Speech by Mr Chee Hong Tat, Acting Minister for Transport, at the National Kindness Awards – Transport Gold 2023

Director, Singapore Kindness Movement Ms Michelle Tay
Council Members
Colleagues from LTA, PTC, and Transitlink
Sisters and Brothers from our transport unions
Ladies and Gentlemen,

1.      A very good morning to everyone and a warm welcome to the National Kindness Award – Transport Gold 2023. Please allow me to start by thanking the Singapore Kindness Movement for organising the Transport Gold awards and recognising the role of our public transport workers in building a kinder society.

2.     Just a month ago, we celebrated caring acts by our commuters. Today, I’m very happy to be here to recognise the acts of kindness by our public transport workers. Travelling by bus, train, taxi or PHC is a daily occurrence for most Singaporeans. Thanks to the effort of our sisters and brothers in the public transport sector, our commuters can get to their destinations safely and conveniently, and also enjoy a pleasant journey.

3.     The Transport Gold Award is a recognition of these efforts, and the sense of service embodied by many in our sector. I am heartened to note that a record number of nominations was received this year – 1008. This shows there are more acts of kindness in our midst; it is also a testament to the culture of care that we are building in our public transport family.

4.     I am sure that there are many more kind and gracious acts within our organisations in the interactions with colleagues, as well as when we serve commuters and the wider community. While we are only able to recognise some of these positive examples at today’s awards, we can take heart that a kind and caring culture will encourage more acts of kindness in our community. Kindness can be infectious and we don’t mind this kind of infection spreading to as many people as possible. When we go the extra mile to help, we make a difference to those who receive our kindness, and this inspires them to pay it forward and be kind to other people too. Bit by bit, this is how we build a society where individuals look out for and take care of one another.

5.     I want to share two examples of our recipients of the Outstanding Award:

6.     First, Senior Assistant Engineer Mr Loo Shian Chyn, from SBS Transit Rail. Shian Chyn is an embodiment of how kindness can go beyond making someone’s day, to being the glue that bonds people.

7.     Shian Chyn is a veteran with 22 years of experience in troubleshooting vehicles used to maintain the North East Line. Given his expertise, he is someone whom colleagues turn to for technical advice. Whenever they encounter a problem in using the engineering vehicles, he is there to patiently offer his guidance, even outside of office hours. He also offered to help his colleagues during his rest days to be familiar with new locomotives and learn to drive them safely and confidently.

8.     Shian Chyn’s positive attitude also extends to those who are outside his team. As part of the mid-life refurbishment of the North East Line maintenance locomotives, he has been working with engineers from the German company that produced the locomotives. A fault had disrupted one of the tests earlier this year, and the foreign engineer overseeing the test was due to return to Germany the same day. Shian Chyn went above and beyond the call of duty, working with the engineer to resolve the fault promptly, and to get testing back on track.

9.     Shian Chyn’s positive attitude has endeared him greatly to his fellow colleagues, and helped his team to work better together. This is how we can build teams that learn from and support each other, to make our workplaces more effective and more pleasant for everyone.

10.    Next, I want to share the example of Mr Mohamed Khalid bin Salim, a Customer Relations Executive from SMRT Trains Ltd. Khalid, who has been with SMRT for more than a year, has consistently demonstrated service excellence and compassion, and is a good example of how public transport workers can help to spread kindness throughout our community.

11.    When Khalid found out about an incident on bus service 972 earlier this year, involving an elderly passenger who had sustained an injury, he went into action quickly. After reaching out to the passenger and sending a fruit basket to the hospital to help lift her spirits, Khalid’s genuine care and concern extended beyond his shift hours, as he diligently followed up with the passenger for over a month as she recovered from her injury.

12.    Khalid also showed great leadership and initiative by spearheading SMRT's outreach efforts to two local mosques through a porridge distribution event during Ramadan. Just as our public transport system serves Singaporeans from all walks of life, porridge distribution during Ramadan is also about making sure that everyone has something healthy and delicious to eat when they break their fast. Khalid worked tirelessly to make sure that the porridge distribution reflected the spirit of cohesion and inclusiveness.

13.    I hope that all of us can be inspired by Shian Chyn, Khalid, and all our award winners. What makes us proud of our public transport system isn’t just having the latest hardware, or the high standards of reliability and efficiency – it is also the commuting experience and caring culture that all of us create together, with our commuters and for our commuters.

14.    If I may end with a Chinese phrase that is quite close to my heart, as it reflects how we should treat our passengers and commuters— "老吾老, 以及人之老; 幼吾幼, 以及人之幼”. What this means is that we treat the elderly parents and grandparents of others as our own, and we treat other people’s children as our own children. Therefore, as we will be kind to our parents and children, likewise, we also want to be kind to other people’s parents and children. When we encounter our commuters and passengers, when we ride on public transport, taxis or PHCs, we should treat them as if they are our family members. We should care for them and look out for them, and create a kind and caring commuting culture that will be good for commuters, public transport workers, and ultimately Singapore. Thank you very much.