Latest news with #JetstarAsia
The Star
19-07-2025
- Business
- The Star
Runway widens for SIA as Jetstar Asia exits amid aviation turbulence
SINGAPORE: Escalating tensions between Israel and Iran and the tragic crash of Air India Flight AI171 have roiled the global aviation industry and clouded the operational outlook for many airlines, including major carriers like Singapore Airlines (SIA). Yet there could be a silver lining for the national airline amid the turbulence, following the closure of Singapore-based budget carrier Jetstar Asia. On June 12, an Air India plane bound for London crashed outside the perimeter of India's Ahmedabad airport, resulting in at least 271 casualties. The crash could have an impact on SIA, as it holds a 25.1 per cent stake in Air India, following the carrier's merger with Vistara, another Indian airline, in November 2024. Before the merger, Vistara was jointly owned by Tata Sons and SIA. A day later, on June 13, geopolitical tensions rose sharply when Israel launched air strikes on Iran, with Iran subsequently retaliating. The attacks, which continued over the weekend, sent oil prices surging as much as 7 per cent on June 13 before partially retreating. Volatile oil prices could have a direct impact on airlines, including SIA, as jet fuel, derived from oil, is its largest operating expense. US airline shares fell, hit by worries of a broad and protracted Middle East conflict. Shares of American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines all finished lower on June 13 before recovering on June 16. SIA shares fell around 1.3 per cent on June 13 to $6.94. They closed lower at $6.88 on June 17. Despite the uncertain outlook, there are unique growth opportunities for SIA, following Jetstar Asia's June 11 announcement that it will close on July 31. SIA will reportedly ramp up flights to key Asian destinations after Jetstar Asia ceases operations. Scoot, SIA's low-cost subsidiary, plans to launch new flights to Okinawa, Japan, and Labuan Bajo, Indonesia. This bodes well for SIA, as Scoot is now well positioned to capture market share following Jetstar Asia's exit, said Morningstar director Lorraine Tan. Maybank analyst Eric Ong said: 'The exit of Jetstar Asia may bring some reprieve in the competitive low-cost carrier market in terms of load factor and yield.' With one less airline operating, there will be fewer available seats, which may lead to higher load factors for SIA and Scoot as more passengers fly on existing flights. In addition, the reduced competition could allow the airlines to stabilise or even increase ticket prices, leading to improved yields and profitability. Jetstar Asia operated around 180 weekly flights from Changi Airport and carried 2.3 million passengers in 2024. Its exit creates a significant gap in the market – one that competitors like Scoot are well placed to fill. For the year ended March 31, SIA and Scoot carried a record 39.4 million passengers. Morningstar's Tan noted that while the exit of Jetstar Asia will have a more material impact on SIA than the crash of the Air India flight and Israel-Iran conflict, oil prices may stay elevated while fighting continues. 'Increased market share and reduced competition could be offset by higher fuel costs and increased associate losses (in 2025),' she said. DBS Bank analyst Jason Sum noted that SIA remains 'relatively insulated' from the rise in Brent crude and jet fuel prices, having hedged around 40 per cent of its near-term fuel requirements. SIA uses a fuel-hedging policy to manage the volatility of oil prices. The higher fuel cost could also be partially mitigated by a weaker US dollar, added OCBC Bank's head of investment research Carmen Lee. In any case, analysts from energy research company Rystad Energy noted that oil prices might already be stabilising, rather than escalating further. For now, the conflict appears likely to be contained, the analysts said, projecting that oil prices will be capped at below US$80 a barrel. The price of Brent crude moderated to hover between US$73 and US$74 a barrel on June 16, after hitting US$78 on June 13. But airlines' growth can also be hit by souring consumer sentiment, if people cut back on their travel plans because of rising tensions in the Middle East, OCBC's Lee said. DBS' Sum also noted that the Air India incident could weigh on consumer perception and potentially slow the airline's transformation. 'This could result in a moderately larger share of losses for SIA, although we do not expect a material impact on SIA's bottom line at this stage,' he said. - The Straits Times/ANN
The Star
19-07-2025
- Business
- The Star
‘May you find rainbows in your skies': Outpouring of support for Jetstar Asia staff as closure looms
