News

Mr Eddie Teo, Chairman, Public Service Commission

Members of the PSC

Distinguished guests, principals, parents, teachers, scholarship recipients

Ladies and gentlemen

1         It is my pleasure to join you today at the 2011 PSC Scholarships Award Ceremony. Let me congratulate the 72 of you who will be receiving your awards today. You will be joining the ranks of more than 7,000 individuals who have received PSC scholarships since they were first awarded in 1961.

2         Let me also acknowledge the efforts of the parents, principals and teachers in nurturing all our scholarship recipients. This is a proud day for all of you.

Marking PSC’s 60th Anniversary

3         This year is of special significance as the PSC celebrates its 60th anniversary. The PSC was set up in 1951 as a neutral and independent body to oversee the recruitment, promotion and discipline of civil servants in the colonial days. Singapore’s self-government in 1959 saw an exodus of British expatriate officers, leaving the Civil Service with the problem of finding qualified local officers to fill the vacancies.

4         The newly installed government recognized the importance of building up a talent pool within the Civil Service and turned to the PSC to help select government scholarship holders. Many young and talented individuals answered the call to serve and went on to make important contributions to Singapore’s nation-building.

5         Today, the PSC scholarship remains the country’s most prestigious scholarship, awarded with the aim of bringing into the Public Service each year the most committed and able young Singaporeans to serve the nation.

Making Changes for the Better

6         Over the years, the PSC scholarship system has evolved to meet the needs of the day. There are many changes that the PSC has made but let me just highlight a few.

7         In 2002, PSC decided to focus on top-tier scholarships which bring in officers who have the potential to take on the most critical leadership positions across the Public Service. Scholarships which fulfil the specific needs of each Ministry were henceforth awarded by each of the Ministries themselves. This was an important move with win-win outcomes. The Ministries knew their own needs better and what sort of people they would require for the various sectors under their charge. Applicants who want to pursue a specialist track can benefit from closer affiliation with these agencies right from the start. The PSC also benefited as it could then dedicate more time and energy to selecting and developing young people for key leadership roles across the Public Service. At the same time, the PSC could still call on officers who are in Ministry-specific schemes who subsequently demonstrate the aptitude and interest for leadership positions across the wider Public Service.

Looking Beyond Grades

8         Over the years, the Commission has also looked beyond academic excellence. Some of you may be surprised to hear this but not all PSC scholarship holders are straight A holders. This is because the Commission recognises that grades alone are seldom the decisive differentiator when selecting from an applicant pool where excellent academic scores are so common. I am glad to note that Commission Members consider every single applicant carefully, looking for qualities beyond academic grades that are important for future public service leaders. All candidates are assessed on whole-person qualities, with emphasis placed on character, integrity and commitment. I congratulate and thank the Commission Members for their dedication, commitment and rigour in assessing all candidates thoroughly.

Withstanding the Test of Time

9         As you can see, the PSC has evolved significantly, but one important element has not changed in all these 60 years - at its core, the PSC has continued steadfastly to uphold the principles of integrity, impartiality and meritocracy for the Singapore Public Service. These PSC values have withstood the test of time and helped in no small measure to give Singapore the excellent and well-led Public Service that we have.

10         The PSC will have to continue to evolve to meet the needs and the demands of a new globalised economy. It will have to support the Public Service in meeting its 3 main challenges - the competition for able people, the need to build new capabilities and the need to better engage the public.

Competition for Able People

11         Today, bright young students have many more choices. There is a multitude of career options available. There are also many study options, including a wide variety of local and overseas scholarships and financial assistance schemes, some bond-free. Many more parents can also afford to see their children through university not just in Singapore, but also overseas. Against the increased competition for able people, the PSC has to make sure that sufficient numbers of the best of each cohort are inducted into the Public Service through its scholarships.

