Lin Peifen leaving Yes 933 after 20 years, says it’s like breaking up with someone after a long relationship

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Lin Peifen, 42, has been a jock at Yes 933 for over two decades but it’s now time for her to move on.
She got her start in radio after winning a DJ contest in 2000 and became a full-time jock with Yes 933 three years later after graduating from Nanyang Technological University with an honours degree in communication studies.
Safe to say, Peifen has been on radio for the whole of her adult life.
While on air today (Aug 26), she shared that this will be her last week on Yes 933.
Hopping onto a phone call with 8days.sg after her show, Peifen revealed she’s moving to the Chinese News & Current Affairs department of Mediacorp, and will no longer be on radio. However, she is still unable to discuss the specifics of her new role.
“I’ll be doing something different lah, not related to what I’m doing now,” she said.
When asked if we would be seeing her on TV in the future, Peifen let out a laugh as she hesitantly revealed: “If everything goes well, yes.”
After being in the same role for over two decades, Peifen felt like it was time for her to try something new.
“I talked to my bosses, and after speaking to them about exploring different options, I realised I could try something entirely different from what I’m doing now, but still closely related in terms of the language and medium I’m familiar with,” she said.
If you tuned into Peifen’s regular 10am – 12pm time belt on Yes 933 today, you might’ve heard her sounding a little emotional, even choking up while reporting on the weather.
We brought it up, and Peifen let out a loud chuckle.
“You know how it feels when you are about to break up with someone?” she said. “Like you’ve been going out with someone for a long time and the relationship is going well, but suddenly after 20 years you want to break up with him or her? It felt like that. So I guess I was a little bit emotional at that point.”
She continued: “It’s the last week at a place I’m so familiar with, doing something that I’ve been familiar with for so long, so a lot of feelings came flooding in.”
The thing she would miss most about being a DJ is the daily interaction with listeners, and the people who cherish her companionship on air.
“It’s like a routine and I won’t be having that anymore,” she added.
She’s not closed off to the possibility of returning to radio in the future either.
“I always think people from radio are very loyal. Somehow or rather we’ll come back to it. Never say never. It’s just that I don’t know when. But right now I want to do this new thing and I want to do it well,” she said.
Peifen took a one-year hiatus back in 2022 to spend time with her sons, Luke, nine, and Jude, three.
Back then, she had already thought about exploring things beyond her comfort zone. She even considered being a stay-at-home mum, but realised she needed some “work-life balance”.
“So I came back to the place I was familiar with because I was a little bit lost and I didn’t know what I should do. After I came back, I did a certificate course on play therapy. I really went out of my comfort zone. By doing something different, it gave me a little courage and motivation to do something else,” she said.
Her leaving radio was met with a lot of support from her colleagues and her bosses.
“Their confidence has been very reassuring ‘cos I haven’t been confident. But this gap I have between their confidence and mine, that’s the motivation,” said Peifen.