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Approach
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ust 2015
July
August 2015
C O N T E N T S
Cover Story
10
WHAT WILL WE
GET OUT OF
NOSTALGIA?
Is looking back at and
preserving the past a
mere indulgence or
something more?
07
26
CAN WE
NURTURE
KAMPUNG SPIRIT
IN SINGAPORE?
28
Three experts on
community building and
networks share their views
BUILDING
TRUST WITH A
NEW BALANCE
Reframing the roles
of the public sector
and citizens
36
Take a peek at the
National Gallery
Singapore before it
opens with its art
on display
JUL/AU G
transpDooryot.u?
2015
the chall enge pullou
t
Issue
The Transp ort
18
YOUR
ELECTRI FY
STREET CRED
forms of
With these
transport .
personal electrical
20
IOUS
THE MYSTER
TAXI
HABITS OF
DRIVERS
or hate them,
Love them
without them.
we can’t do
23
IN THE SEATS
OF GIANTS
of the largest
Meet some
the world.
vehicles in
PUL
LOU
T
24
WEIRD
RULES
TRANSP ORT
about the
No more jokes the road.
chicken crossing
He Ruiming
writing by
Research &
Masramli
Siti Maziah
Edited by
by Ryan Ong
illustration
Design &
8 pages to help you
on the move
off in
rtation. Jetting
with transpo
the same as
relation ship
ion is not quite
a love-hate
. And
We all have
holiday destinat
a weekday morning ing
to your next
ked MRT on
Depend
an Airbus A380
onboard a jam-pac than the destinat ion?
y
draggin g yourself
importa nt
keep you compan
journey is more
these tips can
they say the
But perhaps
always…
not
on your ride,
te.
next commu
during your
31
Mr Kenneth Er, Chief
Executive of the National
Parks Board, wants to
nurture people as well
as greenery
FOR THE JOY
OF READING
A NEW MUSEUM
WITH A PAST
I know my
“IT’S ABOUT
GIVING BACK”
Long-time librarian
Mrs Kiang-Koh is a
leader in promoting
reading for all
40
MAKANAN
D’SINGAPOUR
Local food reimagined
02 Inbox Your views on the past issues of Challenge 03 Your Say What to do during the National Day long weekend
04 All Things Digital The latest happenings online 05 #hearmeout Thoughts of a young public officer
05 Get Wired Tips to be more tech-savvy at work 06 The Briefing News from the Public Service 16 Insider’s Take:
Own Your Career Ways to take charge of your career growth 17 The Challenge Pullout: The Transport Issue 8
pages of tips to help you on the move 25 Letters to a Young Public Officer: I am Grateful for the Mistakes I
Have Made Mr Keith Tan, MINDEF’s Deputy Secretary (Policy), on the lessons learnt from past mistakes 30 Level Up:
Uncover the Personal Values That Define Us How to identify your values and resolve tension when they clash with
the values of others 32 Farm the Rooftop Social enterprise Comcrop and its urban farmers are changing how we
think of space for farms 34 Challenge 20: A Glossier Look Featuring public officers on Challenge covers for the first
time 35 The Big Idea: Do You Care Too Much? Where are you on the empathy spectrum?
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 Advisors
Luke Goh, Charlene Han & Tan Hui Min
Beyond the past
Editor
Kaira Peh
I grew up playing zero point at my
HDB void deck. Players jump over
a rope made of rubber bands tied
together. To progress to the next
level, one has to jump over the rope
at higher distances, without touching
it (or depending on the rules set).
After the game, we would go to a
mamak shop to buy a 20-cent ice
lolly that came in different flavours.
My favourites were cola and grape.
Editorial Assistants
Joyce Anne Rozario, Noor Hafifah Ahmad &
Norbishah Sharif
Assistant Editors
Christopher Teo & Katie Phon
Tuber Productions Pte Ltd
298 River Valley Road Level 2
Singapore 238339
Tel: 6836-4030
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.tuberproductions.com
management
Director
Lee Han Shih
Project Director
Liew Wei Ping
editorial
Fast forward 20 years, I live in a Singapore that is hi-tech (look at our
gadgets!), efficient and constantly renewing its urban landscape. And yet, there has been
a wave of nostalgia sweeping over us. I often read with interest online articles dedicated
to reminiscing about Singapore’s past, largely because many of the things written about,
which formed my childhood memories, are no longer around. We see a nation whose people
ache for the past and search for things beyond the present, so they can feel connected to
the country.
In this issue’s cover story What can we get out of nostalgia?, we explore the reasons behind
this craze for all things old, the dangers of being stuck in the past, and the power of using
our love for the past to construct a shared memory for the future.
Amidst the hype of #throwback hashtags and kampung spirit, we speak with three
experts on whether we can recreate kampung spirit (see Can we nurture kampung spirit
in Singapore?). We also take a peek at the National Gallery Singapore that is opening
in October. Key pieces of history were specially conserved in the refurbished buildings
(formerly the Supreme Court and City Hall), so do take time to discover the good ol’
stories behind them!
Speaking of good stories, I’m proud to announce that Challenge has won an Award of
Excellence (Custom-published Magazine) in the 2015 Apex Awards, which recognises
excellent editorial content and design. Our Pullout also won in the How-to Writing
category.
Finally, in celebration of the long weekend during the nation’s Golden Jubilee, the
Challenge Department of Culinary Arts has specially created the Ultimate All Day
Singapore Breakfast. Happy feasting on Makanan D’Singapour!
Editor
Kaira Peh
Please sh aarzeine :)
this mag
Editor-in-Chief
Bridgette See
Contributing Editor
Siti Maziah Masramli
Sub-editor
Bernice Tang
Staff Writers
Chen Jingting & Tay Qiao Wei
Contributors
Jamie Ee, Janice Tan & Yong Shu Chiang
creative
Creative Director
Quek Oon Hong
Art Director
Yip Siew Fei
Graphic Designers
Ng Shi Wei & Ryan Ong
Contributing Photographers
John Heng (daphotographer.com)
Lumina (animulstudios.com)
Norman Ng (normanng.com)
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.
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(Registration No: 197801823M)
57 Loyang Drive Singapore 508968
INBOX
May/Jun
A student who did
not know what
she wanted to be
in the future read
an article about me in Challenge (Jan/
Feb 2003) and decided to pursue law.
She graduated as a lawyer and joined
the Public Service. She was an intern
at my department and subsequently
joined us as Assistant Director. When
e 2015
Dif fere ntly
lic Ser vice
g the Pub
App roa chin
THE
DESIGN
ISSUE
MAKING SPORTS
A NATIONAL HABIT
What will it take to get
Singaporeans to live and breathe sports?
OFC Cover FA.indd 1
22/4/15 6:22 pm
iPad app now available
I enjoy reading Challenge
during my breaks, as it is
very informative,
creative and
humorous –
especially the
illustrations and
colourful design
layout. The latest
Pullout is also very
useful (and can be put
she confided that to me,
I was happy, as I did not
know that an article on my
public service had such an
effect on another human
being. I was indeed glad and felt
up on the noticeboard) as
a reminder and eye-opener
for us on how to be an
authentic person, regardless
of your position in the
ministries. Good job
fulfilled being in the Public Service.
– Vengadasalam Alagesan, LAB
and strive for more
challenging topics!
The creative workgroup at my department,
Probation Services Branch, feels that
Challenge has been inspiring
creativity through its bimonthly
emails and encouraging ideas
to be sent in. Our Branch is pushing
for more creative efforts in our day-to-day
work. Are there any programmes, training
courses or collaboration efforts that we
could have with PSD?
– Patricia Ng, MSF
– Sasmira A. Rahim, MSF
A Cuppa With...
Text by
CHEN JINGTING
Photos by
NORMAN NG
“I’ve never felt the need
to get a Master’s”
Permanent Secretary for Education Chan Lai Fung on redefining success and channelling her inner teacher.
Once, in an address to Ministry
of Education (MOE) scholars about to begin their university education, Ms Chan
Lai Fung said something that probably
surprised them.
“I told them, ‘Please don’t spend the
next four years just burying your heads in
your books, thinking that what you need
to do is to get your first-class honours
and impress us,’” the Permanent Secretary for Education tells Challenge in an
interview at Artisan Dessert Bar, near the
MOE headquarters.
“I don’t really care what class of degree you have as long as you show me that
you can be a good teacher.”
This includes the ability to engage
students, which is essential to good teaching too, she notes. In her view, although
gaining paper qualifications is a way to
develop mastery in a field, it does not
guarantee a successful career. Rather,
it is more important to keep up with
developments in real life and learn along
the way.
“I’ve never felt the need to get a Master’s,” says Ms Chan, who holds a Bachelor of Economics from Monash University. “If you’re able to show what you can
bring to the table at the workplace, nobody
cares if you have a Master’s or not.”
She recalls being inspired by former
Head of Civil Service Lim Siong Guan,
who once told a group of young officers that he did not have a Master’s but
that had not stopped him from learning along the way and excelling in the
Public Service.
Like him, she tries to adopt the same
mindset towards learning.
This attitude has served her well in
her nearly 30 years in the Public Service.
Prior to her current appointment, she had
helmed the law and finance ministries.
Ms Chan’s perspective echoes a key
message behind the recently launched
SkillsFuture initiatives – rather than focusing narrowly on grades, a person is bet-
www.challenge.gov.sg May/June 2015
Her problem with tuition
Despite the ministry’s efforts to broaden
our understanding of success, getting
Singaporeans to look beyond paper qualifications remains a challenge, admits
Ms Chan.
Many parents still overvalue grades,
sending their children to tuition classes
even when the latter are already doing well in school. This includes parents
who sign their children up for tuition
so that they can qualify for the Gifted
Education Programme.
“I am not sure if these children are
indeed gifted, if they require all these artificial boosts and support,” says Ms Chan.
She also fears that the heavy reliance
on tuition would rob our children of their
ability to learn independently and hurt
their prospects at work as adults.
“If your boss gives you a problem…
there’s no tuition teacher to turn to. You
must figure it out yourself.”
A teacher to other officers
Ms Chan is regularly invited to speak at
the Civil Service College. She enjoys sharing her experiences with younger officers
and feels gratified when they tell her that
her comments resonated with them.
“I don’t know if it’s my unfulfilled desire to be a teacher… I think there’s a part
of me that likes to influence lives,” she
says with a laugh.
Whenever Ms Chan’s staff come to
her because they feel they are not progressing in their career, she shares with
them her experience: There was a time
in her career when, unlike her peers, she
was not offered the opportunity for further
studies; at the same time, her juniors were
promoted to the same grade as her.
She did not let that affect her work.
The following year, she was posted to another ministry where she had back-to-back
promotions – rather uncommon, especially given her slower progression in her
earlier years.
Ms Chan observes that some public officers, eager to prove their worth, engage
in individualistic or self-serving behaviour
that bosses can easily see through.
To these officers, she has the following advice: “Do your best, be yourself, be
a team player, and have a good attitude.”
And soon, she believes, the opportunities to show their capabilities will come.
Strengthening engagement
One of Ms Chan’s biggest challenges is
to communicate the MOE’s policies to
its more than 30,000 teachers and officers. This is a mammoth task because messages tend to lose their essence as they are
filtered at every level before they reach
the ground.
So besides forming a communications
and engagement unit to sharpen the messages, and relying on the principals to
share the messages with the teachers, Ms
Chan and her colleagues in senior management have made it a point to visit all 365
MOE schools, a process that will take at
least two years to cover every school.
“Nothing can substitute for direct
selling,” she explains.
As hot button issues in education
are common conversation topics, Ms
Chan also has to manage feedback on
her ministry’s policies from friends
and acquaintances.
At social gatherings – she likes
catching up with friends over a Japanese
meal, her favourite cuisine – she does not
mind talking about the MOE’s work and
would seize the opportunity to rectify
any misimpressions.
“If I can correct even one or two impressions of an individual, that person can
be an ambassador of that viewpoint and
help others understand what the MOE is
trying to do.”
Grit and attitude matter much
more than intelligence or grades.
Public Service Jargon
Tech Jargon
Low-hanging fruit = A target or task that can
be achieved with minimum effort.
Dark web = The shady, largely illegal side of the
Internet that is concealed from search engines and can
only be accessed with certain browsers, such as Tor.
Dox = To search for and publish a person’s private
information without their consent, often with
malicious intent and involving hacking.
If you know of any new jargon or acronym, email us at [email protected]
www.challenge.gov.sg July/August 2015
What’s in your cuppa?
Usually latte without sugar,
or black coffee with milk
and no sugar.
Where do you take it?
At home for breakfast and
at work after lunch.
