PDF > - Challenge Online

d e ce m b e r
2 0 0 3
11
www.ps21.gov.sg/challenge
Public Service for the 21st Century
Reaching further
Front-liners go to greater lengths
to provide excellent, personalised service
10
Fostering
entrepreneurship
5
Rejuvenating
WITS at MITA
6
Driving efforts to
cut costs at MCDS
14
1
d e ce m b e r
2 0 0 3
CONTENTS
3 A LINE FOR YOU
We would like to hear your views and suggestions on the cover story,
“Kudos for service champs”. Please write to the Editor of Challenge at
PS21 Office, 29 Heng Mui Keng Terrace, Singapore 119620,
fax to 6775 3461 or email to [email protected].
Give your name, ministry, ministry address and telephone number.
Published contributions will receive an exclusive gift from the PS21 Office.
4 WHAT’S HOT
In the spotlight: TEC at mega exposition
Fostering entrepreneurship
6 AT THE MINISTRIES
Rejuvenating WITS at MITA
Two gold winners share their projects
Multiple honours for outstanding WIT idea
e-Submission System speeds up work process
10 COVER STORY
Kudos for service champs
The most helpful policeman
Delivering babies and excellent service is her forte
Leaving a lasting impression
12 EXCELLENCE AT WORK
A purpose-driven organisation
Learning from mistakes
14 ECONOMY DRIVE
Driving efforts to cut costs at MCDS
Challenge is published monthly by the PS21 Office, Prime Minister’s Office (Public Service Division),
29 Heng Mui Keng Terrace, Singapore 119620. Tel: 6874 7558 • Fax: 6775 3461
Email: [email protected] • Website: www.ps21.gov.sg
Editor: Leong Shih Yeng, PS21 Office Editorial Advisors: Lim Huay Chih and Tan Chee Seng, PS21 Office
Editorial Team: Pauline Mah, Organisational Review Committee • Josie Kang, Quality Service Committee •
Annie Goh, Staff Well Being Functional Committee • Inthira Mailvaganam, PS21 Office Publishing Consultant: Pagesetters
Services Pte Ltd Printed in Singapore: National Photo Engravers
VOLUME NINE ISSUE ELEVEN
VIEWPOINT
Ear drops for the rear?
15 AT YOUR SERVICE
HDB Quality Service Day 2003
Enhancing service delivery at HDB
17 A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A PUBLIC OFFICER
He helps to make dreams come true
18 STAFF MATTERS
ENV steps up to the President’s Challenge
Carnival kaleidoscope
19 HEALTHY BODY, ACTIVE MIND
Protect yourself and your loved ones from AIDS
20 CHALLENGE QUIZ
You can savour juicy updates, bite-size stories, fresh tips, choice ideas and
plenty of food for thought. What’s more, you’ll love the new, challenging online contest
as well as today’s special — the Chomp Chomp online game!
So hurry, don’t miss out!
Log on to www.ps21.gov.sg/challenge now!
EAR DROPS FOR
THE REAR?
A Robert Cialdini wrote the following in his
book Influence: Science and Practice:
“Errors in the medicine patients receive
can occur for a variety of reasons. However,
in their book Medication Errors: Causes and
Prevention (1981), Temple University
professors of pharmacy Michael Cohen and
Neil Davis attribute much of the problem to
the mindless deference given to the ‘boss’ of
a patient’s case: the attending physician.
According to Cohen, ‘in case after case, patients,
nurses, pharmacists, and other physicians do not
question the prescription’. Take, for example, the
strange case of the ‘rectal earache’ reported by Cohen
and Davis. A physician ordered ear drops to be administered
to the right ear of a patient suffering pain and infection
there. Instead of writing out completely the location ‘Right
ear’ on the prescription, the doctor abbreviated it so that the
instructions read ‘place in R ear’. Upon receiving the prescription, the duty nurse
promptly put the required number of ear drops into the patient’s anus.
“Obviously, rectal treatment of an earache made no sense, but neither the patient
nor the nurse questioned it. The important lesson of this story is that in many
situations in which a legitimate authority has spoken, what would otherwise make
sense is irrelevant. In these instances, we don’t consider the situation as a whole
but attend and respond to only one aspect of it.”
The point Cialdini makes is that in many cases, people simply carry out orders
from their bosses even though they do not appear to make sense.
The lesson for all of us is: THINK before doing anything. If the order from the boss
does not make sense, either we are not understanding the order correctly, or the boss
is giving a wrong order. To simply carry out the order will be the wrong thing to do.
When we come to work, we not only come with eyes and ears and arms and legs.
We also come with our brains. Use them.
And bosses: Be willing to use your ears more. Listen, for you may be wrong. Your
people have brains. Allow them to use their brains. And to speak out their ideas.
THINK!
You may be wrong... or... your boss may be wrong.
Lim Siong Guan Head, Civil Service
What’s Hot
4
In the spotlight: TEC
at mega exposition
TEC signed an MOU with SPF. Seen in this picture
are (from left): Mr Bilahari Kausikan, 2 Permanent
Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and CoChairman of TEC; Mr Kumar Nadarajan, TEC
proposer and CEO of CastBridge Pte Ltd; and Mr
Khoo Boon Hui, Commissioner of SPF.
By Nirmala Sakthi, TEC
ore than 10,000 leading entrepreneurs,
innovators, venture capitalists, top and
senior corporate executives and visitors
from worldwide converged at Global Entrepolis @
Singapore 2003 — a mega event where enterprise,
innovation and technology took centrestage.
This inaugural event, organised by the
Economic Development Board, was held from 28
to 31 October at Suntec International Convention
and Exhibition Centre.
M
c h a l l e n g e
The Enterprise Exchange
One important highlight was The Enterprise
Exchange, an international exposition and
marketplace for innovative enterprises.
The Enterprise Challenge (TEC) Unit
participated by showcasing 10 TEC sponsored
innovations by four public organisations and three
private companies.
The exposition was an excellent opportunity
to showcase the TEC scheme to attract more
radical innovations that would create new value
for the Singapore Public Service. It also drew
attention to public sector innovations and provided
TEC’s private sector proposers, many of whom are
small start-ups, with a chance to meet new buyers
and potential inventors, as well as to obtain
venture capital to expand their commercialisation
plans.
d e c e m b e r
Significant TEC moments
TEC has been a catalyst for developing many ideas
from conceptualisation to implementation
through live TEC trials. Many of the completed
trials are at various stages of implementation and
some are at the brink of commercialisation/
internationalisation. Some of the significant
milestones in our innovators’ journey took
centrestage at the grand event.
