This month, the Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) team acknowledged Chinese New Year also known as Lunar New Year. Celebrated between 31 January and 15 February in 2022, Chinese New Year is an important cultural day and festival celebrated by many Downer employees.

To learn more about this cultural festival, we had the pleasure of meeting and chatting with Sean Tang, a Category Manager from Infrastructure Projects. In his role, Sean works with Bid Managers for east coast tenders and provides procurement support.

We spoke to Sean about moving to Australia, the passion he has for sharing his culture, celebrating Lunar New Year and the personal impacts of COVID-19.

In February 2002, Sean moved to Australia from Singapore to study Mechanical Engineering at the University of Newcastle. When asked why Sean left Singapore he said, “at the time, Australia was the place to be. Moving to Australia was an adventure and an exciting opportunity to embrace a new country, a different culture, and a new career.”

Sean grew up in Singapore and is of Peranakan and Chinese descent. He identifies as a “true blue Singaporean boy” and is proud of his Peranakan heritage.

The term Peranakan dates to the 15th century AD. Legend says that a Chinese princess married the Sultan of Malacca in what is now a port city in Malaysia. Men from her entourage married local women and their children were called “Peranakans,” translated as “local born” in Malay.  Some of these early Peranakans eventually moved more than 200 kilometres south to Singapore, while others relocated to Penang, a vibrant port city to the north.

When asked what makes him so proud to be Peranakan, Sean explained “the culture and food is a unique mix of Chinese, Malay and Dutch culture with interesting historic origins. Unknown to most people, the Laksa noodle dish is synonymous with Peranakan cuisine, a dish that people around the world, have grown to love.”

Sean added, “I’m passionate about sharing my culture with others particularly through food and I think that’s one way that Laksa has become so popular globally – through migrants like me, sharing it with non-Asian friends and colleagues.

Before he moved to Australia, Sean served two and a half years in the military. National Service in Singapore is mandatory conscription and duty.–. Every male citizen and permanent resident must undertake National Service at the age of 18. Reminiscing on his time in the military he said “it’s an experience that turns boys into men and teaches life skills. Leadership, time management, resilience and working under pressure were valuable skills I learnt then and are still relevant to me now.”

For many people COVID-19 changed their lives forever with many people experiencing economic and emotional hardship. And Sean wasn’t immune to other negative effects of the pandemic.

Sean had never experienced racist attacks in Australia, but he soon found himself the target of harassment on the streets because of his appearance and was blamed for the pandemic by complete strangers.

The exclusion Sean felt, and harassment he experienced was both shocking and frightening. For Sean, it was these negative feelings and encounters that really opened his eyes to the fact that even in 2022, racial stereotypes and biases remain prevalent in society today.

Despite the challenges Sean experienced at the beginning of the pandemic, Australia is still the vibrant country he embraced 20 years ago.

He knows that Asian people and cultures are respected and appreciated by most people and that these cultures have contributed to the rich, cultural mix in Australia today.

Culturally, Sean is missing his family and home country. The pandemic has meant Sean has not flown to Singapore for two years and has missed two Lunar New Year celebrations with family and friends, which has been disappointing.

Sean says “Lunar New Year is the best time to catch up with family and friends and eat delicious food. It’s also a time that signifies hope for good fortune in the new year. Everyone dresses up in their best outfits to visit friends and relatives. It’s just a very happy time.” Sean hopes to visit Singapore soon but is slightly hesitant about travelling abroad, like many Australians. For Sean, the pandemic has made him prioritise and think about what is really important and making the effort to celebrate Lunar New Year in Singapore holds greater importance, more than ever before.

Outside of work, Sean is a busy father of two boys Elijah, 9 and Edmund, 5. In his spare time, Sean is a gym enthusiast and a keen drummer who meets up with fellow musicians to “belt out some music and sometimes play covers by Artic Monkeys and even Fleetwood Mac”.

Reflecting over the last 20 years, Sean is grateful for the opportunities and experiences so far. Early in his Australian career, Sean remembers Downer made some good first impressions on him. Over time, Sean aimed to secure a role at Downer because he thought it would be a good career move, so when this eventually happened, Sean was ecstatic. He said “After almost three years at Downer, I am still enjoying my role and my team are great to work with. I am very proud to be a Downer employee and look forward to growing my career here.”

Downer recognises the importance of an organisational culture that fosters a safe and harassment-free work environment for its people. For more information on our approach to harassment, discrimination, and bullying, read our 2021 Sustainability Report, Anti-Discrimination, Harassment and Bullying Policy and Standards of Business Conduct.

Sean playing the drums with his musician friends.

Sean with his two sons, Edmund (left) and Elijah.

Nonya Seafood Laksa, a noodle dish synonymous with Peranakan cuisine

Peranakan couple in traditional wedding attire, circa 1930’s.