News

KEYNOTE ADDRESS BY MR TEO CHEE HEAN, DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER, COORDINATING MINISTER FOR NATIONAL SECURITY AND MINISTER IN CHARGE OF THE CIVIL SERVICE AT 2016 PSC SCHOLARSHIPS AWARD CEREMONY ON 20 JULY 2016

 

“A Public Service with the Head, Hands and Heart to build a Better Singapore”

 

Mr Eddie Teo, Chairman of the Public Service Commission

Members of the PSC

Distinguished Guests

Ladies and Gentlemen

 

1.             Good evening to all of you. Congratulations to our 73 scholarship recipients this year. I would like to congratulate the parents, principals and teachers who have helped, supported and guided you over the years.

 

A New Chapter, A New Generation

 

2.             Today marks the beginning of your public service journey to make Singapore better, and improve the lives of Singaporeans. You are now part of the new generation of public officers who will help to write the next chapter of our shared Singapore story. Each chapter is different from the previous one, and each generation has to tackle its own challenges.

 

3.             Today, we are facing a growing terrorism threat. Our economy is going through a transformation. Our population is ageing, and our young people have more diverse aspirations. But compared to the early years of our independence, we are better equipped to tackle these challenges and seize new opportunities. We are more united as a people than at independence. Our elderly can age actively, and still contribute in various ways. Singaporeans are much better educated, and there are many, many more pathways for Singaporeans to pursue their dreams.

 

4.             What this means for the Public Service is that simply doing the same things as before is not enough to help Singapore and Singaporeans progress further. You will need imagination, to develop new responses and solutions to tackle today’s and tomorrow’s challenges. You will need courage, to stop doing old things which might have worked in the past but are no longer right for the future. And you will need wisdom, to rethink policies and programmes that better meet Singaporeans’ needs.

 

The Public Service Needs a Diverse Team of Good People

 

5.             This is why we need to bring in good people to join the Public Service – dedicated public officers who are committed to making Singapore better for all Singaporeans. Who understand cross-domain issues and trade-offs, and can help strengthen policy development and implementation across the whole of Government. And at the same time, we need officers who have deep skills and specialised capabilities in areas such as technology and engineering, to help develop innovative solutions for complex problems in different specialised domains that are critical for our future.

 

6.             The PSC Scholarship together with agency scholarships is just one of many routes through which good people enter the Public Service. Others may join us as fresh graduates, or after they have gained some experience in other fields, including the private and people sectors.

 

7.             Regardless of the route of entry, we need our public officers to have three key attributes, which I summarise as Head, Hands and Heart.

 

Head

 

8.             Let me start with Head. Our public officers need to have deep knowledge and hard skills. Many of you are going to top universities in Singapore and overseas, to learn from the very best professors, across a wide range of subjects. You will benefit not just from classroom teaching and academics, but also learn and grow through your daily living experiences. Keep an open mind, and be prepared to learn from everyone around you, and to learn throughout life. Armed with a familiarity with new knowledge and where the new world is taking us, you will be able to help us think through issues and long-held assumptions, and come up with new and innovative solutions to make Singaporeans’ lives better.

 

Hands

 

9.             Next, Hands. Because just head knowledge is not enough. We also need public officers to be prepared to roll up your sleeves, get into the details, and do the implementation work. You will face more complex issues that require cross-cutting solutions straddling different government agencies. We are also seeing more Singaporeans come forward to offer their time and expertise to work with government agencies. So you will need to work hand-in-hand with partners, from other government agencies, from the private and people sectors, and ordinary Singaporeans, to develop and deliver good policies, programmes and services. The Public Service must not be an organisation unto itself. It must be out there with Singaporeans, working with Singaporeans, to make Singapore better.

 

Heart

 

10.          But most importantly, public officers must have a Heart for public service. You have to derive happiness from other people’s happiness. No amount of skill or knowledge can compensate for lack of heart. Take the time to listen to Singaporeans’ concerns and better understand their needs. Be empathetic, even as you have to make difficult decisions that may not be universally popular. Always seek to maximise the benefit for the majority of Singaporeans, even if not everyone will benefit from a specific policy or programme to the same extent. Make sure that every Singaporean is brought along through the totality of our programmes and policies. Live by the Public Service values of Integrity, Service and Excellence.

And always do what is right by the people of Singapore. Ultimately, this is what it means to be a public officer – to have Singapore and Singaporeans at the heart of everything we do.

 

Conclusion

 

11.          Our public officers have contributed much to Singapore’s development in our first 50 years. And there is much more to be done as we write the next chapter of the Singapore story together with fellow Singaporeans.

 

12.          I congratulate you once again. I wish all of you very best as you embark on your studies. And I look forward to all of you coming home, putting your Head, Hands and Heart, to make Singapore even better for all of us and for future generations.

