So the world-renowned Madame Tussauds will be opening on sunny Sentosa in the second half of next year.

And lo and behold, Singapore will be the seventh (Gasp! Seventh in class! Seventh!) Asian city - after Bangkok, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Wuhan, Shanghai and Beijing (slated to open early next year) – to house the wax museum.

I always thought that Singapore is the obvious choice; we are the air-conditioned nation, which means the wax figures won’t melt despite the sweltering heat.

Or maybe we are just too mainstream.

So while Merlin Entertainments (owner of Madame Tussauds) mull over who are the obvious famous people who have “had a hand in shaping Singapore” and with Mr Lee Kuan Yew already a shoo-in, here are 9 other extraordinary Singaporeans who should be immortalised in the wax museum.

1. Fandi Ahmad, LionsXII coach

Source: LionsXII Facebook

The nation’s favourite footballing son seems to be an obvious choice but that isn’t always the case. The 51-year-old had to slug it out with more than 70 candidates before he was confirmed as the coach of Lions XII on 7 Dec. And to think that he is one of the pioneers of Singapore football who paved the way for others to ply their trade in Europe. For once, let’s make the ex-FC Groningen frontman the obvious choice, shall we?

2. Russell Lee of The True Singapore Ghost Stories series

Source: True Singapore Ghost Stories Facebook

Okay, I’m not sure whether he’s Singaporean since he’s always covered up from head to toe but he’s the author of The True Singapore Ghost Stories, one of the best-selling series in Singapore and that means the (nether) world to many 80s babies. Raising hell and scaring young and impressionable teenagers witless since 1989 – not bad.

3. Jane Lee, mountaineer

Source: Singapore Women's Everest Team

By virtue of being the first Southeast Asian woman to have scaled the seven summits (the tallest mountains on each of the seven continents), Jane Lee, 29, deserves a wax figure. The co-founder of the Singapore Women’s Everest Team might not be tallest but her achievements stand as tall as 8848m.

4. Loi Ah Koon of Yakun

Source: Yakun website

The kaya. The kopi. The legend. Loi Ah Koon has left an indelible mark at 45 Yakun outlets around the island and 10 other countries. Mr Loi didn’t just create the staple breakfast for Singaporeans. He flew the Singapore flag high.

5. Professor Chao Tzee Cheng, forensic pathologist

Source: Amazon

As his book says, Murder is his business. Indeed, the late forensic pathologist was truly a doyen, lending his expert forensic skills to murder investigations locally and internationally. No wonder, he was also called the Justice of Murder by his colleagues.

6. Lieutenant Adnan bin Saidi, war hero

Source

For his passionate defence of Bukit Chandu located in Pasir Panjang during World War II, Lieutenant Adnan Saidi deserves all the respect from all of us even though he wasn't technically Singaporean (he was born in Malaysia and was posted to Singapore). Outgunned and outnumbered, the soldier lived up to his motto of “death before dishonour” as he fought the Japanese soldiers till the bitter end.

7. Yam Ah Mee, returning officer for General Elections and Presidential Elections 2011

Source: Yam Ah Mee Facebook

He made the 2011  elections cool with his sexy monotonous voice. Enough said.

Maybe the museum could install speakers and let Singaporeans relive his enthusiasm: ""Pursuant to Section 49, Sub-section 7e, Paragraph A of the Parliamentary Elections Act, I declare..."

8. The Special Operations Force Commandos who stormed SQ 117

Source

No, they are not one-punch-one-kill soldiers; they are the real dark knights. It was March 1991 and SQ 117 was hijacked by four male passengers at Changi Airport.

With just three minutes to go, the Special Operations Force commandos stormed the plane and rescued 118 passengers and 11 crew members. And the four hijackers? Dead. Singapore might not have seen the faces of the dark knights but their bravery lives on.

9. The SARS heroes

Source: Ministry of Health Facebook

The severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak in 2003 was a testing time for many Singaporeans. Businesses slumped and the outlook was bleak as citizens stayed home for fear of contracting the deadly virus.

Despite the gloom, a group of medical workers stood their ground, working tirelessly to fight the virus at Tan Tock Seng Hospital and the Communicable Disease Centre. Four healthcare workers died during the crisis, one of whom was Dr Alexandre Chao, son of Professor Chao Tzee Cheng. Dr Chao cut short his vacation to answer the call of duty on 5 April 2003. He died from SARS 17 days later.

Any extraordinary Singaporeans whom we missed out? Give us a shout in the comments!

Top photo from Flickr

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