• Aromatrix Technologies Pte Ltd, which
developed the TEC-sponsored BioScrubber
innovation, signed a licensing agreement
with Met-Pro Corporation from the US.
• TEC and the Singapore Police Force (SPF)
signed a Memorandum of Understanding
(MOU) for the project entitled “Delivering of
Real-time Operational Information in SPF”.
• The National Library Board’s Aspiration
Pathfinder project team delivered a very
unique presentation on “Expanding Your
Innovative Capacity” by blending drama
and storytelling with creativity and
innovation.
• Aromatrix organised the NOSE Challenge
competition to find the most sensitive nose in
the hall. The competition was in line with
promotions for the TEC trial-tested Clinic Nose
Olfactometer.
Two new awards
Mr Raymond Lim, Minister for Entrepreneurship,
presented two new TEC awards during the event.
The TEC Achievement Award was given to
the Innovators of the most outstanding TEC
innovations. These innovations have been
successfully trial tested and implemented in the
public sector, and are marketed locally and
internationally.
The TEC Champion Award went to exemplary
public officers who had championed TEC
innovations and consistently demonstrated the
qualities of Tenacity, Enterprise and Commitment
in their innovation journey. The winners were Dr
Lynda Wee from Republic Polytechnic, Mr Gene
Tan from the National Library Board, Mr Shaik
Mohd Salim from the Ministry of Manpower, and
Mr Lim Seng Kim from the Singapore Police Force.
(Visit www.ps21.gov.sg/challenge for details on
their projects.)
A rewarding experience
The event brought together the world’s best and
most enterprising minds. TEC and its proposers
gained many radical ideas, new partnerships and
an enriching learning experience from the event.
0 3
What’s Hot
5
Fostering
entrepreneurship
By PS COE (Innovation Unit), CSC
he Civil Service College and PS21 Office
jointly organised a conference entitled
“Fostering Entrepreneurship: The Role of
Government” on 31 October 2003.
The conference was part of Global Entrepolis
@ Singapore 2003, a week-long event organised
by the Economic Development Board.
Two hundred and seventy delegates
participated in the conference. They learnt about
the Government’s plan and its role in promoting
entrepreneurship in Singapore. They also gained
insights from the experiences of other governments.
The conference was opened by the guest of
honour, Mr Raymond Lim, Minister for
Entrepreneurship and Minister of State for Foreign
Affairs and Trade and Industry.
T
The Government’s role
In his opening speech, Mr Lim stressed the
imperative need for Singapore to be a creative
and entrepreneurial nation as Singapore can no
longer solely compete based on costs due to the
emergence of lower cost and resource-rich
competitors like our regional neighbours.
He also said that for Singapore to enjoy
sustained economic growth, entrepreneurship
can be a key driver to help Singapore make the
leap from an investment-based economy to an
innovation-based one.
He outlined three main areas in which he sees
the Government playing an active role to boost the
entrepreneurial spirit in Singapore: Firstly, in the area
of Policies — through mechanisms such as the ProEnterprise Panel (PEP), Zero-In-Process (ZIP) and
Public Officers Working on Eliminating Red-tape
(POWER), to continually drive changes in the Public
Service (visit www.ps21.gov.sg/challenge to find out
how the mechanisms work).
Mr Lim said he was heartened
to know that PEP has received
over 1,000 suggestions since it
was started in August 2000. Half
Mr Lim giving the
opening address.
Ms Lim chaired a lively panel discussion which
sparked off an interesting exchange of questions
and answers between the panel and the
participants.
For
of them have resulted in rule M the full t
ext
rL
changes. Many agencies have out im’s speec of
h, ch
Chal
len
eck
also reviewed their rules under www
.ps21 ge Onlin
e at
.gov.
the Rules Review Process
sg/ch
allen
(RRP) and implemented
ge.
changes.
Secondly, he talked about
Processes — where the default way
of dealing and interacting with businesses will
be to respond with “Yes” rather than “No”.
Said Mr Lim: “For the Government to be truly proenterprise, our public officers must have business
perspective. They need to understand the impact that
Government rules can have on businesses. They need
to know how to craft and implement rules in a proenterprise manner, without compromising their
regulatory objectives. When they receive business
proposals that do not fall squarely within the book,
they need to actively consider alternatives rather than
reject them outright.”
Finally, in the area of People, the Ministry of Trade
and Industry and the Civil Service College are
revamping the Cut Red Tape Workshop which will
help to change our officers’ mindsets so that they will
be more empathetic towards businesses. The workshop
is now mandatory for all executive-level officers.
Hearing from experts
The other conference speakers were Mr Patrick
Daniel, Managing Editor of the English and Malay
Newspapers Division, Singapore Press Holdings, and
member of the ACE (Action Community for
Entrepreneurship) committee; Dr Joshua Mok,
Associate Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and
Social Sciences, City University of Hong Kong; and
Mr Christopher Curtis, Chief Entrepreneurship
Officer of the Centre for Entrepreneurship Education
and Development in Canada.
At The Ministries
MINISTRY OF INFORMATION, COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS
6
Rejuvenating
WITS at MITA
MDA, the organiser,
and MITA and its sister
organisations wanted
to rejuvenate WITS
by organising the
convention along the
lines of a workshop that
allowed all participants
and supporters to share
ideas and learn
together.
The judges hard at work.
“We Innovate Together” was the theme of
this year’s MITA WITS Convention. Fun, games,
music and an opportunity to learn together
were the order of the day, or rather, days.
By Kerry Tan, MITA
eld on 12 and 13 August, the convention
saw 24 teams from the Ministry of
Information, Communications and the
Arts (MITA), Media Development Authority (MDA),
Infocomm Development Authority (IDA), National
Heritage Board (NHB), National Library Board (NLB)
and the National Arts Council (NAC) taking part
in the event held at MITA Building.
H
Engaging and interactive programme
There were three halfday sessions. The
participating teams in
each session were
encouraged to sit through the entire session to
learn from the projects of other teams and
exchange ideas instead of leaving the venue after
their presentations. Ice-breakers and team games
focusing on innovation and WITS were introduced
to inject fun into all the sessions.
To raise the excitement level, the results were
announced at the end of each session. The CEOs
of NLB, NHB and MDA gave out the letters of
participation to the teams. This showed the senior
management’s strong support of WITS.
A total of 5 gold, 11 silver and 8 bronze awards
were given out at the convention.