Need to Build New Capabilities

12         With changing demands from a more sophisticated and discerning population, and more complex challenges and opportunities facing Singapore, the Public Service needs new skills and capabilities to help formulate policies that can meet the needs of the new local and global environment. We have to anticipate these needs and start building these new and diverse skill sets and capabilities early. PSC scholarship holders are therefore encouraged to diversify their educational experience. Over the years, more PSC scholarship holders have chosen to go to non-English speaking countries. In 2009, PSC started awarding the PSC China Scholarship as part of the Public Service-wide effort to develop a pool of officers with a deep understanding of China. I am happy to note that there are three of you today who are heading to China for your studies. This allows you to have a much deeper understanding of the culture, operating environment, language and mindset of the young and able people in China, a country which we will have many more interactions with in future.

13         Many others have also gone for overseas stints to places such as the Middle East, Europe, and even Africa and South America to broaden their international exposure. Increasing numbers of our scholarship holders are also choosing to pursue their Masters in countries beyond the traditional ones such as the UK or US. These varied experiences help to broaden the outlook of the individual. They also allow for networking with a wider pool of friends from across the world. And they also benefit the Public Service by adding diversity to its perspectives, understanding of the world, and ultimately its problem-solving and policy making capability.

Need to Engage the Public

14         These enhanced educational experiences will place you on a good footing when you return to serve in the Public Service. The issues confronting the Public Service are getting more complex by the day, and the government recognises that it does not have a monopoly of good ideas and solutions. We will need to work with Singaporeans and other stakeholders in co-creating, co-designing and co-implementing public policy solutions, while taking into account a broader range of views.

15         This means that our public officers will need to understand and appreciate views and ideas from diverse groups of stakeholders, and learn how to synthesize these ideas and viewpoints and manage the conflicts between them when formulating and implementing policies. It also means that for those of you here who will be serving Singapore upon completion of your studies, it is no longer enough to just rely on your book knowledge to do well in your career. What is more important is the tacit knowledge and people skills that you acquire through your experiences and interactions with people.

16         For example, a student who has volunteered to serve the underprivileged or in the community would develop empathy and stronger engagement skills. With such experiences, you will be able to better engage the public and understand how to work with stakeholders with different backgrounds and objectives, how to work as part of a team, what motivates people and how to draw out the best from them. These are soft skills that will help you when you start work. In the Public Service, you must be able to engage, inspire and motivate others to work alongside you.

Conclusion

17         You will soon embark on your tertiary education, in Singapore and abroad, in some of the best universities in the world. You will learn many precious lessons that will be helpful to you when you become a public officer. Most important of all, stay humble because there is so much about life, work, people and the world that you do not yet know. Learning is a journey without end and that there will always be something you can learn from someone else.

18         Always remember why you have taken up this Public Service Commission Scholarship – to serve Singapore and Singaporeans. More than any personal accolades or awards you will receive, deriving satisfaction from seeing your fellow Singaporeans do better in life, is the ultimate satisfaction you will get from being in the Public Service.

19         While your counterparts in the private sector may work to improve the quarterly bottom line of the companies they work for, your bottom line is the long-term good of Singapore and a better life for your fellow Singaporeans. These are the values and the traditions of the PSC scholarship holders who have come before you over the past 50 years who have dedicated their lives and careers to this noble and high calling.

20         It leaves me now to wish all our scholarship holders the best as you start on a new phase in life. And when you complete your studies and start work in the Public Service, we look forward to your ideas and contributions to help take our nation and our people into a better and brighter future.

21         Thank you.

1       Welcome to all of you.

2       Those of you who were in Singapore during the two elections this year or followed the events closely from abroad, would have noticed a significant change in the political environment back home. Political commentators refer to GE 2011 as a “watershed election” and call the present political climate “a new normal”. The changes have been noted by the ruling party, which now seeks to reinvent itself.

3       What does the “new normal” mean to the Public Service? As future public servants, how the PAP reinvents itself should be of great interest to you because so long as it continues to form the government, what changes the party makes will affect the way you will carry out your duties and responsibilities and how you have to conduct yourself as a public servant. Public servants take instructions from politicians and must abide by the policies decided upon by the government of the day. Outwardly, and to the general public, there should not be any visible difference between the views held by public servants and those held by their Ministers once a policy is fully hatched and accepted by Cabinet.