SINGAPORE: Soon after news broke in June about the closure of low-cost carrier Jetstar Asia, flight attendant Wayne Lee started receiving small gifts and notes from passengers. The in-flight customer service manager was so moved by this that he now keeps the notes with him at all times, tucked into his cabin bag. 'It's a really warm gesture,' Lee told The Straits Times. He said the kindness of passengers has helped him cope with an uncertain future. Wayne Lee was so moved by the gifts from passengers that he now keeps the notes with him at all times, tucked into his cabin bag. - Photo: ST The Singapore-based airline announced on June 11 that it would cease operations on July 31 – more than 20 years after its maiden flight in December 2004. The final flight – from Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila – is scheduled to land at Changi Airport at 9.30pm. More than 500 employees will be laid off when the airline closes. 'I had a sinking feeling,' Lee said, describing how he felt when he heard about the airline's closure.'I'm thinking about my future,' said the 42-year-old Malaysian, who has been a flight attendant since he joined Jetstar Asia in December 2011. Wayne Lee, 42, an in-flight customer service manager with Jetstar Asia, shows the note a passenger left for him. - Photo: ST When asked whether he intends to remain in the industry, his answer was unequivocal: 'I will. I must'. Lee said many Jetstar Asia employees have received an outpouring of support from passengers since June 11. 'It's been really heartwarming.' One note in particular, given to him by a family flying to Krabi, brought tears to his eyes, Lee said. His voice shook as he read the note aloud: 'Thank you for showing up and serving us with a smile despite the heartbreaking and uncertain news. 'We appreciate your dedication to ensuring our safety and comfort throughout the flight. The skies are blue and broad. May you always find rainbows in your skies.' 'I love you, bro!' Captain Roy Agarrado, 57, has been a pilot at Jetstar Asia for 18 years. - Photo: ST Captain Roy Espinosa Agarrado, 57, has been a pilot for 35 years, including 18 with Jetstar Asia. The affable aviator told ST that on a recent flight to Bali, a passenger shouted: 'I love you, bro!' This was after Capt Agarrado had made an announcement thanking passengers for supporting Jetstar Asia. His response? 'Bro, I love you too!' This lightened the mood and put passengers at ease, Capt Agarrado said. It is his habit to banter with passengers and to make announcements from outside the cockpit, preferring to use the PA system that the crew uses. Jetstar Asia shared pictures of the small gifts and many notes its flight and cabin crew have received. - Photo: Jetstar Asia On a recent flight, he told passengers: 'Do you have your boarding passes? Can you just wave it in the air? Save them – in 10 years, you can sell that.' Capt Agarrado, a Filipino, started his career in 1990, flying in the Philippine Air Force for a decade. He then joined two commercial airlines before moving to Jetstar Asia in 2007. On June 10, Capt Agarrado said his pilot chat group on WhatsApp lit up with messages discussing scheduling changes the next day. Jetstar Asia had cancelled seven flights from Changi Airport on June 11 and re-timed another seven. Jetstar Asia staff have received an outpouring of support from passengers as its closure looms. - Photo: Jetstar Asia When his First Officer asked his thoughts, Captain Agarrado told him not to worry. 'I'm pretty sure the company is stable,' he recalls saying. He was woken up by his wife the next morning. She was in tears, having seen the airline's closure on the news. 'Shivers went down my spine,' said Capt Agarrado, a father of three. Jetstar Asia shared with ST pictures of the small gifts and many notes – and even drawings from young passengers – its flight and cabin crew have received, including biscuits, chocolates, pastries and sweets. 'Wishing all of you strength,' one note read. 'This may be a difficult time for you, but every cloud has a silver lining... Thank you for your service and hospitality,' another said. Yet another note said: 'Wherever life takes you next, I hope it's first class.' - The Straits Times/ANN
AsiaOne
19-07-2025
- Business
- AsiaOne
'May you find rainbows in your skies': Outpouring of support for Jetstar Asia staff as closure looms, Singapore News
SINGAPORE - Soon after news broke in June about the closure of low-cost carrier Jetstar Asia, flight attendant Wayne Lee started receiving small gifts and notes from passengers. The in-flight customer service manager was so moved by this that he now keeps the notes with him at all times, tucked into his cabin bag. "It's a really warm gesture," Lee told The Straits Times. He said the kindness of passengers has helped him cope with an uncertain future. The Singapore-based airline announced on June 11 that it would cease operations on July 31 - more than 20 years after its maiden flight in December 2004. it would cease operations on July 31. The final flight - from Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila - is scheduled to land at Changi Airport at 9.30pm. More than 500 employees will be laid off when the airline closes. "I had a sinking feeling," Lee said, describing how he felt when he heard about the airline's closure. "I'm thinking about my future," said the 42-year-old Malaysian, who has been a flight attendant since he joined Jetstar Asia in December 2011. When asked whether he intends to remain in the industry, his answer was unequivocal: "I will. I must". Lee said many Jetstar Asia employees have received an outpouring of support from passengers since June 11. "It's been really heart-warming." One note in particular, given to him by a family flying to Krabi, brought tears to his eyes, Lee said. His voice shook as he read the note aloud: "Thank you for showing up and serving us with a smile despite the heartbreaking and uncertain news. "We appreciate your dedication to ensuring our safety and comfort throughout the flight. The skies are blue and broad. May you always find rainbows in your skies." 