Two gold
winners share
their projects
c h a l l e n g e
Flashz WIT presenting their project.
d e c e m b e r
Project by Flashz from NLB
READ@TN (Resources for Education And
Development @ Teachers Network) is a special
library that caters exclusively to teachers. Teachers
have ready access to a large collection of useful
teaching aids and education-related literature.
However, even though a WIT called Flashz
introduced a number of initiatives to improve the
loan performance at READ@TN, the loan figures
were still dissatisfactory. This problem was
confirmed when they compared the loan figures
with that at other similar libraries in Singapore.
0 3
At The Ministries
7
MITA Innovation Fiesta
The MITA WITS Convention ended with pomp on
22 August to coincide with the launch of the
MITA Innovation Fiesta.
The fiesta had a carnival-like setting. There
were jugglers, fun and thought-provoking
innovative games, balloon sculpting, a live band
and more that generated an atmosphere of
creative learning.
To top it off, an in-house team produced a
video clip which artistically showcased the fun,
anxiety, excitement and humour experienced at
the convention. As the organisers were mindful
of the Economy Drive, in-house talents and
resources were fully utilised.
More reasons for WITS
At the closing ceremony, Permanent Secretary
(MITA) Dr Tan Chin Nam gave his thoughts on the
need for a new context for WITS. He said that
WITS should be about value innovation, which is
about pursuing differentiation while keeping costs
low. This is especially crucial since we are facing
To solve the problem, Flashz created the DIY
(Do-It-Yourself) Mobile Library, which is available
to teachers during Teachers Network’s workshops
and events organised by the Ministry of
Education. The mobile library allows teachers to
borrow items on the spot at their convenience.
Since this initiative was introduced, Flashz has
achieved 6,434 loans, which is 6.7% more than the
target set. The mobile library effectively showcases
the READ@TN collection of books and enables staff
to have face-to-face interaction with the users.
Moreover, NLB has achieved cost savings of $14,452.
Project by Restorer from NHB
Leafcasting is a conservation process where
missing areas in documents are filled with newly
cast paper from paper pulp. A specially fabricated
formidable low-cost competitors from countries
like China, India and Malaysia. As a result, the
competitive gap is narrowing.
“The next phase of Singapore’s success may
depend on how well we value innovate,” said Dr Tan.
While the convention may have come to an
end, the spirit of WITS should live on. Mr Joseph
Leong, Chairman of the Organising Committee,
said, “WITS should continue to be promoted as it
is a very good vehicle for continuous
improvements and continuous learning, and it
provides a platform for innovation. It is often
through many small improvements that we
eventually get a breakthrough.
“Instead of just focusing on problem-solving,
which is still necessary for improving efficiency
and productivity, WITS should shift to the next
gear of looking at work improvements and
creating new value. And one must not forget that
WITS brings people together, which in turn
enhances teamwork, camaraderie and improves
group dynamics.”
machine is used for this process.
For every leafcasting cycle, a specific amount
of paper fibre in about two litres of water is poured
into the machine. Water accumulated from the
constant adding of pulp to water causes the
volume of water in the vat to increase and
overflow. This also causes the machine to stop
and exposes the documents to prolonged soaking.
A WIT called Restorer came up with a solution.
They incorporated an automated draining device
which removes excess water from the machine
during the leafcasting process.
The device eliminates the overflow problem. NHB
also enjoys cost savings in manpower, materials and
maintenance. More importantly, the team has
improved the quality of the archived documents.
At The Ministries
MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
8
Multiple honours for
outstanding WIT idea
OASIS WIT developed a system that has improved efficiency at MFA Headquarters and its overseas missions.
A WIT named OASIS was in the limelight at the
PS21 ExCEL Convention 2002 as well as the
National Innovation and Quality Circle Carnival
2003. The team from the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs’ (MFA) Consular Directorate developed
a system that is now being used by MFA
Headquarters and its overseas missions to
manage consular cases effectively and extend
timely assistance to Singapore citizens abroad.
By OASIS WIT
very year, over 30% of the Singapore
population travel overseas for pleasure, work
and study. It is inevitable for some of them
to encounter difficulties in foreign countries.
The Consular Directorate is responsible for
assisting our citizens overseas. It normally handles
no less than 10 cases daily. The cases range from
the loss of passport to the loss of life.
E
c h a l l e n g e
d e c e m b e r
Problems with old manual system
To achieve MFA’s vision to be always ready to
help Singaporeans at
anytime and anywhere
ne
ally do ct
e
r
s
a
in the world, our
e
WIT h
S proj
OASIS
Its CCM the MFA
.
d
consular officers
u
o
r
MFA p ld award at
y
a
o
continually explore
D
g
ation
won a
Innov
e
h
d
t
n
t
ways and means to
a
rd a
Ideas
02,
ld awa
0
o
2
g
n
a
o
improve our case
ti
2002,
onven
xCEL C
t the
a
management
d
r
a
PS21 E
aw
silver
and
n
o
i
system.
t
and a
a
nov
03!
0 3
al In
l 20
Nation rcle Carniva
i
C
y
t
li
Qua
One problem they encountered was that the
old manual system for maintaining records and
retrieving information was not able to cope with
the large volume of cases.
OASIS took up the challenge of addressing
this problem. The team members began examining
the problems in the existing filing system. They
found that the manual system hampered MFA’s
ability to maintain up-to-date records and staff
could not retrieve information expeditiously.
In the worst case scenario, when the case
officer is away attending to some other matters,
the covering officer has great difficulty accessing
the relevant records and responding promptly to
citizens who require urgent assistance.
After identifying problems in the old system,
OASIS worked with their colleagues from the
Information Management Directorate to
conceptualise and develop the Consular Case
Management System (CCMS).
A new system with many uses
CCMS is an online system that stores consular
cases in a central database and allows officers at
MFA Headquarters and overseas missions to share
the same information.
With CCMS, searching and retrieving past cases
is easy and fast, and there is no need to file any
hardcopies. More importantly, the system enables
MFA officers to interact with other public agencies
via emails, which are automatically captured.
At The Ministries
9
CCMS also incorporates various consular
standard operating procedures and related
information that can help our officers to handle
difficult and sensitive cases. It also highlights some
model cases for training new consular officers.
Enhancing service and efficiency
Our officers at Headquarters and the overseas missions
are now using CCMS to manage consular cases
and they find it useful. They are now able to respond
to 90% of consular cases in less than four hours.
The system also eliminates the need for the
tedious process of maintaining monthly consular
statistics. This is because CCMS electronically
transfers all the figures into a statistical database,
which was also created by OASIS.
