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COVER STORY
08
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43
BRANDING SINGAPORE
SOFTLY, QUIETLY
03
Now it is all about
sweet persuasion
BRANDING SINGAPORE
YOUR SAY
IF YOU WERE OVERSEAS,
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE
SINGAPORE TO FOREIGNERS?
I struggle slightly trying to define the Singapore brand.
Clean and green? Efficient and safe? Hip and happening?
Certainly, ‘Brand Singapore’ seems to be a lot more desirable these days. Singapore has been voted the top choice
in Asia for expats, and also the best place in Asia to live,
work and play, in a worldwide survey by Mercer. For an
ordinary Singaporean like me, it seems as if in the short
turn of the last decade, my country has suddenly become
‘cool’. Even my Malaysian friends who swore they would
never live in sterile Singapore have swallowed their words
and moved here.
Readers share their ideas
FEATURES
HEDGING OUR FUTURE ON GREEN
Permanent Secretary (Foreign Affairs)
Bilahari Kausikan on why officers
should be straight talkers
How Singapore is branding itself
as a green city
18
SCHOLARS WITH EMPATHY, PLEASE
It is not just about being smart, says
Public Service Commission Chairman
Eddie Teo
30
TALES FROM FOREIGN LANDS…
Foreign Service officer Sim Siong Chye
writes a book about his travels
31
20
29
FROM GRUNT WORK TO
GLAMOUR WALK
36
38
UNSUNG HEROES
Part 2 of a series on Unsung Heroes:
Mrs Soh-Tan Bee Eng of the Destitute
Persons Service (MCYS)
Surprising facts about the Mongol warrior
14
NEWS FROM THE SERVICE
LIFE.STYLE
WHERE ART THOU
Three not-so-typical art spots that will
make you think twice about the local
art scene
48
THE IRREVERENT LAST PAGE
KUNGFU MASCOTS
Who will prevail in the battle for our
hearts and minds? You decide
05
EXHIBITION
COME SEE THE HOUSE + THE CITY
The best works from Richard Rogers
and partners
VIEWPOINTS
02
THE BIG IDEA
GENGHIS KHAN:
BLOODTHIRSTY BARBARIAN OR
CULTURAL CHAMPION?
43
LIFESTYLE
HIGHLIGHTS
04
LEVEL UP
VIEW FROM THE TOP
Part 3 of a series on Change
Management: How a CEO introduced
change to the Health Sciences Authority
GOT TALENT?
Public Service Week wraps up with
a talent show
42
LETTERS TO A YOUNG
PUBLIC OFFICER
INNOVATION, NOT MERE
IMITATION, IS THE WAY TO GO
ON THE JOB
Vital’s Chief Executive Clarence Ti
explains how HRMS respects
officers’ time
40
THINKING ALOUD
DON’T BE TOO BRAND-CONSCIOUS
J Y Pillay shares his views
on what’s important for
good governance
WHY HRMS IS A BIG DEAL
FOR US
15
Pay attention to being authentic,
says Colin Goh
Go behind-the-scenes of
the inaugural ScreenSingapore
34
A CUPPA WITH…
“I SAY WHAT I THINK”
21
INBOX
Your views on the May/June issue
of Challenge
THE CHALLENGE
PULL OUT
SURPRISING
SINGAPORE
8 pages of tips to
get you around
t 2011
July/Augus
Bite!
Bite!
Bite!
:(/29(
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It ’s true. The iPhone has
bitten off a hefty 8.5 per cent
chunk f rom the smartphone
market here, making Singapore
the nation with the highest
iPhone penetration.
bit.ly/highestiOs 5(67+(5(
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3/($685(
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Staid Singapore apparently has
its share of lovers who can’t
keep their hands off each other
– so much so that the Mandarin
Gallery has had to ban it from
happening at its rest areas.
6LQJDSRUH
6XUSULVHV
pages of tips to get you around
21-28
Apa macam? Are you in the
mood for some fun as we
celebrate Singapore’s 46th
birthday? Flip these pages
for ideas and rediscover our
t i n y i s l a n d . Fro m m y t h s
and legends, to the origins
o f ro ad n a m e s a n d l o c a l
architecture. There’s something
here to surprise you. Confirm?
Double confirm.
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We are a wacky nation,
according to the Guinness
World Records.
Longest human tooth extracted:
3.2cm from Loo Hui Jing in 2009
Highest number of CDs signed
consecutively: Singaporean pop
singer J J Lin signed 3,052
autographs in two and a half
hours in China, 2007
Most couples on a blind date:
536 people at a Nanyang Technological University combined
Hall of Residence event in 2005
Largest body mass index check:
3,594 participants on National
Healthy Lifestyle Campaign
Day 2004
Most number of people sitting
on one chair: 1,058 backsides
at Springfield Secondary School
in 2008
Can’t imagine? Watch this and other Singapore
Book of Record feats at bit.ly/recordchair
– Rudyard Kipling,
writer, 1889
TRIVIA
08
SEEN OUR UNOFFICIAL
NATIONAL BIRD BEFORE?
It’s the crimson sunbird, that
topped a 2002 Nature Society
poll for a national fowl. Virtually
unknown, it’s red and tiny, like
our spot on the world map.
But if you ask us, we think the
construction crane gets the vote.
tinyurl.com/sgbird
40
)58,7<)/$*
21
For a digital art contest, an
American who lived here for
four years constructed our flag
from fruit. Jillian Kooper used a
red cloth, a banana, and starfruit
slices. Tropical freshness.
bit.ly/proudsg
But can the Singapore brand really be pinned down in a
couple of words? And who holds the final word on our
brand? Are we branding to appeal to an international
audience, or is our brand an articulation of who we really are? I have a sneaking suspicion that how a foreigner
views Singapore might be different from how we see it.
To those visiting our F1 race or moving here for work,
we may be about buzz, opportunity, east meets west. To
us local folks, Singapore is home – familiar hawker centres, where things work, where neighbours
don’t look like us but we get along, and where
we revel in food and being kiasu almost in equal
measure. The Cover Story in this issue looks at how
the Singapore brand is evolving, and whether it is
distinct from our identity, while Colin Goh shares
his thoughts on nation branding in Thinking Aloud.
For me, Singapore stands for an immigrant nation
that has, through sheer hard work and determination, overcome the odds to reach where we are. Our
multicultural society is precious, so too the heritage
our forefathers brought. Now that we’ve reached a
state in our development where we are no longer
struggling to establish ourselves, perhaps we can afford the luxury to sit back and ponder how we want
to define ourselves in the next phase. Our brand is
evolving. And beyond the glistening towers of Marina Bay Sands, or the slogans of business efficacy,
I hope we will not lose our soul in marketing our
country, or neglect the development of our character
as a nation, because being compassionate, generous
and peace-loving as a people are just as valuable to
the Singapore brand.
!"#$%&'(03
Publisher
PS21 Office, Public Service Division,
Prime Minister’s Office
100 High Street, #07-01 The Treasury
Singapore 179434
Email : [email protected]
Web : www.challenge.gov.sg
For enquiries or feedback on Challenge,
please write to the Challenge Editorial Team
at [email protected].
Editorial Advisor
Agnes Kwek
Editor
Tay Li Shing
Assistant Editor
Shaun Khiu
Editorial Assistant
Eric Loy
Tuber Productions Pte Ltd
298 River Valley Road Level 2
Singapore 238339
Tel : 6836-4030
Fax : 6836-4029
Email : [email protected]
Web : www.tuberproductions.com
INBOX
INBOX
I’m highly impressed
by the latest issue of Challenge,
it quite exceeded my expectations :-)
The articles are very engaging,
can’t wait to read them :)
Kudos to the team!
KEEP IT UP!
Ang Mien Li
MTI
Weiling Wong
Project Director
Liew Wei Ping
Editorial
Contributing Editor
Bridgette See
Editorial Consultant
Koh Buck Song
Staff Writer
Chen Jingting
Intern
Siti Maziah Masramli
Contributors
Creative Director
Ashik
Studio Manager
Caroline Chua
Art Director
Yip Siew Fei
Graphic Designers
Amanda Lim, Ng Shi Wei & Ryan Ong
Production Manager
Nurul Malik
I enjoyed the richness
and breadth of content in the latest
Francis Ng
MinLaw
Challenge is published bimonthly by
Tuber Productions Pte Ltd (Registration No:
200703697K) for PS21 Office, Public Service
Division, Prime Minister’s Office. Copyright
of the materials contained in this magazine
belongs to PS21 Office. Nothing in here shall
be reproduced in whole or in part without prior
written consent of PS21 Office. Views expressed
in this magazine are not necessarily those of
PS21 Office or Tuber Productions Pte Ltd and
no liabilities shall be attached there to.
All rights reserved.
All information correct at time of printing.
Printed by KHL Printing Co Pte Ltd
(Registration No: 197801823M)
57 Loyang Drive Singapore 508968
better and better.
The writing is snappy and the topics
are at times thought-provoking. But
I do have one complaint: now that
you’ve written about the quiet outof-the-way cafes, the entire Public
Service will be descending upon
those places!
Ang Siok Hui
I was looking at the most recent
issue of Challenge Magazine, and was
really pleased to see an entire
section on going green!
Diana Ng
MEWR
Farhan Darma
John Heng (www.daphotographer.com)
Norman Ng (www.normanng.com)
Challenge just keeps getting
issue of Challenge, in particular the “12 Trends”. But I
found the break after the eighth trend abrupt:
it broke my reading momentum and I couldn’t
discern any good reason for having that break there.
Staff Photog rapher
Cont ributing Photog raphers
www.challenge.gov.sg.
The Trends articles were thoughtprovoking and the pictures really caught
my eye. I especially liked the piece on
ageing. Looking forward to the next issue.
Hong Xinyi, Ryandall Lim, A Makwana,
Sheralyn Tay & Wong Sher Maine
Creative
Singapore. Guess we’re indeed a food-loving
nation! To read more, go to Challenge Online at
MCYS
Director
Managing Director
Editor: We had many entries using food to describe
Sasmira Adul Rahim
Management
Lee Han Shih
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Congratulations Barkathnisha for sharing with us how you’d describe
Singapore! We are sending you a $100 voucher from Straits Kitchen at
Grand Hyatt Singapore so you could treat your foreign friends to a meal
when they visit.
MTI
I really liked the latest
edition of Challenge! It’s
very hip and refreshing, as
well as informative.
Grace Tham
MOE
GOOD
JOB
on your work in
Challenge magazine –
I am an avid reader of
your publication.
Joshua Lau
MICA
My colleagues and I are very impressed
by the May/June issue. It’s so important
for us to understand the issues Singapore
will be facing so neatly packaged in
your magazine. We’re planning to
generate lessons from the articles for our
graduating English Language classes.
Thank you for your
work of heart.
