In My Own Words: Singaporean businessmen and philanthropist, Shaikh Hatim F. Nakhoda, tells his life’s story

by Zafar Anjum

Sometime back, I was handed this curious memoir, In My Own Words, written by one of Singapore’s most successful businessmen and philanthropist, Shaikh Hatim F. Nakhoda, whose family legacy is F.M. Noordin & Co, one of the most successful trading companies in Singapore.

This beautifully-printed book, full of sepia-tinted photos, takes you down the memory lane of a Gujarati business family that called Singapore its home.

Dedicating the book to the future generations of his family, Nakhoda relates his life experiences as the son of a merchant who settled in Singapore in the 1890s.

Coming from a family of Gujarati traders from the town of Surat in India, pioneer Fidahusein M. Nakhoda overcame all odds, including internal strife, to build a business that has endured for well over a century.