'I love you, bro!' Captain Roy Espinosa Agarrado, 57, has been a pilot for 35 years, including 18 with Jetstar Asia. The affable aviator told ST that on a recent flight to Bali, a passenger shouted: "I love you, bro!" This was after Capt Agarrado had made an announcement thanking passengers for supporting Jetstar Asia. His response? "Bro, I love you too!" This lightened the mood and put passengers at ease, Capt Agarrado said. It is his habit to banter with passengers and to make announcements from outside the cockpit, preferring to use the PA system that the crew uses. On a recent flight, he told passengers: "Do you have your boarding passes? Can you just wave it in the air? Save them - in 10 years, you can sell that." Capt Agarrado, a Filipino, started his career in 1990, flying in the Philippine Air Force for a decade. He then joined two commercial airlines before moving to Jetstar Asia in 2007. On June 10, Capt Agarrado said his pilot chat group on WhatsApp lit up with messages discussing scheduling changes the next day. Jetstar Asia had cancelled seven flights from Changi Airport on June 11 and re-timed another seven. When his First Officer asked his thoughts, Captain Agarrado told him not to worry. "I'm pretty sure the company is stable," he recalls saying. He was woken up by his wife the next morning. She was in tears, having seen the airline's closure on the news. "Shivers went down my spine," said Capt Agarrado, a father of three. Jetstar Asia shared with ST pictures of the small gifts and many notes - and even a drawing from young passengers - its flight and cabin crew have received, including biscuits, chocolates, pastries and sweets. "Wishing all of you strength," one note read. "This may be a difficult time for you, but every cloud has a silver lining... Thank you for your service and hospitality," another said. Yet another note said: "Wherever life takes you next, I hope it's first class." This article was first published in The Straits Times . Permission required for reproduction. [[nid:718999]]
Straits Times
19-07-2025
- Climate
- Straits Times
Damage mounts in South Korea as torrential rains enter fourth day
Find out what's new on ST website and app. Rain will last until July 21 in some areas, weather officials said, urging extreme caution against the risk of landslides and flooding. SEOUL - Torrential rains that lashed South Korea for a fourth day on July 19 kept nearly 3,000 people from returning to their homes, while livestock were stranded up to the neck in rising waters as the death toll reached four with two missing, authorities said. Rain will last until July 21 in some areas, weather officials said, urging extreme caution against the risk of landslides and flooding, with warnings across most of the nation. By 6am local time on July 19, 2,816 people were still out of their homes, the interior ministry said, from a total of more than 7,000 evacuated during the prior days of heavy rain, in which four have died and two are missing. Rainfall since July 16 reached a record of more than 500mm at Seosan, in the South Chungcheong province south of the capital, Seoul, it added. Elsewhere in the province cows were desperately trying to keep their heads above water after sheds and stables flooded. The tally of water-damaged structures stood at more than 641 buildings, 388 roads and 59 farms, the ministry said. Rains were also expected in neighbouring North Korea. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore A deadly cocktail: Easy access, lax attitudes driving Kpod scourge in S'pore Singapore 'I thought it was an April Fool's joke': Teen addicted to Kpods on news that friend died World Trump administration moves to release Epstein case transcripts amid public scrutiny Singapore 'May you find rainbows in your skies': Outpouring of support for Jetstar Asia staff as closure looms Singapore New auto pet wash service in Buona Vista draws flak, but firm stands by its safety Singapore 314 suicides reported in Singapore in 2024, remains leading cause of youth deaths Asia 'Guardian angels': Taiwan's dementia-friendly village promotes ageing in place Life US tech firm launches probe into Coldplay 'kiss cam' couple after clip goes viral From July 20 to 22, 150 mm to 200 mm of rain could fall in some northern areas, rising to 300 mm in some remote regions, the weather agency said, according to state newspaper Rodong Sinmun. REUTERS
Straits Times
19-07-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
Don't call me a motivational speaker: Why Adam Khoo has moved on to options trading