CCMS stores consular cases in a central database
which allows officers at MFA Headquarters and
overseas missions to share the same information.
e-Submission System
speeds up work process
n its continuous drive to innovate and find new
and more efficient ways of working, the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) has developed a
system that enables its officers to put up and
process submissions electronically.
These submissions are papers raised to obtain
management’s decisions on a wide variety of
issues, such as policy matters, official trips, etc.
Previously, these were submitted by
circulating physical files. However, the circulating
process was slow and prone to delays. Although
email could be used for this purpose, it is not the
ideal channel for clearing submissions as it is
difficult for officers to track email submissions
when they are cleared and to ensure that all email
replies/threads received are archived.
I
New, effective system
MFA’s e-Submission System, which was
developed based on the Lotus Notes system, was
fully implemented in the MFA Headquarters in
September 2002. This new system allows officers
to put up and process electronic submissions in a
systematic manner that captures the spirit of
“traditional” paper/file submissions.
This is how the system works: The officer who
creates the e-submission defines the various
clearing levels as well as the approving officer.
The submission is automatically forwarded to each
officer in turn. An automatic email alert is sent to
prompt the relevant officer when the submission
is forwarded for his action.
After reading the contents of the submission,
the officer may append his remarks directly into the
submission and forward it to the officer in the next
clearing level. If for some reason the officer is unable
to act on the submission within 72 working hours,
the system automatically forwards it to the next
clearing level to prevent unnecessary delay.
Finally, when the approving officer appends
his comments and closes the submission, the one
who created the submission as well as the officers
in all the clearing levels are informed by email
alerts. The system allows everyone to view the
final decision/results at the same time. The closed
submission, together with all comments and
attachments, is then automatically stored in
MFA’s document management system.
The system also enables officers to easily keep
track of all their submissions in real time. They
can track the officer who is currently “holding”
the submission and whether it is still pending or
has been closed.
Faster results
Now the overall submission process is faster and
more efficient. Decision-making is also easier now
as decisions made by management can be obtained
and disseminated among relevant parties within a
shorter period of time. This in turn allows officers
to take appropriate follow-up action more quickly.
Officers also have more time to focus on other
areas of their work and are hence more productive.
Sharing the innovation
The system has been presented to the Committee
of Permanent Secretaries as well as 10 ministries
and two government agencies. At least four
ministries are exploring how the system may be
configured for their own use.
CoverStory
10
Kudos for
service champs
Dr Balaji delivering the opening address.
Every year, the Excellent Service Award (EXSA)
honours people who have delivered exemplary
service. This year, there were 6,286 winners, the
largest number of service champions to date.
n his opening speech at the EXSA presentation
ceremony held on 6 November, Dr Balaji Sadasivan,
Minister of State for Health and Transport, highly
commended the nine SuperStar winners for their
exemplary performance.
He said, “They have good product knowledge
but they do not just sell or serve. Instead, they
I
This
ye
healt ar, staff
from
hcare
th
and
indu
secur e
strie
s rec
i
t
y
awar
eived
ds
the
The o for the
first
ther
time
s
e
parti
.
cipat ven
i
n
attra
g ind
cti
u
hosp ons, lan stries are
d tra
italit
nsp
y,
airpo
rt, tr restauran ort,
avel
t,
and
retai
l.
actively seek to
understand customers’ needs better
and recommend the best way to meet their
requirements. They pay attention to details and go
the extra mile to delight their customers.”
Such service providers are vital because exceeding
customer expectations, creating service experiences
and delighting customers is the new paradigm in service
excellence.
Dr Balaji said, “It is no longer sufficient to understand
and meet customers’ needs and expectations. Today,
customers need to be wooed and wowed. We need to exceed
their expectations. It is going beyond service quality.”
He added that organisations are increasingly judged
by the depth of their customer relationships. Such
relationships are built on trust and reinforced through
consistently good experiences. Service providers who
engage their customers in a personal and memorable
way will be able to retain them.
Dr Balaji also said that customers need to be
delighted by providing them with benefits beyond what
they expect to receive. Delighting customers will
enhance customer loyalty.
Highlighting the fact that the competition is
intensifying, Dr Balaji stressed on the need for
organisations to continuously create more innovative
value propositions to delight their customers.
The most helpful policeman
friendly and familiar face at Bishan Neighbourhood
Police Centre, Staff Sergeant (SSgt) Chia Voon
Yeow has earned the trust and praises of residents in
the estate. He often offers a listening ear and a helping
hand to those in distress.
Once a lady who had a quarrel with her husband
turned to SSgt Chia for help. She was thinking of
divorcing her husband. SSgt Chia counselled her and
called up her husband. He even arranged a session to
talk things over with the couple. Two weeks later, the
lady called to say that their relationship had improved.
SSgt Chia said, “Some residents have no one to turn
to when they have family disputes, so they go to the
police officer. If I turn them away, their disputes can
lead to family violence. I’ll do what I can to prevent
family violence. If I can’t help them, I’ll refer the cases
to agencies like family service centres.”
A
c h a l l e n g e
d e c e m b e r
Sharing lessons from the heart, he said, “I’ve had
bad experiences of meeting bad retail service providers,
so I tell myself I cannot be a bad service provider. When
customers come to me, I try to put myself into their
shoes, find out what they want and understand their
needs so that I can serve them better.”
On the importance of delivering quality service, he
added, “Providing good service enhances our relationship
with the community, which will have more trust in us
and in the services we provide. That’s important because
we work hand in hand to fight crime.”
SSgt Chia is also always on the lookout for ways to
improve work processes and customer service. He is
actively involved in two WITs and has a hand in eight
projects. With such a positive attitude towards his work,
it is no surprise that he has won numerous awards and
commendations.
0 3
Cover Story
11
Delivering babies and excellent
service is her forte
aving been a practising midwife for over 17 years,
Ms Teo Chor Cher, Senior Nurse Manager, has helped
to deliver many babies at KK Women’s and Children’s
Hospital (KKH). Her patients are in good hands as she
gladly goes beyond the call of duty to care for them.
“It is my privilege to help women in labour cope
with labour pain and delivery,” she said. “Sharing their
joy upon hearing the first cry from their babies is my
greatest satisfaction.”
Caring, dedicated, professional and empathetic, Ms
Teo embodies the very best in a nurse. She also
continually seeks ways to raise service standards and
H
Star
uper hree
S
e
n
e ni
ar, t
Of th s this ye
r
ublic
e
improve work processes. She is
winn om the P r
fr
ei
actively involved in several service
were . Read th e
b
e
c
i
v
and
Ser
improvement projects, one of which
here iver
s
e
i
r
l
sto
o de
.
won a gold award at the National
red t
e too
inspi nt servic
Quality Circle Convention.
e
l
excel
Ms Teo’s dedication has won her
many accolades over the years including
the National Day Excellence Award. On her latest win,
she said, “It came as a surprise and I’m overjoyed! I feel
very honoured and encouraged by the award and would
like to share this award with all my colleagues. It is the
fruit of the excellent teamwork in KKH.”
