At the Ministry of Home Affairs, a range of career prospects await these professionals who help Singapore remain safe and secure. Four members of the Home Team tell us more about their professional journeys, challenges and triumphs.

By Tan Yan Shuo and Nabilah Husna A. Rahman

Central Narcotics Bureau
The Movement Against Drugs
It was his unmistakeable passion for excitement that galvanised Brandon* to pursue a career with the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB).

“To many people, money is the root of all evil,” the Senior Investigation Officer observes. “But to me, drugs are the foremost evil ones. I can’t imagine the future of young Singaporeans being ruined by drugs. I want to be at the forefront in the fight against drugs and hope that every little effort would have an impact on the drug situation.”

His commendable sentiments are backed by the steps he and his department take to curb drug abuse in Singapore, which involves “thorough investigation and prosecution of drug offenders”.

While Brandon’s work might bring to mind thrilling car chases and house raids, he assures that investigations and arrests are not all there are to it. His job scope also focuses on extending the anti-drug message across society, which allows him to interact with not only the public, but also officers from the other Home Team agencies.

“As an enforcement officer, work is not all about arresting drug offenders and putting them behind bars,” he reveals. “That was why I was assigned to be one of the Community Safety & Security Programme Officers to help spread the word of preventive education to the community.”

Today, Brandon is still applying the concepts he had learnt as a student of Electronic, Computer & Communication Engineering from Nanyang Polytechnic. “In engineering, the design of an electronic circuit has to follow specific steps in order for the circuit to work,” he shares. “In my current work, I too have to follow strict guidelines and procedures. We cannot afford to miss even one step in any of the procedures as this may result in justice being undone or even the jeopardising of my colleagues’ lives in an operation.”

This vocation is for the passionately adventurous and those seeking a satisfying career away from a conventional desk-bound job. “Every case of drug offence is unique. That makes my job ‘brand new’ in every case I investigate,” Brandon says.

Brandon’s career at CNB sees him interacting with people from all walks of life. “The experience is something you would probably not be able to gain working in Shenton Way,” he says. “Also, although CNB is a uniformed organisation, officers do not need to don a uniform. Hence, it’s less formal.”

The life of an investigation officer at CNB is not for everyone, but rather, for those with “integrity, honesty, courage, dedication and professionalism,” says Brandon.

“The fight against drugs cannot depend only on one person,” he concludes. “This career is enriching and filled with life experiences which cannot be gained anywhere else. The rewards may be intangible, but definitely satisfying.”

Immigration & Checkpoints Authority
Of Quick Wits and Professionalism
Concerned about cigarette smuggling? You might want to thank SSG Herwan Bin Pani, who once detected 4,800 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes in a 20-foot container that was falsely declared as containing furniture. With his keen eye, quick wits and professional spirit, Herwan won the ICA Commissioner’s Outstanding Award for two consecutive years in 2005 and 2006.

“I chose to be an ICA officer as the job fills me with pride and a sense of professionalism,” he says. “I enjoy being at the first line of defence, safeguarding our borders and doing my part in protecting our country. With us working responsibly at the checkpoints round the clock, our loved ones can be assured of a safe home to return to. It is an honour to be given this job of contributing to our country.”

The Singapore Polytechnic alumnus joined the former Customs & Excise Department (CED) as a Customs Officer in 1997 after completing his National Service. In 2003, CED merged with the former Singapore Immigration & Registration to become the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA).

Today, Herwan is an ICA Specialist at Tuas Checkpoint, performing enforcement and immigration checks on all travellers, goods and conveyances arriving at or departing from Singapore through Tuas Checkpoint. He is also undergoing on-the-job training to take on a supervisory role as an Assistant Duty Officer.

Herwan is more than ready to rise to the challenge. After all, he has gained plenty of experience in his twelve years with the agency, especially in delicate matters such as handling difficult travellers.

“When we inform incoming travellers that they are in possession of prohibited or undesirable items, they can sometimes become agitated, un-cooperative, and even aggressive,” he explains. “I have learnt to strike a balance between being the ‘bad guy’ enforcing stringent checks, while also delivering the high-quality service expected of an ICA officer.”

With his rise in seniority, Herwan has become a mentor to new recruits. He enjoys sharing his work experiences, and receives great satisfaction from watching these recruits grow from novices to professionals, and becoming as proud as he is to serve in an organisation whose mission is to ensure that the movement of people, goods and conveyances through Singapore’s checkpoints are legitimate and lawful.

“ICA is different from other organisations as our job requires us to be at the frontier of Singapore 24/7,” he muses. “We protect our fellow Singaporeans by being at the first line of defence and are proud to deliver our best on a daily basis. With our shared values of integrity, commitment and accountability, nothing is too difficult to detect or uncover by our well-trained and ‘keen-eyed’ officers.”

