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Singapore winner of the first Pan-Malaysian First Aid Competition in 1961.
Origins
Origins
The Singapore-Malaysia First Aid and Home Nursing Competition was first held in 1961 at Gay World (Happy World) Stadium in Singapore between the Ambulance Adult teams from Singapore and Malaya. The primary objective of the Singapore-Malaysia Competition is to enhance the standards of first aid and nursing through friendly competition. At the same time, it promotes goodwill between the members and officers of the St John movements of the two countries.
A well-known philanthropist, Dato’ Lee Kong Chian, donated the Gold Challenge Trophy for the inaugural event. The Maltese Cross on the trophy was made of pure gold with engravings in Jawi, English, Tamil and Chinese.
Between 1961 and 1964, the competition was held annually, with the two countries taking turns to host it. From 1965, the event was organised biennially instead.
Best Team Leader trophies were introduced for both the Ambulance and Nursing categories in 2005.
Pictured here are the first recipients:
Soon Yin Wei (Malaysia) and Tang Di Ya (Singapore)
Expansion
Expansion
In 1967, the competition was expanded to include the Nursing Adult teams. A Challenge Triphy for this category was donated by Puan Sri Saadiah Sardon.
The Cadet categories were introduced later in 1981. The Ambulance Cadet challenge trophy was donated by Tan Sri Abdul Kadir bin Shamsuddin, then the Commander-in-Chief of St John Ambulans Malaysia, and was named after the first Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra. The Nursing Cadet challenge trophy was donated by Tan Sri Dr Runme Shaw, who was then President of the National St John Council, Singapore.
In recognition of outstanding leadership and performance of team leaders during the competitions, a Best Team Leader trophy was introduced in 1995. From 2005, Best Team Leader trophies were introduced for both Ambulance and Nursing categories respectively.
Malaysian and Hong Kong teams exchanging gifts during the Friendly Competition in 2017.
Diversity
Diversity
In a bid to include friends from other St John establishments around the region, a Friendly Competition category was introduced first in 2017. This category was later formalised into the Asia-Pacific Regional Youth First Aid Competition, which was first held in 2019, and saw teams from St John establishments in Hong Kong and Sri Lanka taking part.
Following disruptions brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic, the competition was suspended in 2021. Singapore is proud to be the host of the 33rd series in 2023.
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