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The
French Connection
Mr Zainudin Nordin, MP for Bishan-Toa Payoh
GRC, Advisor to Bishan-Toa Payoh North Grassroots Organisations
and Nanyang Polytechnic Manager
By Mildred Ee
The
first thing you will probably notice when you meet Mr
Zainudin Nordin is his gregarious laughter. His bubbly
voice radiates incredible warmth and generosity of spirit,
borne out by his friendliness and pleasure at sharing
amusing anecdotes of his past.
At 40 and juggling two careers, Mr Zainudin clearly shows
no signs of slowing down. While other men of his age are
content to cheer their favourite football teams from the
comfort of their living rooms, he prefers to get down
to the field for some REAL fun.
"I'm very passionate about sports, especially football.
I started playing the game at the age of five. Now I try
to play at least once a week, on Fridays, when my colleagues
at the Nanyang Polytechnic get together," he enthuses.
Mr Zainudin spent a number of years studying abroad. The
Jurong Junior College student took up a Diploma in Electronic
Engineering at the French-Singapore Institute after his
'A' Levels. Upon completion of the course, he was offered
a three-and-a-half-year scholarship by the Economic Development
Board to study in France.
"It was the most challenging part of my life as it
opened doors to different things. What I learnt about
independence was that you get to try a lot of new things
when you are on your own."
Being alone in a foreign land forced him to pick up new
survival skills. On weekends when there were no classes,
he would whip up tasty dishes such as tuna pasta and chicken
with cream sauce and capsicum. Those days he did his marketing
in Chinatown Paris where, he declares, “you can
get almost all kinds of spices”.
Other than cooking, Mr Zainudin loves to watch movies.
His all-time favourites are Fargo and The Godfather. He
clocked up more than 52 movies in a year during his stint
abroad!
Back in Singapore, Mr Zainudin married his childhood sweetheart
and neighbour, Ms Lazmin Ibriam. They met when he was
just 13 and they now have two lovely daughters, Nur Shaheen,
4 years old and Maya Raisha, 18 months old, and plan to
have more kids.
His interest for all things French is apparent. He still
speaks French and enjoys occasional visits to French restaurants
where he and his wife will indulge in foie gras (goose
or duck liver) and other French culinary delicacies.
Looks like time has failed to come between him and his
years in France!
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