 

13.          Thank you.

OPENING ADDRESS BY CHAIRMAN OF THE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION, MR EDDIE TEO AT THE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION SCHOLARSHIPS AWARD CEREMONY ON 20 JULY 2016 AT GRAND COPTHORNE WATERFRONT HOTEL GRAND BALLROOM

 

Deputy Prime Minister Mr Teo Chee Hean, Minister in charge of the Civil Service, Coordinating Minister for National Security

Distinguished Guests

Ladies and Gentlemen

1.         Good evening. Welcome to the 2016 Public Service Commission Scholarships Award Ceremony. Congratulations to the 73 PSC scholarship holders this year.  And thank you to all your families, principals and teachers who have devoted their time, energy and care to supporting and developing you over the years.

2.         This year, we received over 2,700 applications for the PSC and Ministry Scholarships, a five-year high and a 13% increase from last year. This indicates that despite all the other options they have, young Singaporeans still aspire to take an active role in shaping the future of Singapore by pursuing a Public Service career. For Singapore to continue to advance and prosper, it is vital that the Public Service remains as an appealing career option for a future generation of Singaporeans.

Looking beyond Academic Qualifications

3.         PSC Scholarships are awarded based on merit. Merit is not high academic qualifications. We award scholarships to people whom we assess to have the character, aptitude and ability to perform the job, regardless of background or socio-economic status. The qualities deemed essential for good public servants have changed over the years. For instance, today’s civil servants are expected not just to draft clear and sensible policies for the common good, but also to forge partnerships with citizens in co-creating those policies, and to communicate the policies to the public with clarity and empathy. So candidates with perfect grades may not make good public officers. Conversely, we have excellent public officers who did not score perfect grades. Academic ability alone would not have gotten you here today. Beyond academic results, each of you demonstrated core attributes that the PSC holds to be essential to the Public Service. The PSC believes that all of you possess integrity, empathy, leadership, a passion and commitment to serve Singaporeans and to contribute to the progress of Singapore.

A Diverse Leadership Corps for the Public Service

4.         As Singapore’s demands and challenges shift, we need different types of leaders with a diverse range of skills and perspectives, who will form a strong leadership team for the Public Service. I am thus pleased to see in our scholarship holders a range of different interests and backgrounds. The PSC continues to be supportive of sending our scholarship holders to good universities in a variety of countries around the world.

5.         This year, Miss Nur Sabrina Bte Mohamed Yusoff, will be pursuing Psychology at the University of Melbourne – the first PSC scholarship recipient in nine years to head to Australia. She had participated in the French Immersion Programme and was both a member of the Malay Language Drama and Debate Society as well as the English Drama Club in school. I am confident that Sabrina will integrate her inclinations in cultures and languages with her experience in Australia and bring back unique perspectives when she starts work in the Public Service.

6.         Our scholarship holders also come from a range of different educational backgrounds. We have with us today, Mr Daniel Ho Jing Yang and Mr William Tan Jing Yu from Singapore Polytechnic, Miss Jean Chia Wei Lin from Ngee Ann Polytechnic as well as Miss Rachel Chew Min Qi from School of the Arts (SOTA).

7.         The PSC is constantly looking to supply the areas of need in the Public Service. We need both generalists and specialists to better cater to the wide-ranging needs of Singaporeans and Singapore, tackle policy deadlocks and improve the quality of public services. Alongside generalist leaders, we also need engineers, data analysts and other technical leaders in order to devise technically sound and integrated solutions for our nation. For those who would like to deepen your professional development in your area of specialisation, the Service will support your aspirations and aptitude. Under the Public Service Leadership Programme (PSLP) which spans the Public Service, you can be ear-marked to join specific agencies which are aligned to your skills and interest. This year, we have 13 scholarship holders pursuing studies in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) fields. We hope to see more in the years to come.

Benefits of Local University Education

8.         This year, a significant number of candidates at PSC interviews expressed their desire to study locally. While an overseas education has its rewards of broadening perspectives and offering a cosmopolitan experience, our local universities offer comparable academic rigour. In the latest Times Higher Education Report, NUS and NTU were ranked first and second respectively in Asia. Local institutions also provide close proximity to the community and ground sentiments. For the 13 scholarship holders who will be pursuing your studies in Singapore, please take this opportunity to cultivate a habit of listening to what people say about life, the issues that concern them, and the problems they face, as understanding ground sentiments is critical to the work of a public officer.

Conclusion

9.         In closing, I would like to take this opportunity to again thank the principals and teachers who have worked closely with us. We greatly value your partnership in reaching out to your students and encouraging them to consider a career in the Public Service. I would also like to thank the families for their invaluable support.

10.        To our new scholarship holders, please take every opportunity to widen your worldview as you embark on this new phase in life. You will be in the best universities in the world. So make the most of your undergraduate experience, both academic and non-academic. By all means become master of your subject of study, but more importantly, grow as a person. Adopt an open attitude and be receptive to constructive criticism that comes your way. Make friends for yourselves and for Singapore. Continuously seek personal improvements and prepare yourself for your role as public officers. Stay connected to Singapore and think deeply about your country and its future. Above all, stay true to your values and your commitment to serve Singapore through public service.

11.        I am confident that you will do us all proud, and I look forward to learning of your future contributions to Singapore.

12.        Once again, my warmest congratulations.

13.        Thank you.