The fishball stick-ing point and the new Municipal Services Office

Steven Chia Channel NewsAsia 18 Aug 14;

SINGAPORE: A complaint by one of her residents led South West District Mayor Low Yen Ling to discover the difficulty of bridging certain inter-agency boundaries. The resident claimed that the walkway towards Bukit Gombak station was often dirty, adding that a discarded fishball stick remained uncleared for two consecutive days.

The mayor said that despite the size of the area, it took several calls to different government agencies to establish what happened, and to finally resolve the issue, as the area was managed by the National Environment Agency, the National Parks Board and the Land Transport Authority. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong shared this story at the National Day Rally on Sunday (Aug 17), and said it illustrated the need for a Municipal Services Office (MSO).

"The setting up of the MSO is a very timely move, because it will address the need for a common platform to bridge inter-agency boundaries in a very integrated manner. And I welcome the move in setting up of the MSO, which I hope will also address areas which fall into the gap of 'every man's island, but no agency's responsibility'," said Ms Low.

"There will be areas where responsibility overlaps across different Government agencies, so the role of the MSO will be very critical. And I think moving forward with the formation of the MSO, we look forward to better coordination, quicker response and improved ability to provide sustainable solutions for residents," she continued.

Residents Channel NewsAsia spoke to said they hope that there would be better coordination amongst Government agencies when responsibilities are split.

"There might be too many complications and too much repeated work," said one. "It's a good thing that they are coming up with all these kinds of measures to keep the place clean, but it would be better if they take care of other areas," said another.

Meantime, the fishball stick story had people abuzz on social media, but for a different reason. Many asked why the resident did not simply discard the fishball stick himself, instead of just complaining about it to the authorities.

- CNA/ly


New municipal office to help bridge inter-agency issues
Louisa Tang Today Online 18 Aug 14;

SINGAPORE — When one resident observed that a fishball stick along the walkway at Bukit Gombak MRT Station had not been cleared after two days, it took Member of Parliament (MP) Low Yen Ling “multiple calls to several agencies and a few meetings” to find out why the area appeared not to be regularly cleaned.

The reason? “On the left of the walkway is a slope, (which is overseen by) the NEA (National Environment Agency); in the middle is a park connector, under NParks (National Parks Board); on the right is a pavement next to the road, under the LTA (Land Transport Authority),” said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

As the cleaners engaged by each of these agencies have different cleaning schedules, “the fishball stick was on the roadside, and the roadside is only cleared every two days”, he said.

The incident was an example of how the Government still has some way to go in getting different agencies to work more closely together, especially when responsibilities are split, despite previous efforts to address this, said Mr Lee at the National Day Rally last night. For example, the question of what to do with a snake spotted on the street used to depend on the direction in which it was moving, but all animal-related issues are now handled by the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA).

Although she has since got the NEA to take charge of the entire area, Mr Lee noted that it had been a “frustrating and difficult experience” for Ms Low, who is Mayor of South West District.

“Can you imagine if you are an ordinary citizen trying to solve such a problem and running around with different agencies?” he added. “It’s not the way we should be operating, and we have to do better to bridge these inter-agency boundaries and serve the public in an integrated way.”

To that end, Mr Lee yesterday announced the setting up of a Municipal Services Office (MSO) under the Ministry of National Development, which will coordinate several government agencies and “single-mindedly focus on service delivery”. The agencies are the LTA, NEA, NParks, national water agency PUB, the Housing and Development Board, the AVA and the police.

Such a set-up exists in other countries, such as the Brazilian Operations Center in Rio de Janeiro, which is an operations centre in the Mayor’s office. It is manned by 50 officers and coordinates the activities of more than 30 municipal and state departments, as well as private utility and transportation companies. Its officers monitor cameras around the city and are able to act quickly in the event of a disaster or traffic accidents. Operations managers also monitor data feeds concerning weather, traffic, the police and medical services. By integrating data from agencies and companies, they get a full picture of what is happening at any time.

Ms Grace Fu, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, has been appointed to oversee the MSO and she will be working with National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan, said Mr Lee. More details will be announced in the coming weeks.

MPs whom TODAY spoke to welcomed the move. Ms Denise Phua of Moulmein-Kallang GRC said officers must go to the ground to understand the concerns more deeply. “(They) must have a shared vision and key performance indicators in terms of efficiency and effectiveness, so the whole is indeed greater than the sum of its parts,” she added.

However, Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC MP Zainal Sapari, who is also chairman of the Pasir Ris-Punggol Town Council, noted that town councils were not mentioned in the MSO framework.

“Currently, town councils have an Essential Maintenance Service Unit hotline that residents can call to give feedback and ask for maintenance,” he said. “It would be convenient for residents (if there is) one number to call to reach agencies as well as the town council itself. Then, it is up to the back-end office, the MSO, to channel the issue to the relevant offices.”

While the Government will try to do a better job with the MSO, Mr Lee said citizens “also have a role to play to play in making ours a better home”. For instance, feedback on problems on the ground can be sent to the authorities via various apps, such as the LTA’s MyTransport.SG and the NEA’s myENV.

“You can also be part of the solution, being our eyes and ears all over Singapore,” he said.

New office to tackle estate matters
Charissa Yong The Straits Times AsiaOne 20 Aug 14;

The longstanding problem of frustrated residents being given the runaround between different agencies over estate maintenance may soon be a thing of the past.

A Municipal Services Office will be set up to get different public agencies to work more closely together, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said yesterday.

The office will help serve residents in a more seamless way, especially when responsibilities are split across public bodies, he said in his National Day Rally speech. It is part of making Singapore an "outstanding city" that is planned and run well, Mr Lee added.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Grace Fu will oversee the new office, which will be under the Ministry of National Development (MND). She will work with MND Minister Khaw Boon Wan.

The office will coordinate multiple agencies, such as the Land Transport Authority (LTA), PUB, National Environment Agency (NEA) and the National Parks Board. More details will be given out later.

The move to plug the gaps between agencies comes as residents lament that complaints and requests can bounce between several agencies instead of being quickly resolved.

Some progress has been made on this front, "but we have not arrived", said Mr Lee.

He cited the experience of South West District mayor Low Yen Ling, who had to call and meet several agencies in order to find out why a walkway in Bukit Gombak had been left dirty for some time.

She found out that a fishball stick had been left at the walkway for more than a day because different parts of the walkway were managed by different agencies. NEA managed the slope to the left of the walkway, while NParks took charge of the park connector in the middle, and LTA was responsible for the pavement on the right.

The fishball stick had fallen on the roadside to the right, which was cleaned every two days.
The issue was eventually resolved, but the experience had been "frustrating and difficult" for the mayor.

"Can you imagine if you're an ordinary citizen trying to solve such a problem and running around the different agencies? It's not the way we should be operating and we have to do better," said Mr Lee.

Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC MP Zainudin Nordin, who is a former mayor and a former town council chairman, told The Straits Times that town councils are responsible for managing common areas in Housing Board estates.

"There are parts inside housing estates that don't fall under the ambit of the town council.
"People don't realise but roads, drains, bus stops are... not part of the town council's responsibility," he said.

He welcomed the setting up of a central office, which he saw as a "cockpit" from which to ensure that nothing falls through the gaps.

Municipal Services Office not meant to be sole feedback channel
Joy Fang Today Online 24 Aug 14;

SINGAPORE — The new Municipal Services Office (MSO), first mentioned by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in his National Day Rally speech, is not meant to be the sole feedback channel, nor will it displace the roles or feedback management functions of Government agencies and town councils, said Minister in Prime Minister’s Office Grace Fu today (Aug 24).

“If you’re already used to calling your local HDB office, or your local police post, we really don’t want to cause you to have to relearn another number,” she said. “So it has to be something that you can call, and has a way to direct your feedback to the right agencies , but not one that requires you to call only one number.”

Ms Fu added that the office has to provide convenience for the public and not delay the feedback process.

She said one of the main purposes of the MSO would be to help make it easier for residents who are unsure about which agency their issue falls under. This could include complex issues that involve multiple agencies. Other purposes of the MSO could include looking at how to improve service delivery and in the longer term, operational processes, she said.

In his speech, Mr Lee had said that the office will be overseen by Ms Fu, who will work with Minister for National Development Khaw Boon Wan. He also said the office, which will be part of the Ministry of National Development (MND), aims to resolve the problem of residents getting frustrated when their complaints or requests bounce back and forth between several agencies.

The office is slated to be set up on Oct 1. However, it will not be operational then as MND says it takes time to work with the agencies and develop processes. More details will be shared at a later date.