It’s obvious the amount of care and
diligence that must have gone into the
creation of this issue.
Mrs Shanthi Lingesh
CHIJ Katong Convent
Singapore is like a garden salad, and its people like the
different ingredients that retain distinctive flavours to make up the
salad’s overall taste. We are made up of Chinese, Malays,
Indians, Eurasians and increasingly, people of other nationalities with their own cultural distinctiveness
and strengths, yet we maintain good relations with each other. The ingredients
in a garden salad must be fresh, as
depicted in our ‘new’ Cabinet formed
after a watershed election and a
‘ne w ’ S ingapore f or the future.
Barkath
It is apt to use a food item to
n is h a B e
gum
B
in t e A b d
describe Singapore as it is known as a
ul Razz a
k
‘Food Paradise’!
MOE
Singapore is like chilli padi,
small and short, yet beautiful and
attractive. When you first bite it,
what hits you is its fragrance,
later its ‘power’ surfaces behind
your throat after you have
swallowed it, forcing you to
re-think about it. We are a small
country, with a short history, but
boy, do we have a surprise for you! and food. Good-grade durian
is expensive and Singapore
is expensive. Welcome to one
of the most expensive places
in ASEAN.
Zahri Kasir Mohamad
Yit Chin Chuan
PUB
NLB
Singapore is like yoghurt. It may
appear plain and simple, but deep inside...
it is full of live and active cultures. Just
like yoghurt, once you’ve had a sampling
of Singapore, you’ll feel good inside. Sanjiv Vaswani
AGC
Singapore is like a doughnut – best
defined by what’s not there. If you visit
Singapore, you won’t have problems
finding tasty food, potable water, convenient transport, memorable sights and
plenty of shopping. If you work here, you
won’t have problems finding world-class
infrastructure, business opportunities,
fair competition and a frustratingly
fun time trying to understand Singlish.
If you come here to set up a home, you
won’t have problems finding religious
freedom, racial harmony, decent healthcare, education opportunities, and
understanding the joys and pains of
home karaoke systems. If you are a
Singaporean, you won’t have problems
finding long queues, sales to take
advantage of and, of course, something
to complain about endlessly.
Kristy Lim
CNB
I would describe Singapore as the king
of fruits, the durian, which is sharp,
thorny and dangerous on the outside
but juicy and delicious inside. Similarly,
Singapore might look unattractive with
its ‘harsh’ and ‘strict’ rules but once a
foreigner gets to taste the real Singapore, he will love its delicious taste. To
taste the durian, some effort is required.
To see the beauty of Singapore, one
needs to get to know its people, places
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WORLD CITIES SUMMIT MAYORS FORUM 2011
SHINE YOUTH FESTIVAL 2011
J u l y i s Yo u t h M o n t h , s o c o m e s u p p o r t a n
exciting lineup of youth-organised activities
like Asia’s largest hip-hop event, dance classes
and fundraisers. Three outstanding youths will
receive the Stars of SHINE Award at SHINE’s
Closing Ceremony on July 30.
shine.nyc.sg
NDP 2011 ROADSHOW
Former National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan (second from right) and former Senior Minister
of State for National Development, Ms Grace Fu (left), at the World Mayors Forum 2010.
Get an early start to National Day celebrations at
“The Singapore Spirit” roadshow at ION Orchard
on July 23 and 24, hosted
by celebr it y DJs from
S A F R A R a d i o. Vi s i to r s
can enjoy performances
and win National Day
Parade tickets and fun
p a c k s t h ro u g h g a m e s
and lucky draws.
The annual event, organised by the Centre for Liveable Cities,
is an exclusive and international platform for mayors and
urban leaders to network and discuss replicable best practices
on “high-density, high-liveability development strategies” and urban solutions.
The inaugural forum in June 2010 attracted 30 mayors from 28 cities and 21
countries. This year, more than 50 mayors from 18 countries have confirmed their
attendance. The forum will be on July 4, alongside the Singapore International
Water Week 2011 from July 4-8.
www.worldcities.com.sg
PASSION CARD FOR CIVIL SERVICE CLUB MEMBERS
The Civil Service Club (CSC) is celebrating
its 40th anniversary this year, and has teamed
up with the People’s Association (PA) to
extend PAssion Card benefits to its members.
CSC-PAssion cardholders can enjoy more
facilities and programmes beyond those of its
three clubhouses, such as water sports at PA’s
Water Venture outlets and outdoor adventure
programmes at the Outward Bound School.
WHAT WE LOVE ABOUT HOME
HeritageFest 2011 celebrates our favourite things
about Singapore. It kicks off at Ang Mo Kio on
July 15 and continues at various venues until
July 31. A concert at Fort Canning will feature
well-loved music from the 50s to the present.
heritagefest.sg
www.csc.gov.sg/cscpapopup.html
NEW HDB APP
A mobile-friendly version
of HDB InfoWEB is now
an iPhone application.
Mobile@HDB gives access
to HDB services such as
details of latest HDB sales launches and even
where to shop and eat in the heartlands.
Credit: National Heritage Board
MONUMENTAL WALKING TOURS
Discover more of Singapore and its past with guided
walks of national monuments and historic buildings.
Organised by the Preservation of Monuments Board,
the walking tours happen every weekend in July.
www.pmb.sg
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No longer content to be a ‘Garden City’, Singapore is branding itself as ‘a City in a Garden’ where
greenery and nature is an integral part of life. Challenge looks at how this transformation is
taking place, through the Gardens by the Bay development which will open in 2012.
Te xt by
Sheralyn Tay
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Development
Manager Marziah
Haji Omar (left)
and Horticulturist Khin Maung
Soe are part of
the diverse team
that is working to
create Singapore’s
next green icon,
the Gardens by
the Bay.
Tracing the evolution of greening
Singapore, Mr Poon noted that, in
the early days, “well-tended plants
and verdant spaces made Singapore
an attractive green oasis and gave the
impression of orderliness, cleanliness
and efficient administration… [it made]
Singapore attractive to investors.” A
lush, well-maintained cityscape is still
relevant today in imparting the idea of
liveability, he said.
FROM BROAD GREEN LEAVES
traced with creamy yellow, deep red and
purple rosettes to vivid blue buds, the
incredible beauty and variety of bromeliads – a type of tropical flowering
plant – symbolise the rich diversity that
will be showcased at the new garden
icon that will be Gardens by the Bay.
For Ms Marziah Haji Omar, Development Manager (Gardens by the Bay),
National Parks Board (NParks), learning how to care for an array of unique
plants and use them in the design of
the Gardens’ towering Supertrees and
cooled conservatories has been an eyeopening experience.
“The Supertrees will showcase vertical
planting on a scale never presented
before in a garden. The bromeliads will
add to that uniqueness as they are not
often used in vertical planting,” she
shared. “Many of the hybrids that we
will be using are not commonly found
in this region, and some have colourful
leaves that add to the design element.”
As for the conservatories, which combine cultivation, design and climate
engineering in an iconic shell-like
design, Ms Marziah believes they “illustrate how garden design has evolved
beyond just landscape and horticulture,
to embrace other disciplines like architecture and green engineering.”
Learning about new plants from the
Mediterranean and Tropical Montane
(mountain forest) regions, working
with horticultural experts and being
part of this project is a highlight of
her career and showcases the evolution
of garden design.
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Like the plant life, the team working on
the project reflect diversity in speciality
and background, including specialist
horticulturalists, landscapers, soil scientists, irrigation experts, architects,
engineers and many other consultants
from Singapore and the world.
Greening and liveability
As they enhance Singapore’s new downtown, the Gardens will also mark a new
trajectory for Singapore’s country brand.
NParks CEO Poon Hong Yuen sees the
Gardens representing the conceptual
shift from ‘Garden City’ to ‘A City in
a Garden’ – from having a garden in
your house to having a house in your
garden. “The idea is of greenery that
is more pervasive,” he explained. “It is
integrated in the city”.
This comes as public green spaces
become a key definition of a liveable
city, beyond good physical and social
infrastructure in public transport, education and healthcare, good economic
opportunities, stable political systems
and a safe living environment. Cities
that top liveability indexes time and
again have good green credentials in
environmental policies, green buildings
and lots of nature and biodiversity accessible to citizens. Take, for example,
Vancouver, with over 200 parks, and
Vienna, one of Europe’s greenest cities.
According to the Centre for Liveable
Cities in Singapore, urban green spaces
impart aesthetic value, foster social
interaction, increase physical and psychological health, improve air quality,
reduce urban heat and create unique
habitats. As urban theorist and architect
William Lim says in Livable Urban
Spaces in Singapore, integrating green
spaces enhances an urban environment
by ‘softening’ a hard grey cityscape of
skyscrapers and roads.
COOLED CONSERVATORIES
The ‘City in a Garden’ movement is an
elevation of ideals envisioned by Singapore’s early leaders. “Today, we take
the greening of Singapore to another
level. It is part of our image as a liveable
city with lots of nature, greenery and
biodiversity that is well within reach,
in an urban setting.”
He points to how green spaces have –
literally – flourished; from streetscapes
and roadside trees, to parks that
have become recreational spaces,
and to the iconic Botanic Gardens
and Gardens by the Bay. NParks
manages some 1.3 million roadside
trees and more than 300 parks –
including 60 large regional ones
in Singapore. Park connectors,
rooftop green spaces, a planned
green corridor in Orchard Road
to nurture a butterfly trail and
more add to the “greener y is
everywhere” concept.
Two cooled conservatories will showcase
different ecosystems and plants unique to these
climates. The 1.2 hectare Flower Dome replicates
cool dry conditions and will be home to plant
species from the Mediterranean and semi-arid
tropical regions. The 0.8 hectare Cloud Forest
– complete with ‘cloud mountain’ and waterfall
– will simulate a cool-moist climate of tropical
mountain regions.
SUPERTREES
Taking vertical greening to new heights, the
Supertrees – man-made tree-like structures
rising 25 to 50 metres in height – will host a
myriad of plant life. These include exotic ferns,
vines, orchids, bromeliads and other types of air
plants. The Supertrees will also mimic real trees.
They ‘photosynthesise’ via photovoltaic cells that
help to light the trees at night. Their ‘canopies’
will give shade while some of the Supertrees’
‘trunks’ will ventilate the conservatories.
A living brand
Making plants a ubiquitous part
of the landscape has another advantage – biodiversity. Green spaces provide homes for all manner
of birds, butterflies, insects and
small mammals. “We’ve learnt
that if we mix tall trees and
shrubs along the street, it helps
birds migrate better,” Mr Poon shared.
Breeding efforts have also helped reintroduce the native hornbill – which
disappeared from Singapore over 150
years ago. Today, these beautiful birds
with distinctive beaks can be spied in
Changi Village and the Botanic Gardens
– there are even several ‘presidential’
hornbills at the Istana.
