CHAN Boon Kiong
The Public Service,
Accession Number 002754
- Oral History Centre
Source
- 2
Total Reels
- Santanu Gupta
Interviewer
- 01:46:18
Total Running Time
- English
Language
Copyright Notice
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Reel/Disc 1 of 2
Metadata
- 4 Nov 2005
Recording Date
- 00:52:41
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Open Access
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
(0:00:28) Family background.
(0:01:56) Attended Catholic High School, St Joseph’s Institution and the University of Singapore.
(0:03:15) Posted to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in the Administrative Service in 1970.
(0:04:05) Involved in the development of a volunteer police force.
(0:05:30) Duties of the force included security patrol. Force trained in firefighting and rescue.
(0:07:18) Negative public image of the force led to its disbandment.
(0:09:19) Development of formal Singapore Civil Defence Force from the volunteer force.
(0:11:25) Attended training for administrative officers.
(0:12:47) Interaction with political leaders.
(0:13:38) Served in MHA for five years. Reviewed cases detained under the Criminal Law Act.
(0:15:23) Process of evaluating cases.
(0:18:10) Posted to the Ministry of Labour (MOL)’s Preventive Mediation Unit in charge of preserving industrial harmony.
(0:19:42) Responsible for mediating between unions fighting for benefits and wages and the employers, many of them American companies.
(0:23:45) Worked as a conciliation officer.
(0:29:57) Ministers’ involvement in labour disputes.
(0:32:07) Cases that could not be resolved had to involve the Industrial Court.
(0:34:03) Officers generally tried to avoid going to court due to the likely unhappy outcomes.
(0:36:13) Posted to MOL’s Work Permit Department as head of the department.
(0:38:14) Situation of labour shortage and foreign workers in Singapore.
(0:41:28) Restrictive marriage policy for work permit holders.
(0:44:18) Sterilization was a condition under the policy.
(0:47:44) Studied foreign worker policies of Western countries and pursued similar policies.
(0:50:19) Different work permit categories. Assessment for Permanent Resident eligibility.
Family background. Attended Catholic High School, St Joseph's Institution, University of Singapore. Joined Administrative Service. Posted to Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). Involved in development of volunteer police force; reviewed cases detained under Criminal Law Act. Interaction with political leaders. Posted to Ministry of Labour (MOL)'s Preventive Mediation Unit, charged with preserving industrial harmony. Employers and unions antagonistic. Became head of MOL's Work Permit Department. Handled work permit issues for foreign workers. Studied western experiences; pursued policies to avoid similar problems. Rejecting appeals. His views on government foresight in this policy. Returned to MOL Headquarters; involved in work permits (policies).
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Reel/Disc 2 of 2
Metadata
- 4 Nov 2005
Recording Date
- 00:53:37
Running Time
- MP3
Format
- Open Access
Conditions Governing Access
Synopsis
(0:00:23) Placed in charge of formulating work permit policies at the Work Permit Department of the Ministry of Labour (MOL). Policies were sensitive and confidentially handled.
(0:03:32) Felt work permit policies were far-sighted. Advised by the Prime Minister.
(0:07:04) Impact of foreign worker policy on foreign governments.
(0:08:22) Continued reliance on foreign workers. Problems faced by Western countries.
(0:13:11) Posted back to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) as Director of Emergency Planning. Tasked with crisis planning during peacetime.
(0:17:52) Served as secretary of the inter-ministerial committee tasked with emergency planning, chaired by the Minister of Home Affairs.
(0:20:37) The Committee involved the fire department.
(0:21:23) Talked about the development of the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF).
(0:21:54) Israeli consultants engaged.
(0:23:19) Island-wide mock exercises.
(0:25:01) Views on having been involved in major national issues.
(0:26:44) Reason he left the Administrative service.
(0:28:28) Became CISCO's chief executive and served for 14 years.
(0:30:19) Transformed CISCO into a commercial entity, providing wide-ranging services and $200 million in annual turnover.
(0:37:19) Joint ventures in other countries.
(0:38:44) Role of MHA in ensuring support from CISCO to them. Training schools at CISCO.
(0:41:16) Retired from CISCO in 2005.
(0:42:28) Views on differences in the challenges of the civil service today from that of the 1970’s.
(0:44:41) Reflection of his time in the civil service.
(0:46:10) Recollections of Ministers and Permanent Secretaries he interacted with.
Felt work permit policies were far-sighted: well-researched, involving Prime Minister. Continued reliance on foreign workers. Became Director (Emergency Planning); handle peace-time emergencies. Was secretary of inter-ministerial committee, chaired by Minister (Home Affairs). Cabinet sets broad policies. Israeli consultants engaged. Island-wide mock exercises. About Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF). Interviewee's feelings on being involved in major national issues. Why he left Administrative service. Became CISCO's chief executive; served 14 years. Transformed CISCO into commercial entity, $200 million annual turnover, providing wide-ranging services. Retired from CISCO, 2005. Felt civil service challenges today different from 1970's. Interactions with Ministers and Permanent Secretaries.
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