SINGAPORE – With political contestation here becoming more intense, some political parties have taken to claiming that Singaporeans need not fear a change of government, given the country’s first-class public service.
Such rhetoric is alarming, given that the political leadership and the public service pursue a common purpose but play different roles, said Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat.
Speaking at the annual Administrative Service dinner on April 15, DPM Heng said he is convinced that no minister can make effective policies for the long-term interest of Singapore if he focused only on political engagements, and left policy design to the public service.
“If the political leaders I had served in my Admin Service days had done that, and had no policy instincts on what makes Singapore tick, I would have left the public service long ago and so would many of my fellow permanent secretaries,” he told the 320 guests at the dinner at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre.
“We stayed in service because the political leaders we worked with share the same mission of creating a better future for Singapore, for Singaporeans, and with clear strategic minds.”
Recounting his own experience as permanent secretary under then Minister for Trade and Industry George Yeo, DPM Heng said it was Mr Yeo who set the strategic direction of pursuing free trade agreements (FTAs) and to persuade fellow ministers in other countries on the value of FTAs, while he supervised the details of Singapore’s negotiations.
When he later became a political leader, the permanent secretaries who reported to him – including at the Ministry of Education and the National Research Foundation – were not afraid to have open and rigorous policy debates.
“Till today, I am very heartened that our educators and Admin Service officers would tell me honestly if my idea was flawed,” he said. “They had the courage to speak truth to power.”
The complementary roles of the public service and political leadership, coupled with a sense of common purpose, is what takes Singapore forward, said DPM Heng.
Besides the importance of trust between the public service and the political leadership, DPM Heng shared five other lessons for Administrative Service officers at the dinner.
Respect and develop the front line
DPM Heng recounted an incident from the earliest days of his career, when, as a police patrol officer, he had to direct traffic at a busy junction as the traffic light had broken down.
Despite holding the rank of assistant superintendent and able to write essays about the global economy, he was “completely incompetent” at directing traffic, and it was his teammate, a police constable, who managed to restore order.
“It was a humbling experience, but I learnt an important lesson: Serving our citizens starts with the front-line officer,” he said. “The front-line officer is the contact point, the interface, between our policies and programmes and their impact on citizens.”
While administrative officers do complex modelling and analysis as they design policies, DPM Heng urged them to understand how policies are perceived by and transmitted to citizens.
“The front-line officer, the interface between policy intent and outcome, is where the rubber hits the road, where execution happens,” he said. “Execution is policy. So do your best, respect and develop the front line, and spend some time at the front line.”
Have the courage to experiment
Among a leader’s most critical tasks is to set strategic direction, and to be willing to change direction when the situation demands it, said DPM Heng.
He cited examples of how past police commissioners such as Mr Goh Yong Hong and Mr Tee Tua Ba understood how the challenges of policing had evolved through the decades, and were willing to make paradigm shifts in their approaches.
For instance, Mr Goh observed that secret societies in the 1980s were more street gangs of listless youth, and not the hardened, organised triads of old. To help them expend their youthful energy, he started the Police Boys Club and held rock concerts in the middle of Orchard Road.
Despite initial resistance to the idea from some senior police officers, the concerts went well and the police built new relationships with young people, said DPM Heng.
“A lesson for all officers is that we should not be slaves to our past. Use the experiences of the past. When the situation changes, be prepared to be bold, to have the courage to experiment, to innovate, and to make a paradigm shift.”
Turn constraints into opportunity
The Singapore story is one of turning constraints into opportunity, said DPM Heng.
For instance, its small domestic market forced the country to always look outwards. By welcoming the world’s best multinational enterprises, Singapore leapfrogged the region and became a First World country, he said.
“By not adopting a narrow approach of protecting our local companies, it forced our companies to compete, to upgrade,” he added.
He noted that Singapore has not been spared the tariffs imposed by the US on its trading partners, but the Republic must build on its 27 bilateral and regional free trade agreements to emerge stronger from this turbulence.
DPM Heng said that as countries and companies significantly reconfigure the global supply chain to consider not just efficiency but also reliability, Singapore, as a major trade hub and logistics centre, can play a trusted role in this process.
“In this age of trade and tech war, let us position Singapore to be a global-Asia node of technology, innovation and enterprise – trusted, relevant and useful to the world,” he said.
Think long term, embrace contradictions
As finance minister during the Covid-19 pandemic, DPM Heng went to then President Halimah Yacob five times in 2020 to brief her on each of that year’s five government Budgets, and to seek her approval to use past reserves.
In the end, the Government used some $40 billion of past reserves to protect Singaporean lives and livelihoods.
“While all finance ministers around the world supported their economies and peoples during the pandemic, I am probably the only one who allocated such a big sum without having to borrow a cent,” he said.
Today’s Singaporeans have benefited from the legacy of long-term stewardship by its founding leaders, and current and future generations and leaders should likewise treasure and preserve this legacy, he added.
DPM Heng also urged officers to embrace apparent contradictions in their policymaking. For instance, the Monetary Authority of Singapore has a dual mandate to develop the financial sector here while keeping it safe and stable.
This appears to be contradictory, but forces the authority to weigh the risks and returns of what it does, DPM Heng said.
“Singapore must create our distinctive competitive advantage, and this ambidexterity in our regulatory agencies can be a source of strength, especially in sectors where trust and confidence is critical,” he added.
Engage Singaporeans in decision-making
Singaporeans today are better educated, better informed, and more keen to take part in decision-making, and this is a strength for the country, he said.
The public service must harness this creativity and energy and encourage active participation in nation-building, or risk a divided or apathetic society, said DPM Heng.
He noted that Prime Minister Lawrence Wong had launched the Forward Singapore movement to hear the views of citizens, and to co-create solutions to strengthen Singapore’s social compact.
He encouraged Administrative Service officers to widen their engagement not just within their ministries, but also to the whole of society.
Retirement of five permanent secretaries
At the dinner, Head of Civil Service Leo Yip paid tribute to five permanent secretaries who have retired or are retiring.
They are Permanent Secretary for Policy at the Ministry of Trade and Industry Gabriel Lim, who retired in September 2024; Permanent Secretary for Health Chan Yeng Kit, who retired in January; Permanent Secretary for National Development Ow Foong Pheng and Second Permanent Secretary for Trade and Industry and Manpower Jeffrey Siow, who both retired earlier in April; and Permanent Secretary for Finance Tan Ching Yee, who will be retiring in May.
Mr Yip said the public service is undergoing its own leadership renewal in tandem with political leadership renewal, with several permanent secretaries, deputy secretaries, chief executives and other senior public service leaders retiring in recent years.
With the world changing drastically, he said, the public service has to always be prepared for new shocks and disruptions, and at a higher cadence than before.
“We do so by strengthening our resilience, as a system, so that we can organise ourselves quickly, respond nimbly, and recover strongly from any shock,” said Mr Yip.
“And we sustain and strengthen our system of governance by effecting leadership renewal, enabling each successive generation of leaders to succeed and keep Singapore thriving.”
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