There is no better time to give back to the society than now.

2009 will see the full force of the global recession hitting us. Singapore already expects its economy to shrink by 2% to 5% this year, and the government is mitigating the impact to companies and Singaporeans with its recent $20.5 billion resilience package.

Many families, especially those with monthly incomes of S$2000 and below, will find the going tough in riding through the financial difficulties amid current employment uncertainties and the bleak economic outlook.

It is in tough times like these when lending a helping hand to those barely keeping afloat in society becomes more than merely financial assistance through the community.

Coming from a humble background with an immigrant father who worked hard to support me and my seven siblings, I understand what deprivation is to financially challenged families. With hard work, business success and good luck, I'm now blessed with good fortune and I believe I should share it.

Many of us belittle our contributions without realizing that even the little we have goes a long way. We don't have to be business moguls like Bill Gates and Warren Buffet, or international celebrities like Jet Li and Bono with massive amounts of wealth to establish global charity foundations to help the man in the street.

Education has also never been more important than now. Markets today are much more challenging, and only the brightest and most capable will survive. People must constantly equip themselves to stay relevant or risk being overtaken. It is because of these present circumstances that I am a strong believer in lifelong learning. Today, I have obtained a PhD, and in the midst of completing a second one this year.

In the increasingly globalised world today, education is the greatest asset one should invest in. It will stand one in good stead during the toughest of times. This is the main reason why I commit a large proportion of my personal time on educational causes for the young. Good education practices should be available to children especially during their formative years.

Let's us all do our part to extend that glow of community spirit and hope to those in need especially in bad times like this. In this new year of the ox, one of the best remedies advocated by astrologers is charity, which is supposedly one of the best luck changing agents. Perhaps we should all perform some good deeds this year to overcome the earthly challenges that are unfolding before us.