– Dr Ben Leong, NUS (bit.ly/cuppa_bleong)
Jargon Watch
Let’s take this offline = To postpone the
discussion of an issue that is unrelated to the
current meeting or conversation, in order to
discuss that issue separately.
37
Editor’s note:
The May/June 2015 A Cuppa With…
Ms Chan Lai Fung, Permanent Secretary
for the Ministry of Education, was
widely shared (with more than 3.3k
Facebook shares) and sparked interesting
discussions on social media. Check out
this discussion thread on Facebook:
ter off picking up relevant skills and adopting an attitude of lifelong learning beyond
the classroom.
Your Say
What to do during
the National Day
long weekend
I will be celebrating Singapore’s cultural diversity and food.
G
NINY
N
I
W NTR
E
Day 1: I will check out the exhibitions at the Indian Heritage
Centre at Little India, and hopefully catch a free open-air movie
there. With so many authentic Indian restaurants nearby, I will be
spoilt for choice in my food options.
Day 2: I’m a big fan of Peranakan cuisine. My first stop will be House of Peranakan
Petit in Tiong Bahru for lunch, followed by a stroll to see the art deco shophouses in
the area. Next, I will visit Baba House at Neil Road to admire the intricacy of Peranakan architecture.
Day 3: At Arab Street, do window shopping and admire Sultan Mosque, a historical gem
of the Malay community. For lunch, I will go to Awafi Restaurant, next to the Maghain
Aboth Synagogue in Bras Basah, for kosher food.
Day 4: After all this exploring, I will relax with an international movie marathon,
thanks to the NLB’s vast DVD collection: Coco Before Chanel (French), A Life of Others
(German), The Missing Picture (Cambodian) and Ilo Ilo (Singaporean).
– Gerald Chung, HSA
Congrats, Gerald, you win 10 passes worth $100 to watch films at The Projector.
Enjoy the movies!
I plan to make a no-bake strawberry
cheesecake. It represents something we
can all agree on: our love for food. The
cream cheese and strawberry red represent our national colours. The cheesecake’s foreign origins remind me of our
migrant origins and our ongoing development of a Singaporean culture and identity. A cake is a symbol of celebration, ideal
for marking our nation’s 50th birthday.
Finally, a no-bake cheesecake represents
the enterprising spirit of our forefathers.
I can’t bake but I found a way to make
cheesecake, just as our forefathers found
a way to build a nation out of an island
without natural resources.
– Kelvin Hwang, Temasek Polytechnic
I’m 65 years old, and have been working
at Science Centre Singapore for close to
28 years. From August 7 to 10, the Science
Centre will be celebrating the Golden Jubilee weekend! Therefore, I will be on
duty to help with crowd control as well as
distributing goodie bags to visitors. There
will be a food fair too.
– Kathleen Neo, SCB
I plan to spend the whole day travelling
around Singapore by MRT as it will be
free of charge that day. It may seem like a
silly idea, but it is the only time when I can
see, from a high angle, endless Singapore
flags flying high. Moreover, I will be able
to see our beautiful scenery from the train:
the beautiful architecture and cleanliness
of each estate, the leaves at the top of tall
trees, clean green fields…
– Khor Hui Hoon, IRAS
I intend to go on a 15km round-Singapore
park connector jog to challenge my fitness
and train for the Army Half Marathon, as
part of my way of celebrating and enjoying
the beautiful landscape that we live in.
– Tony Ong, WDA
I would love to be in Singapore, but on this
special day I will be running the 400m hurdles at the World Masters Athletics Championship in Lyon, France. My goal is to put
Singapore on the world map by getting into
the finals.
– Wong Mun Kong, MOE
In not more than 150 words,
share about a moment that
made you feel you were part
of a great team.
Send us your stories at
[email protected]
The winning entry will receive a prize
worth up to $100. All other published
entries will win vouchers worth $30 each.
Please include your name, agency email
address, agency and contact number.
All entries should reach us by
July 27, 2015.
Correction
In “Your most memorable moment learning a new
sport” (Your Say, May/June 2015), an entry was wrongly
credited to Clement Png, SLA. It was contributed by
Woon Bao Sheng, IRAS. We are sorry for the error.
03
04
All Things Digital
GODIGITAL
thumbs Up
Exclusively on Challenge Online at www.challenge.gov.sg
The Truth About
Multitasking
Love multitasking but can’t
seem to get much done?
Read about why you may
want to stop multitasking
and how to break the habit.
What’s Cognitive
Computing?
Using technology that enables
machines to think and act like
humans, cognitive computing
promises a greater humanmachine partnership.
bit.ly/TruthMultitasking
bit.ly/cognitivecomp
A Good Night App
Feeling sleep-deprived, or
want to sleep better? Check
out these apps that help you
get your beauty sleep.
The Perfect Workstation
for the Desk Warrior
Quick tips on creating the
ideal workstation for good
posture, productivity and
personal space.
bit.ly/GoodNightApp
bit.ly/desktopwarrior
To scan QR codes, please download any free QR code reader
app available on the iTunes App Store and Google Play.
SPOTTED ON
How can we create a Public Service culture that is more supportive of change? This
was one of the hottest questions from the 2015 Public Service Staff Conference,
which took place in April. In an ensuing conversation on Cube, one participant
shared his experience from the clean-up of the Singapore River in the 1980s: as
a Ministry of the Environment officer, he saw how other agencies involved in the
exercise kept disagreeing with one another, until senior leaders stepped in. After
that, the clean-up proceeded swiftly. How far do you think the Service has progressed
since then? Does senior management still need to intervene to effect change?
Join the discussion in the Heart of Change group: bit.ly/HeartOfChange
digital
chatter
What people are
saying online.
“In addition to
[incorruptibility,
meritocracy and
impartiality], there are
also values that we hold
as a nation, such as the
“happiness, prosperity
and progress” in our
national pledge. But what
does happiness mean?
To what extent should
we pursue prosperity? Is
the progress we want an
egalitarian progress?”
“The idea of an official
government inbox
[OneInbox] is really
neat. But they’ve
certainly got much
more to work on –
not just solicit[ing]
participation from
their own agencies,
but also raising
awareness
to citizens.”
– General Paper teacher Faith Goh,
commenting on an opinion piece by Public
Service Commission Chairman Eddie Teo
(May 2, 2015): bit.ly/sgvalues
– Tech blogger Lai Zit Seng, reflecting
on Singapore’s third place in the UN’s
E-Government Development Index (July
23, 2014): bit.ly/oneinbox
MARK LIM
Director, IDA
OneService@SG
(iOS/Android):
This app lets me
report municipal
issues such as pests
and public cleanliness
without worrying
about which agency
is in charge. It also
updates me when
my concerns have
been addressed.
MyResponder
(iOS/Android):
If you are like me and
want to use your CPR
and AED skills to save
lives, download this
app and be a Digital
Community Livesaver.
You will get notified
of any emergencies
and the AEDs nearby.
LINA ZAFIRAH
Senior Executive,
MEWR
Sugar (iOS/
Android): A great
app for cafe-hoppers
to get sweet deals at
cafes. You can lower
the price of menu
items by “skimming”.
The more people that
“skim” a product, the
cheaper it becomes! I
once got a $1.50 deal
for waffles and ice
cream that originally
cost $15+. Runkeeper
(iOS/Android):
Runkeeper tracks
the distance run and
calories burnt. What I
love is that it tells me
when I’ve hit a new
milestone, such as my
fastest pace or longest
distance run. This
motivates the running
junkie in me!
#hearmeout
Thoughts of
a young
public officer
in 140 words.
Get Wired
CREATE WEBSITES
THAT WORK
Tips to make navigating
your website a hasslefree experience.
Focus on user needs
Make it easy for users to find what
they want. Information should be
categorised into themes according to
a visitor’s interest. Ensure the search
bar is prominent – the search enginestyle landing page for Singapore’s
eCitizen is a good example.
“While we are interested in digital services for citizens, we also
have to look at how we can use technology to improve the way we work. We are
only allowed to run “authorised applications” due to security concerns. I understand the need to be protected from vulnerabilities, but security should not set
the pace for how fast we work; it should catch up to our tech-infused world. The
ability to integrate our work and personal calendars, see our to-do lists from office
and home, and access our materials anytime and anywhere is the new status quo.
The apps I use to be more productive, such as Trello for task management and
Evernote for research, don’t just have great functions, they have beautiful user
interfaces that make me want to use them. Without them, I often find myself using
my issued laptop as a glorified typewriter and slide projector.”
– Leonard Chen, Executive (Service Strategy), PS21 Office, Public Service Division
(Follow him on Cube at bit.ly/cube_leonard)
Say it like this:
The Adobe Flash file format, SWF (small web format), should be
pronounced as “swiff”. bit.ly/say_swf
Keep it simple
The UK government’s official website
GOV.UK won the Design of the Year
2013 from London’s Design Museum
despite its no-frills appearance.
By keeping images and colours
minimal, GOV.UK focuses on a neat
presentation of information, allowing
for easy navigation.
Inclusive design
Consider the needs of different
groups of users who might visit
your site, such as the elderly or
visually impaired. Other than
providing assistive technology or
contrasting colours and large font
sizes to improve readability, provide
options for users. Hong Kong’s
GovHK (gov.hk), for example, has
selected parts of its website available
in languages such as Tagalog, Thai
and Urdu.
Be mobile-friendly
Your design should also be
responsive to different mobile
devices, since not everyone
will access your site with a
desktop computer.
Read more: bit.ly/bestegov, bit.ly/
govukdesign, bit.ly/inclusiveweb
06
The Briefing
The BRIEFING
Coming Up
The Tools That Built Singapore
Learn about the tools of the trade used by our
pioneer generation in a travelling exhibition
spanning the 1940s to the 1960s. Collected
by public officer Winston Wong, the items
include the poultry seller’s feather plucker and
the coolie’s sack hook. At the National Design
Centre until July 15 and various locations until
November 25. Free admission.
bit.ly/tttbSg
SINGAPORE’S POPULATION IN A NUTSHELL
How would you explain Singapore’s population challenges in five minutes? Check out
this nifty interactive infographic, which shows essential facts and figures about Singapore’s population with interactive features on every page. Find out the life expectancy
of people your age, or toggle a “Pop-O-Meter” simulator to learn about different
fertility and immigration rates. Something this useful and fun is worth sharing, so
spread the word to your family, friends and colleagues!
bit.ly/NPTDinfog
Good Morning, ‘Cher
Relive school memories from the 1960s and learn
about the school experiences of today through
games, interactive displays and artefacts from
the past. Complete the activity card and win
a goodie bag, while stocks last. On alternate
weekends from July to August, 12pm-9pm, at
various shopping malls. Free admission.
bit.ly/morningcher
SG50 AS YOU SEE IT PHOTO CONTEST
Do you have an Instagram account? Take part in REACH’s monthly Instagram contest,
which seeks to encourage participants to think about national issues and all things
Singaporean. The theme for July is “The best thing about being young in Singapore”
while August’s theme is “Commemorate SG50! Looking back at the past, basking
in the present and facing the future”. To take part, post a photo with a caption in line with
the monthly theme, hashtag #PickMyPic, mention @REACHYouth.SG and make sure
your Instagram account is open to public view. Submit your entries by August 31 and
stand to win attractive shopping vouchers!
bit.ly/SG50ig
www.challenge.gov.sg July/August 2015
Read! Fest
Back for a second edition, Read! Fest, a highlight of nation-wide reading campaign Read!
Singapore, promises events for bookworms of
all ages. Thriller and mystery buffs will enjoy a
panel on high-profile crime cases, while aspiring
writers can take part in a poetry festival and sign
up for creative writing workshops. Until August
13, at various public libraries.
fb.com/READSingapore
The Exchange
Photos by
CATSPACE
Can we nurture KAMPUNG
SPIRIT in Singapore?
PHOTOS TAKEN AT GROUND-UP INITIATIVE
As more of us evoke the “kampung spirit”, or even yearn for it, Challenge invites three experts
to share their thoughts on the issue. The following has been edited for clarity and length.
THE SPEAKERS (L to R):
Tay Lai Hock is Kampung Chief at the Ground-Up
Initiative (GUI), a non-profit organisation that aims to
nurture greater kampung spirit here through kampung
activities (farming, woodworking and more).
Facilitated
by Challenge
contributing editor
Bridgette See
Jean Ng is Deputy Director (Policy) at the Housing
& Development Board (HDB). She focuses on
research and methodologies to enhance community
engagement and co-creation in HDB estates.
Dr Vincent Chua teaches sociology at the National
University of Singapore, and has conducted research
on social capital and neighbourliness in Singapore.
Bridgette See: Why is kampung spirit important?
Tay Lai Hock: I think there’s so much talk
about it because we’re becoming very indifferent, even apathetic. What’s the antidote?