Once Singapore's primo child-motivation guru, these days, entrepreneur and educator Adam Khoo is contented to dish out investment tips through YouTube from his home office. SINGAPORE – Whenever the school holidays roll around, hundreds of primary and secondary school kids are dropped off at an industrial building in Eunos. They take the lift to the fifth floor, walk through a sterile, double-volume corridor, and push past a wood vinyl door, on which is hung a poster of a man. He is dressed in a black suit and red tie, one arm akimbo, the other clasped around chopsticks holding up a post-it note, at which he gazes with steely resolve. Behind him bellow the words, mostly in capitals: IF YOU ONLY DO WHAT YOU CAN DO, YOU'LL NEVER BE BETTER THAN WHAT YOU ARE. It is a reminder to the children that they are here to stretch their minds and excavate buried potential. That, if they try hard enough, they can also mindmap their way to a million dollars by 26, a million YouTube subscribers, a best-selling book or whatever else they desire. That precocious millionaire, once Singapore's primo child-motivation guru, is now a 51-year-old man who spends most of his time in a 2m by 3m room at his three-storey Siglap semi-detached house. He has reinvented himself as a value-conscious investment guru, with multiple investment portfolios worth a total of more than $22 million. These days, Mr Adam Khoo, who is married to a pilates instructor, does not spend much time with children, apart from hi s daughters, who are aged 19 and 21. No more getting up on stage to galvanise slacker kids into action. No more recounting how a five-day course transformed him, at age 13, from an indolent video-game addict barely scraping by in school to a hypermotivated overachiever with a million on his mind. Adults are now his target audience, and YouTube is his medium of choice. He record s h is videos from the tiny room , unpicking the complexities of the stock market and dishing out investment tips and tricks with a $270 microphone his staff gifted him for his birthday. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore A deadly cocktail: Easy access, lax attitudes driving Kpod scourge in S'pore Singapore 'I thought it was an April Fool's joke': Teen addicted to Kpods on news that friend died World Trump administration moves to release Epstein case transcripts amid public scrutiny Singapore 'May you find rainbows in your skies': Outpouring of support for Jetstar Asia staff as closure looms Singapore New auto pet wash service in Buona Vista draws flak, but firm stands by its safety Singapore 314 suicides reported in Singapore in 2024, remains leading cause of youth deaths Asia 'Guardian angels': Taiwan's dementia-friendly village promotes ageing in place Life US tech firm launches probe into Coldplay 'kiss cam' couple after clip goes viral His company, Adam Khoo Learning Technologies Group (AKLTG), which does youth and financial education, employs 50 staff, but his YouTube channel is a one-man show . H e has produced some 600 videos that have garnered nearly 60 million overall views. 'I focus on investing because that's what I do best,' says the self-professed loner who, for all his money smarts, never enjoyed running a business. He stopped teaching youth 11 years ago. 'It came to a stage where I was too old to teach it, that I couldn't relate to the kids as much as I used to. They looked at me like I was some old uncle, so I realised that my trainers in their 20s and 30s could do a better job than me.' The refresh also necessitated a rebranding. After years of cultivating hi s brand, Mr Khoo wanted to scrub all invocations of his name. So, the Adam Khoo Learning Company, which used to run I Am Gifted!, started going by Aktivate Learning two years ago, while Adam Khoo Empowering Youth – the arm that ran the company's school programmes – is known as Aktivate Education. He is stil l executive chairman of its holding company, AKLTG. 'What happened in the old days was everything was named after Adam Khoo. But then we realised that one day, Adam Khoo will die, then how? So, that's the first problem: the succession, business continuity. And since I'm not involved in the youth part any more, it doesn't make sense for it to be named after me. People will get very confused. ' He knows that his is no longer the loudest voice in the land of youth transformation. To mould young minds in 2025, on e needs to wrestle through a babel of superstar tutors, life coaches and ChatGPT therapists. Times have changed – and children, too. How has his company changed with them? Maverick, manipulator or genius? Depending on whom you ask, Mr Khoo is either a maverick, manipulator or genius. Since 2003, his company has run I Am Gifted!, a programme meant to cultivate life and study skills through techniques such as goal-setting, speed-reading, emotional regulation and, most controversially, mindmapping. Such insight is imparted to students over the course of a four-day workshop. It used to be five days, but was shortened in 2023 because children 'don't have as much time any more'. It is held at either the company's Eunos headquarters or in schools. A team of trainers conducts quarterly follow-up sessions with attendees thereafter. It costs $2,688 a child, and attracts around 30 0 sign-ups a year. Alumni of the I Am Gifted! programme are split on the efficacy of his methods. Ms Ainur Rosyieqa, now a 30-year-old entrepreneur, recalls being asked to reckon with her 'privilege' during the camp she attended as a Primary 5 pupil at Raffles Girls' Primary School in 2006. It made her realise how children in developing countries 'would do anything to be in our shoes', while she, a playful student who was failing mathematics and science, was taking her education for granted. 