Opening Speech by Mr Eddie Teo, Permanent Secretary (Prime Minister's Office/Defence), to PSD Convention at Orchid Country Club on 11 November 1999.


Singapore 21 and the Public Service

1. You would all have either heard or read about Singapore 21 or S21. Our leaders have spoken about it on many occasions and a few weeks ago, our new President's speech to Parliament also dealt with it. However, not many people really understand what S21 is all about, even though many shrewd Singaporeans know how to take advantage of it. People now make their requests to their Members of Parliament by first reminding them that the government says "every Singaporean matters". Journalists are now becoming quite merciless when they come across a mistake committed by civil servants, because they say that the government has claimed that it wants to be more open and more transparent, and they want to help the government along. Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and certain individuals with strong political views are now testing the waters to see how far they can push the "OB markers" to strengthen civil society, and persuade government to step back and loosen control. This they argue, is what it means to be "active citizens".

2. If the public is reacting in such diverse ways to S21, how should civil servants react? What do civil servants have to do differently and what must change to bring this about? At the same time, what should remain unchanged?


What Must Change

3. Let me first start with what must change. First, the government recognises that there is a wealth of expertise in the Private and People sectors that the Public sector would be foolish to ignore. When we try to compete with the best in the world in the future Knowledge-Based Economy, the problems we face will be so complex that government alone will be unable to address them adequately, without seeking outside support and help. We must tap the private and people sectors for their experience, specialized knowledge and skills. We should get them involved to judge their responses to policy proposals, ensure greater understanding of our policies and thereby facilitate their smoother implementation. With adequate feedback, various concerns can be addressed, misconceptions can be corrected, and confusion clarified before policies are implemented. Civil servants should realize that the ability to implement a policy well is part and parcel of good policy-making. So, the first change is that government should involve the general public more when it formulates policy.

4. But when should government involve the public and how much? Some Administrative Officers tell me they take a very practical approach - if there is a need to, they will do so; if not, they won't. But not every civil servant is so sure about such things, or so confident. So there will be some initial confusion and plenty of uncertainty. Should we try to involve the public when there is no reason not to and as much as we can without revealing matters that will harm the nation? Or should we take a minimalist approach, and consult only when we think we have to? The latter will not be very different from what is already being done but the former will require quite a mindset change and not everyone will feel comfortable with it. However, if the Public Service is to take S21 seriously, we need to switch from a mindset of telling the public only what it needs to know to one of seeing it in our interest to explain our policies and rules as clearly as possible so that the public can understand and appreciate why government is doing what it does and how that is in the best interest of the country. As Singapore develops into a society with a global outreach and a highly-educated population, government must expect a more demanding citizenry, one which questions more, expects more information and is not satisfied with merely receiving instructions and complying with rules. Government must be more open both in giving information to the public and in accepting advice and suggestions. It must also be more tolerant of hearing different views, because intolerance will breed cynicism. Alternative views that are constructive can also provide useful inputs to help civil servants think out of the box, look at old problems differently and come up with more imaginative and creative solutions. The Public Service must be more communicative, more open and more responsive.

5. Civil servants need to change in many ways if they are to operate in an S21 milieu. For instance, they have to be more explicit in their replies to queries from the public - giving reasons why certain things can or cannot be done and explaining policies, rules and regulations in a way that the public can easily understand. One-liners and vague and ambiguous responses will not satisfy the public and are likely to invite more queries. If our rules and regulations are sound, explicit reasons can almost always be given, except for the rare case where security prevents government from doing so. Civil servants must never apply rules mindlessly and unthinkingly. If a civil servant comes across a rule that makes little or no sense, he should bring it to the attention of his superior and his superior should praise and not reprimand him. All civil servants must know the reasons behind the rules they apply or implement - if they do not, they will inflict unnecessary hardship on their fellow citizens. Service excellence goes beyond being polite and courteous - it means knowing your job so well that you can provide clear and sensible answers and useful information to the public and not pass the buck or give members of the public the run-around.

6. Under S21, civil servants must therefore acquire new skills - not only must they be efficient and knowledgeable about rules, they must also learn how to communicate with the public better and be mindful of possible public reaction when preparing policy. Some civil servants have asked me how they are expected to gauge public reactions when they are sitting in their office far removed from the ground, unlike politicians who have regular meet-the-people sessions. That is precisely the nub of the problem. A civil servant who does not know or does not care about how his policy will impact on the population is a poor policy-maker. No matter how clever his proposal or how erudite his policy paper, if he makes no attempt to anticipate the likely reaction of the public, he will not be doing a good job. To help AOs acquire a feel of the ground and the experience of dealing directly with the public, we have posted a few young AOs to help manage Community Development Councils and put some fifty AOs through attachment programmes to grass-roots organisations where they can learn about the various kinds of issues members of the public are concerned about. Two of the CDCs now have General Managers who are AOs; we intend to post three more AOs to CDCs as General Managers. By and large the exposure has proved useful, and the AOs are now more aware of the realities on the ground. As we put more AOs into such programmes, the politicians will begin to understand better what the purpose of these attachments are and AOs will learn how to get the most out of their attachments. Civil servants should be taught communicative skills, so that their EQ will improve and they can develop a light, sensitive touch and a natural feel and empathy for dealing with the public. We do not expect them to be saints, but they must have longer fuzes and learn to be patient, tactful and tolerant when listening to feedback. They should also listen carefully because many grievances are genuine and need to be addressed and the member of the public may have a constructive suggestion that is worth looking into, or a point of view which the civil servant never thought of. Furthermore, if the origin or source of a particularly interesting idea can be attributable to certain individuals, civil servants should not hesitate to acknowledge where they got the idea from. Head Civil Service, Mr. Lim Siong Guan, recently announced a scheme called "Enterprise Challenge" which is aimed at getting civil servants to welcome new, even wild, ideas from their colleagues and members of the public rather than think of a hundred reasons to explain why their ideas will not work. To show that we mean business, the National Science and Technology Board is making $10 million available to finance these ideas.