Perhaps it is kampung spirit. We’ve seen thousands of people at GUI; more than 50% are
young people. What surprised me was how often I hear this: “I didn’t know what kampung
spirit was until I came here.” To them it is a
very abstract concept, until they experience it
in a real setting.
07
Jean Ng: Back then, there was a real survival need: people relied on kampung
mates to put out fires [kampung houses
were fire-prone]. Now you can just pick up
the phone and call the police, HDB, town
council, for anything. Maybe “kampung
spirit” needs to be redefined, and adapted
to better fit today’s context and for highrise living. For instance, a housewife taking care of a neighbour’s kid – that in itself
is kampung spirit.
Vincent Chua: There’s also nostalgia;
that we’ve lost something, and we’re trying to recreate it. We may not know what
the kampung spirit is, but there seems to
be a longing to regain something rustic
and pastoral.
TLH: Everyone wants to have a sense of
comradeship. So how do we rebrand kampung spirit? How do we recreate it in an
urban setting?
JN: The values have to stay regardless of
time but how kampung spirit is manifested
can be different.
TLH: A sustainable future requires retaining the best of the past and bringing in
the best of the present. At GUI, we call it
the 21st century kampung spirit.
BR: What is that?
TLH: The 5Gs of GUI are: be gracious,
green, giving, grounded and grateful.
It means to be a “thinker, warrior and
farmer”, to be hands-on and not mind getting hands dirty. Take this space at GUI:
we’ve made a lot of things inconvenient
so participants need to help one another.
I could have easily pulled a tap, from there
to here, but instead we have to cross 50m,
with trolleys and barrels, to collect water.
Everyone cleans here, we wash the toilets.
Our society now relies on maids or foreign
workers – we don’t come together to do
cleaning. Yes, once in a while, we have
10,000 people come to collect rubbish but
that’s once in a year.
VC: The land at GUI is so expansive.
Can you replicate such a set-up in an
HDB context?
TLH: I know of friends who have created
a little kampung in their HDB. They beau-
tify the corridor; the neighbours chipped
in to create a garden; they hand their keys
to each other. I think we already have that,
and we need to talk more about such positive stories.
BR: How is the HDB trying to create
kampung spirit? I understand there are
two prototypes in Tampines.
JN: They are a social linkway and a neighbourhood incubator. People use the covered linkways the most, but some don’t
even say hi when they meet neighbours.
So the idea is, if we attach social functions
[e.g., more seats, community gardens and
exhibits or murals] along the way, hopefully people will check out the activities
and have conversations. The incubator is
a hub with flexible spaces and furniture for
residents to hold workshops or activities.
We asked residents: “How do you think
we can use spaces next to the linkways and
void decks to create community spirit?”
So the public engagement is already done
and we have put together some design ideas based on the residents’ contributions.
Post-construction, we’re thinking of using
video analytics to see if there is more interaction along the linkways, and our surveys
will assess how residents’ sense of community and ownership has changed after
being part of such a participatory project.
TLH: The government goes to such
lengths to bring back the kampung spirit.
Isn’t it a bit sad? How did we come to
this stage?
VC: People tend to think, “If I need
help, I can call my friends and family, the
smartphone is there.” In fact, to not disturb your neighbour is considered being
a good neighbour – you value their privacy. Also, there are amenities all around.
We don’t have to go to our neighbour to
borrow a cup of sugar when we can get it
downstairs. There is a politeness principle
at work.
The Exchange
infused with everyday living, multi-generational arrangements, and amenities and
other provisions all in the same place.
BR: But isn’t that just physical design? What if the people living in those
flats have no interest in being part of
the community?
TLH: When I was young, I lived in a tworoom flat with a common corridor… Nowadays, our flats are not designed for neighbours to meet. So the design plays a part.
What starts off at the
neighbourhood level
becomes something
bigger – a sense of
belonging to Singapore.
BR: I didn’t interact with my neighbours
when I was single. Now as a mother, I do
reach out to them.
VC: (nods) People with children and the
elderly are more likely to be neighbourly.
But based on research data, neighbours
only comprise 5.3% of our networks;
friends make up 35% and family, about 50%.
TLH: There’s a Chinese saying, “Neighbours are better than distant relatives.”
VC: Interestingly, we found that acting neighbourly increases your sense of
belonging to the neighbourhood, but it
doesn’t stop there. What starts off at the
neighbourhood level becomes something
bigger – a sense of belonging to Singapore.
TLH: (nods) One of my volunteers
said it was GUI that made her proud
of Singapore.
BR: The HDB now wants to create vertical kampungs like Kampung Admiralty
in Woodlands.
VC: We’ve always had vertical communities, since we started building HDBs. But
“vertical kampung” suggests something
different – more greenery, I assume, being
JN: Yes, you can have the designs in
place, but eventually it is about how you
get people together and feel they are part
of a community. That relies a lot on programmes. But I think as the government,
we shouldn’t be doing too much. We’ve
seen in overseas cases that when the government is too strong, the community is
actually weaker.
VC: But I would also say that the government has the resources to provide the
initial outlay, after which you let go at
some point.
JN: Yes. What we’ve been doing so far
is to provide seed funding and the infrastructure. The question is, when do we let
go? We’ve had cases where we provided
a community garden upon residents’ request. After two, three years, participants
drop out and the garden isn’t well kept.
When the community then complains, the
town council has to remove it. It’s a culture thing – it has to get into people that
they have to play a part to maintain and
use the spaces responsibly.
VC: Lai Hock, what are your thoughts on
Kampung Admiralty? Will it work?
TLH: You need a kampung chief, a person
who looks at the bigger picture, because
you can’t rely on people to self-organise.
If Kampung Admiralty stays in its present
form, then it remains very hardware, very
facility-driven. At GUI, we have a daily
flagship activity called Balik Kampung
[“going home” in Malay]. So if Kampung Admiralty has an activity that brings
everybody together weekly, that could
help. But hopefully it doesn’t come from
the government!
JN: Hopefully too!
VC: How do we balance our busy lives
with kampung spirit?
TLH: I started GUI because I wanted
to put our youths in different situations,
to challenge them to be entrepreneurial.
GUI has shown that the kampung spirit
can be innovative. A New York professor was intrigued by what we have done
and our product (the iBAM, a mobile
speaker made of bamboo) was featured on
CNET.com. My goal is to have kampung
spirit to make Singapore liveable, progressive, competitive, yet compassionate.
JN: How would we know when the level of
kampung spirit is good enough or there’s
more to be done?
TLH: I thought the recent passing of Mr
Lee Kuan Yew showed the best of Singapore in many ways. People were queuing
up and at the funeral, the moment the coffin passed by, everyone shut their umbrellas so that more people could come to the
front. We need more national or districtlevel focal points like this one.
JN: We need that purpose, that driving
force.
TLH: Why do people in GUI have more
kampung spirit? Because we have a common vision to build this Kampung Kampus. You need shared joy and shared
chores but also shared grief and discomfort. You don’t build a relationship with
only the fun things.
VC: What if you have all of these but no
land to work on? The hands-on element
seems quite important here.
TLH: The Chinese idiom 钟灵毓秀
means a place that is endowed with the
spirit of nature will produce men and
women of fine character and grace. When
I look at our built environment, Singapore has a lot more greenery but why are
our people still like that? It is because our
greenery is just a backdrop; you cannot
participate in it. When you’ve not been a
direct participant in that green process,
you’re just an audience, but at GUI, you’re
a participant.
For an extended version of The Exchange, go to
bit.ly/morekampungspirit
09
Text by
TAY QIAO WEI
Photos by
LUMINA
What will we get out of
NOSTALGIA?
Is our preoccupation with the rosy pieces of our past holding us back from the future?
www.challenge.gov.sg July/August 2015
Cover Story
A forward-looking nation appears to have fallen
for its past. From the surge in the popularity of old-school
childhood memorabilia and retro-themed eateries, to
books, documentaries and films exploring the past, nostalgia has become all the rage.
And this hunger for the yesteryear is shaping not only
our entertainment. With our country’s golden jubilee just
around the corner, more Singaporeans have been reminiscing about the past through personal social projects or
nation-wide initiatives.
Dear to their hearts is the loss of places with old-world
charm – just look at the public debates over kampungs
in Pulau Ubin and Lorong Buangkok, and the Toa Payoh
dragon playground.
But sentiment aside, could this love affair with the bygone days be a constructive force? Or is it a blinding anxiety, holding us back from the future?
What is nostalgia?
Nostalgia used to mean homesickness, which was considered a medical condition in the 17th century. Now, nostalgia is commonly defined as a longing for the past.
Experts have noted that this sentiment is linked to the
disappearance of familiar icons or experiences as a nation
develops, and is also common in Hong Kong, Taiwan and
other Asian countries that have experienced dizzying rates
of modernisation.
“The ultra-rapid changes in Asia have created an
equally rapid rise in anxiety about the pace of change and
feelings of loss,” explained social geography professor
Alastair Bonnett in his upcoming book The Geography of
Nostalgia (available August 2015).
People are also searching for things beyond the modern that will give them a “feeling of connection” to the
country, said Dr Kevin Tan, president of the International
Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) Singapore,
a non-governmental organisation working on the conservation and preservation of heritage sites.
For Mr Alvin Tan of the National Heritage Board
(NHB), the rise of nostalgia reflects Singapore’s maturity as a society. “We can afford to think deeper about issues like heritage, belonging, identity,” beyond bread and
butter issues, said the Assistant Chief Executive (Policy
and Development).
The NHB has seen growing public interest in its heritage offerings: the number of visitors at its heritage outreach events grew 12% to 5.7 million in 2013 from the previous year. (2014 figures will be published later this year.)
Nostalgia in the digital age
Ironically it is modern technology, mainly the Internet and
social media, which has helped fuel the nostalgia, as online sharing of memories and history reaches a wide audience, particularly the younger generation.
Blogs like “Remember Singapore” and “The Long
and Winding Road” document heritage sites, while Facebook groups such as “On a little street in Singapore”
and “Nostalgic Singapore” have become virtual kopitiams
11
where netizens gather to share old photos
and anecdotes.
On a larger scale, there is the Singapore Memory Project, facilitated by the
National Library Board. Aimed at nurturing national bonding and rootedness
through collective remembrance, the project crowdsources personal memories of
life in Singapore via an online portal and
a mobile app. Bloggers who write about
Singapore are also invited to pledge their
blogs to the portal. Since 2011, more than
a million stories have been gathered.
The NHB also reaches out to the
young by using the latest technology, such
as drones and Google Glass, in their YouTube documentaries of heritage sites such
as four lookout towers built in the 1960s
and ’70s and the Marsiling tunnels. Using
Google Street View, they have also created
virtual tours of places such as the Sungei
Road flea market and the Chinese Garden.
Others gave nostalgia a creative spin:
Writer Justin Zhuang plotted old-school
playgrounds on Google Maps in 2010,
while 3-D printing company meka has
printed miniature models of demolished
icons like the National Theatre and the old
As you reminisce
about the past, a lot
of the past in the
present is disappearing.
So I don’t think it’s
enough to be nostalgic.
National Library as an SG50 project. (See
sidebox on page 14: #yesteryearsproject)
Sparking heritage conservation
But nostalgia doesn’t end there. For some,
it can translate into action, something consequential.
“As you reminisce about the past, a lot
of the past in the present is disappearing,”
said ICOMOS’ Dr Tan, who was the president of the Singapore Heritage Society
until 2011. “So I don’t think it’s enough to
be nostalgic.”
Instead, the sentiment should drive
greater public awareness of and activism
for heritage protection, he added.
For one, the heated protests in 2011
against building a road through the Bukit
Brown cemetery exemplify how the public
is increasingly vocal about the destruction
of places close to their hearts.
Dr Tan, who is writing a paper on the
state-society interactions for heritage conservation, observed that the government
has moved away from its bulldozer approach in the earlier years to become more
open to public engagement.
However, there remains a “fight about
heritage” since the authorities and civil
society have differing views of what should
be conserved and how best to do so,
he added.
The NHB confirmed this. “Policy issues are increasingly complex,” said Mr
Tan. “Everybody wants to have a say when
it comes to redevelopment issues. To further complicate matters, every interest
group has different perspectives and views
of what constitutes a heritage site.”
In 2013, the NHB formed the Impact
Assessment and Mitigation (IAM) division to mediate between citizens and
public agencies facing such differences.
For instance, they helped the owners of
the last two surviving wood-fired dragon
Breathing new life into old spaces
At Golden Mile Tower, two cinema halls of the former Golden Theatre
have been rejuvenated as The Projector, an independent cinema that
opened in January 2015.
From the steel-framed flip-up seats to the retro signage, elements
from the past – which the cinema’s creators “fell in love with” and
wanted to showcase – are still apparent.