Ms Teo, SSgt Chia and Mr Tee (fifth, second and first from right) with the other SuperStar award winners.
Leaving a lasting impression
urious passengers are pacified and desperate
travellers readily find a helping hand when they
meet Senior Immigration and Checkpoint Specialist Tee
Soon Kay from the Immigration and Checkpoints
Authority (ICA).
This 54-year-old public officer based at Changi
Airport Terminal 1 simply has a way with customers.
Once he stopped a journalist who tried to bring in a
carton of duty-free cigarettes which was against
Singapore law. The passenger was very angry when he
was stopped. Mr Tee gently persuaded him to talk things
over in his office and managed to cool him down.
On another occasion, he met a Malaysian lady who
had flown in just after midnight from Detroit. She had
forgotten to renew her passport which had expired. Mr
Tee learnt that her aged parents were at the waiting
area and asked the immigration duty officer to grant
her a special temporary pass, so that she could meet
her parents who would bring her back to Johor Bahru.
When the pass was granted, Mr Tee helped to
F
retrieve her bags and even pushed the baggage trolley
as she made her way out to meet her parents.
The lady’s parents were very delighted with Mr Tee’s
service. Their complimentary letter was just one of the
many compliments he has received since he first joined
the customs inspection team in 1969.
While he admits that it is not easy to balance
security concerns with the need for excellent service
delivery, he has proved that it can achieved by adopting
a positive mindset.
He said, “Everyday is a challenge, especially for
those at the front-line at the airport. As Singapore’s
ambassadors, we should provide good service so
foreigners will leave with a lasting good impression of
Singapore.”
Mr Tee shared that winning his most recent award
marks a turning point in his career. He said, “I was
thinking of retiring as I’m reaching 55 in four months’
time. Now, if I can contribute, I will keep on contributing,
because I hope to help the younger officers.”
Excellence At Work
12
A purpose-driven
organisation
A workgoup leader facilitating a discussion on MinLaw’s core values during a workgroup meeting.
By Corporate Development Unit, MinLaw HQ
ike DNA that controls and directs every
genetic aspect of life, the Ministry of Law’s
(MinLaw) core values are fundamental
because they guide its staff to achieve its
organisational goals. These core values unify and
integrate MinLaw’s various agencies, departments
and statutory boards into one seamless body.
L
c h a l l e n g e
d e c e m b e r
Redefining MinLaw’s mission and core values
The ministry embarked on a pathfinding process
to understand and redefine its mission and core
values in early 2001.
The pathfinding process was not one-sided as
MinLaw sought the views of both senior
management and staff on the ground. In fact, a
team of young officers was tasked to gather the
thoughts of colleagues from various departments
and statutory boards. The team got to hear the
most ingenious contributions through a fertile
exchange of ideas in an informal setting. With all
the feedback from staff, the team then spent some
time crafting the core values, bearing in mind the
need to bring the points across simply and in a
concise and succinct manner.
The new core values were endorsed by the
Minister for Law in March 2001 and launched at
a ceremony.
Imbuing the core values
MinLaw believes that once its staff can
understand and relate to its core values as
something akin to their personal values, they
will naturally exhibit behaviours that uphold
the values.
To cultivate a common understanding of the
core values among its officers, MinLaw adapted
one of the best practices of The Ritz-Carlton,
Millenia Singapore.
The premier hotel believes that to create good
habits and a service culture, its staff need to
identify with a set of core values. At the start of
each work shift, its staff gather in their work
teams for 15 minutes to talk about one of its 20
values.
MinLaw found a way to adapt this practice to
suit its organisational setting. As its various
workgroups were already meeting up regularly to
discuss operational matters, MinLaw tapped on
this ready opportunity to highlight its core values.
The ministry institutionalised the sharing of
core values during those meetings. The workgroup
leaders facilitate the discussion on core values
with their staff which takes only about 10 minutes
so as not to overshadow the discussion on
operational matters.
0 3
Excellence At Work
13
of
istry ublic
n
i
M
eP
The
on th for
w
w
La
ard
ce Aw
Servi ational
.
nis
Orga nce 2003
lle
e
c
x
E
To facilitate the sharing of core
values, real-life stories contributed
by staff who have exhibited the
values in their day-to-day work
are distributed to all workgroups
by the Corporate Development Unit every
month. A different value is discussed each month.
The staff also receive practical tips on how to
remember the values, suggestions on how to live
out the values and quotes to inspire staff to
uphold the core values.
MinLaw’s efforts are evidently paying off. Said
Corporate Development Executive Shirley Ou,
“The core values provide me with a sense of
direction in my daily routine, particularly when I
encounter difficult situations. As an officer who
deals with members of the public on a regular
basis, I always bear in mind that I have to serve
the public with utmost ‘Integrity and
Professionalism’, because I know that they expect
nothing less than the best possible outcomes.”
A worthwhile journey
MinLaw has found its journey of organisational
culture development worth taking. While
developing an organisational culture takes time,
adopting a comprehensive approach and
repeatedly reinforcing the shared values will bring
about desired behaviours that move the
organisation towards achieving its goals in a
sustainable manner.
OUR MISSION
To ensure a sound legal infrastructure,
optimise land resources and promote
intellectual property to support our
economic and social goals.
OUR CORE VALUES
• For Singapore — Singapore’s interests
come first.
• Integrity and Professionalism — We abide
by the highest standards of integrity and
professional conduct.
• Creative Pragmatism — We embrace
challenges with passion, creativity and
pragmatism.
• Valuing People — We value and respect
our people, promote teamwork and
recognise individual contributions.
Learning from mistakes
By Corporate Development Unit, MinLaw HQ
he fear of making mistakes is one of the basic
stumbling blocks to learning. So that its staff
do not fear exploring new ideas, making mistakes
and learning from them, MinLaw launched a new
column in its quarterly newsletter, MinLaw Line,
called “Back on Track”.
The column shines the spotlight on members
of MinLaw’s core management team who share
an occasion when they had made a mistake. They
also share their perspective of making mistakes
and learning from them.