'It was this perspective that woke me up and convinced me that I needed to take the opportunities I was lucky to have and give my best in life,' she says. Another alumnus, a 28-year-old legal associate who wanted to be known only as Ms Ye, says none of the techniques she picked up during the programme she attended in 2009 were applicable. 'I' d l earnt the same things in school, and the specific mindmapping techniques they taught were a poor one-size-fits-all approach. It felt a bit like whacking everything but the kitchen sink in the hope that something would stick.' A student embracing his parent during an I Am Gifted! camp. PHOTO: AKTIVATE LEARNING Some level more serious accusations at the programme, notorious for its emotional intensity. Students have been asked to visualise the death of their parents and then channel the resulting fear into productive energy. One former student, who spoke on condition of anonymity, recalls attending a programme in the lead-up to her O levels in 2011. 'I don't recall the exact questions they'd asked, but they managed to get people to trust them and open up in front of everyone. A girl stood up and shared about how her dad had passed away, and there was a lot of crying in general. The questions seemed to be aimed at making people cry.' Though it worked to an extent – 'I'd never been as motivated as I was for O levels' – she was left with a lingering sense of unease. A journal entry from the period records her discomfort with the way trainers referred to the second day of the programme as 'confession day'. She started to wonder if the trainers, whom she had come to respect, were feigning vulnerabilit y to get the students to open up. 'It felt cult-like and emotionally manipulative, to get a bunch of teenage girls to trust them an d guilt-trip them,' says the now 29-year-old administrator. Mr Khoo, however, maintains that the courses were deliberately designed to be emotionally intensive. He says: 'Ultimately, people change only when there's enough pain. So, I always say, do we want to wait for the real pain to happen or do you want to create that impetus in your mind first?' After all, it worked on him. His mentor from Super-Teen Camp at Ladyhill Hotel in 1987 told the Ping Yi Secondary School boy to visualise what might happen if he continued down his path of insouciance. The exercise triggered a montage of horrors – disappointed parents, constant struggles – that shocked him into studiousness. But he says the programme he went on to devise upon his graduation from NUS Business School has bigger ambitions. In addition to lighting a fire under participants, it also takes it upon itself to mend their broken relationships. Parents are invited to the graduation ceremony, during which children take turns to share what they learnt at the course and thank their parents. 'A nd I can tell you, a t every session, there's not a dry eye. We've had cases in which a daughter, who hasn't spoken to her dad for two years, tells him she loves him for the first time. It's very powerful,' recalls Mr Khoo. Not everyone shares his sentiment, however. Mr Lee, a 22-year-old university student who gave only his last name, wishes this reconciliation could have been handled with greater sensitivity in his case. During the programme, which he attended some 13 years ago, students were asked to give their parents a big hug and tell them 'I love you'. Mr Lee, who had a chaotic home life and a tenuous relationship with both parents, could not bear to utter those words. To his mortification, he was called out for his reticence in front of his peers. 'I felt very humiliated. It made me feel very lousy, like I was a bad son who was very ungrateful,' he says, calling such behaviour 'totally unacceptable, as it fails to let people heal and mend their relationships in a natural and more conducive manner'. Dialling down emotional intensity A trainer speaking to students at a I Am Gifted! camp. PHOTO: AKTIVATE LEARNING On the whole, Mr Eugene Pan, the 46-year-old deputy group director o f Aktivate Learning and Aktivate Education, says his team has dialled down the emotional intensity of their programmes. The extra workshops it conducts for 90 or so primary and secondary schools each year, for instance, focus on nurturing life-long learners with future-ready skills like digital literacy and marketing know-how, in line with the Ministry of Education's (MOE) goal to untether learning from the classroom. In response to questions from The Straits Times on hiring external vendors, the ministry says schools 'have the autonomy to assess and engage external service providers to conduct enrichment programmes and workshops for their students, based on their specific needs'. They work within the ministry's guidelines to ensure appropriate instructor conduct, as well as relevant and respectful content. For example, Mr Pan says primary and secondary school students who attend Aktivate Education's camps in MOE schools are no longer asked to imagine life without their parents. This exercise, however, remains part of the I Am Gifted! workshops open to the public, but staff say such sessions are handled with care. Charles Tan, 17, a first-year junior college student and I Am Gifted! alumnus who attended the five-day camp in 2021, notes that the camp is constantly