Started by development consultancy Pocket Projects, The Projector
stemmed from the team’s penchant for regenerating “overlooked
or neglected places”, said the cinema’s manager Sharon Tan. They
had previously revitalised conserved shophouses in Geylang, a redlight district.
Ms Tan and her team sought to “make Golden Theatre relevant to
people again… as a movie theatre at its core, but with the added
flexibility of accommodating other creative uses”. They added
modern elements: new upholstery for the seats and beanbags to spiff
up the space, while one hall now has a stage for music performances,
movie dress-up nights and other events.
PHOTOS BY PHILIPP ALDRUP
The project met with an encouraging response even before it was
launched – its crowdfunding campaign raised over $73,000 within
two months.
By drawing in new crowds of mostly young adults, The Projector
opens the door for more awareness of Golden Theatre’s past
glory. Beyond its notoriety as a former venue for R21 films, it was
the largest local cinema when it opened in 1973 and a popular
destination for Mandarin films.
www.challenge.gov.sg July/August 2015
Cover Story
Toy soldiers, marbles and
aeroplane chess are popular
toys that captured children’s
attention before the
ubiquity of the Internet.
kilns, located on state land, negotiate the
extension of their lease with the Singapore
Land Authority.
Mr Tan added that since the Bukit
Brown controversy, more public agencies have been approaching the NHB for
advice on the heritage impact of their
development projects. This demand for
heritage impact assessment expertise was
another impetus for the IAM’s formation.
The IAM also comes up with measures to mitigate the impact of redevelopment. For an upcoming housing estate at
the former Bidadari cemetery, the IAM
worked with heritage interest groups, the
Housing & Development Board and the
National Parks Board to incorporate Bidadari Memorial Garden into estate plans.
It also works closely with the Urban
Redevelopment Authority (URA), which
has the legal power to conserve heritage buildings and areas as part of land
use planning.
In 2013, both agencies assessed the
heritage value of 18 Queenstown sites proposed for conservation by heritage group
My Community. Eventually three were gazetted for conservation: the Queenstown
Library, the former Commonwealth Avenue Wet Market, and Alexandra Hospital.
These community landmarks, steeped
in architectural and social value, reflect
the URA’s commitment to conserve
buildings that are meaningful to Singaporeans. Nearly 7,200 buildings have been
conserved in the past 25 years, partly
because of growing public feedback and
expectations to protect sites important to
local identity.
13
#yesteryearsproject
Artist Sean Cham showcases
abandoned heritage sites by
portraying them in a different light.
The 21-year-old takes his viewers back
in time with Yesteryears, a series of
50 self-portraits that re-imagine what
old places (e.g., deserted schools and
forgotten forts) were like when they
were bustling with life.
PHOTOS BY SEAN CHAM (INSTAGRAM: @ABLANKFRAME)
He told Challenge that the project
was sparked by the en bloc
redevelopment of his grandmother’s
flat, and the realisation that “many
memories that resonate within those
walls would be torn down together
with the physical structure”.
He wanted to revisit the overlooked
stories of places that “have
significance in telling the Singapore
story”, which he selects by scouring
online articles or heritage blogs.
His photos have struck a chord with
many Singaporeans, some of whom
relish the opportunity to share their
memories. But other than helping
the audience reminisce or learn
about the past, Yesteryears is also
“a celebration of… how far we
have progressed as a nation”,
which is timely for SG50.
However, Mr Cham made sure to
look beyond the five decades of
independence for a fuller picture of
Singapore’s history. “The 200 years of
hardship and turmoil our forefathers
went through should be celebrated as
well,” he added.
Beyond physical heritage
Then there is what is known as “intangible
heritage”. Traditional trades, practices,
rituals, festivals, and even food, languages
and music – these cultural aspects are just
as important as tangible heritage in contributing to a nation’s sense of identity,
stressed Mr Tan. That’s why the NHB
also supports ground-up projects in these
areas through its heritage grants.
One example is The Songs We Sang,
a new documentary celebrating xinyao,
www.challenge.gov.sg July/August 2015
a Mando-pop movement popular in the
1980s and ’90s. A xinyao concert organised for this film last July saw more than
2,000 people thronging Bras Basah Complex and braving the rain to revel in the hit
songs of the past – showing that people
pine for more than just places, but also the
pursuits of their bygone youth.
The NHB plans to launch a nationwide
survey to identify and document Singapore’s intangible heritage at the end of the
Cover Story
Travel back in time with old
bus tickets and stamp albums,
or cassettes and film cameras
from the analogue age.
Even as we immerse ourselves in nostalgic moments – from celebrating childhood symbols like five stones to the re-enactment of policemen donning shorts for
the National Day Parade – we also need to
accept an evolving national identity that
weaves in the stories of new citizens, said
Ms Desker. Their stories add to and affirm
Singapore’s values of multiculturalism
and meritocracy.
Nostalgia to empower change
So if we can view it in perspective, nostalgia can be a constructive force, by reflecting how we want to improve the future.
For example, said Ms Desker, when
people hark back to the kampung days,
they are pining for what they feel is now
lacking: a sense of community, more time
and greater access to nature.
It may appear as nostalgia but
I think it is much more about
people having a chance to think
through what they feel are the
identity markers as individuals, as a
community, as Singapore.
year. This follows another national survey,
starting in mid-2015, which focuses on
creating a database of tangible heritage
sites to aid long-term heritage planning.
The dark side of nostalgia
While heritage and local identity preservation are important, nostalgia can be a
double-edged sword, leading also to dogmatism and a rejection of change and new
possibilities, warned Ms Tiana Desker,
a futurist.
For example, a fixation on a romanticised past could “grow into a backwardlooking, exclusionary nationalism”, said
the Senior Assistant Director at the Strategic Policy Office.
Already, some Singaporeans are quick
to describe themselves as “Singaporean
born and bred”, to differentiate themselves from naturalised citizens.
Taken positively, these sentiments can
spur us to recreate the positive aspects
of kampung life in the modern context.
(Refer to The Exchange on page 7 where
we discuss the need for kampung spirit to
evolve with the times.)
Ms Desker is studying Singaporeans’
desire to revive the kampung spirit, an interest sparked by dialogues from Our Singapore Conversation.
She suggested that the government
can help citizens channel their nostalgia
constructively by putting greater emphasis
on the intangible things they value.
Beyond preserving green spaces and
supporting community gardens, we can
create even more spaces that allow an escape from our busy urban lives. For example, Helsinki has “The Chapel of Silence”,
a multi-faith chapel that encourages people to have a moment of peace and reflection in the centre of a business district.
Shaping national identity
The trend of nostalgia also has other longterm implications.
“It may appear as nostalgia but I think
it is much more about people having a
chance to think through what they feel are
the identity markers as individuals, as a
community, as Singapore,” said Mr Kelvin
Ang, Director of Conservation Management, at the URA.
People pull up things and places they
relate to, like old playgrounds or shophouses, to “symbolise a sense of belonging”. Aware of this, the URA has been
encouraging the public to share their
personal memories of conserved places.
Such stories, found on My Conservation
Portal (bit.ly/uraportal), add human interest to the national narrative, and ensure
that conserved sites are meaningful icons
of identity.
Its own initiatives aside, Ms Desker argued, the government could also do more
to support ground-up efforts to redefine
our national identity.
For example, she suggested that the
government could invest more in the creative arts – Singaporean literature, music,
art and architecture – which will build up
our sense of a shared Singaporean culture.
“A bunch of bureaucrats cannot come
up with national identity. It’s the work of
your poets, your artists, the brilliant people of your generation,” she stressed, adding that support, such as funding for artists, has to be consistent over a period of
decades to reap results.
Future from the past
It remains to be seen whether our fascination with the past will wind down after
the SG50 celebrations. Some think that
we will always be nostalgic for something;
others feel we should stow away our memories and focus on the present.
Regardless of whether nostalgia is a
passing fad, why not embrace it while it
lasts? Use it as a reminder of the importance of balancing the traditional and the
contemporary, preservation and progress,
or even leverage it as a powerful spark
for change.
15
16
Insider’s Take
Own
your
Career
Career development consultant
WENDY TAN on how to plan and
navigate 40 years of your work life.
Many of us enter the working
world with jobs related to what we studied, and hope for interesting work and career progression. Yet, recent research by
Accenture shows that 76% of Singaporebased employees are dissatisfied with
their jobs. The lack of career development
is a top reason, trumping pay.
Nationally, as the SkillsFuture initiatives show, career development is promoted through ensuring that we have the right
skills and experience. From an organisational perspective, career development is
a key strategy to engage and retain staff.
What about you? How important is your
career development? What are you doing
to develop your career?
In my career development workshops,
most participants, including public officers, confess that they spend more time
planning their vacations than their careers! Many are so busy that little time or
energy is left to think about their careers.
This is an insidious trap because 40 years
of our lives can drift by quickly. No one
cares more about your career than you.
Consider these examples: A young officer, who joined the Public Service with
a diploma, recently obtained a degree.
She aspires for more senior roles, but is
not sure how to get there. A long-serving
officer in the Service with 10 years to retirement wonders if he should just “settle
down”, or find something new and exciting since the retirement age keeps inching
up. Another manager struggles with work
commitments after the birth of her second
child. She contemplates quitting, but feels
it is a pity to give up her career.
These are all important questions.
Rather than just having circular conversations in your head, take ownership of your
career and take action.
www.challenge.gov.sg July/August 2015
Dr Beverly Kaye, co-author of Help
Them Grow or Watch Them Go, suggests
five steps to guide our career planning:
1. Know who you are: What are your
strengths, interests and values? What
energises you at work (other than break
time)? What do you naturally do well
in? What is important to you at work?
2. Know what others think of you: What
is your reputation or brand? Reputation precedes opportunities. Manage
your reputation or you will be managed
by it.
3. Know the future: What are the key
trends in your organisation or country?
How will these trends impact what
public officers need to do? What skills
will become more valuable in time?
Plan with the future in mind.
4. Know your options: What are your
Plans A, B or even C? Rather than
think of your career as a ladder, think
of it as a rock wall. To get ahead, sometimes you need to move right, left, diagonally, or just grow in place. There
are more options than you may realise.
5. Know your plan: What do you need
to learn now, and how? Take action.
Opportunities go to those who are prepared. Know what types of skills, experiences and exposure you need.
Thinking through these five steps is
an iterative and continuous process to
help us navigate our 40 years of work.
Talk to your peers, ex-classmates or people who have walked the journey.
Talk to your manager too. This is
one of the most important steps. Do not
wait for the six-monthly appraisal. Do it
informally over coffee. Share your aspirations, seek their advice and ask what skills
and experience you will need to move
your career forward. Agree on specific
small steps, what you will do, and how he
or she can support you in achieving your
career aspirations.
An officer who attended our CareerPower workshop discovered that he wanted to improve his negotiation skills. He
took the initiative to ask if he could shadow a few experienced frontline colleagues.
“My manager then helped me set up this
development opportunity,” he shared.
Remember, a career is not built overnight. Enjoy your learning process and
know that opportunities go to those who
are prepared.
Wendy Tan is a consultant, writer and founding partner of Flame Centre. She works with
organisations in Asia to engage, develop and
retain their employees. She will be conducting
public sector career development workshops
in August and October 2015. For more details:
www.flamecentre.com
I know my
JUL/AUG 2015
the challenge pullout
transport.
Do you?
The Transport Issue
18
ELECTRIFY YOUR
STREET CRED
With these forms of
personal electrical transport.
20
THE MYSTERIOUS
HABITS OF TAXI
DRIVERS
Love them or hate them,
we can’t do without them.
23
IN THE SEATS
OF GIANTS
Meet some of the largest
vehicles in the world.
24
WEIRD
TRANSPORT RULES
No more jokes about the
chicken crossing the road.
Research & writing by He Ruiming
Edited by Siti Maziah Masramli
Design & illustration by Ryan Ong
8 pages to help you
on the move
We all have a love-hate relationship with transportation. Jetting off in
an Airbus A380 to your next holiday destination is not quite the same as
dragging yourself onboard a jam-packed MRT on a weekday morning. And
they say the journey is more important than the destination? Depending
on your ride, not always… But perhaps these tips can keep you company
during your next commute.
ELECTRIFY
BE STREET-SMART
ON THE ROAD
Here are road rules even
non-drivers should know.
YOUR STREET CRED
These quirky forms of personal electric transport
are sure to get you a second look, but try to keep
to wide private spaces for now.
BLIND SPOT
ELECTRIC BICYCLE
Avoid being in a vehicle’s blind spot,
especially with large vehicles. The blind
spot is an area that cannot be seen from
the driver’s seat or in the mirrors, unless he
turns back to look – and not all drivers are
diligent about checking it.
