SINGAPORE \u2013 Despite breaking multiple world records, national powerlifter Farhanna Farid is proudest when she helps others beat their personal bests.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen my athletes or clients break their own personal records, I think that achievement actually far supersedes my own world records because I feel like I have managed to make a difference to someone,\u201d said Farhanna, 34, who is also a personal coach.<\/p>\n
The former pharmacist is also working to help relieve the financial strain of athletes in her role as an executive committee member of Powerlifting Singapore, where she leads marketing and sponsorship.<\/p>\n
For her sporting achievements \u2013 she has earned 14 world records \u2013 and dedication to elevating women in sports, Farhanna received the Berita Harian Achiever of the Year 2026 award on Nov 6.<\/p>\n
Now in their 28th year, the awards, organised by the Malay-language daily and sponsored by Maybank, recognise Malay\/Muslim individuals who have made a mark in their fields.<\/p>\n
In the past year, Farhanna has achieved sporting success. She placed fifth overall in the World Classic Open Powerlifting Championships in June, competing against top athletes from New Zealand, the Netherlands, Canada and the US.<\/p>\n
Her achievements have inspired other women to take up the sport \u2013 Farhanna said one of her teammates took up powerlifting after reading her interview with women\u2019s magazine Cleo.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In September, Farhanna also organised Lift Like A Girl, a women-only competition.<\/p>\n
She said: \u201cI hope this award serves as a reminder that we should never be afraid to challenge ourselves, embrace who we are and pursue what truly matters to us.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause sometimes, when we find the courage to believe in ourselves, we give others the courage to do the same.\u201d<\/p>\n Powerlifter Farhanna Farid, who earned 14 world records, with her Berita Harian Achiever of the Year 2026 award.<\/p>\n PHOTO: BERITA HARIAN<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Education Minister Desmond Lee, who was the guest of honour at the award ceremony at Four Seasons Hotel Singapore, said the winners are role models for all Singaporeans.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen those of us fortunate enough to have done well choose to support others and pay it forward, we create a virtuous cycle that strengthens our communities and our nation,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Lee also gave out the Berita Harian Young Achiever of the Year 2026 award to entrepreneur Nabill Shukry Johary, in recognition of his resilience in overcoming financial hardship to build a thriving business.<\/p>\n In July 2021, with just $1,000 in personal savings, Nabill and his father launched Cheekies, which sells marinated, preservative-free meat.<\/p>\n His family, living in a one-room public rental flat in Tampines, has faced financial hardship over the years.<\/p>\n His parents, who ran an interior design company from 2000 to 2004, had to shut down the firm after their business partner ran off with company funds. His mother also had to stop work in 2003 due to psoriatic arthritis.<\/p>\n His father, who became a private-hire driver, struggled during the Covid-19 pandemic when customers were few.<\/p>\n Education Minister Desmond Lee (centre, left) speaking to Berita Harian Young Achiever of the Year 2026 award winner Nabill Shukry Johary.<\/p>\n PHOTO: BERITA HARIAN<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Drawing on lessons learnt from difficult times, Nabill persevered through any difficulties that Cheekies faced, including in 2022 when Malaysia banned the export of chicken to Singapore.<\/p>\n Cheekies now produces up to 500kg of pre-marinated meats weekly and is expanding into Malaysia in 2027.<\/p>\n Nabill also <\/b>in September pledged $10,000 to start a bursary at his alma mater, Republic Polytechnic, for struggling students.<\/p>\n The driving force behind his ambition was to purchase a home for his mother. She died in March.<\/b><\/p>\n \u201cMy mum always wanted to see me win an award. In my five years of business, we have never won an award before. I think she would be very proud,\u201d said Nabill, <\/i><\/b>who will receive a trophy and $3,000.<\/p>\n Berita Harian and Maybank also introduced a new award category: the BH-Maybank Perkasa award, which recognises two Singaporeans of any race who have overcome socio-economic challenges to achieve success.<\/p>\n The inaugural awardees, who will each receive a trophy and $3,000, were Siti Nurhumaira Azman and Elizabeth Neo.<\/p>\n Berita Harian editor Nazry Mokhtar said: \u201cWe are opening this award to all races because next year is our 70th anniversary. This is a huge milestone for us, and we felt it is a good time for us to open new doors. It shows that our community is ready to stand with everyone to celebrate everyday resilience.\u201d<\/p>\n Inaugural winners of the BH-Maybank Perkasa award Siti Nurhumaira Azman (third from left) and Elizabeth Neo (fourth from left).<\/p>\n PHOTO: BERITA HARIAN<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Neo, 37, a social work associate at the Fellowship of Men Singapore, helps to build safer families and strengthen their <\/b>emotional resilience.<\/p>\n She said she draws on her decade-long struggle with addiction and incarceration to provide emotional support and empathy.<\/p>\n Humaira, 26, who grew up in a one-room rental flat in Ang Mo Kio with seven siblings, her mother and her grandparents, said she reached her lowest point in April when her eight-month-old son died.\u00a0<\/p>\n He was diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy at four months, a diagnosis which came with a hefty $2.4 million treatment option.<\/p>\n The public policy officer at the Ministry of Law said: \u201cI see this award as a symbol of hope… This award is something to push people and let them know they can also achieve if they push through.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n SINGAPORE \u2013 Despite breaking multiple world records, national powerlifter Farhanna Farid is proudest when she helps others beat their personal bests. \u201cWhen my athletes or…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":98119,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2611],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-98118","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-buzz-headlines","wpcat-2611-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98118","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=98118"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98118\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/98119"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=98118"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=98118"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=98118"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/picture><\/div>
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