Celebrating Service Excellence at MOM

The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) celebrated Service Excellence Day today, which is held annually. For the first time, two members of the public were awarded the Ministry of Manpower's (MOM) Best Public Suggestion Awards (BPSA). Mr Ranjan Vaswani's and Mr George Danelia's suggestions have resulted in time and cost savings when submitting Employment Pass and EntrePass applications respectively.

2 Thanks to Mr Ranjan's suggestion, employers no longer have to submit a physical application form to apply for an EPOL (Employment Pass Online) account. Previously, companies applying for an EPOL account had to attach their Business Profile/Instant Information from ACRA with the submission. Now, the Ministry obtains the necessary information from ACRA's databases, saving time and money for customers.

3 Mr Danelia's suggestion was for foreigners to be issued a SingPass together with MOM's In-Principle Approval for EntrePass applications. With a SingPass, EntrePass applicants can proceed to register their business/company with ACRA on their own, without having to engage a professional firm to help register the company.

4 Both winners were pleasantly surprised when they were told they had won awards for their suggestions. Mr Danelia said, “The Public Service in Singapore is already so far ahead of other countries in terms of service—just look at the number of services available online. I would have been pleased with the quality of service I've had so far, even if I didn't win this award.” Mr Ranjan, who called his experience with MOM “fabulous” even since the Employment Pass application service was moved online, quipped, “My wife can't believe you would give me an award for a suggestion I made. She thought I made up this up to make myself look good!”

5 Mr Ranjan and Mr Danelia were presented the Best Public Suggestion Awards 2009 at MOM's inaugural Service Excellence Day ceremony today.

Service Excellence Recognition for MOM officers

6 The Ministry also paid tribute to its front-line officers who have rendered excellent service. 30 year old Mr Roszaimi Abas from MOM's Customer Responsiveness Department went above and beyond the call of duty to help four Malaysian workers left stranded in Singapore after their Work Permits were cancelled. These workers were unable to leave as their passports were with their employment agent.

7 Not only did Mr Roszaimi offer the workers his personal mobile phone number, in case they needed help, he also helped to buy them food as they had no money. Mr Roszaimi later succeeded in contacting the employment agent who returned the workers their passports and provided them with travelling expenses to return home to Malaysia. For all his excellent work, Mr Roszaimi was awarded the PS 21 STAR Service Award and MOM STAR Gold Award. He said, “I am very happy to be able to offer customers help beyond just the administrative matters. It is a good feeling to know my job was done well, and that it made a difference to those I helped.”

8 Another MOM officer who has similarly gone beyond the call of duty is 27 year old Mr Vincent Teo, whose consistent excellent service to customers won him the MOM STAR Silver Award. Mr Teo assists customers with Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) issues via email and over the phone. Mr Teo said, “The satisfaction you get when a customer comes back to thank you for your help is priceless. Nothing makes me happier than doing my best to help callers resolve their queries, so that by the end of that call, they have a better understanding of our WSH issues.”

About MOM's Inaugural Service Excellence Day

9 MOM's inaugural Service Excellence Day was held today to help build a strong service culture in MOM. Service achievements of MOM departments and officers were celebrated and recognised. Awards given out included the Best Public Suggestion Award 2009 and the Star Service Award 2008.

10 The Best Public Suggestion Award 2009 is to recognise members of the public who have provided good suggestions that have led to service improvements for MOM. The annual MOM STAR Service Award is to recognise the service achievements of MOM officers who have provided excellent service to our customers.

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