Swift, but not so swee. The most
average-looking form of personal
e-transport, an electric bicycle won’t get you
many stares unless you deck it out in flashy
LED lights. Honestly, you’d do better with
a hipster vintage or fixed-gear bike.
STOP
HERE
NOW
ELECTRIC KICK SCOOTER
For the best effect, zip around the lunch
crowd in your best business suit to get the
most stares: perfect combo of grown-up
cool and child-like adventurous spirit. Join
a club: fb.com/bigwheelscooters
A stop line is a single white line painted
across the road at an intersection. Vehicles
are supposed to come to a complete stop
to check for oncoming traffic, before
proceeding forward. But don’t assume that
they will.
ELECTRIC UNICYCLE
The closest you’ll get to a hoverboard,
and arguably the most attention-grabbing.
Show off your great balancing and motor
skills – electric unicycles use a gyroscope for
orientation and balance. Join The Wheelies
group to learn how to ride one:
fb.com/thewheelies
absolutely
NO STOPPING
AT ALL TIMES
TIP BOX
Alas, riding motorised personal mobility
devices is not allowed on public roads and
park connectors, but this might soon change
as the authorities review their policies.
Cars can’t stop at all at double yellow
zigzag lines. Drivers will get a fine if they
are caught doing so. Don’t get mad if your
cabby doesn’t want to drop you off there,
or no cabs stop to pick you up.
bit.ly/scootalong
01
TESLA
ROADSTER
TRANSPORT
INVENTIONS
of the future
The world’s first
electric batterypowered sports car,
by Elon Musk’s Tesla
Motors. Produced from
2008 to 2012, it was
briefly available in
Singapore before its
dealership pulled out
due to a lack of green
tax breaks.
bit.ly/teslasportSG
DECODE
LICENSE PLATES
IN SINGAPORE
WHAT’S THE MOST COMMON
VEHICLE ON OUR ROADS?
There’s a reason for those sky-high COE prices.
Cars
63.4%
F
Motorcycles
Number of vehicles
on the road in 2014
Vans
14.9%
972,037
PA
Motorcycles
Private buses not run by SBS or SMRT
14.9%
12%
Percentage of land area
covered with roads
in Singapore
Taxis
3%
MID
Military vehicle
Buses
1.8%
Tax-exempted
vehicles
QX
2%
Source: bit.ly/LTAvehicles
Police
“You can’t understand a city without
using its public transportation system.”
S __ CD
Vehicles used by foreign diplomats
– Erol Ozan, writer
Sources: bit.ly/sglicenseplates & bit.ly/sglicenseABC
02
JET-PROPELLED
WINGSUITS
Jet packs have been
around longer than
we think – Bell
Aerosystems built one
for the US Army in
1960 – but the first
successful jet-propelled
wingsuit belongs to
Swiss “Jetman” Yves
Rossy. Watch him soar
above Dubai at bit.ly/
jetmandub
Weeee~
7
HAVE APP, WILL CAB
GrabTaxi
Pro tips to win a ride: Specify your exact pick-up location, and avoid making a book
GOOD FOR: Access to the second-largest driver
base after the Comfort booking app.
GOOD FOR: Those travelling in large groups. There
are options to choose six-seater cabs.
BUT: You also compete with more users. Drivers bid
to win a passenger, so the time taken for a cab to
reach you may not be the shortest one.
BUT: The app has a clunky interface and location
services seem less accurate. Key in specific details
about your location to help the driver find you.
CHARGES: The taxi operator’s booking fee applies
and there are no cancellation charges (but cancel
too often and you’ll be blacklisted).
CHARGES: It claims to have the lowest booking fee
in town, and absorbs extra credit card charges.
EasyTaxi
u
o
y
,
s
s
i
M ah...
w
o
n
k you...
l
l
e
t
I
THE MYSTERI
OF TAXI D
THEY ARE AFRAID
OF WATER
THEY ARE EXCEL
MULTI-TASKERS
You just can’t find them when it’s
raining. Hang tight somewhere dry and
book a taxi.
In this hyperconnected
field info from their sm
road signs, traffic and p
talking and driving all a
ADVICE
When booking a cab, indicate which
sheltered area you are waiting at.
THE ART OF
SMALL TALK
Stuck in a cab with a
taxi driver who won’t
stop talking? Join the
conversation. Just don’t
get so caught up that the
driver misses a turn.
03
SPACEX
ADVICE
Remind your driver to k
road, or better still, hel
out, and make sure you
“Uncle, Boon Lay got
what nice food to eat
ah?” Or try, “Uncle, do
you know any shortcut to
get there quickly?”
Make good use of your time:
Ask for tips on what cabbies
know best.
04
Private company Space
Exploration Technologies
offers economy class
space travel. Following
successful cargo transport
missions with NASA, CEO
Elon Musk aims to have
humans travelling to Mars
by 2025.
bit.ly/moreabtSpaceX
THE RYNO
Inspired by a videogame vehicle, this mix of
Segway and unicycle looks
fearsome but has a top
speed of 16km/h. Released
in 2014 in the United
States, and available for
US$5,300 (S$6,800).
rynomotors.com
king through multiple apps at once.
GOOD FOR: Keeping it simple with a clean user
interface and fast response times. The app sends
your request to the nearest driver. If he rejects it,
the request is sent to the next nearest driver.
GOOD FOR: Being social. The app lets you send
your estimated time of arrival to friends, and you
can share promotion codes.
BUT: Fewer cabbies use UberTaxi, and Uber (for
private cars) is a better bet.
BUT: Cancelling your booking more than one
minute after confirmation will cost you $2.
CHARGES: The taxi operator’s booking fee applies,
with no extra credit card charges.
Hailo
Hate them or
love them, we
can’t do without
them. We explore
several quirks
of Singapore’s
taxi drivers.
IOUS HABITS
DRIVERS
LLENT
THEY PREFER
PAPER TO PLASTIC
age, wired cabbies
martphones, taxi radio,
passengers – they’re
at once.
Although cabbies have readily adopted taxi-booking
apps and cashless payment, sometimes the necessary
technology breaks down or just isn’t available.
keep his eyes on the
lp him keep an eye
ur seatbelt is fastened.
UberTaxi
CHARGES: Payment is by card through the app
only. Normal taxi booking fees apply with no extra
credit card charges.
ADVICE
Ask if your cabby accepts NETS or card payments
before boarding, to avoid any misunderstanding. To
improve your chances of getting a cab when using
apps, indicate that you will pay by cash.
“Uncle, what
time did you
start driving
today? Are
you tired?”
“Uncle,
where do
you go when
it rains?”
To change the
subject, ask about
the driver’s welfare.
If all else fails,
talk about
the weather.
OMG how did
I overlook this...
HOW TO DISENGAGE
Not comfortable talking politics or just not in the
mood to talk? Looking busy with your phone or
plugging in earphones puts up a barrier and usually
works to signal an end to the conversation. A more
polite way is to just be honest. Say, “Sorry ah, uncle,
I’m busy with…” and refer to your phone or book, or
tell him you’re tired and want to rest.
05
C-1 BY LIT
MOTORS
For those who want the nimbleness of
a motorcycle with the comfort of a car.
This fully electric duo-wheel car uses two
gyroscopes for balance and will go for
US$24,000 (S$32,000) when it’s ready.
bit.ly/c-1bylit
Vrooom...
RAPID TRANSIT
AROUND THE WORLD
Despite its recent creakiness, the Singapore MRT is not
the oldie you think it is. You’d be surprised how much
older some of its international counterparts are.
HOW DID
CHANGI AIRPORT
GET ITS NAME?
With all that talk about renaming our
renowned airport, few might know
how it got its name. The airport, and
the surrounding Changi area, is said to
be named after a 76-metre tree that
was a prominent landmark in the east.
The British cut it down during WWII so
that the Japanese couldn’t use it for
navigation or as a marker to aim their
guns. According to records, however, that
tree was a Sepetir, and the name Changi
likely came from another tree in the area
commonly known as the chengal.
1863
1900
1904
London Underground
Paris Métro
New York City Subway
1927
1935
1971
Tokyo Metro
Moscow Metro
Beijing Subway
1974
1979
1987
São Paulo Metrô
Hong Kong MTR
Singapore MRT
1993
1996
2002
Shanghai Metro
Taipei Metro
Delhi Metro
Read more: transitmaps.tumblr.com & bit.ly/M_logos
Read more: bit.ly/changilegend & bit.ly/changitree
06
MAGNETIC
LEVITATION
ELEVATORS
Without the need for heavy
cables, these elevators will
go up, down, sideways and
loop all around. Dubbed
“MULTI”, the first units will
start tests in 2016.
bit.ly/MULTImaglev
07
AEROMOBIL
It’s a car, it’s a plane…
it’s both! If you have
a private pilot license,
this could be a good
if extravagant way to
avoid ERP gantries and
traffic jams. Planned
for sale in 2017.
www.aeromobil.com
IN THE SEATS OF GIANTS
Mankind has invented some obscenely huge vehicles to move people and cargo.
Here are some of the largest.
LONGEST TRAIN
BHP Billiton’s iron ore freight train
Length: 7.4km, for a Guinness World Record-setting
run in 2001
When it’s not setting world records, the train is 2.6km
long, with 240 cars transporting iron ore out of one of
the largest mines in the world.
bit.ly/longtrain, bit.ly/longtrain2 & bit.ly/heaviesttrain
LARGEST FLYING BOAT
Hughes H-4 Hercules
Length: 66.6m with a wingspan of 97.5m (almost as long as a football field)
Built in the 1940s for military transport, this birch wood aircraft made only one
brief flight. It was six times larger than any aircraft at the time, and designed to
carry 750 fully equipped military personnel or two 30.3-tonne tanks.
bit.ly/HughesHerc
LARGEST MARINE VESSEL
Shell’s Prelude FLNG
Length: 488m (longer than the
Empire State Building is high)
This vessel is a floating natural gas refinery
in the sea, with a deck that is longer than
four football fields.
bit.ly/ShellPrelude
LARGEST TRUCK
Belaz 75710
Length: 20.6m long
A dumptruck designed to move coal
and rocks, this behemoth weighs
more than a fully loaded Airbus
A380. Its eight wheels, at 4m high,
dwarf the tallest of men.
bit.ly/belaztruck
08
GOOGLE SELFDRIVING CAR
The first fully autonomous
models, all named “Prototype”,
are being tested in Mountain
View, San Francisco. Their cute
looks are meant to prevent road
rage. Google plans to make
them publicly available by 2020.
bit.ly/ggselfdrive
Hello!
I know...
So big
right?
09
AIRBOARD
The second product by the makers of electric unicycle
Airwheel, this self-balancing board has ”pressure pad
recognition”, so you can glide in the direction you want
just by pressing your feet down and leaning forwards
or backwards. The 10kg waterproof gizmo makes
turns too – just lean sideways.
bit.ly/airbort
A
all!
w
o
n
k
I
?
Do you
WEIRD
TRANSPORT
RULES
There are some truly strange
transport-related rules around the
world. See if you can match the rule
to the place.
B
IT’S ILLEGAL FOR CAR
WASHERS TO DRY OFF CARS
WITH USED UNDERWEAR
PASSENGERS RIDING WITH
A DRUNK DRIVER WILL ALSO
BE PUNISHED
Makes sense. Used underwear
wouldn’t be our choice as well.
Harsh, but this law should probably be
implemented in Singapore too.
C
HEADLIGHTS MUST BE SWITCHED ON 24 HOURS
Yes, even in sunny summer months. Sorry, Earth Hour folks, but safety first.
D
E
MEN CAN’T BE
TOPLESS WHEN
DRIVING
Probably good for T-shirt
sales in this hot country.
BIRDS HAVE THE RIGHT OF WAY ON HIGHWAYS
No need to question the chicken for crossing the road.
Sources: bit.ly/headlights24, bit.ly/usedunder, bit.ly/birdway, bit.ly/wearashirt & bit.ly/drunkarrest
MALLOY AERONAUTICS
A mix of a motorcycle and a helicopter.
HOVERBIKE
Four drones make up a quadcopter that
looks like it came right out of Star Wars.
The project reached its KickStarter goal in
2014. May the force be with it.
bit.ly/hoverbikeMA
Answers: A) San Francisco, USA; B) Japan; C) Sweden; D) Thailand; E) Utah, USA
10
11
HYPERLOOP
Another of Elon Musk’s
ambitious ventures, this
high-speed pipeline
transport uses pods, air
pressure and no rails. If
successful, it will take
you from Singapore
to Kuala Lumpur in
about 30 minutes.
bit.ly/SXhyperloop
A letter from
KEITH TAN
Deputy Secretary (Policy), Ministry of Defence (2014 – present)
Senior Director, PS21 Office, Public Service Division (2013 – 2014)
Institute Director, Institute of Governance and Policy, Civil Service College (2013 – 2014)
Director, Ministry of Trade and Industry (2008 – 2013)
Letters to a Young Public Officer
I am
GRATEFUL
for the
MISTAKES
I have made
DEAR YOUNG OFFICER,
I have made many mistakes over the past
16 years of my career in the Public Service. Every now and then, younger officers ask me what my biggest mistakes or
regrets have been, so I thought I would
recollect some of these experiences here.
