For the mandarin version of the story, you can view the Alumni Commemorative Book.Jack Sim went from failing his ‘O’ levels to having his ideas adopted by the United Nations. His previous enterprises have brought toilet sanitation to prominence. Next, he wants to end world poverty.I was hoping that the real WTO, the World Trade Organisation, would sue me," recalls Jack. This “guerrilla marketing tactic” was meant to bring the spotlight onto his WTO —the World Toilet Organisation, and more significantly, the cause it champions. Although he was not sued, he got his desired outcome all the same—the issue of toilet sanitation came to prominence.
Jack Sim welcomes Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the latter’s visit to Singapore in 2018. [ALUMNI-INFO TEXT="He cites examples that show how the issue has been brought to the fore: “Prime Minister Modi [of India] is building 110 million toilets in India and President Xi’s [of China] Toilet Revolution for tourism is very successful." Jack’s idea for a UN World Toilet Day was also unanimously adopted by the UN General Assembly.
The WTO was not Jack’s first toiletbased venture. He first started the Restroom Association of Singapore (RSA) in 1998. When the RSA met with 15 other toilet associations, the Japanese hosts declined leadership for what would later become the WTO. Jack “offered [to lead] and everyone agreed."
Since then, he has embraced becoming a mascot of sorts for the cause of clean toilets. “I used humour to transform the issue, and with the media’s legitimacy, it became an important agenda," he explains.
Now, the WTO has 151 member organisations in 53 countries from the 15 members it had when it was founded in 2001."][/ALUMNI-INFO]
"Don’t be afraid of rejecting the status quo. Don’t grumble. Ask why and what can be done."
COMING FROM THE BOTTOM
His success belies his humble beginnings. Hailing from a poor and less-than-stellar academic background, he soon found his acumen for business while working for Swiss company Diethelm. After being invited to start a business, he found it “much easier than studying”. A string of successful ventures later, he retired at 40 to focus on social work.
However, he found the time to return to school—something which had deep personal significance for him. A true lifelong learner, Jack came to LKYSPP at the ripe old age of 56 to fulfil his academic dreams.
Bollywood star Salman Khan helped raise funds for the World Toilet Organisation.
BORN AND BRED
Jack also identifies as being an active citizen. Having an avid interest in local policy, another motivation for his academic undertaking at LKYSPP was to learn for himself what policy making was like.
He recounts a story whereby, aided by his professor, frustration had yielded epiphany: “He [Professor Dean Williams] asked if I was frustrated with the bureaucrats or with my own inability to mobilise them. Of course I was frustrated with myself! Thereafter I focused on not treating the government like a monolithic bloc; bureaucrats are people that come from all positions of motivation and constraints.”
ENDING WORLD POVERTY
[ALUMNI-QUOTES TEXT="Albeit hard to reconcile, the grandiosity of his ambition and extent of his vision are tempered with an odd realism. “We live a short life," he muses. “Make an impact before you leave." Already having had success with the issue of toilet sanitation, he intends to do more. “I hope that with the time I have left, I can solve a second big problem.”
To end world poverty, his approach is a business one. LKYSPP had taught him that monetary profit need not be antithetical to alleviating global poverty. When addressing the lower stratum of the world population, one must see “four billion new Base-of-Pyramid customers” instead of charity cases.
The Base of Pyramid (BoP) hub was founded on precisely this tenet: coordinating stakeholders and using an ecosystem arrangement allows reach of the four billion customers. Envisioning a key role for Singapore, he is constructing a “65,000 square feet World Trade Centre for the Poor” in Ubi, a subzone located near the Central Region of Singapore."][/ALUMNI-QUOTES]
Jack Sim showcases his peculiar sense of humour at the World Toilet Day celebrations in Tokyo.
THE NEAR FUTURE
True to his trailblazing tendencies, Jack hopes to prepare a team of successors in the next five years. But his plans extend beyond his business legacy. He says that he also has to “go on a romantic journey with my wife for the last leg of our lives."
The proud Singaporean also hopes there will be more local role models for his fellow citizens in the future. He believes that Singapore has “much to offer the world”, and is a particularly big fan of Singapore's hawker centres. He is currently designing a unique Singaporean Batik style based on hawker food, and even intends to export Singaporean hawker centres to as far as India and Africa.