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SPEECH BY DR JOHN CHEN, MINISTER OF STATE FOR
COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
AND NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
AT THE LAUNCH OF THE
TRANSPORT SECTOR AND ROAD COURTESY CAMPAIGN 2000
ON 6 OCTOBER 2000 AT 9.00AM
AT THE “ART-RIUM” MITA’S COURTYARD
Mr Noel Hon, Chairman, Singapore Courtesy Council;
RAdm Kwek Siew Jin, Chairman, Steering Committee;
Distinguished Guests;
Ladies and Gentlemen;
Good morning;
Introduction
1
I am very happy to be here this morning for the launch of the Transport
Sector and Road Courtesy Campaign. The theme adopted for this year’s Courtesy
Campaign is “Courtesy Moves People”.
In a densely populated country like
Singapore, we are always in such close contact that social grace, or the lack of it,
soon becomes easily evident. The Courtesy Campaign is thus necessary to remind
the public of the role of courtesy as a social lubricant, and to encourage them to
continuously exercise courtesy.
In this respect, I understand that the joint
organisers of this year’s courtesy campaign have been making conscious efforts to
also make travelling on public transport and on the roads a pleasant experience for
commuters and the public in general.
Multi-Parties Involvement in promoting Courtesy
2
The theme for this year’s transport sector and road courtesy campaign,
“Courtesy moves People”, is indeed very apt. I am glad that the transport service
providers have picked up where they left off last year and have teamed up actively
with the Automobile Association of Singapore and the Traffic Police this year to
spread the courtesy message not just to the commuters, but to all road users. It is
heartening to see such a concerted effort by all the companies towards a common
goal – to spread the need for and the importance of courtesy.
Traffic Police’ Efforts
3
The Traffic Police has been promoting road courtesy among all road users.
Its slogan this year “Make Road Courtesy A Habit For Life” aptly describes the
desired behaviour which we hope to see on the road. I believe such good habits
can be cultivated and these little gestures can go a long way to making our road
environment more friendly and pleasant.
4
As part of this year’s campaign, the Traffic Police will be carrying out two
contests. The first is a “Spot the Courteous Motorist” contest, which aims to raise
awareness of safe and courteous driving habits for the motoring public. Drivers
who are spotted doing courteous acts will be rewarded with certificates of
excellence, and other incentives. The second, a novel contest called “Spot the
Road Courtesy Tissue-Box”, allows the motorist to pick up specially-designed
boxes of tissues when they make small purchases from selected petrol outlets, and
display these boxes in their vehicles. Motorists who display the tissue boxes, when
spotted by Traffic Police officers, may stand a chance to win prizes.
Public Transport Operators’ Efforts
5
The public transport providers have also put in much effort to encourage
courtesy on the move. Besides providing training courses for their frontline staff
and drivers, they have also given out numerous awards to frontline staff and
drivers who have provided good service. Also, in a national effort to show
appreciation to frontline staff and drivers for their good service, 115 deserving
recipients received the National Courtesy Award – Transport Gold- this year for
the first time.
6
To encourage commuters to display courteous acts, the public transport
providers have also initiated their own activities like campaigns for nominating
courteous service personnel, and for spotting courteous commuters. Again, staff
and commuters spotted will stand a chance to win prizes and tokens of
appreciation. I understand that nowadays commuters are more forthcoming with
giving bouquets, and not just brickbats. This is important as their commendation
serves as a form of recognition, and encourages staff to provide even better service.
7
The transport operators are not stopping there. The Chief Executive Officers
and senior management of each transport operator, as well as Automobile
Association of Singapore and Traffic Police, will be taking the lead to spread the
courtesy message by personally distributing courtesy tokens to commuters at taxi
stands, bus stops and the MRT station in the City Hall area.
Role of the Automobile Association
8
The Automobile Association of Singapore has also done its part for the
courtesy movement. It has been actively reminding its members of the value of
good road manners. Together with Traffic Police, they have put up banners at
strategic locations all over the island to drive home the courtesy message: “Make
Road Courtesy A Habit For Life”.
Conclusion
9
I commend all the parties involved for joining efforts to make courtesy in the
land transport sector a reality. The Traffic Police, the public transport operators
and the Automobile Association of Singapore have all done their part. Now, the
success of the campaign depends on the members of the public – their
receptiveness to the messages of the campaign and their commitment to practicing
courteous behavior. I urge all of you to show your support to the campaign and to
participate in as many of the activities that have been lined up. Every action no
matter how small, would help towards building Singapore into a more courteous
and gracious society.
10
On this note, it gives me great pleasure to officially launch the Transport
Sector and Road Courtesy Campaign 2000. Thank you.