SINGAPORE — Frustration in dealing with public servants on individual cases is the exception and not the rule, said Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam on Friday (March 3), stressing that most public servants go beyond the call of duty and serve with heart.

Citing the results of a public perception survey by the police, which showed that Singaporeans rated safety and security highly, Mr Shanmugam said these results can be attributed to a highly effective police force, which “an incredible number of the public” hold in high regard.

Among the 4,800 Singaporeans and Permanent Residents surveyed last year, 92 per cent rated safety and security here as “good” or “very good”, citing reasons such as low crime rates, increased police presence and fast response to crimes.

Nine in 10 believed that the police are well-prepared to tackle any “major law-and-order incident” and respond to future security needs, while 88 per cent felt they provided a high quality of service, said Mr Shanmugam, who is also the Law Minister, during the debate on the Ministry of Home Affairs’ Budget on Friday.

Mr Shanmugam also pointed out that 93 per cent of the respondents said they felt safe walking in their neighbourhoods at night, noting that this was not the case in other countries. “You will not get this result anywhere else in the world. New Zealand and Hong Kong, also known for good safety, carried out their own survey. They had 75 per cent of people feeling safe at night.

“If you go to other first-world cities, I suspect the figures will be much less, and in some cities, I think you will find much less than 50 per cent.”

The minister’s comments followed Members of Parliament’s (MPs) calls for greater compassion from the public service during the Budget debate earlier this week.

On Tuesday, Nee Soon MPs Dr Lee Bee Wah and Louis Ng cited cases where bureaucracy and a “by- the-book” approach of tackling issues had compromised the welfare of some residents, whereas Nominated MP Kuik Shiao-Yin urged frontline officers to extend a helping hand to those mired in the poverty cycle.

Stressing that cases flagged during the debate are the exception and may have arisen for “structural reasons (and) inter-agency issues”, Mr Shanmugam said: “I can understand the frustrations of MPs in individual cases. All of us face these cases … In a large majority of cases, our public servants are outstanding, dedicated and go well beyond the call of duty and serve with heart.”

He added: “Without an outstanding public service, we won’t be here. And without an outstanding public service, we won’t get to where we want to be. Many things go right, so we don’t think about them. The Public Service works very hard so that the rest of us can go about our lives seamlessly.”