DPM Teo Chee Hean at the 2016 PSC Scholarships Award Ceremony

“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

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 

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. 

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. 

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

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. 

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. 

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

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

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 

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

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. 

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. 

Thank you.