The idea for this column was inspired by
Singapore Airlines’ (SIA) approach to staffs’
mistakes. At SIA, mistakes are treated as important
learning steps. The emphasis is on recovery and
learning and not “crucifying the culprit”. As a
result, staff are less likely to be defensive and
more prepared to admit and rectify mistakes or
omissions quickly.
T
DS shares a genuine mistake he made
The first story in the column was contributed by
our Deputy Secretary (DS). He shared about how
he had mistaken an early Sunday morning flight
for a late Sunday night flight.
DS reached the airport on Sunday evening
thinking he would be catching the after-midnight
flight at 1 am. However, he was 24 hours late for
his flight. Fortunately, the airline staff managed
to book the next flight for him, and he arrived at
his destination early Monday morning just on time
for his business meeting.
In the story, DS said management recognises
that to err is human and that management is no
different from rank and file officers. He gave this
piece of advice: “To avoid making mistakes would be
to sit back and do nothing. That is not tenable. The
wiser way is to acknowledge our mistakes, review
what we have done, learn from them and move on.”
Getting the right message across
Since the first Back On Track story was published,
three more management staff have been featured
in the newsletter.
The column has been warmly received by
MinLaw’s staff. As one staff put it: “I am now able
to see that our leaders are tolerant of genuine
mistakes. The column helps to communicate the
right message to staff. We should all learn from
our mistakes, and not repeat them.”
EconomyDrive
14
Driving efforts to
cut costs at MCDS
public education and IT, because of their potential
to achieve material savings. Although this approach
provides clear accountability and potentially good
results, it did not involve everyone.
Hence we adjusted our approach and
incorporated ED targets for all divisions as part of
their resource management process of
redeploying savings to fund new programmes. This
way, all divisions have a stake in ED.
A skit to bring home the ED message.
By MCDS
ince the Economy Drive was officially
launched across the public sector in May
2003, the Ministry of Community
Development and Sports (MCDS) and its statutory
boards have formed respective Internal Economy
Drive Committees (iEDC) to spread the ED message.
The committees set the direction and nurture
a culture where staff always try to get more out of
government expenditure. MCDS’ iEDC is chaired
by Deputy Secretary, Ms Yeoh Chee Yan, while
the iEDCs of the statutory boards are chaired by
the respective CEOs.
S
c h a l l e n g e
The Economy Drive is not new to MCDS
At MCDS, we are always economical in the way
we manage our systems and run our programmes.
This attitude is clearly spelt out in our corporate
approach, the MCDS Way.
In fact, when we talked with MCDS staff, many
said they have been practising the ED approach
over the years as a matter of duty. We applaud this
attitude and explained that the relaunch is a timely
reminder for everyone of the need to systematically
realise efficiency gains. As the fiscal environment
grows tighter, the ED way must be promoted and
practised at all levels so that there will be resources
for funding new initiatives.
For the minority who viewed ED as a one-time
campaign during bad times, we took pains to point
out that this should not be the case. By driving ED
efforts from the top and with support from one and all,
we hope to see ED progressively becoming part and
parcel of how we work and manage our resources.
d e c e m b e r
Everyone has a stake
Initially, we examined the Net Economic Value
(NEV) drivers of seven big-ticket items, including
Strategy for implementation
To inculcate ED values, we established a
communication plan. We are tackling the ED
challenge in three phases: creating awareness,
educating staff to inculcate the spirit of ED, and
reinforcing and upholding the spirit of ED.
Some effective measures
Like many public agencies, MCDS has adopted
measures such as double-sided photocopying,
switching off lights during lunch hour, outsourcing
the production of public education materials and
using minimal specifications for these materials.
We conducted a review of the usage of water
and electricity at MCDS-run homes to identify
areas for savings. We are also placing fewer paid
advertisements. Instead, our public education
messages are carried for free in the mass media
through magazines, newspapers and television.
Our next lap
Our ongoing ED efforts include a feasibility study
on setting up an administrative hub for voluntary
welfare organisations (VWOs) that are running
social welfare programmes funded by ministries
and the National Council of Social Service. By
tapping on central administrative services (e.g.
building maintenance), VWOs can focus on their
core business and achieve greater cost efficiency.
The ministry is also actively exploring ways to
save energy in MCDS Building, use NEV as a
management tool for deploying resources efficiently,
and to outsource the ministry’s non-core functions.
Learning about ED in a fun and memorable way.
0 3
At Your Service
15
HDB Quality
Service Day 2003
This year, the Housing and Development
Board’s (HDB) Quality Service Day (QSD) was
given a new spin. Held on 10 September, the
event was upbeat, fun and challenging. Many
front-line staff were reminded of the
principles of quality service through games —
carnival-style. There were also many other
exciting highlights that day.
By HDB
icking off the day’s programme was a
stimulating in-house multimedia
production that paid tribute to front-line
staff, the service heroes of HDB.
CEO Niam Chiang Meng then gave his opening
address to some 400 HDB front-line staff at the
HDB Auditorium and unveiled SHiNE, the new
mascot for quality service in HDB. The mascot,
embodied in a smiling sunflower, represents the
service front that HDB wants to portray —
K
HDB Hub, and personally assisted customers
with their enquiries. The customers were more
than delighted to have HDB’s senior management
and department heads take a personal interest
in their requests.
Mr Niam also took a tour of the many frontline counters at HDB Hub and greeted the frontline staff. It was clear that the customer service
officers and telephone enquiry staff appreciated
Mr Niam’s gesture and were greatly motivated by
the show of commitment to quality service by
management.
SHiNE — the virtual knowledge centre
for quality service
SHiNE, an Intranet portal for quality service,
was also launched. SHiNE provides an avenue
for HDB staff to learn about delivering better
counter services, relating to customers over the
telephone, and techniques for replying to
written correspondence.
Front-line staff can
read about each other’s
“Whether you are involved in front-line counter
experiences, the best
services or in providing telephone enquiry services,
practices of other service
organisations and even
you are a key pillar of ours in that you are the face
post messages to an
of HDB, or for some of you, the voice of HDB….
interactive discussion
And, as in the past, you have done a wonderful job.” forum.
— HDB CEO Niam Chiang Meng
a friendly face that delivers services that shine
and delight customers!
The Service Challenge Carnival
This carnival was a first for QSD. It saw staff having
fun playing games aptly named “Delight Your
Customer”, “Unleash Your Potential” and more,
and winning prizes.
Said Administrative Assistant Sheena Goh and
Administrative Executive Serene Choong from the
Geylang Branch Office on their first QSD
experience, “The carnival games were simple but
nice. We hope that for future QSDs, there’ll be
more carnival game stalls.”
‘I was served by HDB’s CEO!’
