“HTX as an organisation is a dream come true for many parties within the Home Team,” says Mr Chew Hock Yong, Permanent Secretary (Home Affairs Development), Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), and HTX’s inaugural Chairman.
Mr Chew, who oversaw the establishment of HTX to develop science and technology capabilities for Home Team operations, will retire on 1 November 2022, after 31 years of distinguished service in the Singapore Public Service.
“There are a lot of opportunities to use science & tech and one of HTX’s key roles is to ensure that in the areas where there are such opportunities, we are aware of what the relevant technologies are, have the capability to be able to deliver that capability, and integrate it with the operations within the Home Team,” he said.
Under Mr Chew’s chairmanship, HTX has made significant progress in developing transformative science & tech capabilities for the Home Team such as the New Clearance Concept for more secure and automated immigration clearance, and other innovations in the areas of Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosives (CBRNE), Forensics, Human Factors and Simulation, and Robotics, Automation and Unmanned Systems.
We asked Mr Chew about his views on HTX, some of his special moments with the organisation, and his expectations for it in the next few years.
The interview below has been edited and condensed.
Q: What is your most special memory of HTX?
Chairman: The official launch of HTX was very memorable, in more ways than one. Memorable because we were being launched as an organisation. Memorable also, because I think for the team, it brought about a lot of stress as so many things needed to happen within a short time, and you had PM coming, which adds to our wanting to make it perfect. On hindsight, everything worked out much better than I envisaged, and so that was one very happy occasion.
(From left to right) HTX Chairman Mr Chew Yong Hock, Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Law Mr K Shanmugam, Prime Minister Mr Lee Hsien Loong, Minister for Communications and Information & Second Minister for Home Affairs Mrs Josephine Teo, and HTX Chief Executive Mr Chan Tsan at the official launch of HTX on December 2, 2019. (Photo: HTX)
Read related article: HTX launched as a force multiplier for Home Team
Q: You have likened HTX to Q in James Bond before. Do you still think of HTX that way or has it changed?
Chairman: The idea behind that analogy is that James Bond is a frontline agent and he comes across all kinds of risks and tricky situations. He therefore needs a team who backs him up in terms of technology, arms, or other equipment that enables him to do his job well.
That analogy still applies because if you look at what we do in the Home Team, HTX clearly is not on the frontline. The frontline are the police officers, immigration officers at the borders, narcotics officers, Civil Defence officers who are on the frontlines saving lives, and so on. They need good technology, good systems, and equipment in order to do their job well and HTX is a supporting unit that provides them with that.
The role of HTX is wider than Q vis-a-vis James Bond, because James Bond is a secret agent and the provision of things to a secret agent is in a particular area. But HTX, we have a bigger scope. To give an example, if you look at saving lives, James Bond does not go out to try to resuscitate people or put out fires. So the areas of work that HTX is meant to provide the supporting science & tech for is wider.
It is about supporting the frontline and it is about being creative, because in every James Bond movie, Q will show something new and interesting, and how it provides new capability.
HTX Chairman Mr Chew Yong Hock (third from left) with HTX senior management at the inaugural TechX Summit on April 5, 2022 (Photo: HTX)
Q: You said a few times that HTX only succeeds if the Home Team succeeds. Please tell us more about this pet phrase of yours.
Chairman: I believe in that very deeply – that we actually do not succeed, unless our Home Team Departments succeed – because it is the reason for HTX to provide all these science & tech. If it does not work with the units on the frontline, then why do we do all that? We would have failed in our mission.
But if the frontline can use what we provide and it enables their work better, then they will be happy about it, we in HTX would derive a sense of satisfaction to know that our effort has helped to save a life, solved a crime, or made immigration clearance smoother and better for everybody.
HTX Chairman Mr Chew Yong Hock (back row, seventh from left) with HTX officers (“Xponents”) during a visit by Head of Civil Service Mr Leo Yip (back row, eighth from left) to HTX’s headquarters on June 23, 2022. (Photo: HTX)
Q: In your opinion, how has HTX performed three years on?
Chairman: HTX is a COVID baby. We were born in December 2019, and almost at the same time the COVID-19 virus started spreading. It was quite a challenging period and we were able to set up a brand-new organisation, hire new people, ensure ongoing projects continued with momentum, start new projects, as well as step forward during the pandemic to help other agencies such as the Ministry of Health (MOH). The effort put in by the team has been tremendous. I give it an eight upon 10.
Q: Only eight upon 10?
Chairman: Eight upon 10 is already very good, that’s an A! But we should always have the aspiration to be better. There is more to do. There are areas where we can deepen our capability, plug into latest developments around the world, and be at the forefront worldwide.
Q: What are your expectations for HTX in the next few years?
Chairman: Exceeding expectations and exponentially impacting Singapore’s safety and security! Also, in areas that we think are core and critical for the Home Team, we aim to develop capabilities that make us a trailblazer globally. We have a good team and I am confident we will be able to achieve this vision.
Chairman (front row, fourth from the left) together with the HTX Board of Directors at the Emergency Responders’ Fitness Conditioning & Enhancement Lab (EXCEL) in August 2022. (Photo: HTX)