I have an unforgettable memory of
getting corrected by the Deputy Prime
Minister (the current Prime Minister).
In the early 2000s, I wrote a report that
included some statistics about the debt
situation in some neighbouring countries.
In one case, I mistakenly wrote “billions”
even though the correct sum was in the
trillions. (Really! This was soon after the
Asian Financial Crisis.) Unfortunately, it
took the sharp eye of the DPM to point
this out to my bosses. I learnt, very quickly and effectively, two important lessons:
first, the need to proofread my written
work very carefully (because you never
know who’s going to read it), and second,
that the DPM actually read my report!
Between 2010 and 2013, I had the
privilege of negotiating a free trade agreement with the European Union (EU). The
EU was a tough and demanding partner.
Its negotiators pushed us hard in many
areas, and in order to find solutions, I too
had to push our own negotiators, from
many government agencies. On at least
one occasion, I took matters into my own
hands prematurely. I was impatient with
the negotiations over what I thought were
“stylistic” issues in one chapter of the
agreement. I asked for a break, and then
rewrote the outstanding portion of the
chapter myself.
Let me be clear – with hindsight, I see
this as a mistake, not an accomplishment
to be proud of. Doing so may have solved
the immediate problem on hand, but it did
nothing to strengthen the sense of ownership that the implementing agency would
need to have towards the issue. Looking
back, I wish I had held back and allowed
the difficult negotiations to continue further. In all likelihood, better compromises
would have emerged.
In our work and life,
we will face choices
every day. Some are
inconsequential, some
are not, and many have
consequences that are
not immediately
discernible.
A final, and more sombre, story. Several years ago, I was at a working dinner
for a visiting official. Halfway through
the dinner, I received an SMS that informed me that the 15-year-old son of
a close friend had passed away under
the most unexpected circumstances that
very evening. I knew the boy fairly well,
and had been a sort of a mentor to him
too. I excused myself, went to the washroom to take in this information, and
then I composed myself, returned to the
dinner and resumed the conversation
as if nothing had happened. Later that
evening, after dinner was over, I returned
home, sat down with my wife and cried.
When I think about this episode, I
can’t help but wonder: Could I have done
anything differently? For instance, could
I have made a difference if I had excused
myself from the dinner and then headed
to the hospital to grieve with my friend?
Maybe it would have made no difference.
But I will never know.
In our work and life, we will face
choices every day. Some are inconsequential, some are not, and many have consequences that are not immediately discernible. This must surely mean we will make
mistakes every now and then.
I am grateful for the mistakes I have
made. Through them, I have learnt to be
more careful and conscientious in checking my facts, figures, dates and writing, in
order to give my bosses confidence in my
work. I have learnt to be more patient and
less overbearing with co-workers who are
likely to have different perspectives and
hence may need more time to think about
the issue at hand. And I have learnt to be
more thoughtful and more humane, to pay
attention to my heart and my head – so
that my work is not just something I do for
8 to 10 hours a day to pay the bills, but an
extension of my deepest, truest being.
25
Text by
YONG SHU CHIANG
Photos by
NORMAN NG
“It’s
about
giving
back”
Mr Kenneth Er, CEO of
National Parks Board, on
why it is important to nurture
people as well as greenery.
Mr Kenneth Er can talk about
trees all day. He doesn’t mind getting his
hands dirty, and loves being amongst flora
and fauna – in fact, it’s very much a part
of his job as the CEO of National Parks
Board (NParks).
At Halia restaurant in the Singapore
Botanic Gardens, he shares with Challenge
the science behind tree planting and why
he has a soft spot for some tree species.
His enthusiasm is clear as he extolls the
virtues of the rain tree, a transplanted species from South America that is now – in
his words – a permanent resident.
“A rain tree isn’t just a tree,” he says.
“It’s a microhabitat. A healthy, large, mature tree may be home to 20 species of
plants. Have you ever seen a yellow rain
tree? The yellow is due to a genetic variation, which gives it an autumnal feel.
“It’s a beautiful tree,” he concludes.
The beauty of nature, how it makes
Singapore a much more liveable city-state,
and maintaining a sustainable Garden
City are some of the deeply rooted themes
that intertwine in Mr Er’s personal and
professional lives.
Growing up, one of his favourite activities was bird-watching, which had him
traipsing up and down the trails of Bukit
Timah Nature Reserve.
“I would have been very happy just be-
www.challenge.gov.sg July/August 2015
ing a wildlife photographer,” the 42-yearold recalls, “or just to have been able
to study birds – that was what I wanted
to do.”
Now if you ask Mr Er’s children – he
has two daughters, aged 7 and 10 – about
his profession, they would say, matter-offactly: “Daddy is a gardener.”
Giving back
These days, Mr Er’s wife doesn’t like
him to drive: behind the wheel, he tends
to spend more time observing the trees –
many of which he had planted – than he
does watching the road.
The Public Service Commission scholarship holder had pursued a degree in forestry despite his parents’ doubts.
Others questioned if Singapore had
forests worth studying or managing.
(The answer is yes, according to Mr Er,
because we have original, pristine forests
as well as urban forests.)
Undeterred, he stuck by his choice. “I
You must not stop
for one moment, or
feel that you know
everything.
just knew I wanted to study ecology, to be
with nature,” he says. “Nature is a wonderful thing, it brings people together.
“It never dawned on them,” he continues, referring to those who had questioned his choice, “that greenery would
become a key factor in cities of the future
becoming highly liveable.”
When Mr Er first joined NParks, he
was appointed the manager of Kallang,
taking charge of parks and streetscapes
within a zone from Dunearn Road to
Kallang Riverside Park. He inspected and
monitored the trees and plants, parks and
playgrounds, as well as interacted with
the community.
A Cuppa With...
Since then, he has spent 18 years in
various appointments within NParks and
the Ministry of National Development,
and a stint as the first Chief Operating Officer of the Gardens by the Bay.
Now, returning as the organisation’s
CEO (“It was like coming home, because
I ‘grew up’ in this place”), it is his turn to
nurture the staff.
“Professionally, I grew and learnt a
lot from various people,” he says. “I was
nurtured by my previous supervisors,
my CEOs; and now that I have amassed
this knowledge, it’s about giving back to
the organisation.”
He shares that he learnt from his years
of working with former NParks CEO Dr
Tan Wee Kiat the importance of balancing ecology with aesthetics. This means
ensuring not only that the plants and trees
thrive but that they also enhance the beauty of the area.
The spirit of constant learning is
something he hopes to impart to his staff.
“You must not stop for one moment, or
feel that you know everything” says Mr
Er, who often emails his staff the latest on
horticultural innovations.
Equalising with greenery
On the anticipation surrounding the
Singapore Botanic Gardens’ bid to be
recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Mr Er says: “Not many people
know this, but the Botanic Gardens played
a very key role in the establishment of
Singapore as a Garden City.”
In the ’60s, the Botanic Gardens – already a leading centre for botanical research – became a living laboratory for
determining the kind of species that would
thrive in an urban environment. A School
of Ornamental Horticulture was also established in the ’70s to train personnel to
maintain the green city.
Beyond the aesthetics, Mr Er agrees
that greenery has been a great equaliser of
society. Conscious urban planning allows
everyone – regardless of their background
– to have access to greenery, parks and
gardens. This is why NParks has been increasing the social programmes for people
to visit these parks.
All in all, it offers more than 2,500 programmes – pet-related activities, artistic
performances, and more – across its many
parks and gardens.
“We want to strengthen our pro-
grammes, and increase our level of contact, because we want these parks to become lively spaces, and attract more people to visit,” he says. “They can then better appreciate how liveable Singapore is.”
Mr Er’s passion for greenery and photography has translated into greater social
media interaction. He told staff, with more
than 350 parks and 4,000 hectares of nature reserves, surely they could get “fantastic photographs” and share them with
the public. NParks’ social media accounts
regularly hold photo competitions and
share about the flora and fauna found here.
And if NParks intends to better incorporate its parks with the urban landscape,
it needs to maintain the public’s trust and
continue to engage their interest, he adds.
“In my time with NParks, we’ve always engaged with the public… We work
with residents and try to incorporate feedback into what we do. We’re currently
in the midst of our Jurong Lake Gardens
engagement, and it’s something we do
wholeheartedly.
“There’s no shortcut.”
The man, who brings out the best in
his plants, wants to do the same for his
staff. His advice to younger public officers is they must first enjoy their work,
and “believe that what they’re doing contributes to Singapore”. Mr Er encourages
them to continue learning and develop
their skills, as soon, it would be their turn
to nurture others.
“If I can touch every staff this way,
then I think we can continue to sustain our
City in a Garden.”
What’s in your cuppa?
Kopi C.
Where do you take it?
Food Canopy at Raffles Building in
the Singapore Botanic Gardens.
27
Text by
SITI MAZIAH MASRAMLI
BUILDING
TRUST
WITH A NEW
BALANCE
A constant search for a balance
of roles between government and
citizens creates better results, not
just for public service agencies,
but for society too.
In 2012, Singapore celebrated
World Water Day with 15 events across the
island, all run by the PUB, the national water agency. In the following year, the number of events dropped to 11, and by 2014,
there were just five big events.
But this year, the number of events for
World Water Day jumped to 350. The celebrations, which ran for a month, also attracted 400,000 – a record turnout.
This achievement was largely due to
a new approach in organising the celebrations, says Mr George Madhavan, Director, 3P Network at the PUB. Instead of just
inviting its partners to attend the events
on one day, the PUB asked grassroots organisations, schools, non-governmental
organisations, companies and public agencies to organise events on their own in
March with the PUB’s support.
“By taking a step back, we’re allowing
the community and society to take a step
forward,” he says.
In taking that “step back”, Mr Madhavan was applying what he had learnt
from a Civil Service College (CSC) workshop that he attended in 2013. Known as
the New Synthesis (NS) Lab, the workshop introduced a framework that guides
public administrators like Mr Madhavan
in reframing issues and resources within
a broader context, identifying other parties that they can work with, and exploring
how best they can be engaged.
www.challenge.gov.sg July/August 2015
Challenging the conventional
The workshops are led by Ms Jocelyne
Bourgon, CSC Senior Visiting Fellow,
who developed the NS framework. She
has facilitated workshops in Singapore and
around the world for public officers to apply the framework to real-life issues.
Over her years in the Canadian public
service, Ms Bourgon observed a growing
gap between “conventional ideas about
public administration and the reality faced
by practitioners”.
Conventional ideas are thinking
that “government can do it all” or do
things best, or being content with what
has worked so far. But the reality is, relationships between governments and
citizens are changing. Citizens today
want a bigger say in policy matters, and
contribute to shaping issues and public
policy challenges.
To bridge this gap, Ms Bourgon drew
from public administration practices, academic disciplines, past civil service reforms
and the “reality of practice” to create the
NS framework.
The framework is made up of four
“lenses”: positioning, leveraging, engaging and synthesising.
Positioning is reframing an organisation’s purpose, issues and contributions
within a wider context of societal results.
An example is when a transport group
moves from thinking of its role as just
building roads to connecting people and
places. “The possibilities open up,” explains Ms Bourgon. “Do I celebrate more
miles of asphalt or better connectivity?”
In the case of the PUB, it repositioned
itself as a facilitator of World Water Day
events, rather than the sole organiser.
Leveraging recognises that the state
Feature
municate with the public, alerting them to
potential flooding, then we can consult a
wider audience.”
The PUB also engages the community for their Active, Beautiful and Clean
waterway projects, which are sited in
the heartlands.
“We engage them early, before the
design is cooked. Whatever requests they
have, it’s easier to incorporate,” says Mr
Madhavan. If an area has many schools,
the PUB might look at adding many learning features. For older folk, it might be
plots of land for community gardening.
“When the members of the community see that their ideas are incorporated…
there’s a better sense of ownership… and
they will take better care of it.”
Similarly, by roping in its partners for
World Water Day, the PUB got “a much
better outcome with fewer resources, and
also built ownership, trust, resilience and
sustainability in doing events,” he says.
has a lot of authority but there is a limit
to what it can do. A wise government uses
that authority to lever the collective capacity of society.