evolving to keep pace with shifting sensitivities and learning habits. For instance, a lesson on speed-reading has been replaced with guidance on how to look for resources online, as technology becomes more entwined with education. A former segment called Total Truth Process, in which coaches give participant s f eedback on their behaviour, has been phased out in favour of a less confronting social circle activity, where everyone gets the chance to speak and self-reflection is nudged along in a gentler way. The I Am Gifted! flagship programme is also restricted to those above the age of 10, when in the past, it used to accept lower-primary pupils. This, Mr Tan hopes, means participants will be equipped with more emotional maturity to grapple with hypotheticals, such as losing their parents, that are meant to help them develop perspective and empathy. 'They need to be at the age to understand these kinds of realities. It's not that we're threatening them, but let's face it, no one's living forever. So, we just want to encourage them to appreciate their parents while they're around.' Why these camps remain popular Since its inception in 2003, the company estimates that the school and public camps run by Mr Khoo and his team have reached more than 580,000 students across South-east Asia. It says it trains some 25,000 students annually through school talks, workshops and public programmes. Its content is rooted in part in neuro-linguistic programming (NLP), a psychological approach that explores how language and thought can affect behaviour, which some researchers have denounced as pseudoscience. Mr Khoo, however, stands firmly behind this school of thought. 'To me, the most important question is does it work? I teach only things that work. The funny thing is that I studied finance in NUS and can tell you that 90 per cent of what you learn in academic finance doesn't apply to the real world.' Students at a I Am Gifted! camp. PHOTO: AKTIVATE LEARNING Dr Caroline Koh, associate professor with psychology and child and human development at the National Institute of Education (NIE), notes that while NLP tools could help boost self-esteem if wielded by someone with the relevant expertise and knowledge, they could have the converse effect when deployed arbitrari ly. 'N LP techniques would be more effective when administered to single individuals or small groups rather than mass-administered to large numbers of participants,' she says, stressing that trainers need to be able to gauge when a particular technique might be appropriate. These trainers, in Aktivate's case, are four full-time staff with over a decade of experience in conducting workshops for youth. They were traine d b y Mr Khoo and now helm the programme with the help of 60 or so coaches, mainly I Am Gifted! graduates aged between 13 and 28 who passed a rigorous selection process. It is this human guidance, plus the ability to adapt to the differing needs of new generations, that Mr Pan hopes will keep Aktivate relevant, in a world where advice can be sought with a simple prompt on ChatGPT. In line with the preferences of younger cohorts, camps now weave in teamwork and games. In one titled the Game Of Life, students get a foretaste of the future by racking up happiness points through education, work and money. In some ways, this sort of big-picture thinking can help foster intrinsic motivation, especially among older students, says Dr Gregory Liem, an associate professor at NIE's psychology and child and human development academic group. 'Sometimes, students are not able to identify the relevance of schooling – why they need to study certain subjects. If they want a comfortable lifestyle, if they want money, they'll need to do a certain kind of work, study certain subjects. So, it helps to have a plan,' he adds. Besides, he says, as long as there are 'kiasu' parents, there will be 'kiasu' programmes. Money and meaning Mr Adam Khoo, who garnered attention for being a self-made millionaire at 26, says that education, not business, has always been his passion. ST PHOTO: GIN TAY Money may still be on Mr Khoo's mind – he is, after all, in the business of dispensing financial advice – but it is no longer his priority. Family No. 1, work No. 2, so his mantra goes. Interestingly enough, despite all the fire and brimstone, despite all those years spent whipping other people's children into shape, he is no tiger parent at home. 'I'm proud to say that my wife and I are quite easy-going. We don't spoil them, but we teach them through games like Monopoly,' he says. Both his daughters, currently in university, went through his motivational boot camp and enjoyed it so much, they returned as coaches. And, yes, they had to visualise his death too. Whether they take over the business in the future is up to them. He is contented with the work he has done and the way in which he has done it. He fields questions with practised ease, pausing only to consider if he has any regrets. (Just one: not taking his Chinese lessons seriously.) Brickbats do not bother him, unless they come from people who attended his programmes. All that matters is that he is remembered, so he hopes, as someone who has helped 'millions of people around the world discover their potential and live life in the fullest way possible'.