Also unique are majestic old trees. Mr
Poon recalled taking visitors to Orchard
Road and what struck them most was
the sight of grand old rain trees behind
Grange Road. “They literally stopped
in their tracks and took out their
cameras… These old trees located in
a busy shopping stretch is something
that is not easy to replicate.”
W hen the Gardens are completed,
it will be a habitat where people,
flora and fauna coexist in an urban
setting. Going by the experience of
the Botanic Gardens – Singapore’s
original green jewel – and its standing as one of the best, most beautiful
and diverse gardens in the world, Mr
Poon is confident that Gardens by the
Bay will similarly elevate Singapore’s
standing as a truly unique and green
global city, a key differentiating factor
for Singapore’s brand.
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FEW COUNTRIES CURRENTLY
dominate international headlines as
much as ascendant superpower China.
But its ubiquity on the world stage also
proves that, when it comes to nation
branding, a higher profile comes with
intense scrutiny.
For every article about its stunning new
architectural wonders and powerhouse
economy, there are more about dire
working conditions in factories and
suppression of dissident voices.
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No cheesy slogans, an emphasis on soft power and reconnecting with
the emotive aspects of Singapore’s national identity – the next phase of
nation branding for the little red dot is all about sweet persuasion. by
Hong Xinyi
The recent detention of artist Ai Weiwei is a case in point – this outspoken
critic of the Chinese government was
an artistic consultant for the “bird’s
nest ” stadium built f or the 2008
Beijing Olympics, a role that further
heightens international interest in his
current plight.
The Beijing Olympics, an exercise in
nation branding and highly praised for
its spectacular ceremonies, was already
full of dissonant notes. China was
criticised for clamping down on press
freedom and human rights.
“The Beijing Olympics did not feel
inviting, like you were going to visit
friends,” says Gregor Halff, associate
professor of corporate communication
at Singapore Management University
and former managing partner of communications consultancy Publicis.
By contrast, Japan’s strong country
brand seems impervious to negative
factors like its ailing economy. “It used
to be a nation that does cheap knockoffs
but it is now a symbol of creativity,
technological advancement and quality,”
says Mr Chris Lee, founder and creative
director of noted homegrown design
studio and retail company Asylum.
This was demonstrated clearly when the
recent earthquake in Japan inspired an
outpouring of posters and merchandise
by international designers for aid campaigns. Many designs boasted a clean,
minimalist aesthetic that clearly drew
on the signature spare elegance of the
Japanese artistic tradition. When other
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cultures can quote the trademarks of a
nation’s brand so eloquently, and in the
service of that nation, that surely must
be rated a success in nation branding.
The differing images of these two
Asian countries are useful lessons for
Singapore as it embarks on a new
phase of nation branding. Ultimately,
says Prof Halff, there is only so much
branding can do.
“With any nation branding, there is
always more communication about you
than there is coming from you. What
a country can do is make its broader
reputation in tune with the values of
its brand, because a brand is only a
small slice of your reputation,” he says.
“Countries like Switzerland don’t do
much branding, but its reputation is
very strong. A country like Qatar, which
brands itself as the most open society
in the Middle East, is founding new
universities and a breathtaking museum
of Islamic art, which is all in tune with
what they want to stand for.”
In other words, it would be counterproductive to harp too much on the
magic of branding, and neglect the
real essence of what makes a nation
memorable to others – its policies,
practices and people.
Why branding matters
As a marketable, quantifiable concept, “nation branding” arrived on
the scene in 1996, courtesy of British
policy advisor Simon Anholt. Today,
a country’s “brand” – which encompasses perceptions of its economy,
government, citizenry and culture – is
frequently assessed in international polls
and indexes.
In practice, however, “nation branding”
is much older. History is what happens;
nation branding is simply what we make
of it. In this more organic sense, nation
branding has been around for about as
long as there have been nations.
This is particularly true of countries
born under exceptional circumstances,
which had to define themselves in a hurry to justify their existence. Singapore,
thrust unexpectedly into independence
as a resource-poor, economically vulnerable city-state, is certainly exceptional
in this case.
In his new book Brand Singapore: How
Nation Branding Built Asia’s Leading
Global City, Singaporean writer and
consultant Koh Buck Song argues that
nation branding has been crucial to
Singapore’s economic success since the
earliest days of independence, with key
government agencies attracting foreign
investment by conveying an image of
a safe, efficient and corruption-free
Garden City.
Drawing investment continues to be
a strong focus today, but the type of
investment has shifted somewhat as
Singapore transitions to a knowledge
economy, and it needs to adjust to the
new environment, including doing more
to project its soft power. Increasingly,
multinational companies and foreign
talent are likely to place as much
emphasis on a vibrant arts scene and
creative labour force as on security
and convenience.
Ms Karyn Lim, director of business
consultancy A.S. Louken, says that
in her 10 years of consulting for local enterprises, she has observed that
for certain clusters, nation-led branding efforts have helped companies
build positive brand perceptions of
their products.
0"31$%&."$(11
“In China, Singapore’s traditional
Chinese medicine such as bird’s nests
are prized for quality and safety. As
such, they’re able to command a price
premium over other countries’ similar
imports. The Singapore mark of trust
in the HACCP (a food safety assurance programme) and even the Merlion
seal have become a powerful brand
endorsement of local food manufacturing brands moving overseas, in light of
recent high-profile food safety scares
in Asia.”
But it is not the same in creative and
fashion circles. “With the exception
of local brands like Charles & Keith,
alldressedup and BICE, Singaporean
fashion brands are not known to gain
traction amongst international pundits
in the last 20 years,” she says.
Creative talent like fashion designer
Ashley Isham may have done well
internationally, yet one does not immediately associate his work with the
Singapore brand. This could explain why
the little red dot is working so hard to
market itself as a creative hotspot to
foreign audiences.
Says Ms Carol Tan, director of the
Resilience and Marketing Division at
the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts (MICA):
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“Singapore faces intense competition
as more countries make tremendous
efforts to strategically reposition themselves. We’re in a ‘brand lag’ situation
where the perception of what we have
to offer does not match reality – while
we continue to embody our existing
core strengths, we have transformed
ourselves in recent years.”
Not a campaign or slogan
In essence, this is the message being sent to the international audience: Forget about chewing gum and
Michael Fay already, and embrace a
new Singapore that is softer, sleeker
and sweeter.
To that end, the inter-ministry National
Marketing Action Committee was
formed in 2006 to align communications efforts across different agencies.
For instance, while advertising
Singapore as a paragon of colourful multi-racial harmony to outsiders, the State has often raised the
spectre of past racial riots to its
citizens to underline the fragility of
this harmony.
Last year (2010), a new national marketing platform was unveiled after a
nine-month consultative process that
included feedback from Singapore’s
public and private sectors as well as
international stakeholders.
Called “the Spirit of Singapore”, the key
brand attributes of this new platform
are: Nurturing, transforming, collaborating and daring-to-dream.
In the Brand Singapore Messaging
Guide, these four attributes are acknowledged to be at least partly aspirational – this is rather unusual for a
brand message, more often an idealised
distillation of national traits, but seldom
projected as work-in-progress.
These attributes are not meant to be
repeated as slogans for any explicit
branding campaign, but to drive future
work in policies and communications,
and to inspire and guide agencies
crafting their own marketing materials. In other words, the next phase of
marketing Brand Singapore is all about
soft-sell.
Searching for identity
In his book Brand Singapore, Mr
Koh writes: “Identity is character,
a set of characterisations that flesh
out someone or something. This be-
comes a brand only when effort is
put in to communicate it to target
audiences, and to sustain this messaging over time.” In this conceptual framework, a brand is a sustained
positioning of an identity to internal and external audiences.
Internally, a short history means
an identity still in flux. In the early
years of independence, Singapore
was trying to build a shared national identity for its own citizens
even as it was trying to project a
cohesive image for the rest of the
world. Not surprisingly, brand and
identity have not always turned out
the same.
Potential for dissonance is arguably
greater today, as Brand Singapore
forges ahead with a shiny cosmopolitan image even as two out of
three of the 2,016 Singaporeans
interviewed in a 2010 Institute of
Policy Studies survey indicated concern about the impact of foreigners
on national unity.
Hence, to effectively converge identity and brand is one of the greatest challenges facing the Resilience
and Marketing Division. The Resilience side of the division addresses
local residents, while the Marketing
side’s target audience is the international community. Both teams work
closely to ensure that locals and
foreigners are not ‘seeing’ two vastly
different Singapores.
Mr Chan Yeng Kit, Permanent
Secretary (MICA) tells Challenge:
“How the world sees us and how we
see ourselves have to be congruent
and authentic, and therein lies
A TIMELINE OF SOME EVENTS THAT SHAPED SINGAPORE’S IMAGE
1960s
1992
The Garden City moniker
is coined by then-Prime
Minister Lee Kuan Yew
to create an image
of a nation that took
pride in the care of its
environment.
1961
Economic Development
Board set up to attract
foreign investment.
1972
Singapore Airlines
debuts. The Singapore
Girl becomes such a
successful marketing
symbol that a wax statue
of her is displayed in
Madame Tussauds in
London in 1994.
1983
1981
Changi Airport opens
and starts accumulating
a steady stream of
accolades.
1982
Cosmopolitan magazine
is banned for racy
content. The ban is
lifted in 2004.
Trade Development
Board, later renamed
International Enterprise
Singapore, launched
to help Singapore
companies expand
abroad.
1990s
Singapore joins Hong
Kong, South Korea and
Taiwan as one of the
Asian Tigers – a phrase
coined to describe
the fast-growing
economies of these
Asian countries.
1994
American teenager
Michael Fay is
sentenced to caning
for vandalism, causing
an international furore
when President Bill
Clinton interceded.
2002
2000
The import and sale
of chewing gum is
banned – an infamous
prohibition that was
heard about, and stuck,
around the world.
In 2004, therapeutic
gum is re-allowed into
Singapore.
Speakers’ Corner at
Hong Lim Park marked
as a “free speech area”
where speaking events
could be held without
the need to apply for a
licence under the Public
Entertainments Act.
Credit: Singapore Tourism Board
1994
Night Safari zoo opens
and becomes a popular
tourist attraction.
The Esplanade –
Theatres on the Bay
opens and is promptly
christened The Durians
by Singaporeans.
2000
The Ministry of
Information and The
Arts (MITA) produces
the first Renaissance
City Report, laying
out a plan to turn
Singapore into a
culturally vibrant
world-class city.
Credit: Singapore Tourism Board
2000
The first ZoukOut takes
place. It is now one of
Asia’s biggest and most
popular dance music
festivals.
2005
Government announces
plan to open two
integrated resorts, each
comprising a casino,
hotels and malls. Marina
Bay Sands and Resorts
World Sentosa begin
operations in 2010.