Engaging others is necessary because
whatever the government does creates
some dependency among citizens, and
may erode the “natural resilience of
people, community and families”, says
Ms Bourgon.
NS Lab participant Mr Lim Wee Sen,
from the Land Transport Authority’s
Community Partnership Division, offers
this example: His team works with Neighbourhood Committees for private estate
roads. Together, they encourage and provide options for residents to resolve parking issues amicably on their own, instead
of reporting every matter to authorities.
Synthesis is “putting all the lenses together”, says Ms Bourgon, to constantly
reframe roles, issues, and capabilities to
achieve better results for society, not just
for the organisation.
Engaging well
During the NS Lab workshops, participants shared several real issues their agencies face, and discussed how to apply the
four “lenses” to them.
Something that resonated with Mr
Madhavan was the reminder that engaging people means getting them to commit
their time and effort.
“Once they find that you’re not sincere and just going through the motions,
it creates a lot of mistrust in the system,”
he says. “So we become very selective and
purposeful when doing engagement.”
For example, the specialised topic of
flood alleviation calls for an expert panel.
“But if it’s about how we can better com-
Tying it all together
On synthesising, “the magic is in how you
bring it all together... to rise above your
agency’s results or KPIs, and focus on societal results,” says Ms Bourgon.
Doing this takes constant rethinking at all individual, organisational
and institutional levels. She cites Our
Singapore Conversation as a significant
step in having a broad conversation about
the balance that will best serve the country going forward.
But there is no “recipe” for doing this,
she adds, as it then becomes another convention. Instead, she advises reflecting as
and when needed to avoid being content
with what works today.
“It’s the constant search for balance that ensures that you can continue
to evolve,” says Ms Bourgon. “It comes
with practice.”
After serving 21 years in the Canada Public Service
in various departments, Ms Jocelyne Bourgon
was appointed Secretary to the Cabinet in 1994
and Clerk of the Privy Council, Canada’s highest
ranking civil servant. She is President of Public
Governance International, President Emeritus of
the Canada School of Public Service and serves
as special advisor to Canada’s Privy Council Office. She leads the New Synthesis Project (www.
nsworld.org).
29
30
Level Up
We can help each other resolve the
tensions. I learnt that my parents and I
could reconcile our differences in these
ways taught by course trainers Jacob Lee
and Khoo Seok Lin:
Rearrange your circumstances
I did not stop my pursuits of adventure.
But I always made sure I came home unhurt. While I push myself on treks, I would
hold back for more dangerous parts of the
journey I’m less ready for, such as alpine
climbing. Over time, I was able to show
that exploration trips need not be dangerous, and I could take care of myself.
Uncover the PERSONAL
VALUES that define us
Our values are just as important as an organisation’s values. MS AUDREY
TAN shares tips to identify our values and resolve differences.
Many of us are familiar with the
Public Service’s values of Integrity, Service and Excellence. Each public agency
also has its own values, which guide decision-making and define what the organisation stands for.
While we may know our organisational
values, how many of us have reflected on
our own values?
Values are qualities that we feel strongly about, define who we are, and clarify our
priorities. When they are violated, strong
emotions, such as anger or mistrust, can
be evoked. One’s values may also not be
virtues, which are what a society deems
morally desirable, such as honesty.
In change management, uncovering
our values is an important step in identifying and explaining how we think and behave. Let’s look at how values and ways of
thinking can affect behaviour.
Situation 1:
A friend’s two-year-old was blocking the
entrance to a McDonald’s. He wanted
to open the door but did not know how.
Meanwhile, a man wanted to enter the restaurant. After twice saying “excuse me” to
the boy, the man looked at my friend, who
was distracted with a stuck bag zipper, and
said he wanted to go inside.
My friend quickly pulled her kid away.
Reflecting later, she was certain that the
www.challenge.gov.sg July/August 2015
man could see that her son needed help,
and flabbergasted that he did not open the
door for the toddler.
I disagreed. The man likely refrained
from “correcting” the boy to avoid offending the mother. By minding his business
and expecting the mother to handle her
child, he was trying to maintain harmony
(what he values).
Situation 2:
Much to my parents’ dismay, I would go
for overnight camps, months-long community work trips or treks overseas. What
values can you identify of my parents
and me?
My parents’ values of love and safety
led them to think that they have to protect
their child from harm, given the unforeseeable dangers overseas.
My values of independence (“I have
the right to do what I want”), purpose
(“I am embarking on meaningful work”)
and adventure (trekking trips rejuvenate
me and allow me to know myself better)
clashed with theirs.
When values are in conflict, we experience tension. This can strain relationships. My frustrated parents would avoid
eye contact with me every time after I told
them of a coming trip. Eventually, I resorted to informing them just a day or two before I went away.
Reframe the meaning of the values
My parents probably had to redefine their
idea of love to include respecting my decisions and beliefs.
Reorder the values
I was conscious not to compromise my
parents’ trust. Whenever I had to decide
between embarking on the unknown and
the certainty of coming home unharmed,
I chose the latter.
To uncover our values, reflect on these
questions, shared by the course trainers:
• Think of situations that made you
angry or dissatisfied. Why were you
angry? What values were violated?
• What are the things and activities that
you are passionate about? Why do they
bring you joy?
• What do you spend most of your time
and money on?
• Recall instances when you stood firm
in your decisions. What were you stand ing up for?
Next time you feel strongly about a
decision or situation, think about the values that drive your emotions and behaviours. When in disagreement, withhold
judgement and try to understand and
align values using the 3Rs above. Doing
so could strengthen your sense of purpose
and relationships.
Ms Audrey Tan is Senior Manager of Organisational Development & Corporate Services at
the Ministry of Manpower. This is the fourth in
a series of reflections from participants of the
Leading & Sustaining Change Programme at the
Civil Service College.
Text by
JANICE TAN
Photo by
NORMAN NG
Long Service
For the joy
of reading
Throughout her 40 years as a
librarian, Mrs Kiang-Koh Lai
Lin has been a stalwart figure in
advocating reading.
As a child, Mrs Kiang-Koh Lai Lin
was never found without a book. She would
stay in her room to read instead of playing
outside with her cousins. After graduating
from the then Nanyang University in 1973,
she felt it was a natural move to become a
librarian and make it her mission to promote reading.
She made an impact on children early
on, starting youth reading clubs at the library. As the former Director of Reading
Initiatives at the National Library Board
(NLB), she launched national reading
campaigns such as the kidsREAD programme in 2004 for children aged four to
eight from low-income families. A year later, she started the Read! Singapore initiative to promote a culture of reading fiction
among teens and older readers, including
senior citizens.
Mrs Kiang-Koh feels strongly for these
campaigns, because reading “provides
equal opportunities to acquire knowledge
for all”.
In 2005, she set up a reading club for
taxi drivers to discuss Chinese-language
books. She has even gone to extreme
lengths, getting haircuts every three
weeks just to encourage hairdressers to
read widely. “Everyone needs exposure to
books,” she says.
The 64-year-old is affectionately
known as Singapore’s reading ambassador
among librarians. At the 2011 kidsREAD
Volunteers Appreciation Day, the emcee
recognised Mrs Kiang-Koh and told the
audience that she “used to tell stories to
him as a little boy” at the Bukit Merah
Public Library.
Mrs Kiang-Koh retired from the NLB
in 2014, but continues to promote reading
and storytelling. She is now a consultant at
the National Archives of Singapore, helping to document the oral histories of grassroots leaders and public officers.
31
Text by
JAMIE EE
Photos by
LUMINA
Farm the rooftop
Urban farmers from Comcrop are working to change the way public officers and the community
think about how food is grown.
Amid the skyscrapers and shiny
malls on Orchard Road, a group of farmers are hard at work. They are picking
eggplants and basil atop *SCAPE mall, in
what is Singapore’s first commercial rooftop farm.
The size of nearly two basketball
courts, the farm currently produces about
60kg of food a week that is sold to nearby
hotels and restaurants, at prices below that
of organic imports.
On weekends, it transforms into a
community farm. Student and elderly volunteers come to tend to the produce and
learn how to grow their own food, knowledge they go on to share with smaller
aquaponics farms in the heartlands.
The farm is the brainchild of social
entrepreneur Mr Allan Lim and his three
friends, who all have agriculture-related
backgrounds. They set up social enterprise
Comcrop to run the farm, a six-figure investment they expect to recoup this year.
Their goal was to tap the potential of
“marginalised land” – land that people
don’t see as useful – to bring communities
closer together and to their food source.
“We want to bring a farm into the
city to help strengthen community bonding and boost food sustainability, which
is what Singapore needs,” says Mr Lim,
Comcrop’s Chief Executive.
With more food grown locally, Singapore will be better able to withstand food
supply disruptions caused by trade restrictions or bad weather overseas, such as
drought.
Although the farm is hardly visible
from the road, it has already attracted attention for its social mission and agricultural innovation.
The crops are grown in vertical racks
that draw water and nutrients from fish
waste in water tanks containing tilapias.
This creates a self-sustaining aquaponics system that can yield eight to 10 times
more than traditional land-based farming.
www.challenge.gov.sg July/August 2015
1
Journey to the rooftop
Getting to this point was not easy: it took
the team almost two years to get the farm
off the ground.
They were running a small test farm
outside the National Youth Council Academy in 2012 when they were invited to
meet the inter-agency Garden City Action
Committee (GCAC) to discuss how to further green Singapore.
The GCAC’s chairperson, Ms Chang
Hwee Nee, Deputy Secretary (Planning)
at the Ministry of National Development,
liked their idea of bringing communities
together through urban farms. Her support
led them to the vacant *SCAPE rooftop
in 2013.
Despite securing a space, the team
knew they had their work cut out for them.
With no precedent, they had to figure
things out as they went along.
2
Feature
1. Mr Allan Lim (third from left), Comcrop’s Chief
Executive, with his volunteers at the farm.
2. Plant roots help to filter the water, which is
recycled from the fish tanks. The fish in turn
provide nutrients via their waste.
3. Plants are grown in water pipes that can be
stacked under tents for shade.
4. Mr Lim inspects the growth of the mint plants.
5. Basil sprouts growing in soil.
3
4
5
They asked me, will the farm be a fire hazard?
I told them we would have thousands of litres of
water so we’d likely be putting out fires instead.
As early as the design phase, they hit a
roadblock: The team found that the building’s official roof load, or the maximum
weight the roof could take, was only 50kg
per square metre.
Mr Lim, who studied civil engineering, pored over the building plans and
realised the figure was grossly underestimated. So he recalculated the roof load,
had it endorsed by a professional engineer
and eventually received approval from the
Urban Redevelopment Authority and the
mall to go ahead.
Other government agencies also
needed convincing. Mr Lim recalls being peppered with questions at a meeting with officers from the Building and
Construction Authority.
“They asked me, will the farm be a fire
hazard?” he says. “I told them we would
have thousands of litres of water so we’d
likely be putting out fires instead.”
But the water could breed mosquitoes,
said the officers. “After we told them we
are rearing fishes that would eat up the
larvae, they told us the Agri-food and Veterinary Authority Singapore (AVA) needs
to be involved since we have fishes in the
farm. We [would] also need to get clearance from the PUB for water drainage,”
recounts Mr Lim.
While he admits the questions seemed
“pesky” then, in retrospect he says they
show that the Public Service “has gotten
more interconnected and agencies can
pre-empt the concerns of other agencies”.
It helps that the Comcrop team has always been clear and transparent with the
authorities, and willing to work out solutions together. For example, knowing the
mosquito risk, they are “very conscious”
to avoid waterlogging.
Since then, the farm has opened its
doors to many public officers and won
their support. AVA officers, for one, have
been helping to improve the farm’s operations by teaching the farmers about food
hygiene and pest management, and checking on its produce.
More than just aquaponics
Still, Mr Lim feels it will take time for
urban farming to gain traction among
public officers.
A case in point: Comcrop’s recent
application for the Productivity and Innovation Credit (a scheme under IRAS)
was rejected. Mr Lim feels that the rejection could mean that not everyone in
the Public Service is involved in the conversation about urban agriculture and
thus some may not understand how his
farm is innovative.
The hurdles, however, are not stopping Comcrop from pushing the frontiers of urban agriculture in Singapore.
It is preparing to build another rooftop farm in Woodlands, which will be
10 times bigger than its current space at
Orchard Road. It aims to produce 2,000
tonnes of food over a two-to-threeyear period.
Success is important because it will
“allow society to learn about the potential of marginalised land like rooftops for
farming in land-scarce Singapore”, says
Mr Lim.
He is also trying to get Singapore’s
traditional farmers to embrace urban
farming: “What I’ve been doing is to be
humble and to learn from them so that
we can improve.
“Hopefully through this, we can create a better system. Then the government will be more convinced that urban
farms work and will give more land in
Singapore to all farmers.”