Management staff gamely took to the front-line
counters. Mr Niam cheerfully took up his position
at the Sales/Resale Reception Counter A at the
Shine on!
Staff feedback at the end
of the day revealed that
the HDB Quality Service Day 2003 was a success.
Most of the staff found the multimedia show
inspiring and the carnival game stalls
interesting.
Mr Niam assisting customers with their enquiries.
At Your Service
16
Enhancing service
delivery at HDB
By HDB
he Management
Services Section
of the Housing
and Development
Board’s (HDB) Corporate Development
Department conducts
the HDB Expectation &
Experience (E & E)
Survey once in two
years.
The objective of
the survey is to
evaluate customers’
expectations of HDB’s
services and how well
customers think HDB has been meeting those
expectations.
The results over the last 10 years show that
HDB has been improving its ability to gauge and
meet customers’ expectations. In fact, the
expectation-experience gap value has been
showing a gradual downward trend over the years
(see chart).
T
Five service contacts
HDB recently conducted the fifth cycle of the
survey. Five major points of service contact were
assessed.
For counter services, customers ranked
efficiency and effectiveness as the two most
important factors. When it comes to waiting time,
23% of HDB’s customers expect to be served
within 5 minutes of arriving at HDB counters,
and 83% expect to be served in 15 minutes.
As for telephone enquiry services, 91% of the
customers expect to get through the line in three
attempts and 85% expect the call to be picked up
within five rings.
c h a l l e n g e
d e c e m b e r
Customers expect fast and effective counter service
at HDB.
Promptness of replies is regarded as one
of the most important factors when it comes
to handling written and email replies. More
than one-third of the customers expect to
receive written replies in three days, and 92%
expect to receive replies in seven days. In
the case of email replies, 28% of the
customers expect to receive replies within a
day, and 84% expect to receive email replies
within three days.
The increasing popularity of the Internet has
also seen a rise in the number of suggestions
pertaining to the HDB InfoWeb. There have been
numerous calls from customers requesting HDB
to provide more information and e-services on
the InfoWeb.
On the whole, running the E & E Survey has
been an enriching process that has uncovered
valuable insights into the psyche of HDB’s
customers. For one, the downward trend in the
expectation-experience gap value is a positive
endorsement of the many service initiatives that
are continuously being adopted in HDB. For
another, the survey reveals the increasing
expectations of customers on several aspects of
our service.
The E & E Survey has also provided the
necessary impetus for introducing numerous
service improvements such as the development
of an in-house knowledge database for quality
service and a review of the service recovery
process in HDB.
The recent E & E Survey received a total of
1,056 responses.
0 3
A Day In The Life Of A Public Officer
17
He helps to
make dreams
come true
S
hannon Low thrives in two different worlds
— even while at work. In the one we are
familiar with, he attends functions, meets
people, reviews proposals, does paperwork, travels
overseas and makes things happen.
In the other, he enters an exciting “virtual” landscape where anything can happen, and imaginations
of the future are (digitally) in the making.
Shannon’s job title: Assistant Manager, Content
Development/Digital Media, Industry Development
Division, Media Development Authority (MDA).
Simply put, his role is to grow Singapore’s digital
media industry by helping companies to develop
and export content products. Such products include
computer games, interactive media products, and
animated television series and films.
Growing a budding industry
“The digital media industry is still quite young
here,” said Shannon. “Although we haven’t got a
large number of content products at the moment,
there’s potential for growth.”
Shannon oversees MDA’s Digital Content
Development Scheme, which provides funding for
companies seeking to produce pilot episodes of a
TV series, trailers for a film, a playable technical
demo for a game, or an interactive media project.
With the funding from MDA, these companies
can produce something to show interested buyers,
investors and partners, who can then provide
further funding for developing the entire project.
So far, close to 20 proposals have been
submitted. Several have been approved. Those that
have made it are truly innovative ideas and
concepts that come with a promising business
plan for marketing the products overseas.
Bringing different worlds
together
ia 21
d
e
M
Shannon also looks for
its
to
nched
u
3
a
0
l
0
A
2
avenues where MDA can
MD
July
int in
to a
work with the private
bluepr ingapore in
city.
pS
develo lobal media
sector to bring more
s,
tg
e year
v
i
vibran
f
attention to digital
t
x
he ne
$100
Over t
d
l
n
e
a
media
content
c
p
e lo
ill s
ote th
MDA w
m
o
r
p
products and to excite
n to
millio
ustry.
d
more people to create
n
i
a
medi
them. For example,
MDA supports international cybergames, digital art
and animation competitions.
Going on industry promotion trips are also part
of the job. Shannon recently spent a week in the
US visiting animation and game development
companies in a bid to pave the way for partnerships
between US and Singapore companies.
He explained, “We want to get US companies
to think about co-production and co-development
with our local companies. That will give local
companies a chance to learn from US companies,
as well as an opportunity to gain access to the
international market through their US partners.”
Work is fun and invigorating
“I read gaming magazines and play computer games
for research, and I get to watch animated pilot TV
series submitted by companies!” he said beaming.
However, what he enjoys most about his job
is working in a dynamic industry.
“We are now seeing a big growth in 3D
animation in TV series and films. We’re also seeing
a lot more complexity in computer games. I think
they can grow a lot more complex, with more
impressive and exciting visual effects,” he said.
“There’s also the idea of convergence between
media. For example, your mobile phone can
become a widespread platform for much more
interactive games. It’s exciting to be able to push
and develop this industry, and see how companies
come up with new ideas and ways to exploit the
convergence and tools for interactivity.”
A ‘happening’ life outside of work too
Beyond office hours, Shannon thoroughly enjoys
pursuing his many passions.
When he is not street racing on his PlayStation
2 or surfing on the beaches of Bali, Shannon
produces his own digital projects. He co-publishes
an online magazine (www.the2ndrule.com) and is
the project director of Digital Compassion
(www.digitalcompassion.com), a series of creative
digital projects that address social concerns.
Staff Matters
18
ENV steps up to the
President’s Challenge
climbed up all 27 storeys of the ENV Building — all
for charity! Senior management, the Minister for
the Environment Lim Swee Say, Permanent
Secretary of ENV Lam Chuan Leong, Chairman of
PUB Tan Gee Paw and CEO of NEA Lam Joon Khoi,
also rose to the challenge.
Mr Lim flagging off the vertical race.
By ENV
“
here is a Mandarin saying that those who
have the money should contribute money,
and those who have the strength should
contribute strength. I’m glad that today, I have a
chance to do a bit of both by pledging my donation
to the President’s Challenge and taking part in
the Vertical Challenge,” said Mr Yuen Sai Kuan
from the Public Utilities Board (PUB).