2005
Credit: Singapore Tourism Board
2003
The first Singapore
Season is launched in
London to showcase
the republic’s arts and
culture to a foreign
audience.
Singapore Tourism
Board introduces the
Uniquely Singapore
tagline, replacing
previous slogans
New Asia, Surprising
Singapore
and Instant Asia.
0"31$%&."$(13
the challenge and importance of the
work we undertake. A strong national identity not only unites our
people, but also enables them to become our best ambassadors, when
overseas or when interacting with
visitors to Singapore.”
Hence, the same soft-sell approach
is being used increasingly to communicate with citizens.
In recent years, Singaporeans are
increasingly being wooed with more
emotive national identity initiatives
that tug at your heartstrings rather than hit you over the head with
slogans. Think the series of ads espousing family values commissioned
by the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (read
our coverage in Challenge Sep/Oct
2010) in recent years, which use the
aesthetic of arthouse films in the
service of government campaigns.
Justin Zhuang, a contributing editor
for the Design Society Journal and
the founder of the Singapore Visual
Archive website, also cites the 2010
Project Singa as a successful example
of a national identity initiative.
Supported by the Singapore Kindness Movement, this project invited
corporations, local artists and members of the public to submit their
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own designs for the well-known
courtesy mascot, Singa the Lion.
“The concept basically confidently
left the designs in the participants’
hands. The message from the organisers is that this is not our mascot,
this is your mascot.”
To celebrate Total Defence Day
this February, a Home music video
launched by MINDEF ’s national
education arm Nexus starred 39
local artistes from different generations, ethnic backgrounds and
musical genres, performing a song
composed by Dick Lee and first
sung by Kit Chan in 1998 as a National Day song.
Ms Chan mooted the idea and was
the project ’s executive director. The
video was the latest instalment of
2006
2009
Singapore hosts the
Asia-Pacific Economic
Cooperation Leaders
Meeting.
Credit: Singapore Tourism Board
2008
2006
Singapore hosts
the World Bank/
International Monetary
Fund meetings.
The first Formula 1
Grand Prix Night
Race is flagged off
in Singapore.
2008
The first Singapore
Biennale debuts.
2009
Singapore Media Fusion
Plan is unveiled. It aims
to turn Singapore into a
media hub.
After all, a branding initiative becomes more effective the more authentic and unfiltered it is. Prof
Halff says a good way for state-led
branding to get its bearings is by
listening to what citizens tell their
foreign friends about Singapore.
“There is a lot of truth in those conversations that gets at the core of a
country’s reputation, and it is easy
to tap into this market research.”
Living up to aspirations
Underscoring the inextricable link
between nation branding and national identity, the Brand Singapore messaging guide explains that
besides having an economic and
growth perspective, branding aims
to inspire a sense of pride among
Singaporeans, particularly youth,
who are “constantly bewildered
by others’ lack of understanding
of Singapore.”
But it may not be so easy to convince Singaporeans, as Asylum’s
Mr Lee points out: “Both STB and
EDB have done an excellent job in
positioning us. (But) perhaps we
have done too well in creating an
image that we need to live up to. I
don’t think we’re as exciting as we
seem to be.”
Italian fashion brand
Salvatore Ferragamo
launches necktie with
Merlion motif.
2010
Singapore hosts
the inaugural Youth
Olympics.
2011
Trade event
ScreenSingapore
debuts. It acts as a
premiere location for
Asian films, as well as
a preview spot for US
blockbusters.
2010
YourSingapore becomes
the new tourism
tagline.
example, when a film submitted for
a Nexus competition is used to promote Singapore at an international
conference.
The appeal to nostalgia and patriotism, wrapped in a stylish package,
garnered more than 250,000 views
on YouTube, and was shown on national TV and the cinemas. More
importantly, the campaign had Singaporeans responding with more
than 800 of their own Home videos.
2010
The biennial
Singapore Garden
Festival debuts.
Credit: Singapore Tourism Board
annual Total Defence campaigns
that had become “increasingly emotive, reflective and personal”, says
Colonel Lim Kok Siong, then Director of Nexus.
Credit: Singapore Tourism Board
Beyond branding
Stills from the Home music video
launched by Nexus to celebrate
Total Defence Day in 2011.
Pictures from Ministry of Defence
After all, becoming known as a cool,
creative city requires those living
here to first walk the talk. Says Mr
Lee: “ What we need is to reflect
so that we understand who we are
and how are we to change before we
project a certain image of ourselves.
We do not become creative or hip
just by saying so.”
He suggests a bold, out-of-the-box
move: “Perhaps we should appoint
a creative director for the nation.
That will be a first for any country
and a great initiative to show the
world that we mean business. It will
also ensure consistency in all our
creative efforts.”
Ms Lim of A.S. Louken says another
way to nurture local creativity is for
the Government to tap Singaporean
talent for high-profile projects, as
is done in Thailand, nurturing Thai
creative brands for the world’s fashion runways.
Prof Halff notes that large accounts
in public relations and advertising
very often go to international companies, much more so than in places
like Hong Kong, Japan and Shang-
hai. “Give local creatives a chance
to highlight their own work. They
have more knowledge of the product
and their involvement is a testament
to the brand you are selling.”
This has already started happening.
Mr Zhuang cites the 2010 National
Day Parade, for which local design
collective Farm was appointed the
first NDP branding director. “The
gift packs, posters etc, were all very
uniform in design and chosen with
great care,” he notes. “Of course,
you shouldn’t pick a local team just
for the sake of going local, that
would be an insult to creatives here.
But pick the cream of the crop, and
leave the creative decisions in their
hands. It ’s a way of involving people
who are living here so that they feel
a stake in this nation.”
The ultimate test of successful
convergence between identity and
branding may well be when the
messages being conveyed directly by
citizens become the best advertisement for Brand Singapore – say, for
Indeed, the importance of the citizen
as the most trusted brand ambassador
of the country has become clear. In a
recent Straits Times article (April 4,
2011), Koh Buck Song points out that
the citizen on the street is Singapore’s
missing ingredient in successful nation
branding. While our iconic buildings
may line us up with other countries
in the “global branding race”, it will
be the people who give the vital boost
to Brand Singapore.
The Civil Service College’s Institute
of Policy Development points out in
a paper, Nation Branding and National
Identity, that Simon Anholt, who has
been dubbed the ‘father of place branding’, argues that citizens need to ‘live’
the brand.
But a 2005 Anholt Nation Brands
Index study indicated that Singapore
scored lower in self-image than almost
all countries with top country brands.
This led the paper’s authors to question
if more fundamental issues of national
confidence and self-identity need to
be addressed.
So, rather than just ask what branding
could do for a country, perhaps the real
question is what a country – including
its business sector and ordinary citizens
– is doing to nurture the qualities that
its branding envisions.
Editor: What are your thoughts on nation branding? Do we need it? How can we do it better?
Email us your views at [email protected]
14 I7,*4*.*"5
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In a wide-ranging interview,
Permanent Secretary of the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Bilahari Kausikan likens
diplomats to potters, calls the
study of international relations
a “fraud discipline” and says
every public officer has a duty
to speak up - like he does.
by
6.(#1!6$
Renowned architect Richard Rogers presents his best works
in collaboration with the Urban Redevelopment Authority.
The exhibition has been drawing
visitors – especially architectural
aficionados – keen to grasp the
architects’ design philosophy. But it
is not just the sketches and models of projects like the Shanghai
Masterplan (pictured) that impress.
It is the commitment to breathe
life into compact cities by designing
buildings that integrate public spaces,
that helps communities to interact
and thrive.
Richard Rogers + Architects: From the
House to the City ends on July 23, 2011.
Free admission. Mon to Fri: 8.30am –
7.00pm, Sat: 8.30am – 4.30pm.
Closed on Sundays and Public Holidays.
© Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners
1%8(#+((#
6.(#.%&+(#
SEE T H E BRIGH T P I NK
sofas at The URA Centre’s atrium?
Plop down and make yourself at
home. Then take a deep breath to
contemplate 40 years of the best
works from award-winning British
architect Richard Rogers and his
partners, in the sun-drenched space.
Wong Sher Maine
!";-++("<*.%333"17
MR BILAHARI KAUSIKAN SAYS
he did not choose to join the elite
Administrative Service and he wants to
put this on record.
“The world is fundamentally illogical and
therefore unpredictable,” he said. “If in
diplomacy, you try five things and two
work, you are actually doing quite well.”
“Let us be very clear,” said the Permanent
Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“The Administrative Service imposed
itself on me and several others in the
Foreign Service. We were shanghai-ed in
against our will.”
Adding to the turbulence is the world’s
profound, uncertain state of transformation. “There are new centres of power
emerging in China, India, and while the
US used to be at the top of the hierarchy, it has found it increasingly difficult
to act alone. The result is a less governable world where many things will be
sub-optimally dealt with, if at all.”
Then a Foreign Service Officer aged 29,
Mr Kausikan and some of his colleagues
were marshalled into their boss’s office
and told this handful of non-scholars
would be absorbed into the Administrative Service the following Monday.
What this calls for is a tad less bureaucracy at the MFA and diplomats who can
empathise – “I don’t mean warm and
fuzzy feelings but being able to understand where another person is coming
from in order to get your own way”, who
can keep their eye on the goal amidst a
confusing swirl of events and who have
acquired instincts to know which way the
wind is blowing.
“We thought it was extremely divisive,
to suddenly separate the sheep from the
goats. I said no, but it was not a matter
of choice.”
Now 57, Mr Kausikan has spent three
decades in the MFA where he was ambassador to Russia, and Singapore’s
Permanent Representative to the United
Nations in New York.
In public memory, he is better-known
as someone unafraid to speak his mind,
from writing a personal letter to a blogger who criticised a speech he had made
at her school in 2006, to a speech in
2004 which is still making ripples in the
Public Service, that the PS21 ExCEL
movement had “lost its way”. “I say what
I think. I am me, I can’t be anything but
me,” he said.
Getting to the MFA
Mr Kausikan is a voracious reader –
“even of the telephone directory in the
extreme” – who was once on the road to
academia. While writing his dissertation
for his international relations PhD at
New York’s Columbia University, he had
a “satori” – a moment of enlightenment:
“I realised I’d be a damn rotten teacher.
And why would I want a PhD when it’s
just a trade union card for teaching?”
He chose to serve out his eight-year bond
in the Foreign Service as his father had
been an ambassador, and the MFA was
“the only place I knew something about.”
“I ended up struggling to forget everything I had learnt,” he said. “Interna-
He tells his officers: “A diplomat is a
potter who forges a beautiful relationship. But one day I might order you to
smash the pot because it’s in the national
interest. Being nice or having friendly
relations is a means. The end must be
national interest.”