Ministry of Home Affairs
Carving an Alternative Path
A run of the mill job is not an option for 20-year-old Health Science student Nurul Nadzirah Abdul Karim. Currently in her first year of the nursing programme in Ngee Ann Polytechnic (NP), Nurul is looking forward to embarking on a meaningful career with the Home Team.

“I wanted to be different by taking the unconventional route of nursing, and then pursuing a challenging career with the Home Team,” shares Nurul confidently.

A number of departments come under the umbrella of the Home Team, and each has a specific role to play in ensuring a safe and secure Singapore.

“The only thing that I seek would be fulfilment in between all the challenges and joy that I foresee I will experience in my future career,” she enthuses. “At the end of the day, it’s about wanting to do something every single day with love and passion.”

Nurul has a chance to chase this dream, having received the Home Team Merit Award or HOME Award for short, where MHA sponsors successful applicants for a three-year, full-time diploma course in the five local polytechnics. The HOME Award offers the sponsored student a monthly allowance of $1,000, payment of tuition and compulsory fees, and an additional study bonus of $1,200 per semester if the student passes all modules in that semester. Successful candidates have the option of pursuing their career either with the Home Affairs Uniformed Services** or the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) upon their graduation.

“Other learning and development opportunities are also available to candidates after they embark on their career with MHA,” she enthusiastically adds.

Nurul will be posted to the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) as a paramedic – a job that’s relevant to her current field of study. “I think most females would agree that the greatest challenge in an MHA career would be rising above the stereotype that females have limitations in a male-dominated career,” she observes.

However, Nurul is resolute in doing her part for the sisterhood and debunking this stereotype, tough as it may be. “I picked a couple of important life lessons when I was in secondary school, one of which is still engraved in my mind. In the phrase “women of substance”, it’s your character – not gender – that determines success, and I strongly believe in that.”

As one of the elite eight recipients of the HOME Award, Nurul finds that she now has a clearer sense of self. “I am more goal-oriented, more focused on my work, because I know there is already a path created for me after graduation. There are expectations to meet, and I want to meet, if not exceed, those expectations,” she proudly proclaims.

Passion, discipline and commitment, she says, are fundamental traits that need to be ingrained in any individual hoping to excel in the Home Team. “The decision to join MHA will have to be a well-thought out one, because you’re not only making changes to your own life,” she says wisely. “You’re going to make changes in other people’s lives too, once you start serving with the force. Willingness to do that has to come from the heart.”

Singapore Police Force
A Sentinel for Security
SSGT Ng Shi Wei was on patrol duty one night when he was asked to investigate a case of molestation reported by a primary school girl.

“The victim claimed that at a HDB void deck, a man grabbed her buttocks before running off,” he reminisced. “But she could barely describe how he looked, what he was wearing, and had no idea which direction he had run to. Fortunately, a nearby mini-mart owner had recorded the suspect on CCTV.

“The next morning, the shop owner called us to inform that the suspect had returned. She gave us the suspect’s residential address where we proceeded to stage an ambush. A few hours later, the suspect finally appeared and admitted to his crime upon questioning,” SSGT Ng recalls.

This is only one of the countless interesting cases that SSGT Ng, a Ngee Ann Polytechnic alumnus, has encountered since he joined the Singapore Police Force (SPF) in 2004. Although he had studied Electronic Computer Engineering, he decided to pursue a career in law enforcement after being inspired by an SPF road show.

As a new officer, SSGT Ng was posted to Sengkang Neighbourhood Police Centre, where he worked in shifts alternating between patrol duty, which involves patrolling the estate and attending to reported incidents, and counter duty, which is no less demanding.

“We need to multi-task at times and have a clear state of mind,” he explains. “While we are handling a report, there could be more phone calls or visitors entering the NPC to lodge reports or settle disputes. Obviously, we need to give priority to urgent complaints, but visitors will get unhappy when we divert our attention to others.”

“During patrol duty, officers have to think fast in order to apprehend fleeing suspects or those who put up resistance,” he adds. “We have to react decisively in volatile situations, such as when a man threatened to harm his wife with a knife.”

Recently, SSGT Ng left the NPC for a new posting as a Career Officer in SPF’s Recruitment Division. He is now responsible for convincing potential recruits to join the force, but he stresses the importance of first knowing the challenges of police work, one of which is its fluid nature, as an infinite number of possibilities can arise from any given situation.

He cites an example. “At the counter, we have to attend to members of the public, of whom some can be demanding and insist on things being done their way. Gaining their trust and respect is not easy, because there is a thin line between being firm and being rude. Initially I had trouble adjusting to my roles, but my experience and confidence have grown, and I am now at ease executing my duties professionally,” says SSGT Ng, who is an example of a model police officer.

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*A pseudonym has been used to protect the officer’s identity.

** The Home Affairs Uniformed Services comprise the Singapore Police Force (SPF), Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF), Singapore Prison Service (SPS) and Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB).