you doing enough to train your mind so that you can change your perception as things happen to you? And the last piece is you've given us an access to look at money. Money can be many things to us. But if we can just see it as an instrument, like it's just paper, we don't have to define ourselves and our self-worth with the money we have, or we don't have, or we can't have. Thank you for sharing your thoughts around crisis and how to deal with that effectively. 

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  34:47

Do you think it's possible to live a simple life? And how do you do that? 

Ivy Singh  34:52

A simple life is to get up in the morning and thank whoever you want to thank that you managed to get up in the morning. Stand up, then you just carry on and do what you have to do for the day or for somebody or whatever. When Ho Seng and I moved here, I created a ‘Circle of Life’. Wherever I go, I create a Circle of Life. You can even be in an HDB and you create a Circle of Life. Somebody asked me this question, how would you have started BollyWood if you were not rich? And I said, "Very simple. I would look around the circle of HDB. And then I'll look where I can make a pond, pick a pond, where I can make a forest, where I can make a farm, things like that. And I will take my excavator to excavate the pond." So, then they said, "Oh, but then the government will stop you." I said, "The government won't even know I'm doing it.” Because most of the time they're sleeping in the air conditioned offices. They will think I'm a contractor and I would have built a beautiful Circle of Life. And from there, everybody can do something." If everybody creates a Circle of Life, where all lives matter, not Black Lives Matter, Yellow Lives Matter, Women Lives - All lives matter. Like here at Bollywood, we do not kill snakes. So even if we see a Cobra, my staff are trained to say, "Go away, don't disturb us." If the Cobra insists and keep coming back, we then kill it. Okay, otherwise we don't, right. We don't kill anything unnecessarily.

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  36:28

I love your example of just being grateful for getting up in the morning, giving thanks to the Universe, looking at the sun, praying, and then reviewing what is it that we want to contribute. Yes, there is a simplicity in that. So that's great. But more importantly, I love what you described as a circle of life. It's almost to me an analogy to think, because if you look at any situation, whether it was in your case, starting this farm, so what's my circle of life? Who are the people around me or the HDB flats around me? And then not only are we starting to think around that circle, we are also starting to connect to the related networks, whether it's people or the resources or the support structures. The third piece is every single thing which is in there, people and animals and they all matter. So not to discount it. That's really inspirational. Thank you for sharing about the Circle of Life. 

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  37:32

You know, Ivy. When I used to serve on the Board of Netball Association, I was always curious about one thing and I'm going to ask you that question today. Why were you so passionate about Netball as a sport?

Ivy Singh  37:44

Must I tell another secret like Netball. Everybody thinks that I have a great love for Netball but let me tell you something. I don't believe in sport. White men swim. Black men run. Yellow man does Ping Pong. Big people do carry weight. So it's white monkeys, black monkeys, yellow monkeys, big monkeys. I am not a monkey. I do not play a sport. I was in Netball, not because of it being a sport but it was a woman sport. Because I believe very much that when the mother is healthy, and active, she will breed healthy, active children and she will create in her house, a circle of good health. So it starts with the mother. So that's why I was in Netball. And to me, I don't think people should play sport because they have to win. I think people should be in sport to be active, to be healthy. That is more than having to win medals. My success in Netball was because I realised that it is no point of us trying to be World Champion because we will never be but we should try at Asian level. And most importantly, it should become a grassroots game so that every woman has Netball. In a Netball, you can play in three generations, daughter, mother, and grandmother, which Australia does. You know, everybody can play. 

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  39:12

So it's almost like keep the focus. You have to know the big picture whilst you're also working on that small little goals from time to time and the milestones. 

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  39:27

How would you describe 'Thriving' or 'Flourishing'? 

Ivy Singh  39:31

I do not believe in 'Thriving'. I believe in living a good life and that women should just stop this breeding mentality? Breeding is not the answer for this country, Gods and governments want you to breed so that their business model will continue. Why do you bring more out into the world? We have too many people already and mostly stop breeding. Be selective.

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  40:02

Well, some people might say that in the case of poor people, in their communities, their hope and their aspiration come from thinking that one of the children will make it. 

Ivy Singh  40:12

In life, all of us have choices. 

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  40:14

And we have to lie in the beds that we make, right? 

Ivy Singh  40:18

Yeah, exactly. Yeah. 

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  40:20

And that's the point. Be responsible for that. 

Ivy Singh  40:24

Yeah. And I hate generating this mentality of charity, I don't do any charity, I never do any charity. Okay. I help you make your life a success. Make your life such that you can support yourself, you can support a family if you want to have children and all that. But you cannot, I also want to train you to make yourself the end of that- 

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  40:48

Situation. 

Ivy Singh  40:49

Yes, exactly. 

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  40:50

That's right. 

Ivy Singh  40:50

Do not promote poverty.

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  40:52

That's why I'm so passionate about having people know about the entrepreneurial mindset, because I think that's how you can train yourself to be resourceful. And to deal with any situation that you're dealing with. 

Ivy Singh  41:04

I've always said that the old days, there were women who will swim across the Causeway, right? Any women who swim across the Causeway, with one small rubber tube, right. I've always said that if I ran this country, I'll put a phone there. And when they reach it, they'll telephone me, “Miss Madam President, or Madam Queen” or whatever, I'll send my driver to pick that woman up and say to the person, "What do you want to do in my country?" And give them enough support that they can do it. They have that kind of mentality to swim across the Causeway with a rubber tube, they must have that drive in them to want to do something useful.

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  41:42

That's true.

Ivy Singh  41:43

Yeah, so I hate the word 'charity'. I think you should speak to the person, find out what is the core that this person is made of? And then tackle that core so that that person can do something out of that person's life?

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  42:01

What do you think about ageism, and the fact that people have a value system around what older people can do or cannot do? And especially with women. 

Ivy Singh  42:12

We have to be very practical also. Right? When you run a business, for example, I hate to employ Singaporeans, they got maternity leave, paternity leave, vaccine-ity leave. They got all kinds of leave. Everybody wants to work from home, how am I going to run my business when everybody works from home? If you're going to work for me, we also have to be very practical. 

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  42:35

Yes. 

Ivy Singh  42:35

In running a business. You see, most of the work has to be done with your hands, all this digitisation and all of this help you to simplify your work procedure-

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  42:46

Or to scale. 

Ivy Singh  42:47

Or whatever. But the point is, the work must be done with first, your brain and then your energy and your hand. The robot cannot just go and take the rice of the bin, wash it, and cook it. That's why this stupid thing about digitalisation and all this, you must be practical. You see, no Singaporean can do the work on a farm even if I paid $10,000 a month. 

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  43:11

That's right. 

Ivy Singh  43:11

Because they are not trained to do hard work. So ageism is the same, women's power is the same. You know, how strong you are, how old you are, and your nature of the beast determines the work the beast can do. And we are all beast so that's all, what's the difference, isn't it? So if you employ somebody you must look at the person totality. Don't look at the work and find the person to fit the work. You must look at this person and think in your organisation, where can this person fit. You know our driver; he's been with us for 40 years. He is still here but now he cannot drive anymore because twice already he nearly killed me. I'm sure I won’t be third time lucky so I straightaway tell him you cannot drive anymore. So he is our security. He does security, simple things like that, or pluck the flower and dry the flowers to make teas and all that. So you have to do that. Right? In fact, we employ a blind boy, and he worked for us for almost 10 years, he washes dishes. But we make it in such a way that everybody must scrape all the plates properly, stack it in the same size. So all he does is stack it in the same thing and he sprays and he bends into the thing and it comes out and he can sort it out. 

Ivy Singh  44:33
So you have to do that. 

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  44:35

Yes, you know, you got to re-engineer the tasks and activities for the target group.

Ivy Singh  44:42

Yes. 

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  44:43

That's the thinking that's not being done with when we say, "Oh, there are so many jobs that you can go and get”, but actually, for the young people, for the older people, for women, for men, it will be different things for different people, right? 

Ivy Singh  44:55

And I think this especially farming, our leaders are giving the impression, "Ah, all technology." Come on. The reality is hard work. Okay, no matter how high tech, low tech, whatever tech, it still needs manpower.

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  45:10

That's true. That's true. 

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  45:15

Do you have any advice or any thoughts about family businesses because I spend a lot of time working with family businesses. The challenge for family businesses is that they start off with a founder or an entrepreneur. And over time, they pass it on to their next generation. And usually at that point, conflicts will set in because of interpersonal relationship. And also the fact that they have to deal with the stresses of the business concern as well as their own interpersonal relationships.

Ivy Singh  45:50

Yes, first, Ramesh, can you tell me what is the meaning of family?

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  45:53

Sure. Oh, family? 

Ivy Singh  45:54

What is family? 

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  45:55

Oh, wow, that's an interesting question. Family would be a group which is constituted by birth, or sometimes through marriage. That's a technical/societal/legal definition. And then of course, some people would say that a family can be any group of people who constitute themselves as a family, because they are willing to have the values that you see in a family, which is to be loyal, to trust each other, and to demonstrate some aspects of altruism. And this is actually reciprocal because you can count on me and I can count on you and we will do something for the common good. 

Ivy Singh  46:36

You're absolutely right. Family is through birth, your blood right. So blood is cheap, you can go to the blood bank. And family is marriage, marriage is disposable. Now to my definition of family is "People who sincerely love you, who sincerely love you, and will do anything for you." So, as I said, almost all men are evil and most women are stupid so a family constitutes or relatives constitute of men and women. You think they really love you. You think they really care for you. Okay, so I am not cynical, I'm very practical. Family are people who love me. I have no children. My family are my workers, my dogs, my cats, my friends, people who love me and are true friends. I'm very happy to say that I have at least 10 to 20 people who really love me. And if I'm in trouble, and I call, they will definitely give me money and blood which your relatives wouldn't. 

Ivy Singh  47:45

I must tell you a very interesting incident about family business. You know, I have a group of women called ’Club 13’. When I was younger that we would play till very late. I can't remember whether it was at The Pinetree Club. Somebody had dropped me that I was waiting for my driver. And there were two old Chinese guys speaking in Hokkien and they looked at because I had a bit dark skin so they think that this is probably an Indian or whatever, who wouldn't understand Hokkien. So he was advising his friend. He said "Look, if you want your business to continue, never leave it to everybody." That means all your children is equal because they will close it down, because all they want is to take your money and forget your business. So he said, "you find one person among all your children who you think is going to carry on your mission and your drive and your values and then, you give this person controlling. And the rest have something so that if the business does well, they all get a little bit. But if the rest can kick this bugger out, this bugger is in trouble." When he was telling his friend in Hokkien, just as my driver appeared, I said to him in Hokkien, "You're absolutely right." He may have fainted, you know, he didn't expect me to say it. That, yeah.

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  49:04

Then that's the dilemma, especially I think, in today's modern world where parents want 'to be fair', or 'to be seen to be fair', so they go around just doing the equal divide. But 'equal', it does not mean equitable. Neither does equal mean a good succession. So-

Ivy Singh  49:24

You must pick your successor, who has the same values. Most importantly, your value and drive. You know, they can't fix it. 

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  49:34

Right. And maybe also the vision that you've created as a founder and what you want this person to continue with. 

Ivy Singh  49:41

Yeah, because very often you can have a few children, and they will all definitely have their own system. Because one might think “If I get 10 million, I'll be happy to live in Australia, or New Zealand or whatever, why I want to carry out a business, quarrel with somebody every day, and swear at the workers every day?” So it is the make up of the person. So your successor must first have your value system. And then have your drive, to see that you want it continue? 

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  50:12

That's right. 

Ivy Singh  50:12

Yeah.

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  50:13

And what about your father's business? I mean, what happened with that. 

Ivy Singh  50:16

My father was a big landowner. As I’ve said, the biggest landowner, the government acquired 95% of our wealth. Now the last estate was Simei, and it was six and a half million square feet. And only 30 years ago, they acquired 6 million square feet for $1 per square foot. Took all the sand and put in Marine Parade, right? That's why we have Marine Parade, and we have Goh Chok Tong. And I like Goh Chok Tong, he's a nice person, right. But on the half million square feet, my papa already had 100 houses, which were rented to the British, etc. But we were allowed to rebuild. That's why in 1989, I had to leave the tobacco company so I could come back to run the business. But my youngest brother had retinal detachment and was almost blind, so he and I built up the rest of our land bank. And then I wanted to go to Perth to live. What else is there to do, isn't it? So and that's where I found this land. So I believe very strongly that fate, your life, your bond, and it's already decided what you should be doing. So therefore, you should always pray every morning, look at a Sun, and make sure that you are guided to do the right thing. Yeah. 

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  51:41

Yeah. 

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  51:45

Tell me a little bit about your Gentle Warriors' Trust. Not only are you going to be moving a substantial amount of your wealth there, but you're having it be open to other people who may also want to contribute. What are some of the activities that you're doing in this? 

Ivy Singh  52:01

Basically, if you read the Constitution, it is set to assist women and to empower women. So for example, we don't do charity. So if you need money because you're in trouble, we don't do that. But if you need to improve themselves, even a simple thing, like getting a driving licence because this, they call it SkillsFuture. It's no BS. It is only $500. You know how much it is to get a driving licence? 

Ivy Singh  52:29

So say a woman comes to me and say, "Oh, I am going to need some help." The board will investigate and then find out what it is and so, why you want to have a driving licence. So you should say, "Look, I need a driving licence so that I can earn some money, I can drive my parents to the hospital, I can drive my kids, this and that sort of thing.” So there is a reason, right? So then we will lend her interest-free or maybe as a gift, it is not such a lot of money. And then that person will finish it. So we have already put a few women through many things, you know. You see that's why my Board members are very important. Because I don't want to decide who I can lend money to or help because I'm quite a bigoted person. For example, first, this thing means a lot to me. So there was this girl who applied to go to London to do acting. So I told my board member "She's so ugly. She's not going to be an actress." So this board member told me, "No, Ivy, stop being a bigot. You don't go to acting school because you're beautiful. You go there because you can become a good teacher." So it never crossed my mind that. There was another girl actually applied to go and be a chef. I was really biased, you know, but I should have put my foot down and said "No.” Because she actually walked out on us and never returned the money. 

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  53:52

Oh, wow. 

Ivy Singh  53:53

Yeah. I have like, this is my sixth sense. I am quite … When I look at you, I can either like you or I can dislike you, but I am trying my best. And I hopefully by the time I'm 80, this bad habit of mine-

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  54:07

You’ve transformed it. 

Ivy Singh  54:08

I would have transformed it, yeah. 

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  54:09

But that's good, right? Because that's a sense of realism. And also in ownership, because if you just allow things to happen, knowing that it's not going to happen, then you're not going to see the results. So it's a trade-off. 

Ivy Singh  54:22

And by the way, when I die, all my wealth will be transferred into the Trust. So it's quite a substantial amount.

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  54:31

Would it be accurate then to describe it as like a micro-credit kind of a cooperative, where people actually are also empowered to return it? Because they are not just like a one off-

Ivy Singh  54:43

Yeah, it's like a micro-financing thing. 

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  54:45

Yeah. 

Ivy Singh  54:45

You know, we would help the person. A woman who will buy a sewing machine also, we will help. We help in education, in skills, in whatever.

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  54:54

And how are you making this Trust better known to other people? 

Ivy Singh  54:57

Well, we launched it when I was 66 years old. 

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  55:01

Almost seven years now-  

Ivy Singh  55:03

It was quite a low-key king of thing. So this year, we're going to revamp it and my publicist has put together some interviews, etc. So we are looking to launch it probably later on in the year, maybe in September, we will relaunch it, get more publicity for it. 

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  55:23

Oh, lovely. 

Ivy Singh  55:24

There are a lot of women who, like me, can be married, not married, or whatever, who are rich enough and own this thing. So when they die, instead of having one 2 million, instead of starting the own trust over 2 million or they can donate that into the Gentle Warriors' Trust. So the first Gentle Warrior is actually Tan Lay Koon, my mother, and the second Gentle Warrior is Ivy Singh, then there'll be a third Gentle Warrior who wants to donate, even if you don't have such a big estate to put under your own name, then put under Gentle Warriors' Trust. 

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  55:56

Oh, that's a good one. 

Ivy Singh  55:57

They must also agree with the mission of this trust.

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  56:03

That's really commendable. When you look at the future, there is much more that we all can do. Because, you know, what did they were going to take when we die? 

Ivy Singh  56:14

Ramesh, it is not we. It's just a few evil men, and mostly stupid women. That's why the world is in this situation. There are very simple answers to eliminate evil, but we are not doing it. Stronger ones are not eliminating evil. They are allowing evil to continue. So that always, the third dimension of people is always being put down. There's this good, there's this evil. And then there's all of us here. So this good and this evil. If we don't resolve that level, this group will always be suffering. Very simple. For me, if I know for sure you are evil, I will eliminate you.

