Awards National Day Events People

[FEATURED NEWS] 17 HTX engineers, scientists and officers received the National Day Awards 2021

Congratulations to all 17 HTX officers who received the National Day Awards for their meritorious service this year!

Public Administration Medal (Silver)

Daphne Chang Wei Hsian, Director, Legal Division

Public Administration Medal (Bronze)

Ngoh Li Ee, Deputy Director, CBRNE
Shee Gim Leng, Deputy Director, Joint Capabilities

Commendation Medal

Foong Kah Yam, Deputy Director, Corrections & Narcotics

Efficiency Medal

Marlina Binte Salleh, Engineer, Policing
Shawn Seah Kian Hwee, Engineer, Joint Capabilities
Anna Teo Li Li, Senior Materials Analysis Officer, Forensics

Long Service Medal

Koh Leng Leng, Head, ICT Infra
Poh Seng Sian, Head, ICT Infra
Elansaran s/o Arunasalam, Deputy Director, Immigration & Checkpoints
Robin Tan Yong Sin, Director, Partnerships
Chay Kim Pang, Principal Engineer, Platforms System
Chow Yin Peng, Head, Procurement
Koh Lay Hiang, Head, Procurement
Ko Siow Lin, Head, Procurement
Low Hong Kuan, Senior Deputy Director, Procurement
Lee Kok Yew Matthew, Inspection Officer, Protective Security & Safety

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Snapshots of the Public Administrations Medallists:

Public Administrations Medals are awarded to individuals for their outstanding efficiency, competency, and industry.

Daphne Chang Wei Hsian, Director, Legal Division, Public Administration Medal (Silver)

One of the first tasks that Daphne and her team took on, with the launch of HTX, was to familiarise all HTX officers with the HTX statutory mandate. As a new statutory board which was hived off from MHA, HTX no longer part of MHA will instead be guided by the HTX Act.

To this end, she is very happy there is increased awareness and Divisions are reaching out to her to check if their intended projects are ultra vires (Latin term meaning “beyond the powers”) of our statutory functions.

Beyond just providing professional legal advice, Daphne and her team also, where appropriate, generate further options within legal boundaries and provide strategic guidance to HTX which is informed by knowledge and experience.

Her words of advice to young people with legal ambitions in the public sector, “Do it if you want to serve, and if you believe you have something worthwhile to contribute. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.”.

Daphne Chang (Photo: Daphne Chang)

Ngoh Li Ee, Deputy Director, Research, CBRNE, Public Administration Medal (Bronze)

If you find Li Ee looking quite familiar, you probably saw her in the feature “Resilience – A Tough & Adaptable Home Team” video segment of HT NDOC 2021. This video tells of HT officers’ motivations and dedication in keeping Singapore safe and secure amidst a challenging environment.

Li Ee oversees CBRNE Research. Her team conducts research and development to ensure that they deliver new CBRNE capabilities to the Home Team.

When asked to recall a significant moment in her career at HTX, she speaks of her experience when HTX had to step up to the COVID-19 challenges in February 2020. While experts in handling threat samples, the team had no experience in the operations of a clinical laboratory. She recalls vividly the steep learning curve, but they were unfazed. Within 1 month, the lab was accorded a Letter of Exemption from the Ministry of Health (MOH), to augment MOH’s operations to process swab samples at the Air, Land and Sea borders. And in less than 6 months after the call to step up, the HTX lab was awarded the Private Hospitals and Medical Clinics (PHMCA) licence.

She shares what motivates her deeply, “The R&D projects rolled out successfully by the HTDs, and studies that impacted their operational needs, spur my team and I on, and these bring us our great satisfaction.”.

Li Ee in the CBRNE lab (Photo: HTX)

Shee Gim Leng, Deputy Director, JCPMC, Public Administration Medal (Bronze)

Gim Leng is a man of deep passion for Information Technology and many roles.

When he speaks of his roles and responsibilities, one can only sum up that he’s across multiple projects, across different departments. Recently moved to Policing PMC, he’s responsible for training and learning, and Homeland Security and Enforcement.

What is clear though, is he leverages his passion to lead projects, source for solutions to solve the challenges, impact systems, processes, and most of all, people.

From leading the development of a single medical IT system to meet both the MHQ and Singapore Prisons Service’s requirements with a common system, to NS IT Programme. And now, as the Dy CIO for HTA to lead our fellow HTX officers to support HTA in their digitalisation plan and transformation.

Acknowledging that as a member of the middle management team, he is in a unique position of knowing the management strategic direction and plans, and then striking the balance of understanding the team and people, empowering them by sharing the big picture and planning to move forward together.

As he says, “The enjoyment comes from the fun of finding solution (technologies), strategising tactical plans and executing it, solving, overcoming challenges and problems, establishing and strengthening comradeships and relationships with each other, and achieving the outcomes.”.