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tional relations is a fraud discipline and
is the worst possible training for a career
in the foreign service. As a PhD student,
we spent an inordinate amount of time
debating what the fundamental basis of a
country’s foreign policy was: if it was economic, financial or domestic. I thought
the world was a logical place.
“I have now concluded that foreign policy is really a series of improvisations towards a goal that should be agreed on.”
Working in unpredictable world
What really distinguishes MFA from
the rest of the Public Service is that it
operates in a global environment.
A scholar-blind culture
Work at the MFA is very different
from other ministries, stressed Mr
Kausikan. The risk of failure is high due
to the intrinsically uncertain environment, and officers who formulate policies
are also expected to carry them out directly, hence requiring “a different frame
of mind”.
The need to be empathetic, to adapt to
breaking world events, and that special instinct to analyse and understand
situations are qualities needed in a good
Foreign Service officer. Intelligence, he
added, is therefore overrated as it is not
the only necessary quality.
being frank with each other. Sometimes
leaks happen. Everybody takes it in
their stride.”
If public officers are cautious about what
they say, this is what he would tell them:
“Then [you] are not doing [your] job
because the job of a public officer is to
give advice… If you get reprimanded, so
what? Are you such a shrinking violet
that you’d wither away and die?”
To him, a good public officer is not afraid
to speak up and will vigorously defend
his view, but once the decision is made,
sticks with it even if it may not be what
he agrees with.
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“You are complicit,” he stressed. “You
carry out the decision and don’t complain
after the event. This is the value of the
Public Service. If you had really felt so
strongly about it at the time, you should
have resigned.”
Hence, the ministry has evolved what Mr
Kausikan calls a “scholar-blind” culture.
“Yes, I have,” he said. “Then I think, is it
such a big deal? It wasn’t. On the whole,
am I content? Happy? Doing something useful? Yes. I came here intending to serve out my bond but I forgot
to leave.”
“A scholarship is just a point of entry. It
would be a grave mistake to think that it
is an escalator. I don’t care if people are
scholars or not. I discriminate between
people who can do their work and people
who can’t,” said Mr Kausikan, who acknowledges that the scholarship system
has “worked fairly well” in reeling talent
into the Public Service.
However, he notes that there are some
scholars who have admitted to him that
they were reluctant to join the MFA
because it is scholar-blind.
“I’m told some Management Associates don’t like to come here because they
think they get no special privileges here,
which is true, and they have to compete
with a lot of clever people. They felt they
would have less chance of shining and
therefore transiting to AO (Administrative Service Officer) scheme if they came
to the Foreign Ministry because we treat
everybody equal.
“In my personal opinion, those scholars
who have a huge sense of entitlement are
the ones who are probably not going to
make it.”
Scholars aside, what matters more is who
can contribute best where. For instance,
while the MFA has become larger and
more professional over the years, an internal challenge he is now grappling with
is manpower demographics.
Has he ever thought of resigning?
MFA, which went on a recruitment drive
in the 90s after a decade-long stagnation, is now peopled with young directors
ready to go out and replace ambassadors
for whom suitable jobs will have to be
found back home.
“(MFA) is an animal with a huge head,
huge bottom with a rather thin waist,”
described Mr Kausikan. “We have a
larger proportion of super-scale and
senior positions than any other ministry. Some senior people will have to
come back and take advisory positions in
other agencies that are discerning that
they need to be able to act internationally
and regionally.”
No regrets
Looking back over his own career, he
has no regrets, never over anything
he has said, and certainly not over the
incident when unflattering statements
he had made of the Malaysian leadership were published on whistleblower
website Wikileaks. “Diplomacy is about
What’s usually in your cuppa?
Coffee in the mornings; green tea in
the afternoons. In the evenings, more
often than not, Jack Daniels
What’s your favourite drink?
Bourbon — Jack Daniels or
Maker’s Mark
Where do you normally go for your
favourite drink?
I refuse to reveal my favourite bar -those who need to know already know
and those who do not already know
obviously do not need
to know :-)
>1'.#$119
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He rejects the idea that when scholarship holders come from the same
educational institutions, they would all
think like clones. He believes if they
were bright, they would not allow
their education and training to
restrain their thinking.
In 1951, the Public Service Commission was established. A system unique in the
region for grooming top public sector talent was born. Sixty years on, is the system still
relevant? Chairman of PSC Eddie Teo tells A Makwana the game is far from over.
No room for
obnoxious scholars
T H ERE HAS BEEN MUCH
slaughtering of sacred cows in Singapore these days. While there will be
no sea change at the Public Service
Commission, there will be at least one
marked difference.
The Board that picks the best brains
for the Public Service will be looking out more and more for one
core quality – empathy, says PSC Chairman Eddie Teo.
“The government has identified what I
would call empathy as a vital quality
for our public servants… This is clearly
something that’s felt at the top and if
it doesn’t permeate through the whole
Service, the people of Singapore are
going to be terribly disappointed.”
But surely empathy would have been a
criterion all along? Yes, acknowledges
Mr Teo, but now there will be an even
greater emphasis.
“Not every public servant (has empathy). There’s been a tendency in the
past to recognise and reward people
for the ability to formulate policies
rather than implement policies with
the understanding of how they will
impact people. It’s a question of shifting
emphasis…. Is he or she someone who
can feel with his or her heart and not
just think with the head?”
But the task is admittedly difficult
when the Board is looking at student
applicants wanting to get into the
public sector.
“It is not going to be easy to determine whether an 18-year-old has or
lacks empathy.”
While Mr Teo recognises that empathy
is an innate quality, he believes it can
be nurtured through proper incentives (not financial ones, he clarifies)
and as officers spend time dealing
with real people with real problems
on the ground.
“Public servants must not go strictly
by the book and ignore individual
circumstances and individuals seeking
assistance. The principle behind the
rule is always more important than
the rule itself.”
Finding the right talent
Conformists and yes-men are a definite
no-no here.
Recalling one incident during scholarship interviews, Mr Teo says: “There
was one candidate we met the other
day who told the psychologist, ‘I think
I’m suitable for the Public Service
because I follow rules very strictly and
never question authority.’ Of course we
didn’t take him in.”
The other misconception is that all
scholarship holders
are automatically
put on the fast
track to success.
Mr Teo stressed
that those with a
sense of entitlement
will be weeded out.
Yet, with significant taxpayers’ money pumped into these
scholarships, concerns remain.
One potentially contentious
issue brought up during the
recent General Election was
the relatively low numbers of
scholarships awarded to minorities relative to their numbers in the
overall population.
“If your peers and subordinates think you are a
horrible fellow, it will surface… so
if you are haughty and demanding
and you think you can get by because
you are a scholar, you will be very sorry
because you won’t reach the top.”
“As far as the PSC is concerned,
anybody, despite his or her race,
who appears before us and deserves
a scholarship will get a scholarship.
We do not discriminate against certain races and there are no quotas.”
While there is no official system to
ensure more proportionate representation of races among scholarship holders,
the PSC does give a nudge if it finds
too few non-Chinese applicants in a
particular year.
“We go back to the schools and say
so-and-so has done extremely well,
we’d like to speak to the person to see
if they want to apply.” But some, he
says, may simply not want to join the
Public Service.
Still, PSC continues to confront what
Mr Teo believes are misconceptions.
One is that theirs is a cookie-cutter approach, with scholarship holders largely
coming from the same schools, then
the same universities and eventually
ending up as similar-thinking officers.
While Mr Teo admits that many of
the best students tend to come from
Hwa Chong Institution and Raffles
Institution, that is changing, as the
educational system broadens. “There
was one year when nobody from Hwa
Chong became a President’s Scholar. I’m
not sure whether they all wore black
armbands the next day,” he chuckles.
Like the Foreign Ministry’s Permanent
Secretary Bilahari Kausikan (A Cuppa
With… on pg 15), Mr Teo thinks
every ministry should have a “scholarblind” attitude.
“If you have someone saying ‘I am a
scholar and you better take me in and
make sure I do all the important jobs’,
then I pity the ministry that takes
him in because he isn’t going to be a
good officer.”
Mr Teo pointed out that scholarship
holders who have failed to perform have
been asked to leave. The Administrative
Service is also not an exclusive club
for scholarship holders only. The PSC
E".%131$(%2#4-*8%
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does appoint and promote top public
sector talent even if they are nonscholarship holders. Last year, 11 open
market candidates were appointed to the
Management Associates Programme.
Still, people continue to question the
need for a scholarship system. And with
the political arena already undergoing
“epochal changes”, is there likely to be
a spillover effect?
“I don’t see radical revolutionar y
changes in the PSC. We have done
this for a long time. We spend a lot of
money and resources building up future
leaders in the Public Service. But so
long as there is no huge outcry about
the system, we continue to sharpen our
tools so that we really choose the right
people and do not miss the people who
fall between the cracks.”
What about leaving a personal mark
behind?
“I don’t look for legacies. I just do my
job. And if 10-15 years from now, the
Public Service is still a good Public
Service with good people at the top,
that’s it. I will be very happy.”
20 J,*5C*5+%?-"#6
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Pay attention to being
authentic too, says Colin Goh.
!"#$%&'(&&
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WHENEVER I HEAR THE WORD
”branding”, I immediately think of
applying a red-hot piece of metal
to a cow’s behind. Of course, this is
because I grew up in an era when the
act of distinguishing one’s product from
those of one’s competitors was simply
called “marketing”.
At this point, I’m sure all you professionals out there will jump up and
educate me about the distinction
between “branding” and “marketing”,
and that branding isn’t just some bland
packaging exercise, it’s about crafting
an experience, a personality, even an
identity. Okay, okay, whatever. Full
marks for paying attention during your
seminar/MBA.
Sure, creating a distinct and appealing professional identity is crucial in
today’s increasingly crowded marketplace, whether you’re a corporation, an
individual, and now, it seems, a country.
But I have very mixed feelings about it.
I owe my ambivalence to the Government’s anti-Singlish campaign. At the
time it was launched, I was stuck in
New York doing a graduate degree and
the sounds of Singlish were a balm for
my homesick soul. I was baffled that
people wanted to wipe out something
that was giving me (and my friends)
so much pleasure.
While I appreciated the good intentions
of wanting us to improve our ability to
communicate with our global clientele,
the so-called “Speak Good English
Movement” overreached by trying to
eradicate Singlish in informal and even
fictional settings. (Remember how the
producers of Phua Chu Kang were
pressured to have him sent for remedial
English classes? I certainly can’t forget
how a trailer for one of my films
was banned from TV because it
had Singlish in it – apparently on
TV, you can’t have dialogue that
reflects how we actually speak.)
I was greatly cheered when there was a
huge backlash from the public, because
most of us know Singlish isn’t just
pidgin; it’s full of humorous, inventive,
cross-cultural wordplay and may be the
only bit of our culture that is actually
uniquely Singaporean.
