Public service must focus on citizens, Chan Chun Sing tells civil servants

Double down on good work, innovate together with boldness and keep the focus on citizens.

- Anjali Raguraman Correspondent

This is what public servants need to do for Singapore to stay ahead of the curve and meet future challenges, said Coordinating Minister for Public Services Chan Chun Sing on July 8.

Mr Chan, who is also Minister-in-Charge of the Public Service, said Singapore can be proud of having done well by global standards, in areas such as quality of life and government services.

But he cautioned against complacency, saying that other countries including Singapore's neighbours are making great strides. In some cases, they have overtaken Singapore, he noted.

"We must be keenly aware that with today's disruptive technologies, many countries that were previously deemed to be behind us can actually leapfrog what we have achieved over the many years," said Mr Chan at the Public Sector Transformation awards ceremony held at One Punggol.

"For us, standing still is not an option," he added.

Mr Chan was speaking to close to 4,000 public officers some 800 in person and another 3,000 online. A total of 140 awards were presented to agencies and public servants that did well in delivering services, innovating and developing themselves and their teams.

In his 30-minute speech, the minister laid out three priorities for the public service. The first involves making it even easier for people to access government services.

He gave the example of ServiceSG centres - including the one at One Punggol - where 600 services from more than 25 government agencies are under one roof.

If a senior citizen visits a ServiceSG centre for help with housing, for instance, staff can also offer help for related needs such as healthcare subsidies and social support. This eliminates the need for multiple trips to different agencies.