4       This does not mean that within Government, and on the way to a decision, there are no different viewpoints. Enlightened senior public servants and political leaders appreciate that recruiting the best and the brightest into the Public Service means that they cannot, and must not, deprive our public servants of their voice and they should indeed encourage them to speak up and express alternative, and even dissenting, views, during the process of policy-making. No government policy can be said to be well-formulated unless it undergoes many rounds of debate, discussion and questioning of assumptions – both within Government, among different departments, and externally, with those outside Government.

5       I wish to briefly discuss three changes which our political leaders are presently grappling with: a more engaged government, a more open and responsive government, and a more inclusive government.

A More Engaged Government

6       Given the outcome of GE 2011, our political leaders have declared that Government should engage and consult the public more, and even “co-create” policy with the public. What does this mean in practice for the public servant? “Co-creation” sounds simple but is fraught with practical difficulties. Before you can “co-create”, you need to listen. In a more demanding and diversified Singapore, you must listen to everyone but whose views should you take into account? In the past, life for the public servant was simpler because the people mostly listened to the Government, not the other way round. The social compact then was that the Government will look after the economic interest of Singapore and Singaporeans will listen to what the Government wants them to do socially and politically, often without question. In today’s more mature and divergent society, the people want to question and they want to be heard. If our people are politically aware, more of them will join NGOs and behave like active citizens, fighting for causes they feel strongly about. Civil society will develop and grow. They will also join political parties – not just the PAP – and debate about political issues and contest in the next elections. I personally believe that this is something we should welcome and not fear or resist.

7       But potential public servants like you need to be alerted to problems you will face when you seek to engage with such a diversified society. Different segments of society and different groups have different interests and if there is no spirit of compromise or a sense among Singaporeans of what is in the common good for Singapore, they will all want Government to take their interest into account, and not that of other groups. This is the fundamental basis of politics – who gets what, when and how? In formulating its policies, does Government listen to the vocal minority or the silent majority? The old or the young? The rich or the poor? The religious or the secular? The new citizen or the old citizen? How much does Government assuage short-term complaints at the expense of long-term benefits and how much short-term political pain can it bear to ensure Singapore’s long-term interests? Does it make sense for the Government to eschew economic benefits because of potential social harm or is the social cost worth bearing? Should the Government go for speed and efficiency or does it go for more extensive consultation and delay its decisions?

8       Policy decisions are always about trade-offs, and if Singaporeans fail to compromise and are unwilling to accept some pain for the long-term or overall gain of all Singaporeans – consultation and co-creation will not work and we will end up with a dysfunctional government. The challenge for Singapore is to have diversity without gridlock and to embrace divergent views while staying united as one nation. The challenge for the government is to listen to the public and accept different viewpoints without becoming populist. As public servants, you must have the empathy to listen to and understand people’s desires, aspirations and anxieties but you must also be aware of policy trade-offs that need to be explained clearly to those whose views cannot, and should not, be taken into account. In other words, public servants, like politicians, need to know how to say “Yes” and also how to say “No” – always politely and humbly, and with the patience of a saint, for some citizens can now be quite abusive and unreasonable. The public servant’s decisions must always be impartial and non-partisan, whatever his personal values and views may be. He cannot collude with the ruling party against the people nor should he subvert the government from within. And he must carry out his duty “without fear or favour”.

A More Open & Responsive Government

9       Next, what does it mean for the Government to be more open and responsive? In today’s political climate and with the new media, the Government can no longer behave as if secrecy is a virtue. However, it cannot be totally and completely open either. As Jonathan Powell, Tony Blair’s Chief of Staff, has stated, somewhat tongue in cheek, in his excellent book, “The New Machiavelli”: “policymaking, like producing sausages, is not something that should be carried out in public”.

10       Secrecy is necessary for public servants to give Ministers honest but uncomfortable advice. It is necessary so that Ministers can argue with one another frankly in Cabinet. It allows government officers to first debate issues from their departments’ perspectives and then unite with a common stand in the interest of the public good. Secrecy is necessary to enable Government to make objective and fair decisions without being unduly influenced by the market, or interested parties and lobbies. But unnecessary secrecy may breed suspicion and distrust of Government on the part of the public. The Government needs a proactive media strategy, going out to explain what it is doing and why, because there is much that it does that is good for Singapore and Singaporeans. The mode of thinking should shift from “What can we keep secret?” to “What can we reveal?”. If government does not become more open and proactive, the new media (and perhaps even the old media) will take over and seek to speculate on what Government’s intentions are, and such speculation is nearly always adverse and unfavourable, and sometimes downright wrong. The Government is just learning how to deal with the new media, not in order to determine how to suppress, control or censor it, but to decide how to sieve out good, sound ideas to engage with. Hence, there is still ongoing debate about whether Ministers should engage on Facebook or twitter. As a rule, public servants presently do not go online to actively and officially engage netizens on public policy issues, but many have Facebook accounts and not all of them are always conscious of the line to draw between private and official chatter.

A More Inclusive Government

11       Next, a more inclusive government. This implies that the government must be tolerant of divergent views and welcome different perspectives. In the past, there was a tendency on the part of the government to sometimes quickly rubbish views that did not conform to its existing assumptions and policies. In an increasing complex and fast-changing world, taking such a reflex action will deprive the government of ideas that could help us become more creative and innovative. It is not easy for politicians and public servants used to working out solutions and then prescribing them to the public to switch to a mode where they have to listen, consult, and accept ideas. In fact, it is not easy even for members of the public to adapt to such a mode, used as they are to the idea that if you have a problem, you should complain to the government in order to get it solved. By throwing the ball back to the public, the government opens itself to charges that it is not doing its job and shirking its duty. Some tax-payers expect highly-paid politicians and public servants to solve all their problems, and efforts by the Government to seek ideas can sometimes be seen as buck-passing. But how else can we encourage Singaporeans to be active citizens?

12       Being inclusive means you encompass as many people as you can to join you in nation-building and preparing for the future. This includes people who are critical, who disagree with some government policies, even those who have a genius in making fun of what government does and believe that Singaporeans should learn how to laugh at themselves more. They will include contrarians, mavericks and non-conformists. But they are all Singaporeans who have the interest of Singapore at heart, who criticise because they want us to improve, and who want to help build a better Singapore, not to bring the country down. I leave it to you to imagine who can be included in such a wide umbrella. But on the top of my own list would be Mr. Brown. I am in good company here because a PAP Minister recently put Kumar on his list by endorsing him at his book launch.

Rational & Emotional Connection

13       Lest I leave the impression that I think that government is only about process, let me make one final point. The objective of having a more engaged, open and inclusive government is to ensure that the trust that has been built up between the government and the people over the last 50 years is retained or restored. Some observers talk about building a new social compact. But I think that Lord Peter Mandelson, the “Third Man” in the New Labour government and the latest Lee Kuan Yew Exchange Fellow to Singapore, put it most aptly during his visit. He said that he had pondered deeply over why the Labour Party lost in the last elections in the UK, and he had come to the conclusion that when a Government loses the “emotional connection” with its people, they stop listening. It is not enough for a government to have a rational connection with the people; it also needs to stay emotionally connected with the people as well. In other words, government is about the heart as well as the head. As public servants, you need be empathetic and serve the people with your heart and not just with your mind. And people can see through false empathy.

14       I hope I have not painted too daunting a picture of the “new normal”. The job of a public servant will be more difficult and more challenging, but it will be more exciting and very exhilarating. You will be living through a key transitional period in Singapore’s history and you will directly and personally be involved in making that history, together with the people of Singapore. You will make mistakes, which you should promptly and sincerely apologize for. You will face frustrations, but adversity should be seen as a spur to doing things better, not for you to give up. Life as a public servant will never again be boring.