What the brouhaha proved was that
branding is useful for one’s professional
image, but it’s a mistake to believe your
marketing persona can
be a true reflection of
yourself or that you
should contort everything about yourself
to fit your hype.
!33%*,6!%3how the authorities try pitching New
York as a tourist-friendly destination,
no one is fooled when they land and
have to negotiate the filthy subways,
the rude cashiers and the hucksters.
When Mayor Giuliani tried mounting
a Singapore-style courtesy campaign, he
was the butt of jokes. Anyway, visitors
soon realise that New Yorkers’ snarky
attitude is very much what gives the
city its unique energy.
L;%.,1$1K/%'%-1//"5%;"$%&*5+'2"$1:%
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9"$1%*5.1$1/.*5+=
This is because branding is a product of pragmatism. The
brand you concoct must be based on
what works to extract the bucks from
your target audience, but that ’s all.
Because contexts change, in which case,
a new persona is needed. If you’re a
startup, it might suit you to be perceived
as a nimble maverick. But when you
become the market leader, to continue
posing as an iconoclast is like being an
auntie in a miniskirt.
So one must have a sense of proportion when you’re seeking to “brand”
a country, which is more than just
a simple corporation. Frankly, living
in New York for the past decade has
shown me that people like a place
that’s more than just what’s touted in
its bland tourist brochures. No matter
If there’s a lesson for Singapore, it’s that
authenticity is always more interesting.
Singapore advertises a fair bit in the
American media, with pretty ads and
clever slogans, but everyone I speak to
continues to think of us as a micromanaging nanny state. Any branding
exercise which seeks to Photoshop our
perceived inadequacies away is only
bound to reinforce that image.
As with its roots in cattle farming,
there’s a point at which the brand can
come perilously close to B.S.
Colin Goh is currently in New York,
working on several international coproductions.
*+)#8()(
!8!6,6!%3-
!+#6.(#',$#6%#4%
by J Y Pillay
Chairman, Council of Presidential Advisors (2005 to date)
Permanent Secretary, Ministry of National Development (1989-1995)
DEAR YOUNG OFFICER,
It is some 15 years since I left the Civil
Service, and a long 55 years ago that
I started my working life.
The question naturally arises, what
points of contact are there between
my generation and the generations of
today, whether Generation X or Gen
Y or a future Gen Z. The world, and
Singapore, have moved on. All around
us are signs of what we take for progress.
Progress is customarily assessed by the
consumption of material goods and by
the extent of human development.
Consumption is captured by that
well-known rubric, per capita income.
By that criterion, Singapore has done
spectacularly well, rising in just over
half-a-century from around US$1,000
for each resident to the current level
of greater than US$40,000.
Some may hedge that outcome by
alluding to the Gini Coefficient (the
most commonly used measure of income
inequality) or the skewed distribution
between capital and labour, or the
share accruing to the public sector,
the foreign sector, private capital and
so forth. Yet, it cannot be denied that
the improvement in virtually every
measure of human development is quite
striking. So, we take pride that we
have moved from Third World to First
World in just about two generations.
(There may be some reservations, in
certain quarters, about whether one or
two organs of society have moved to
First World status, but that is another
question.) Nonetheless, it is timely to
pause and ask how Singapore did it, so
that its steady progress may, with some
luck, continue.
The model for development half-acentury ago was fairly straightforward.
There were plenty of examples to learn
from. With good governance, coupled
with reasonably ample “factors of production”, Singapore could steadily close
the gap. What next?
By now, it is a truism that innovation,
rather than mere imitation, is the way to
go. The rub lies in strategy. Singapore
is a pretty small community, and, more
importantly, not exactly surrounded by
countries that are thriving dynamos
of inventiveness and creativity. One
option, if there is not enough homegrown talent, is to acquire it, as the
authorities frequently remind us. But
that resort is not a panacea.
My sense is that two attributes are
paramount. First, it is the thirst for
knowledge coupled with insatiable
intellectual curiosity. That attribute is
a personal one. Every individual has
a role in that effort, for his own good
and for the fortunes of society. It is
a habit acquired through diligent application and practice.
The Jesuits, for example, are in the habit
of “seeking the question behind the
question”. They may do it sequentially,
to the nth degree, until presumably enlightenment and understanding emerge.
A year ago, a retired head of research
at 3M gave a talk in Singapore. He
touched on the attributes that the
American multinational company seeks
in its recruits. Top of the list was
intellectual curiosity – the “question
behind every question”.
The second attribute is not a personal,
but a collective, one. It lies in that term
favoured by sociologists and political
scientists among others – diversity.
Diversity often goes against the grain
of human nature. Individuals are comfortable with the familiar. The outlier is
an object of curiosity, or worse. Maybe
a maverick, a troublemaker, a loose
cannon, and so forth. But unless we
co-opt them into every activity and at
every level, how do we get the sparkle
that comes from diversity?
I am reasonably confident that, with
enlightened leadership and an open
society, Singapore has what it takes
to make the grade. It will be a future
not predicated on business-as-usual.
30 >1'.#$1
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Foreign Service officer Sim Siong Chye
writes about his backpacking days in
his first book. by Bridgette See
O u tf it b y
X -B o u n d ar
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Once Bitten, Never Shy: Confessions of a Backpacking Diplomat
(RRP S$16 excl GST ) is available at Prologue, Kinokuniya and Popular bookstores.
Also available at www.armourpublishing.com and www.amazon.com.
Event ambassador Zhang Ziyi lends star power
to ScreenSingapore at the gala opening on June 5.
,-".
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The inaugural ScreenSingapore f ilm event in June attracted celebrities,
producers, industry buyers and creative talent to gather in Singapore to
trade ideas, discuss opportunities and showcase their products. Media
Development Authority Off icer Dillon Tan tells Challenge what it took
him and his colleagues to make this pipedream a reality.
by
A Makwana
>1'.#$133
your justification. This is part and parcel
of every job.”
For Dillon, it was a steep learning curve
with certain sensitivities to be managed
and a couple of unpopular decisions
along the way, such as scheduling a
common speaking timeslot for industry
stalwarts with jampacked schedules.
Local artistes with Australian Chris Brown,
Executive Producer of Bait, the first 3D coproduction between Singapore and Australia.
Mediacorp
artistes Joey
Feng and
Jerry Yeo.
BEAM artistes
Siona Wu-Murphy
and Jourdan Lee.
MAY 2010 CANNES, FRANCE:
Red carpet premieres, celebrities, flashbulbs popping.
Mediacorp
artiste
Shaun Chen
and partner.
For a young public officer not even a
year into his job, it was a Kodak moment in the spotlight. Or, at least, with
a good view of it from the sidelines.
Zhang Ziyi with
Dennis Davidson,
ScreenSingapore
Board Member.
That was the setting when Singapore
announced at the glamorous French
coastal city that it would host the
inaugural ScreenSingapore, a show that
could one day prove to be a worthy
Asian counterpart.
A year later on June 5, 2011, Dillon
Tan, 27, Communications Executive
with the Media Development Authority
(MDA) was once again at the sidelines
of a red carpet event. This time, it was
for the world premiere of the Chinese
film The Devil Inside Me, the opening
event for ScreenSingapore.
For Dillon, ScreenSingapore caps a
thrilling journey from that first press
briefing in Cannes when he was flung
into the deep end. “It was so memorable
because until the last minute, nobody
knew if this project was going ahead.”
He recalls how the green light for
ScreenSingapore came just a few days
before he boarded the flight to Cannes
– and it was a mad scramble after that.
“ We set up the press briefing in a
couple of days onsite, which meant we
had to come up with the backdrop and
make sure all the ScreenSingapore board
The board members included luminaries such as filmmaker Shekhar
Kapur (Elizabeth) and film financier
Greg Coote of Avatar fame.
Shaw Soo Wei from
ScreenSingapore with
Raffi Kamalian from
web portal Alive Not Dead.
Rio Dewanto and Atiqah
Hasiholan from Red Umbrella
that topped the Asian
Short Film Awards@
ScreenSingapore.
There were rewards, though. In April
2011, they scored the coup of securing Tom Hanks to attend his film’s
premiere on June 11. Once again, it
was touch-and-go, with confirmation
coming only at the very last hour.
Not being able to speak French did
not help either when it came to
dealing with local contractors but
having a European public relations
agency helped.
Dillon recalls that “up to the day we
were supposed to announce the Tom
Hanks premiere, we were unable to
confirm him. All our board members
were trying to get him to confirm.
Then, on the morning of the scheduled
announcement, Tom Hanks gave a
call to one of them and said ‘Yes, it’s
on’. All of us were celebrating and we
immediately had a press briefing. Such
is the nature of the film industry, that
things get confirmed at the last minute.”
“It was really, really amazing to see it
come through,” he reflects, on their
daunting task.
What followed was a year of long,
hard hours of work, meeting different
parties’ interests while keeping an eye
on the schedule.
“The biggest challenge is where you
learn how to stand firm and you are
able to talk to people way beyond your
level. I think it’s important – when
communicating to people at higher
levels – to show respect and yet, at
the same time, convey your thoughts
very clearly.”
N i c k n a m e d “ M r H a n d y m a n” f o r
handling logistics and making sure
M5%.,1%9"$5*5+%";%.,1%/8,16#-16%
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An Ya from
The Devil Inside Me.
members were there – booking their
timings at the last minute.”
Still, the experience has helped him pick
up some essential people management
skills along the way.
MDA officer Dillon Tan
FLY Entertainment
artistes Pamelyn Chee
and Mindee Ong.
This was the first time a film event
of such a scale was to be organised
and time was not on their side. But
the team quickly found support from
MDA colleagues who had organised
events on a similar scale, like the 3DX
Festival in 2008, the world’s first event
dedicated to showcasing 3D technology
and content.
With so many parties involved – from
international partners to stakeholders
such as the Economic Development
Board and Singapore Tourism Board
– Dillon had to maintain a delicate
balancing act.
“There’re all sorts of people telling
you different things to do, based on
past experiences, limited resources. You
need to be able to cut through all the
noise and sieve out the information
that is relevant. Then give an informed
suggestion to your boss and for your
boss to execute the decision based on
t h e p r o g r a m m e s r u n s m o o t h l y,
Dillon says they were no doomsday
scenario nightmares.
“What I’ve learnt from this one year at
ScreenSingapore is that there are a lot of
tough decisions to make. But, as long
as you stand firm and go through the
proper processes to make sure things are
justified to a good end, things will be
resolved because there are no unsolvable
issues,” he enthuses.
And this is true also when he is unexpectedly thrust into the spotlight – such
as for this interview.
“I’m used to being the liaison person for
the spokesperson, not the spokesperson
myself. But it’s all good,” he laughs.