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  57:01

You know, listeners, there is that knife there. How old is it? 

Ivy Singh  57:05

Very old. When we were young, we were all trained with a very small knife. 

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  57:10

Wow. 

Ivy Singh  57:11

To clean your teeth, in your ears, scratch your head, and to throw at your neighbour’s chicken. And so this is what we are trained with when we are young. Then as you get older, you progress to a bigger one. When I was young, I could throw this and hit you right here because we are trained to do it. Because you need to be able to. Now, on this topic, in fact, this morning, I was trying to call the President of the Scouting Federation. 

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  57:42

Yes. 

Ivy Singh  57:42

Because she sent me a Guiding handbook, which is fantastic. Basically, our training by my father is the Guides’ training. And there's a section under outdoors, so they teach you how to make a fire, they teach you how to handle an axe to chop wood, and how to make bread without an oven. So you just take a stick, that mix the flour and put the thing around the stick and when you cook and it's bread. And my husband who is a Queen’s Scout, he is very good for that as well. I think all young women must become Guides and all young men must become Scouts. And I think the motto is so good. 

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  58:24

Be prepared.

Ivy Singh  58:25

You must be prepared for anything. And don't think that “Rain, ahhhh you hate rain,” you know, that sort of thing. There's a lot of things that you can do. Rain, collect water! 

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  58:36

Yes, correct. If life serves you lemons, make lemonade. 

Ivy Singh  58:40

That is it.  

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  58:42

It’s been great. It's an enjoyable session. I've learned so much. Thank you, Ivy for your generosity.

Ivy Singh  58:48
Ramesh, anytime. You're a beautiful person, and I know you tried very hard to make this world a better place, especially for women. Thank you for your time. And thank you for the opportunity to be on the show. I just hope that you won't be arrested for airing my views. 

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  59:08

Not at all. 

Ho Lai Yun  59:10

Thank you for listening today, we hope you've caught a glimpse of the strong, powerful woman who is Mrs. Ivy Singh Lim. We're glad to have shared with you her authenticity and raw honesty, and how she deeply cares and fights for Singapore, her country, her people, and for humanity. To rejuvenate your senses and enjoy some amazing farm to table really fresh food, you're welcome to visit BollyWood Farms and the surrounding Kranji countryside. 

Ho Lai Yun  59:40

Next up, Dr. Ramesh chats with another deeply spiritual and powerful woman leader Khun Tassinee Vajarasthira, the founder and chairman of Abbra Corporation, a leading food ingredients distributing company in Thailand. Be sure to join us again here on Thriving in the Age of Disruption.

Bio
Ivy Singh-Lim

Ivy, aka the “Gentle Warrior” comes from lineage that is half Rajput: her father’s ancestry descends from the warrior caste. She also gets her nickname from consistently fighting for what she believes in- usually nicely. If you’ve met her, you wouldn’t forget her. Born to a fortunate land-owning family, she got her morals infused from a blend of religions and philosophies handed down from her father, the care and support of two Chinese mothers, and her Convent school upbringing. Treasuring kindness, determination, friendship, and helping others less-fortunate, she has taken these values through a career in the tobacco industry, property development and into her “retirement” years on the farm.

As an outspoken person never afraid to share her thoughts, Ivy has championed many causes throughout her life. As the former President of Netball Singapore, she helped drive the sport to national and international significance. She has also served as Secretary and Vice-President of the Singapore Gardening Society, and Founding President of Kranji Countryside Association, helping to push to the forefront useful, healthy living and food security for Singapore. Catch her down on the farm and you’re guaranteed a spirited discussion about race, religion, politics, and all other taboo subjects - Be warned: no holds barred!

Both Ivy and Ho Seng believe strongly in living the good life, looking after friends and loved ones, and enjoying a life connected with their land, community, and country. It is their hope that through showcasing a rural lifestyle, they can help create a society that is more caring and civil with a focus beyond material assets. Their goal is to help develop the Kranji Countryside into a vibrant community with varied farms, recreational amenities, a farmer’s market, nature paths to explore the Singapore’s remaining wilderness, and bolster local food production.