Tay Nguan Tong never puts off till tomorrow what he can do today. This explains his nickname “TNT”, which he says stands for “Today, Not Tomorrow”.

The Principal Trainer (Heritage) has been working at the National Community Leadership Institute (NACLI) for over 27 years.

In the course of his work, Nguan Tong has trained more than 20,000 students, unionists, grassroots leaders and public officers in skills such as goal setting, time management, leadership skills, creative thinking and strategic planning. He specialises in about 50 topics, and he can teach them in both English and Mandarin.

As a trainer, his job scope also includes designing training modules, preparing, collating and updating the course materials, as well as providing training consultancy.

Taking on a fresh challenge
In late May this year, Nguan Tong was given a new and challenging assignment. He had four months to set up the Grassroots Heritage Centre to showcase the development of the grassroots movement in Singapore.

Together with his task force members, Nguan Tong swiftly embarked on the project, which involved converting a training facility into an exhibition hall, conducting research, charting the milestone events, crafting the text for the exhibition panels, searching for photographs at the National Archives and commissioning the artwork
.
It was no mean feat to finish the job on time. “The whole place was a mess even up till July,” said Nguan Tong. “Two days before the opening, I was still rushing out the last five panels!”

Thanks to great teamwork, the first phase of the project was completed on schedule and the Grassroots Heritage Centre opened its doors on 4 October 2003.

In the following months, Nguan Tong and his team will be adding even more features to the exhibition, including audio clips of interviews with grassroots leaders and more historical artefacts.

‘I like it because it is not a desk-bound job’
Embracing new challenges is part and parcel of Nguan Tong’s job. In fact, he gave up his first office job and joined the Institute in 1976 because he disliked sedentary work and yearned for more excitement.

And an action-packed job was exactly what he got at NACLI, then called the National Youth Leadership Training Institute (NYLTI).

Six a.m. wake-up calls, arduous jungle hikes and nightly campfires consumed many of his waking hours when outdoor camps were more popular back in the 70’s and 80’s.

“We used to have three-day-two-night camps at Tekong. We would hike some 16 km with our gear and all the pots and equipment and set up camp. I’ve hiked at Tekong more than 100 times — I dare say I know the place even better than the SAF officers!” he said jokingly.

Besides stints at the People’s Association Headquarters, Nguan Tong has also had many overseas postings. He has received and conducted training in countries like Australia, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Thailand and the US.

Today, even after countless camps, courses and seminars, Nguan Tong still maintains a strong pas-sion for training and making a difference to others.

Sharing his personal philosophy, he said, “Life is not very long. Whenever there’s an opportunity, we should make the effort to contribute and not ask how we can benefit from the situation. From my experience, I’ve found that when I contribute, I benefit along the way.”