Want to see more celebrities?
Go to Challenge Online: www.challenge.gov.sg
For more info: www.screensingapore.sg
PM2S
>1'.#$1 35
HRMS
'.$
Electronic
Notification
CROSSING OF EFFICIENCY-BAR
.)8+
Every
minute
counts
/0&1
2!4#0(,/
"%)#&+
In PM2S, it takes 45 minutes to process each crossing of efficiencybar case, including various manual information checks and manually
preparing letters to employees. With HRMS, it will take only 10 minutes
to process each case, including triggering electronic notifications
to employees.
IS
MIN
PM2S
HRMS
Only
5 data fields
20 data fields
CONTRACT RENEWALS
HRMS saves time with fewer
clicks and automation
In PM2S, it takes 60 minutes to process each contract renewal and
confirmation case, including entering 20 data fields. With HRMS, it
will only take 12 minutes to process each case; updating only five
data fields. In addition, multiple cases can be processed on a single
screen. HRMS also allows Vital HR Officers to view contract renewal
cases that the Ministry HR Officers have not released for processing. This
allows better planning of work at Vital’s end.
TRY
PM2S
DAY
1
DAY
2
Step 1
Submission of data
Step 2
Waiting for approval
Step 3
For the new human resources management system
(HRMS) being introduced this July, many HR
practitioners, managers and public officers will find
new features that make doing specific tasks easier,
faster and better, often with fewer clicks. This
is a big deal. In every instance that a feature is
introduced to shave off time, we are demonstrating
that we value and respect your time.
Vital is a heavy user of the system, with 40 to 50
agencies contracting us to process transactions using
the previous HR system, PM2S. A team of over 100
In the previous PM2S system, it takes
three days (two overnight runs) to
process posting and secondment
o f e m p l oye e s. Wi t h H R M S , m u l t i p l e
deployment actions (e.g. an officer is
posted to one ministr y, such as MTI,
and seconded to EDB on the same
day) can be per formed within the
same day and will take only two days
(one overnight run) to process.
The features sound simple but impact officers in
significant ways. As part of an inter-agency group,
the HRMS team looked for opportunities to review
the most mundane, most tedious part of day-to-day
tasks to be automated in the system. This is respect
for officers’ time. For the significant number of
seniors in the organisation, the minutes probably
matter even more.
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The more manual the process, the more it is prone
to human error. Not only do time savings get
officers home at a decent hour, they also reduce
transcription or typographical errors as well as lapses
in follow-up. An 80 per cent process reduction by
automation or removal can be thought of as doing
an afternoon’s work in an hour. At the individual’s
level, this is a big deal.
Step 1
DEPLOYMENTS AND POSTINGS
It is estimated that in the first rollout in July
2011, 8,000 manhours in processing time can
be saved annually because of the new features. Now,
multiply this by all the years in the future. These
enhancements come in various forms, including
reducing manual data entry, automating notifications
and reminders, cutting processing steps and
eliminating multiple overnight runs. (See diagram)
Data to pay system
Clarence Ti, Chief Executive of Vital
explains how the new human resources
management system respects off icers’ time.
TIME IS A COMMODITY THAT RESPECTS
neither rank nor status. Everyone has the same
number of hours in a day. Just like a soldier who
entrusts his life to his commander, pledging to
obey orders – in a similar way, every manager
holds the same trust with the time of colleagues
in his or her care.
officers in HR Services uses the system every day to
process appointments, contract renewals, promotions,
leave applications, retirements and resignations for
the Public Service.
Submission of data
Auto approval
Step 2
Data to pay system
HRMS
MATERNITY AND EXTENDED MATERNITY LEAVE
In PM2S, each maternity leave transaction has to be manually approved
so the data will flow to the pay system (for reimbursement from
MCYS). With HRMS, transactions will be auto-approved by the system.
PENSION COMPUTATIONS
In PM2S, past wage information
of pensionable officers have to
be manually entered. With HRMS,
t h e E xce l s p re a d s h e e t t h e Vi t a l
H R O f f i ce r s u s e to s u m v a r i o u s
salary components into the total
salary needed in the final pension
computation in PM2S/HRMS can be
uploaded into the system, hence
eliminating manual data entry.
PRE-EMPLOYMENT
MEDICAL EXAMINATIONS
I n s te a d o f m a n u a l l y t ra c k i n g w h i c h
employees have gone for pree m p l oy m e n t m e d i c a l e x a m i n a t i o n s,
HRMS will per form the track ing and
auto-trigger reminders to employees to
complete their medical examinations.
Final Pension Computation
More than a million transactions are processed by
Vital each year, many of which start with a record in
HRMS. We say we battle the law of large numbers
and Murphy’s Law each day. These enhancements
are part of a longstanding Public Service tradition
of continual improvements in what we do. More
importantly, they express the Service’s core value
of excellence.
Vital, a department under the Ministry of
Finance, was launched in July 2006, as part of
the Singapore Public Sector’s effort to aggregate
common administrative services for the whole of
Government. The suite of services includes finance
services, human resource services, payroll and
claims services, learning and development services
and travel management services.
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Saying it right
Communication was a crucial piece
in assembling the change puzzle,
as the leaders had to ensure that
change was widely accepted and
wholeheartedly adopted – an area
that Dr Lim and his team paid careful attention to.
It can be said that when it comes to organisational
change, no one thinks harder than the people at the top.
Dr John Lim, Chief Executive of the Health Sciences
Authority, tells Challenge what went through his mind
as he and his team steered the organisation’s regulatory
arm through a major overhaul.
by
“We over-planned and spent a lot of
time thinking through how people
might react,” said Dr Lim. Some of their
communication strategies included:
Wong Sher Maine
DR JOH N LIM, A T RAI NED
medical doctor with a health management degree from Harvard University,
knew soon after he took over the
reins at the Health Sciences Authority
(HSA) in 2006 that there was room
for improvement.
Yes, the Health Products Regulation
Group (HPRG) of HSA – which
ensures that health products in Singapore meet internationally benchmarked
standards – was competently run. But
as the saying goes, things can always
be better.
“Expectations of industry stakeholders,
namely the healthcare companies, were
increasingly demanding. We needed to
boost our service levels,” said Dr Lim,
on the need for manpower and process
changes in the HPRG’s department of
215 staff.
Roping in
leaders
CE
A five-person team
comprising
top
management, inc luding the CEO,
was assembled to
f o r m t h e C h a n ge B o a rd .
“Conceptually, it ’s a steering committee. You always need a team of
senior people seen to be activel y
engaged as they make decisions and
facilitate decision-making, accountability and communications across all
levels of organisational hierarchy,” said
Dr Lim.
Dr Lim and members of the Change
Board were physically present for all
key meetings. “It had to be a team
effort, to show strong commitment
and that we were on the same
page,” he recounted.
O
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And although external change consultants were hired, Dr Lim and the
Change Board decided early on to
front all the verbal communications
to the staff involved. “Staff had to
see that senior management was fully
supportive and vocal about the change
and that the job was not simply left to
consultants,” said Dr Lim.
Roping in staff
Staff members who were more closely involved in the change exercise
were selected as “implementation
champions” and “process owners”, so
they could form a communication
link between the Change Board and
the rest of the staff experiencing the
organisational changes.
R5Providing a third-party perspective.
Professor Robert Peterson, a leading
practitioner in Canada’s healthcare
regulator y landscape and who had
implemented major change in Health
Canada’s therapeutic products division,
gave a talk on developments in the field
of healthcare regulation. Said Dr Lim:
“It is important for an external and
credible expert to provide a third-party
perspective for employees to gain an
appreciation of the changing operating
environment, and the pressing need
for change.”
R5Appealing to logic. As most HPRG
staff are scientifically trained, hard facts
and figures supporting the change were
produced. “A communication effort to
them cannot be just about managing
their emotions, important as that is.
They also need substantial examples
to back up the case for change,” said
Dr Lim.
R The big picture. Whenever he spoke
to staff about the need for change, Dr
Lim provided an over-arching vision
instead of focusing on individual concerns. He said: “If you move the staff
to see more or beyond, then it helps
manage their fear and uncertainty.”
Empathetic leadership
Manpower changes were perhaps
the most challenging aspect of the
HPRG change process.
“The main difficulty in this transition was handling the sensitivities
of the reorganisation,” said Dr Lim.
As part of addressing the need for
succession planning, the Change
Board grappled with having to laterally move senior divisional heads
from executive to advisory roles.
This was a delicate task. However,
it was made possible because of
the trust Dr Lim had established
with senior divisional heads, having
worked with them for eight years.
He also hosted a private lunch for
them to demonstrate appreciation
for their contributions to the organisation over the years and to emphasise they were still part of the team.
It turned out to be an act of gratitude and respect that touched them.
Said Dr Lim: “In times of processdriven change, the need to focus on
managing the people side of change
is crucial. Efforts to preserve human dignity and mutual respect, as
well as proactively addressing concerns and fears, can go a long way in
facilitating people through change.”
The result? A year on, the new
leaders have settled into their new
responsibilities. The staff have
responded positively to the changes
and there is greater collaboration
throughout the Health Products
Regulation Group.
This is the last of a three-part series on Managing Change. It was developed together with the
Civil Service College’s Centre for Organisation
Development.
38
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MOST OF US KNOW GENGHIS
Khan as the warrior who led a hardy and
ruthless army of Mongols to conquer
large swathes of Asia and Europe in the
13th century. Less known is the role the
Mongols played in cultural exchange and
innovation that continue to influence our
lives today, says author Jack Weatherford
in Genghis Khan and the Making of the
Modern World.
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Bridgette See
The Mongols had no technological
breakthroughs of their own but mixed
and matched technologies to create
unusual hybrids, says the anthropologist.
Their highly-skilled engineers from
China, Persia and Europe, for example,
combined Chinese gunpowder with
Muslim flamethrowers and applied
European bell-casting technology to
produce the cannon.
A recently concluded exhibition at the
new ArtScience Museum showcased
some of Genghis Khan’s legacy. Challenge
brings you the highlights.
Sources: Genghis Khan: The Exhibition
(Marina Bay Sands ArtScience Museum)
& Genghis Khan and the Making of the
Modern World by Jack Weatherford
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Feature 41
Big Voice
Winner Mr Abu Tahir Bin Nayan from ITE HQ belts out a
moving rendition of Without Love by Tom Jones. “I’m not
worried about the judges. I’m more nervous because my
adopted daughter (below, in pink) is watching me perform
for the first time.”