What Remains Unchanged?

7. If so much needs to change, is there anything left that the civil servant should hold on to? Has S21 replaced PS21 and all the core values taught to our civil servants? The short answer is "No".

8. The core values of good governance - incorruptibility, integrity and meritocracy - must remain embedded in the psyche of the civil servant. Working with the private sector and exposure to the business world is meant to educate the Public Service about best management practices and the private sector "can-do" spirit, and not about imbibing the shadier aspects of how some business is done. Personal integrity is still fundamental to good leadership. And meritocracy - the ability to succeed based on your own ability and not because of your connections - will remain the lynchpin in the future Singapore.

9. The ability to welcome, anticipate and execute change as spelt out under PS21 will still be important, or even more important because the process of consultation means that civil servants have to anticipate change to ensure that decisions are not delayed. Civil servants should not wait for instructions before they start thinking about future problems. They should use the scenario-planning process even more extensively to imagine possible futures and familiarize themselves with problems beyond their immediate horizon and daily chores.

10. The need to consult does not mean that the civil servant should take on board every suggestion and seek only to please the customer or client. We should welcome alternative views but not all alternative views are right for Singapore. Civil servants are still required to be custodians of the national interest, to be able to stand above narrow, sectoral interests, to see what is for the general good and in the best public and national interest. Which is why the Public Service must continue to have a fair share of the talent in Singapore - not just bright people but people with their hearts and minds in the right place, always having Singapore's interests foremost in their priorities.

11. In a book on American beliefs, I found one key American political belief stated as: "The Least Government Possible is Best". Singaporeans do not generally feel this way. In fact, some Singaporeans want Government to solve each and every problem they have, no matter how small. S21 seeks to bring Singaporeans out of that total dependency on Government and make them more active. But not at the expense of having a weak government. We can have active citizens without having weak government or the "least government possible". Strong government leadership will still be required in S21. The government will listen more and take on board sound suggestions but it will still not be afraid to take measures that it feels to be in the interest of the nation, even if they are unpopular. Such policies carry a political risk but if the politicians are prepared to take that risk, a professional civil servant should point this out, but once a decision is taken, his duty is to ensure that the policy is transmitted to the public convincingly.

12. S21 is about nation-building, how Singaporeans can work together in partnership towards the kind of Singapore they collectively want to have. It is not about tearing the country apart with demands pulling in all directions or about paralysis and gridlock in national decision-making. Active citizens are not supposed to only criticize or grumble about government. Having done all that, they should then actively work together with government to get Singaporeans to continue to stay united and cohesive.

13. S21 is above all an exercise in nation-building, about building the kind of Singapore we want in the twenty-first century. It is about preserving what is good about Singapore and adding on that which will make Singapore better. There are certain aspects of life in Singapore that Singaporeans value, which are uniquely Singaporean, making Singapore different from other countries. A few of these values are encapsulated in the S21 key messages. We like the way things work efficiently, the peaceful environment, the social order, the recognition that family is important, the meritocratic system where the poor but bright can lift themselves out of their poverty within one generation through education and hard work, and the multiracial tolerance. S21 does not seek to replace all this with things imported from elsewhere, but to add on those things which can enrich our lives and make Singapore more vibrant, innovative and exciting. In choosing what to add, we have to be mindful of the kind of society we are - multiracial and multi-religious. Calls for greater freedom to express individual views and opinions or to expunge laws that restrict such freedom should always be considered with that backdrop in mind. But nothing remains static forever, even "OB markers". As we develop in the twenty-first century and as Singapore becomes more and more open to the rest of the world, we Singaporeans will have to continue to debate among ourselves how much change is desirable or possible in our evolving society.


Conclusion

14. It is the essence of S21 that what I have said is incomplete. As we discuss about the kind of Singapore we want in the twenty-first century, the content of S21 will benefit from new insights and ideas and will be further enriched. The S21 Facilitation Committee is now seeing how we can operationalize S21 throughout Singapore. In the Public Service, we need to create greater awareness of S21 and get civil servants to see how their actions fall short of the S21 spirit and strive to fill the gap. It can be an exciting exercise because it involves dreaming about the kind of Singapore we desire. There are no tables to draw up, no charts to track and no numbers to monitor. We may not even know when we arrive or whether we will ever arrive. It will not be easy because Singaporeans, especially civil servants, are used to waiting for instructions to come from above. A few may wish to wait to hear from government what dreams they are supposed to dream. Some will dress up their particular grievances as dreams and use S21 as a channel to express them. Both groups would have got S21 wrong. The reluctant dreamers will wait forever. The grumblers will not be denied a hearing, but whether their views will prevail will depend on how sound and useful they really are. It will be a long haul. Even our leaders have slightly different notions of how long it will take us to build a nation, our kind of nation. But we must try, and try seriously, if Singapore is to remain meaningful to Singaporeans in the twenty-first century.