Speech by Minister Grace Fu at Heartland Event on OneService Partnership

Jul 15, 2017

A very good morning to all of you. I would like to acknowledge two Town Council Chairmen, Mr Lee Yi Shyan and Mr Pritam Singh, who are here with us today. Many of the CEs of partner agencies are also here—thank you very much for joining us. I am very happy to join you here in this gathering of our OneService community—our partner agencies, Town Councils and local community partners.

Town Councils Are Important OneService Partners

Today’s gathering marks a significant milestone of the partnership between OneService and the Town Councils. A strong partnership between Town Councils, public agencies and residents, allows us to provide a better living environment for everyone.

Our HDB towns are very special to us. They are where we live, play, set up our homes and raise our families in. We interact with the physical environment around us on a daily basis—we walk along the covered linkways from our flat to the bus stop as part of our daily commute; we eat at the hawker centre here; our children play at the neighbourhood parks every evening.

A large part of these places are managed by the Town Councils. They deliver municipal services to our residents living in HDB estates— Town Councils help to clean the estate, maintain the trees and greenery, as well as upkeep the roads and walkways, within the HDB towns as part of their many responsibilities. And this is why MSO has worked not only with public Government agencies, but also with all 16 Town Councils, to enable us to provide better services for residents.

With our enhanced partnership and network, we have now made it easier for you, the residents and members of public, to provide feedback on municipal matters in HDB estates. At the same time, we are working with the agencies to bring more effective and holistic solutions to your daily municipal issues, particularly those involving multiple agencies. Let me elaborate.

Making It Easier to Provide Feedback

First, on providing feedback, you can now use the OneService App and Portal as a single platform to give feedback on all municipal issues. You need not know which agency or Town Council is in charge of the matter. For example, if you happen to spot a faulty lighting in your HDB block, you can use the OneService App, shoot a photo of the faulty lighting, and send the feedback to us with your comments. In short, you just have to “spot, shoot, send” without having to worry which agency is responsible for the light! The App will route your feedback to the right organisation for action. You can even track the progress of your case through the App, or view feedback submitted by others.

The OneService App and Portal have been well-received by residents. We now have over 94,000 registered users who have reported some 111,000 cases. This is an increase of over 47% in users and 140% in cases received compared to the same period last year. We have thus enhanced the App and Portal to make it easier for residents to give feedback on maintenance issues in HDB estates. This is done through the introduction of a new category known as “Facilities in HDB Estates”. So, it is very easy, if you see a problem in your HDB estates, such as the faulty light, maintenance of HDB car parks, playgrounds and fitness facilities; as well as dumping of bulky items at the lift lobby, please use this new category to provide us with your feedback.

Solving Municipal Issues More Holistically

Second, we recognise that some municipal issues may not be so easily resolved, as they involve both Town Councils and agencies. Pigeon nuisance is one such example—Town Councils and agencies have to work very closely together to address many parts of the issue, sometimes to maintain the cleanliness of the environment; sometimes to inform the public of the health hazards posed by pigeons; sometimes to carry out enforcement actions against recalcitrant pigeon feeders. MSO has thus been working through such municipal issues, issue by issue, with the relevant agencies and Town Councils, so as to establish standard operating procedures (S.O.Ps.) to more comprehensively resolve such issues for residents. Given the difficulty in addressing root causes such as people who are feeding the pigeons, it could take some time to resolve such issues. But what we need is a clearer understanding of the roles and responsibilities of the respective agencies and Town Councils, so that we can have a more effective team working together to help the residents resolve the issue.

Such S.O.Ps. are shared with the officers from agencies and Town Councils who come together regularly at sharing sessions facilitated by MSO. Through such sessions, they improve their coordination in working together to tackle common municipal issues faced by residents. This enables us to improve the way we deal with complex municipal issues, with a better appreciation of each other’s work processes and sharing of information.

Residents Can Help Improve Our Living Environment Too

MSO will continue to work with the Town Councils and government agencies to improve our coordination and operations. However, our living space is a shared space, and maintaining it well is a shared responsibility of Town Councils, agencies, you, and me. All of us, including our residents, should be proactive in improving our living environment—by providing feedback; taking an interest in community issues; and helping to spread the positive behaviour which is needed in a high density and high rise living environment like ours.

Many towns have organised community activities to raise awareness of caring for the environment.  For example, I understand that community groups in Siglap, such as the Siglap East Residents’ Committee, Eastwood Ria Neighbourhood Committee and the Siglap Community Centre Malay Activity Executive Committee, have organised weekly brisk-walking and litter-picking activities to keep their neighbourhood clean. Such a good idea—brisk walking and picking litter at the same time! Besides enabling residents to keep fit, the initiative also supports the call for our community to take shared responsibility for the cleanliness of our towns. The OneService Portal hopes to better support such community initiatives. We will bring community news and happenings to you. For instance, if there is a dengue cluster, or repair works being carried out at the nearby HDB carpark, we want to inform you through the OneService Portal.

I therefore encourage all of you to access the OneService App and Portal if you have not already done so. Do make full use of these platforms to not only provide feedback when we encounter municipal issues, but also to learn more about our neighbourhoods, so that we can all chip in to make our living environment better.

Conclusion

As you use the OneService App, you might wonder, what exactly does “OneService” mean? “OneService” refers to a vision where a community of agencies, Town Councils and residents work closely together with the same heart of the community and with the same mind to improve our living environment. It takes all stakeholders to make this OneService vision a reality.

I would like to thank the staff of Town Councils and agencies for your collaborative and “can-do” attitude in partnering MSO and each other. I know much of your work takes place behind the scenes, and we truly appreciate your efforts. At the same time, I hope that every one of us will continue to play our roles as active members of the community, so that we can truly improve the living environment as “OneService”.

Thank you very much for your support and have a wonderful weekend.