In the Limelight
Clockwise: Theeban Gunasagar (SPF) breaks into
a Wacko Jacko dance routine; Mauryn Ng (ITE East)
elegantly croons Jenny Tseng’s Cantonese classic
Tomorrow Sounds Like Today; Caleb Lye (Singapore
Polytechnic) plays the guitar for Team SP’s original
song The Gift, which goes on to win third place;
Chris Chia (People’s Association) thrills the crowds
and his ardent fans with A-Mei’s Dream of the
Titanic; Matthew Chan (DSTA) wins second place
for his rendition of JJ Lin’s 100 Days.
-
Surprise Star
People’s Association
Chief Executive Director
Yam Ah Mee steals
the show, making a
cameo appearance to
announce the top three
winners.
Behind the Scenes
L-R: Vanilla Essence’s Mohd
Budiman (NParks) hams it up
for the camera; Toh Ching
Raing (Prisons) riffs on his
hand-made guitar.
42 R5/#5+%)1$"1/%
)IQTLEU%
&'( )MNIQI&&
This Unsung Hero
has turned around the
lives of many, returning destitute persons to
their families and
the community.
by
Siti Maziah Masramli
“60 A N D S EX Y ”, “O LD ER A N D W I S ER”. T H E
knick-knacks decorating Mrs Soh-Tan Bee Eng’s desk show
that, for her, age is no barrier.
For more than 38 years, the 61-year-old has served in various
departments in the Ministry of Community Development,
Youth and Sports (MCYS).
Now a Senior Staff Officer in the Destitute Persons Service,
she helps the homeless find jobs, accommodation and financial
assistance. They are often alcoholics, gamblers, or have mental
disorders. “These are people who have messed up their lives,”
she says. “The most challenging part is how to make them
realise their mistakes, stand up again and face life.”
Once the homeless enter one of the Ministry’s 10
welfare homes, they often lack motivation to return
to the community as they are well cared for there.
A long-term resident at Angsana Welfare Home
feared using his money, despite having enough
to move out and sustain himself. Mrs SohTan convinced him to move to a community
home where he could enjoy better facilities and
living arrangements.
She once scoured a Chua Chu Kang hawker centre
to identify a client with dementia, asking around
with a photo until someone recognised the woman.
An inspiration to younger colleagues for her
dedication and resourcefulness, Mrs Soh-Tan
credits her Chinese education for imparting
“responsibility, sincerity and respect for our
work”. In recent years, finding Christianity also
strengthened her commitment to helping the needy.
Even as she jests about retiring soon, she muses:
“Working directly with destitute persons, we learn
more about problems in society. We should take
pride in our work and show that we sincerely
want to help them.”
This series celebrates dedicated staff who
were nominated for the Public Service Week’s
Unsung Heroes tribute. For more stories, go
to www.challenge.gov.sg.
'.()(
!"#6.%&
Make way, huge, established art institutions. This issue, we take you slightly off the
beaten track and introduce three not-so-typical art spots that will probably make you
think twice about our local art scene – in a positive sense, of course!
Te xt by
Ryandall Lim Photos by Norman Ng
Q*;1=&.(-145
!$%&'#'("!%&)*$
+",!2902 Gallery
A strange mural covers a wall in 2902’s
office. In it, a caped camera-headed man
leads a flying pencil over skyscrapers.
“That represents our mission,” explains
Ms Gwen Lee (pictured), Director of
2902 and one of its five partners.
+"!./$01$%!22)'/
Dahlia Gallery
When Debbie Pang graduated in 1993
with a Diploma in Fine Arts, she found
it a struggle to pursue her passion,
as there were few galleries willing to
showcase the works of a young local
artist back then.
Today, instead of being an artist, she
manages art, and runs Dahlia Gallery.
Ms Pang’s areas of focus are clear:
providing emerging artists, especially
Singaporeans, with a platform “as affordable as possible” to exhibit; and
taking their work to regional art fairs
– opportunities that were almost nonexistent during her youth.
Opened in December 2009, two months
af ter Ms Pang gave bir th to her
daughter (pictured) whom she named
the gallery after, Dahlia Gallery is
loc ated on the second floor of a
shophouse in Chinatown, offering a
completely different perspective to the
mechanical commercialism going on in
the street below. Atypical of art spaces,
the gallery is dressed in cheery red and
blue hues, exuding an intimate attraction, as if inviting visitors to stay and
experience its unassuming optimism.
Dahlia Gallery exists as a tranquil art
oasis amidst the hustle and bustle of its
complicated surroundings, carrying the
hopes and aspirations of eager young
artists, and the passion of its owner.
“I don’t see us as superheroes, but we
are doing our best to pave the way for
artists,” she elaborates.
Address
69A Pagoda Street
Singapore 059228
Contact
62227809
Web
dahliagallerysg.com
Email
[email protected]
Opening hours
Tuesdays – Saturdays:
12pm to 7pm;
Sundays: 12pm to 5pm
Closed on Mondays and
Public Holidays
Built on a dream, 2902’s aim was to fill
a void in the local photography scene.
An enthusiastic photography hobbyist, Ms Lee felt that while there were
many local aspiring photographers,
there was no dedicated gallery to market
their work.
And so, on 29 February 2008, the gallery simply named after its birthday
was born.
Today, 2902 is Southeast Asia’s largest
photographic art gallery showcasing
works of emerging and accomplished
photographers. Housed within the Old
School arts complex, it also organises
the Singapore International Photography Festival, which, despite being
held only twice so far, has gained rave
reviews by the international photography fraternity.
In its short existence, 2902 has helped
raise the profile and appreciation of
photography as an artform in Singapore tremendously. And judging from
the gallery’s plans for expansion, and
goal to become a regional photography
resource centre, this dream looks set
to get bigger.
Address
11B Mount Sophia
Old School, #B2-09
Singapore 228466
Contact
63398655
Web
2902gallery.com
Email
[email protected]
Opening hours
Wednesdays – Saturdays:
12pm – 8pm
Sundays: 12pm – 6pm
Closed on Mondays, Tuesdays
(private viewings only) and
Public Holidays
Q*;1=&.(-147
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Wessex Estate
Possessing a laid-back, rustic charm,
Wessex Estate, a 28-hectare residential site comprising black-and-white
pre-war walk-up apartments in a lush
green setting, is today home to about
30 local and foreign professional artists.
Among them, a couple who are
retirees-turned-painters feel at one
with nature here and hone their craft,
undistracted. Having worked for the
United Nations previously, Dr Praema
Raghavan-Gilbert (top left) now spends
her time painting with her husband Mr
Lee Gilbert (bottom), an American and
part-time business studies lecturer, in
what she calls her “island of solitude”.
mother of three young boys, the studio
provides a respite from the chores of
daily life, to engage in her lifelong
passion for painting.
Together with Indonesian artist Laila
Azra (above), the trio form Barrosa
Studio. Especially for Ms Azra, a
BARROSA STUDIO
4 Woking Road, #01-02
Singapore 138688
Lee Gilbert:
www.picasaweb.google.com/
studiobarrosa/leegilbert
[email protected]
Dr Praema Raghavan-Gilbert:
www.picasaweb.google.
com/praema
[email protected]
Laila Azra:
www.lailaazra.com
[email protected]
Similarly, Mr Max Kong (above), who
specialises in mixed-media pieces and
shares his studio space with Japanese
ceramicist Saya Yamaguchi, feels that
the place allows him a sense of “freedom
in life”. Both artists, who are in their
30s, live and work there. And even
though the space is hardly extravagant,
they have every reason to be happy
living in Singapore’s Eden equivalent
for artists.
“It’s a blessing to do what I do here,”
admits Mr Kong.
Breathing the air from this wild side,
these artists could hardly yearn for very
much more.
OTHER STUDIOS IN WESSEX ESTATE
Frances Alleblas
Studio
2 Woking Road,
#02-03
Singapore 138707
francesalleblas.com
MAX KONG
STUDIO
3 Westbourne Road,
#01-01 Arabia Court
Singapore 138943
Max Kong:
maxkong.com
[email protected]
Saya Yamaguchi:
[email protected]
Joyce Loo Joy Clay Studio
and Gallery
10 Woking Road,
#01-01
Singapore 138691
joyclay.sg
Kelly Reedy Studio Arts
27 Woking Road,
#01-01
Singapore 138705
kellyreedy.com
Marisa Keller
Art & Printmaking
Studio
28 Woking Road,
#03-05
Singapore 138706
marisakeller.com
marisakeller@mac.
com
Dick Lim –
d’Art Studio
5 Westbourne
Road, #02-03
Blenheim Court
Singapore 138944
d-artstudio.com.sg
OPENING HOURS:
Visits to all Wessex
Estate studios by
appointment only.
%&+2+(
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48 J,1%L$$131$15.%Q'/.%T'+1
789'9:';<:='9>8'*?@ABC',8DEBC8'4:FFBGGB:<'H*,4I'
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1. Chairman (PSC) is appointed by
.
a. Prime Minister
b. Deputy Prime Minister
c. President
d. Head of Civil Service
2. In the past two years, PSC has diversified in its membership - five new eminent members were appointed. They
are Mr Richard Magnus (Chairman, Casino Regulatory
Authority), Ms Chua Sock Koong (Group Chief Executive, Singtel), Prof Lily Kong ( Vice-President, University
& Global Relations, National University of Singapore),
Mr Alan Chan (Chief Executive Officer, Singapore Press
Holdings Ltd) and
.
a. Mr Kenneth Jeyaretnam
b. Mr Philip Jeyaretnam
c. Mr J B Jeyaretnam
d. Mr T T Jeyaretnam
3. When the PSC was set up in
, its key role was
to oversee the recruitment, promotion and terms of service
of colonial civil servants.
a. 1951
b. 1959
c. 1961
d. 1965
4. PSC’s current role includes
. It is a neutral
and independent body, meant to carry out its work without
fear or favour from any one, including the government of
the day.
Illustration by Kulturkampf
THE BATTLE IS ON TO WIN OUR HEARTS AND MINDS. WHO WILL PREVAIL?
Tell us who you think is Singapore’s most iconic mascot and why. Email us at [email protected] by August 13, 2011 and
stand to win a specially designed Challenge souvenir! Remember to leave your name, agency, email address and contact number.
Need We Say More?
Here’s where we let the humour loose, and learn to laugh at ourselves a little more.
Have ideas or jokes about the Public Service? Email us: [email protected]
a. convicting civil servants in Courts
b. disciplining errant civil servants
c. promoting all civil servants to entry Superscale grades
d. appointing Singapore’s Prime Minister
5. PSC’s core mission is to uphold the principles of
in the Singapore Public Service.
a. Service, Integrity and Excellence
b. Impartiality, Integrity and Excellence
c. Service, Integrity and Meritocracy
d. Impartiality, Integrity and Meritocracy
)
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-$.
-$.
Submit your answers by
AUGUST 13, 2011 at:
Challenge Online
www.challenge.gov.sg
Please include your name,
email address, agency and
contact number.
All winners will be notified
by email.