Penang trip over National Day 🇸🇬 weekend

16 August 2025

Had an opportunity to visit Penang last weekend during our nation’s 60th National Day. Penang is a place I have always liked visiting so I was incredibly glad to receive the invitation of Dr Ng Mei Ching to speak about soft tissue management around dental implants at her study club meeting. Penang is a place which is so similar to, yet different from, Singapore that each time I visit it feels uncanny. Really enjoyed the kind hospitality of the local Straumann representative and the active participation of the attendees.

Spent some time thinking about the concept of safe space during our SG60 National Day. Given the odds stacked against Singapore, it is amazing that we managed to survive 60 years as a nation.

So what is a safe space? There are so many definitions including psychological safety, physical safety etc. For me, in very simple terms, it is a place which helps you become the best version of yourself. There is not one singular safe place in our lives but usually different safe spaces coexist at the same time in our lives. For example, in our immediate proximity it is our family and in our extended proximity it is our workplace. The country we live in is also an example and as we celebrate our nation’s 60th birthday, I am thankful for the relatively safe environment we live and operate in.

Conversely, what is an unsafe space? It is one where you feel you have to put in extra effort to protect yourself. Thankfully I do not encounter these often but I have learnt in these unfortunate instances it is better to accept incompatibility and go separate ways, rather than to persist in hopes of turning the corner. It is always better to fail fast than continue investing in a flawed process.