SINGAPORE: Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat said on Tuesday (Apr 15) that no minister can focus on political engagements alone and leave the designing of effective policies to the public service.
Public service officers play a “critical” role in complementing the political leadership in taking the country forward, and it is important to maintain a “trust relationship”, he said at the annual Administrative Service dinner.
“While the relationship between political office holders and the public service has evolved, one critical quality has not changed – the high trust and confidence that we enjoy, and our sense of common purpose of securing a better future for Singapore, for Singaporeans,” said Mr Heng.
In his speech, Mr Heng shared anecdotes of his time in public service and distilled several lessons learned, with one of them being upholding a relationship of trust between the public service and political leadership.
Prior to entering politics in 2011, Mr Heng was the managing director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
He also served as founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew’s principal private secretary between 1997 and 2000, as well as permanent secretary of the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) between 2001 and 2005.
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