[FEATURED NEWS] Xponents take home National Day Awards 2024

A look at some of the HTX staff who were conferred the National Day Award this year

This year, 51 Xponents received National Day Awards for their exceptional work in force multiplying the Home Team.

Here’s a breakdown of winners from HTX:

Public Administration Medal (Bronze): Three recipients

Commendation Medal: Seven recipients

Efficiency Medal: Six recipients

Long Service Medal: 35 recipients

Public Administration Medal (Bronze) recipients:

Mok Shao Hong, Deputy Director, Innovations, Partnerships. Concurrently serving as HATCH’s Centre Director. (Photo: Mok Shao Hong)

Mok Shao Hong played a key role in launching HATCH, HTX’s innovation hub, back in 2023. HATCH fosters collaboration with the startup ecosystem to deliver innovative technological solutions to the various Home Team Departments.

As HATCH’s Centre Director, Shao Hong spearheads the open innovation challenge—DimensionX, where “Champions” (i.e. representatives from HTX and HTDs) collaborate with local and international startups to address real-world challenges faced by the Home Team.

“It's immensely satisfying to witness Home Team challenges being addressed head-on by start-ups, and I’m glad that I can facilitate collaborations with the private sector in a new way. Truly, the honour of this award is shared with my dedicated team and partners at HATCH, and all our Champions who share in this vital mission!” Shao Hong shared.

Hazel Chua Yen Bing, Deputy Director, Identity Management, Immigrations and Checkpoints Programme Centre (ICPMC) (Photo: Hazel Chua)

As Deputy Director of the Identity Management team at Immigrations and Checkpoints Programme Centre (ICPMC), Hazel Chua leads her team in providing central biometric services to all functions within the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA).

For example, Hazel and her team were responsible for integrating biometric capabilities into the New Clearance Concept (NCC), providing travellers with a seamless and secure automated immigration clearance process.

“It is an honour to contribute to the nation through my work at HTX. I am thankful for the award and could not have accomplished this without the support of my bosses and team members,” Hazel remarked.

Goh Siew Lee, Deputy Director, AI Engineering, xData (Photo: HTX)

Meanwhile, Goh Siew Lee said the award is a testament to her team's hard work and collective effort to modernise and optimise the Home Team's capabilities.

At HTX, Siew Lee augments the Singapore Police Force's (SPF) sense-making capabilities, which help them to deter and solve crimes more effectively.

One of her career highlights is overseeing the integration of over 90,000 static cameras with Police Video Analytics and integrating these cameras with other Home Team Departments, like ICA and the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF). These video analytics capabilities automate the analysis of footage from police cameras and flag out incidents of interest, thus alerting SPF officers to potential threats.

Furthermore, these video analytics capabilities are now being expanded to cover vehicles and objects as well.

Commendation Medal recipients:

Lucas Kan Kong Hwai (third from left), Head, Cybersecurity SOC Ops, Ops Systems (Photo: Lucas Kan)

As Head (Cybersecurity Operations), Lucas Kan and his team keep watch over MHA’s ICT’s systems, ensuring that potential cyber security threats are swiftly addressed.

Additionally, Lucas prepares his team for future threats and new operating landscapes by reviewing and updating existing SOPs, ensuring that they never get caught off guard by rapidly evolving cyber-attacks.

“I feel that this award is a validation of the work I’ve done for the past nine years in the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and HTX, and recognition for the effort I have put in. I hope that by winning this award I can inspire others to excel in their own domains and chase their dreams,” Lucas shared.

Irene Lim Nuo Yan, Head, App Development Platform, Application Platform, xCloud. (Photo: Irene Lim)

For Irene Lim, receiving the Commendation Medal has been a humbling experience that has reaffirmed her commitment to serving with dedication and excellence.

During her time at HTX, Irene spearheaded several applications that have greatly benefited the public. These applications include OLIMS and VACCIMS, both of which were used in tackling the spread of Covid-19 from 2020 – 2021.

Irene’s applications have also made a significant impact within MHA. Take for example the Low Code Enterprise Platform (LEAP), a tool that accelerates application development and delivery within MHA.

“I find great meaning in my work. It's inspiring to be part of a team that is driving positive change and making a real difference to the folks at HTX and HTDs,” she shared.