Providing service to members of the public can be a challenging task at times. Nevertheless, some officers were not only unfazed by it, they even went an extra mile to deliver an exemplary service with a friendly attitude.
Among them are seven members from the MND family, who were awarded the PS21 Star Service Award and the PS21 Distinguished Star Service Award during the Excellence in Public Service Awards Ceremony on 21 May 2010. The PS21 Distinguished Star Service Award is conferred on a select group of about 10 officers from the pool of winners who went beyond the call of duty to deliver excellent service.
As Guest-of-Honour Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean aptly explained, having well-crafted policies was not enough. Good policy implementation is even more important. Hence, there is a need for public officers who will “take the initiative, anticipate needs and concerns of the public, and constantly challenge themselves to better serve them.”
Go the Extra Mile for Service
Mr Ethan Koh, an Executive Commercial Properties Officer from the Housing & Development Board (HDB), is one good example of an officer who showed initiative and great perseverance when it came to tackling tricky problems. In fact, he single-handedly mediated a year-long dispute between a resident and the owner of the family-run restaurant below her unit, and finally managed to convince both parties to come to a resolution. Even after he was moved to oversee another area, he still checks regularly to make sure that the resident did not raise other concerns.
Besides Mr Koh, Ms Velvet Ng from HDB’s Estate Admin & Property Department is also an officer who is always willing to go the extra mile to ease the worries of those who contact her for help. In her 12 years of working at HDB’s frontline, she has helped many flat applicants in purchasing resale flats and getting out of troublesome situations, going insofar as to deliver legal documents to the buyers’ workplace or home.
Similarly, Mdm Siti Hajar Bte Hussin, an Operations Support Officer at the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA), and Ms Mary Siow, who works in the Human Resource and Administrative Department of the Building and Construction Authority (BCA), also received many notes of appreciation from locals and foreign delegates for their attentiveness and efficiency.
Love the Job
When it comes to providing excellent service, passion is an important contributing factor. Ms Adelle Wang from the National Parks Board (NParks) has clearly demonstrated that. As an officer in the Conservation Division, she has won praises for the various outreach programmes and guided tours for the public that she organised. On top of that, she initiated the yearly Chek Jawa Exploration trip and actively helps in organising other volunteering activities, even if that means working over the weekends and overnight.
Lend important Expertise
There are also some great mentors among these winners. Mr Ye Din Moe, an Associate Lecturer at the Building and Construction Academy (BCA Academy), not only imparts his profound knowledge and skill, but also provides invaluable advice, support and guidance to his students. He offers extra coaching for the slower learners, and even helps to explain content of courses not under his charge to students who need help.
As for Ms Helen Khoo, who is in charge of administering the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) scholarship, she has been known to be able to put herself in the applicants’ shoes and would do her best to make them feel at ease in nervous situations. Apart from taking care to provide very comprehensive information to the applicants, she is also very prompt and responsive to requests and queries.
These seven winners of the PS21 Star Service Award have demonstrated that no task can be too challenging if one sets his heart to it. Hopefully, their personal commitment and passion contributes to a shift in the traditional mindset that many may hold towards the public service.
Read on for accounts of their excellent public service.