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34
Challenge 20
A GLOSSIER LOOK
The covers of Challenge from 2006 to 2010 took on different looks as the in-house
editorial team began working with a partner in publishing.
Casting off the unusual tall and narrow shape of before,
the fourth version of Challenge assumed a more conventional, easier-to-store size.
From the August 2006 issue, for the first time, public officers
were featured on the cover, with their names credited on the inside, like professional photography talent.
The “models” include Ms Wendy Leo (Ministry of Finance)
and Mr Kong Wy Mun (Singapore Cooperation Enterprise),
who are both pictured here (bottom middle) and still in the
Public Service.
The revamped issues also had more readers contributing to
content. A new column, At the Watercooler, invited readers
to share their views on any PS21 issue. The comments included reflections on the impact of the PS21 movement and ways
to work better. One suggestion was to have more informal networking by using existing online tools, such as Yahoo! groups,
for discussions.
Another column called Seen and Heard invited readers to submit their photos and writing for a chance to win movie tickets.
The charming stories ranged from praise for colleagues to short
reflections by interns.
www.challenge.gov.sg July/August 2015
From the May 2007 issue, custom illustrations took over the
cover pages. This continued when Singapore Press Holdings
(SPH) was engaged as a publishing partner from the following issue ( June 2007) until 2010.
With SPH’s expertise, Challenge took on the glossier look of
a consumer magazine. Its Lifestyle sections also shed the former
focus on health issues and covered more light-hearted material,
such as food and book recommendations.
Experts from outside the public sector were invited to share
advice on matters such as communicating simply and in new ways
with social media.
From the May-June 2008 issue, Challenge began to be published bi-monthly. That issue also marked the return of public officers on the cover for a story celebrating the diversity of roles in the
Public Service.
The Challenge September/October 2015 issue will look at the current version of the magazine. Challenge issues from 2003 are online at:
bit.ly/Cmagarchive
The Big Idea
Text by
CHEN JINGTING
Do you care too much?
When stepping in – and staying stuck in – another’s shoes can be a wrong move.
Empathy, the ability to feel what another is feeling, is
often extolled as a quality of a good public officer. One needs to
feel for others to understand their needs and better serve them.
So the more empathy, the better? Not necessarily. The key
is to use it judiciously while recognising its drawbacks, writes
Professor Chong Siow Ann, Vice Chairman on the Medical Board
(Research) at the Institute of Mental Health, in The Straits Times.
He adds that empathy has a spectrum: level 0 is an absence of
it and level 6 is overkill.
Paul Bloom, a psychology professor at Yale University, argues
that empathy could impair judgement in policymaking. We tend
to feel more for those who are similar to us or attract us. This may
lead us to design policies that benefit the few people we know or
like, rather than for a bigger group of people
who need more help.
For instance, it’s difficult to restrict carbon dioxide emissions because people tend
to empathise with those whom they can
identify as victims of higher costs from the
restrictions. They feel less for the faceless
“millions of people who at some unspecified future date will suffer the consequences
of our current inaction”, Bloom writes in
the New Yorker.
He also warns against the destructive effects of “empathetic
distress”, or the experience of being mired in someone else’s pain
from empathising too deeply. Too much of that may create burnout in the individual.
An over-empathetic person who constantly places the needs
of others over his own also creates unequal relationships, points
out Professor Chong.
The key to a balanced approach lies in self-awareness, psychoanalyst Robin Stern and developmental psychologist Diana
Divecha argue in Psychology Today. “Whenever your empathy is
aroused… pause and check in with yourself: What am I feeling
right now? What do I need now?”
Knowing your own needs, such as having time for yourself,
will give you a better idea of how much you are able to give to
help another. Being honest with your loved ones that you
are trying to find that emotional balance may also
strengthen your relationships.
And instead of diving deep into the feelings of
the other party, translate the emotions into action by proposing to do something to alleviate his
pain, say Stern and Divecha.
So how wise are you in channelling empathy? That may affect how effective you are in
helping others.
An over-empathetic
person who constantly
places the needs of
others over his own
also creates unequal
relationships.
35
Text by
SITI MAZIAH MASRAMLI
Photos by
NORMAN NG
A NEW
MUSEUM
with a past
Come October, the former Supreme Court
and City Hall buildings will open as the new
National Gallery Singapore. Now before the
artworks go up, relive the old times of this
historic space with stories from those who
used to work there.
1
With a floor space of 64,000
square metres, the soon-to-open National
Gallery Singapore will display the world’s
largest collection of Southeast Asian modern art. The renovation and conservation
of the former Supreme Court and City
Hall buildings, which house the new museum, took four years, at an estimated cost
of $530 million.
Mr S Kathiarasan, who is retired but
re-employed to head a new unit at the
Supreme Court, recalls having to rescue
people trapped in the lifts of the former
Supreme Court. The lifts had heavy collapsible gates that would jam easily when
the lifts were overloaded.
“Whenever we heard the alarm sound,
we would rush over and use a long wooden ruler to release the lever to open the
gates,” says Mr Kathiarasan, 67.
Today the rickety lifts are gone, but
other unique features of the former Supreme Court remain and have been carefully restored. The Chief Justice’s Chambers and Courtroom 1, which will be the
Southeast Asia 1 Gallery, have all their
original furniture and lighting fixtures
from the 1930s preserved.
At the accused’s dock in the courtroom, inmates would emerge from the
holding cells on the ground floor through
a hidden passageway. Mr Simon Sim, a
court orderly for Chief Justice Sundaresh
www.challenge.gov.sg July/August 2015
2
Once a carpark where Supreme Court staff would
play a game of netball or captain’s ball after work,
the space between the two buildings is now an airconditioned atrium with a gilded roof.
Life.Style
The balcony of the former
Supreme Court features
Ionic and Corinthian
columns, made of
Shanghai plaster.
3
Menon, used to marvel at how the accused
would pop up in the dock.
“There’s a door in the floor you have
to lift up. At that time, I was really surprised at how the prison warden and the
inmate would just come out!” recalls the
53-year-old Operational Support Officer of
his early days on the job. Back then, Mr
Sim’s office was at the former City Hall
building, and he would cross over to the
Supreme Court when needed.
New links to City Hall
Once a carpark where Supreme Court staff
would play a game of netball or captain’s
ball after work, the space between the
two buildings is now an air-conditioned
atrium with a gilded roof, designed by architect Jean Francois Milou. Mr Milou’s
Paris-based studioMilou Architecture and
CPG Consultants (Singapore) jointly handled the renovation and conservation of
the buildings.
Ms Lau Joon-Nie, Assistant Director
of Newsplex Asia at the Nanyang Technological University and a former broadcast
reporter, spent much time in both buildings. Trained as a lawyer, she was called
1. The interior of the
copper-tipped dome can
now be seen through a
fire-rated glass ceiling.
2. During conservation work,
the National Gallery team
found British crests that had
been scraped off and covered
with plaster. The team let the
crests remain as they are as a
mark of history.
3. The brass and marble
columns and the original
lighting fixtures at the
City Hall Chamber have
been restored.
4. Beneath the foundation
stone lies a brass time
capsule containing six local
newspapers and a handful of
Straits Settlements coins.
5. The second-level corridor
tiles were made of rubber,
which absorbed sound.
Infested with asbestos, the
tiles have been replaced
with marble tiles in the
same pattern.
4
5
37
The central rotunda: This was the law library
before it moved to the City Hall building. The
bookcase uses curved glass from England and
was preserved in-situ during the renovation.
to the Bar at the former Supreme Court
building. As a reporter, she covered many
court stories there.
Her favourite spot was the Singapore
Academy of Law restaurant on the third
floor of the City Hall building. There, she
would meet with lawyer friends and share
lunch with her husband, whose AttorneyGeneral’s Chambers office was nearby at
The Adelphi. Once, she was invited to
have lunch with the then Chief Justice
Yong Pung How, who always took a table
in a corner to the left of the entrance.
She also had her wedding solemnisation at the City Hall Chamber in 1997.
“We had some friends help us decorate
the place, not extensively, since it is a
heritage space – flowers and ribbons in
yellow and white,” says Ms Lau, 45. A
photo session with guests at the City Hall
steps followed.
The Public Service Commission
(PSC) occupied the back and front wings
of City Hall on level four. They shared the
building with the then Ministry of Culture
and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the
Supreme Court when it later expanded.
Mr Chee Yew Cho, 69, remembers a
www.challenge.gov.sg July/August 2015
6
8
7
6. The central rotunda: Leading to the
second level is a staircase with
art deco details on the balustrade.
7. Courtroom 1: During the
renovation, this ceiling was known
as the “chocolate ceiling” among the
construction workers. The teak wood
was found in good condition.
8. Courtroom 1: The accused’s dock
had a door in the floor leading to the
inmate holding cells via a passageway.
9. The foyer at the former City Hall:
PSC staff would sit on these steps to
eat and chat during staff events.
9
Life.Style
10
11
12
There’s a door in the
floor you have to lift up.
I was really surprised at
how the prison warden
and the inmate would
just come out!
Hainanese man who would push a cart
from end to end of the long office corridors to sell coffee, tea and snacks every
day at 10am and 3pm. “Everybody would
have their unofficial tea break,” recalls Mr
Chee, Senior Executive (Secretariat), who
has been with the PSC for over 40 years.
Many PSC activities such as Chinese
New Year and Christmas parties were held
at the Chamber and foyer. Staff members,
more than 200 strong, would sit on the
steps of the foyer staircase to eat and chat.
This camaraderie from mingling within
the majestic spaces of the City Hall building is what Mr Chee misses the most.
All staff moved out of the two buildings
by 2005. And despite the modern comforts
at the current Supreme Court building,
Mr Sim says, smiling, “I still prefer the old
building. The feeling of being in a court
is there.”
10. The terrace at the former Supreme Court was once the roof of the building. Once crammed with
condensers and other unsightly equipment, it was not accessible to the public. The terrace will be used
as an events space and gathering spot for visitors.
11. The central rotunda dome, once unseen from the outside, is now visible to visitors at the terrace.
12. In a new atrium for the Gallery, two skybridges connect the two buildings at Levels 3 and 4.
HOLDING CELLS
There were 12 inmate holding cells, 10 for men and two for women. These
cells have kept notorious murderers Adrian Lim, a self-professed temple
medium, and Anthony Ler, who arranged for his wife to be killed. Two cells
and an adjoining staircase that led up to the courtrooms have been retained.
39
40
The Irreverent Last Page
Makanan D’Singapour
In celebration of National Day, the Challenge Department of Culinary Arts presents
the Ultimate All Day Singapore Breakfast.
Photography by JOHN HENG
Crepes a la ghee,
topped with kali
with a side of
artisanal sugar.
10.5
Chilled organic Manggis de Sunda.
5.5
Spicy Pasta de Melayu
served with a side of
saucisses Chinois*, freerange Xianyadan, and a
delightful sprinkling of
sun-dried anchovies from
the Atlantic Ocean. 17.0
Les huat kuehs in
assorted flavours to
be degusted over a
steamy cup of Pulled
Ginger Chai of the
Great Archipelago.
8.5
*Vegan/gluten-free options available
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]
1
Mr Kenneth Er, CEO of National Parks Board, says his children think
he is a ____________.
a.
b.
c.
d.
2
The kidsREAD programme is for children aged ____________.
a.
b.
c.
d.
3
one to three
two to seven
four to eight
nine to twelve
In the Challenge issues from August 2006, a new column called Seen
and Heard invited readers to submit their photos and writing. Some of
the submissions included:
a.
b.
c.
d.
4
doctor
gardener
pilot
teacher
Praise for colleagues
Social media posts
Feedback on PS21
Food recommendations
What did Professor Chong Siow Ann, Vice Chairman on the Medical
Board (Research) at the Institute of Mental Health, write in The
Straits Times about people who exercise empathy too strongly?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Their judgement could be impaired in policymaking
They may become mired in someone else’s pain
They create unequal relationships if they constantly place the
needs of others over their own
They need to have a balanced approach by having self-awareness
PAIRS OF
MOVIE VOUCHERS
TO BE WON
Submit your answers by
July 27, 2015 at:
Challenge Online
www.challenge.gov.sg
Please include your name,
email address, agency and
contact number.
All winners will be
notified by email.
CONGRATULATIONS!
to the winners of the
May/Jun 2015 Trivia Quiz
Tay Seow Mei (MHA)
Lee Puey Hoon (PA)
Amrit Gurung (SPF)
5
What does nostalgia mean now?
a.
b.
c.
d.
A blinding anxiety, holding us back from the future
A longing for the past
A love affair with the bygone days
A feeling of connection
Goh Wei Ling (MOE)
Low Lee Vee (LTA)