And it was no ordinary vertical marathon that
he participated in as he was joined by over 200
officers from the Environment Headquarters (ENV
HQ) and its two statutory boards, the National
Environment Agency (NEA) and the PUB.
Defying gravity, many of the participants
T
Funds and fun!
The ENV-NEA-PUB Vertical Challenge 2003 was
organised as part of A.C.T.I.V.E Day and also to
raise funds for President’s Challenge 2003. As
officers eagerly signed up for the individual, trio
and relay events, pledges poured in from their
excited friends, colleagues and bosses.
‘Yes, we did it!’
At the end of the event, the Vertical Challenge
Shield was awarded to ENV HQ. There were also
prizes for those who were named “Most DropDead Gorgeous Gal or Guy”, “The Most VerticallyChallenged Individual”, “Baby Warriors” (the team
with the youngest combined age) and more.
Most importantly, the ENV family well
exceeded its target for the President’s
Challenge. As one officer from NEA aptly put it,
“We pledged, we climbed, we ached… but it
was all worth it!”
Carnival
kaleidoscope
Held at the Jurong BirdPark, MOE Family Day
2003 was extra memorable.
d e c e m b e r
By MOE PS21 Staff Well Being Functional Committee
c h a l l e n g e
n 21 September 2003, over 4,500 Ministry
of Education (MOE) staff, teachers and
their family members arrived at the Jurong
BirdPark for a fun-filled day of activities,
entertaining shows, fun games and challenges.
Organised by the MOE Sports and Recreation
Club, MOE Family Day 2003 provided MOE staff
and teachers at all levels with an opportunity to
interact with one another, participate in exciting
activities and enjoy the visual spectacle of over
8,000 birds of 600 different species from worldwide.
After Acting Minister for Education Tharman
Shanmugaratnam declared the event open, the
O
day of never-ending shows began with the All
Star Bird Show.
The activities that followed included a line
dancing workshop, a telematch, a treasure hunt,
and performances by a ventriloquist, a magician
and an acrobatic troupe.
There were also booths for face and finger
painting, balloon sculpting and caricature drawing
which contributed to the carnival-like
atmosphere.
At the end of the day, everyone walked away
with lots of souvenirs and prizes.
0 3
Healthy Body, Active Mind
19
Protect yourself
and your loved ones
from AIDS
he recent events surrounding SARS (Severe
Acute Respiratory Syndrome) showed that
no country can be immune in a global
epidemic. What we can do is to protect
ourselves to the best of our ability. And some
of the most cost-effective protective measures
begin with us.
SARS may have dominated the headlines in
recent months, but let’s not forget that there are
other epidemics ravaging our world at the moment.
One of these is AIDS or Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, which has been with us for
a little more than 20 years.
Like SARS, AIDS is a disease caused by a
virus. The virus that causes AIDS is known
as the Human Immunodeficiency Virus or
HIV for short. HIV destroys the body’s
immune system and renders it ineffective, so
that the patient eventually succumbs to
infections and cancers.
Despite advances in treatment and research,
AIDS has remained an incurable disease. That is to
say, with or without drugs, AIDS kills. And death
usually comes in a slow, painful way. What drugs
can do at the moment is to delay the inevitable.
And they are not without side-effects. Not
everyone responds to them. There is as yet no
vaccine against AIDS.
The World Health Organization estimated
that there were a total of 42 million adults and
T
children around the world living with HIV/AIDS
at the end of last year. The greatest number of
sufferers were in sub-Saharan Africa (29.4
million). An estimated 5 million adults and
children were newly infected, and an estimated
3.1 million adults and children died due to
AIDS last year.
AIDS is a sexually transmitted disease. You
get infected when you have sex with an HIVinfected person. Infection is mainly through
heterosexual contact. There is no way you can
tell from external appearances whether a person
is infected with HIV or not, unless he or she
undergoes a blood test, and a repeat test a few
months later if the results of the first test are
negative. Hence avoid casual sex and stay faithful
to your partner. Using a condom during sex only
reduces your risk of getting AIDS. A condom does
not offer 100% protection.
The other way of getting infected with HIV is
through the use of contaminated needles and
other skin-piercing instruments. Many sex
workers are also intravenous drug abusers. Hence,
your “virgin” prostitute or casual sex partner may
still pass the virus to you. It is safer to avoid casual
sex and visiting tattoo parlours.
If you think you are HIV-positive or are at risk
of getting infected, see your doctor and get
yourself tested. Starting medication in time delays
the onset of AIDS-related complications. As you
still have to live even if you are HIV-positive, you
need counselling in order to live positively and
also to prevent passing on the infection to others,
including your loved ones.
CHALLENGEQUIZ
d ec e m b e r
2 0 0 3
ANSWERS
to November 2003 Quiz
1
What does HOTM stand for?
Heritage On The Move
2. How many readers
participated in the recent
Challenge Online Readership
Poll? 504
3. What is the address of the
Cut Waste website?
www.cutwaste.mof.gov.sg
Answer the following questions on the contents of
this issue of Challenge:
1.
How many TEC sponsored innovations were on
display at Global Entrepolis @ Singapore 2003?
2.
What was the theme of the MITA WITS
Convention 2003?
3.
What award did Senior Immigration and
Checkpoint Specialist Tee Soon Kay win
recently?
4. What is the name of MITA’s
internal newsletter?
Colours@MITA
5. Can people with diabetes
still lead an active lifestyle?
Yes
WINNERS
of November 2003 Quiz
1. Low Lang Cheng, AGC
2. Lim Kah Cheng, S’pore Customs
4.
What is the name of HDB’s Intranet portal for
quality service?
3. Alang Moh Kamaruldzaman, URA
4. Lee Mooi Hoon, MOF
5. Leong Yen Neey, S’pore Customs
5.
Answer “true” or “false” to this statement:
A condom offers 100% protection from
getting AIDS.
6. Woo Chee Kwang, S’pore Customs
7. Chiong Aoi Choo, S’pore Sports Council
8. Laila Salleh, LTA
9. Yun Chiang Chan, MOE
10. Ho Bee Lian, PA
Send your entries to PS21 Office, 29 Heng Mui Keng Terrace, Singapore 119620
by 12 January 2004. Email us at [email protected] or fax to 6775 3461.
Give your name, ministry, ministry address and phone number. The first 10
correct entries drawn will receive a token of appreciation from the PS21 Office.
Congratulations to the winners,
who will each receive a pen.