Putting the "action" in People's Action Party, PAP Member of Parliament Louis Ng roasted the public service for being a "system without a heart."

Delivering his budget speech on Mar 1, Ng said that "no doubt that we have a very efficient and corrupt-free public service. My concern is that in the pursuit of efficiency, we have compromised a key value – compassion."

Too efficient?

Ng said that the public service aim was to process requests as fast and as by-the-book as possible with little deviation. He said that based on his experience, it was very hard to get help on a "case-by-case basis."

He offered this example:

Not long ago, one of my residents died in very unfortunate circumstances, her husband was remanded and she left behind two very young children. Her sister was thrown into the deep water, while grieving for the loss of her only sister and still single but suddenly becoming a mother of two. She needed help. She needed some compassion.

I spoke to HDB on her behalf urging them not to chase her for the mortgage, give her some time to grieve, compose herself for a very difficult next chapter of her life and in any case, both owners of the flat are no longer there.

HDB agreed but later still sent a letter demanding payment. She came to see me in tears, worried HDB will repossess the flat. I asked HDB why they did that. The answer was that they didn’t know the letter was sent as it was computer generated.

Not long after, she received a letter from IRAS demanding tax payment for her late sister.

He said that it was just one of many cases he encountered and asked if more compassion could be shown.

He later clarified on his Facebook account that the HDB officer had a heart and wanted to help the resident. But the problem that needed to be tackled was the computer-generated letter demanding payment.

Monkey business

In another example raised by Ng, he said that the culling of monkeys have been proven to make the situation worse. However when he approached an officer on the ground, the reply he got was, "this is what we have always done this, I don’t think it works too but my director told me to do it."

Listen more, defend less

Ng said that he had "been to too many dialogue sessions where we talk so much rather than listen attentively, we defend our policies rather than listen to ideas on how we can make our policies better."

He also suggested that senior public servants to "attend Parliament and listen to the debates so they have a better understanding of the concerns we are raising. Like football, nothing beats watching a live performance than reading a report."

He also called for public servants who draft policies to go down on the ground and experience different jobs related to their policies.

The public service (bureaucracy) and not public servants to be blamed?

In the defence of public servants he knew, Ng said he "worked with many outstanding public servants" and that they are "a rare breed who devote their lives towards serving Singapore."

He said that some slack should be cut for officers on the ground, especially when they are the first to detect people who have fallen through the cracks. He explained that many of these officers are scolded for not following the books when they bring such cases to their superiors. Ng said there is a need to "develop a culture where they are not penalised for being different and where they are giving some flexibility when processing cases."

Ng concluded his speech by saying that he trusts "that the public service will continue to evolve, will continue to improve and will always serve in the best interest of Singapore and Singaporeans."

Strong reactions from netizens defending public servants

At least two ex-civil servants have penned their thoughts (here and here) defending public servants following TODAY's article "Public Service has lost its heart, MP says" which covered Ng's speech. Both painted the struggles faced by public servants daily in their bid to help Singaporeans.

In his blog, ex-civil servant Lucien Teo raised this point:

You cannot demand pinpoint precision from the public service and not expect the creation of automatons. Mr Louis Ng brings out the example of how the computer-generated letter was heartless - and he is correct - but would he support a judgement call made by a junior officer if and when it is scrutinised by the armchair critics? Would our MPs be there for the public servant who exercised their knowledge to say, buy good quality bicycles at a reasonable price, when there is public outcry from the non-cycling community about those decisions?

Following the media coverage, Ng also said he shared this civil servant's feedback to Parliament:

"You think I don't want to go the extra mile for my countrymen? I got heart, but I got time boh? MOF every year cut budget, we always kena headcount freeze or worse headcount cut. Work is ever-increasing, manpower is decreasing. Sustainable? My foot lah. Keep telling me to exercise compassion and empathy, you think I don't know? Legislate more support for public officers first then we talk"

Ng then called for members of parliament to keep that feedback in mind as they make cuts to the budget that would ultimately affect public servants.

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