15       Thank you.

Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean

Minister for Education Mr Heng Swee Keat

Excellencies

Chairman and Members of the Public Service Commission

Ladies and Gentlemen

1       This year, we celebrate Singapore's 46th year of independence. Today, we have a generation that faces a different, but just as challenging, environment. This is an environment of intense global competition which requires us to adapt to the rapid pace of change. More than ever, Singapore needs exceptional leadership to ensure our continued survival and success.

2       As President, one of my roles is to approve the appointment of people of integrity to key public positions to ensure that Singapore is well governed. The President’s Scholarships is one main avenue for us to build up a pool of people with the right calibre who could in future become public sector leaders.

3       This will be my last year serving you as the President of Singapore. In the 12 years of my Presidency, I have witnessed more than 40 President’s scholarship recipients honoured. Some of these young men and women are still pursuing their studies, and others are serving in various capacities in the Public Service. What unites them is their desire to contribute to Singapore to the best of their ability.

4       I am glad to see that many of you are here amongst us tonight. You have distinguished yourselves through your active contributions to our country’s development. Through your service to your fellow Singaporeans, you have also demonstrated your selfless commitment to foster a more cohesive and compassionate society.

5       Through my years in public service, I have seen how Singapore has overcome its many challenges in moving from the third-world to the first. My generation lived through turbulent times in the formative years of Singapore and our instincts and values were shaped by the struggles we went through.

6       As a new generation, you will have different values and perspectives from my generation. You will face different circumstances and challenges, but the same passion to stand up for Singapore, to serve our people and do your best for our nation, must still underpin all that you do as future leaders of Singapore.

THE PRESIDENT’S SCHOLARSHIP

7       The President’s Scholarship is the most prestigious undergraduate scholarship in the country. It is awarded to the most outstanding young men and women who have the integrity and commitment to work for Singapore’s continued success. These are talented and passionate individuals who have excelled not just academically but in non-academic pursuits as well. They have distinguished themselves from their cohort based on their leadership qualities and calibre.

2011 PRESIDENT’S SCHOLARS

8       This year, the President’s Scholarship is awarded to four outstanding individuals. They are Ms Xiao Yifei, Mr Koh Zhan Wei Aaron, Mr Fong Jie Ming Nigel and Mr Yoong Ren Yan. They will be going to top universities in Singapore, the UK and US.

9       Yifei and Aaron will be reading International Relations at the University of Pennsylvania. Aaron is a concurrent holder of the Singapore Armed Forces Overseas Scholarship. Nigel will be reading Medicine at the National University of Singapore and Ren Yan will be reading Philosophy, Politics and Economics at the University of Oxford. I congratulate each of you.

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF PRESIDENT’S SCHOLARS

10       If there is one more piece of advice I can give to the four of you today, it is to always bear in mind the Public Service values of Service, Integrity and Excellence. These are core values that will underpin your work as a public officer.

Service

11       In all you do, always have the interest of our people at heart and never forget to show compassion to those who are less fortunate than you. For our society to remain strong and cohesive, we need public officers who listen and appreciate the problems faced by ordinary citizens and believe in the need to give back to society.

Integrity

12       The Singapore Public Service has a strong reputation for being clean and honest. We must ensure that it remains so. With integrity as your core, you must uphold fairness and honesty in all you do.

Excellence

13       Finally, strive for the best in whatever you do and live up to the standards of excellence that is the hallmark of our Public Service. The Public Service needs bold, nimble, adaptive and empathetic leaders with a good understanding of not only the domestic environment but also the global environment. In your pursuit of excellence, you must always be a good role model for your colleagues in the Public Service.

Conclusion

14       Let me conclude by offering my heartiest congratulations to the families, principals and teachers of the four President’s Scholars this year. You have nurtured them throughout the years and brought out the best in them.

15       Yifei, Aaron, Nigel and Ren Yan, it leaves me now to wish you all the best as you pursue your studies. You will be among the future public sector leaders who will take Singapore to the next level. I am confident that you will serve with pride and passion and do Singapore proud.