Teamwork helped this Singapore Police Force veteran in high stakes missions
Whoever said that the pandemic killed workplace friendships hasn’t met these HomeTeamNS colleagues-turned-buddies who can’t seem to get enough of each other’s company.
Whoever said that the pandemic killed workplace friendships hasn’t met these HomeTeamNS colleagues-turned-buddies who can’t seem to get enough of each other’s company.
Excellent teamwork and quick thinking on the part of these SPF officers proved key to getting the job done.
Outgoing Police Coast Guard NS Commander DAC (NS) Ham Yean Soon looks back on a long career in the force.
For HomeTeamNS volunteers Mr Kamlesh Ramchand and Dr Lim Kai Toh, the blend of work, helping others and family commitments is occasionally chaotic, often fun, and always fulfilling. TEXT: MELODY TAN PHOTOS: MR KAMLESH RAMCHAND, DR LIM KAI TOH When Dr Lim Kai Toh’s youngest son, Henry, was in kindergarten, he eagerly raised his hand when a teacher asked his class if anyone wanted to volunteer to build a dancing dragon. “He’s very generous in terms of volunteering,” Dr Lim laughed, adding that the project quickly became a whole-of-family affair: “We got a box and made it a 3D dragon, which turned out to be quite a nice model – with a winking eye, and things like that. That’s one of the little memories that have really stayed with me.” DADS WHO VOLUNTEER Dr Lim (right) and his family celebrating son Sean’s (second from right) team’s victory in the 2023 Singapore Young Physicist’s Tournament. Photo: Dr Lim Kai Toh Like father, like son: Dr Lim is also a long-running HomeTeamNS volunteer. He is a member of the HomeTeamNS Audit Committee, where he reviews internal and external audit findings with other members twice a year to ensure good governance, and the REAL Run Organising Committee, which meets once a month planning and preparing for the race leading up to the annual REAL Run in October. “As a committee, we try to engage our member base in terms of coming up with a few engagements, pre-runs and trainings,” he said. “I’m a medical doctor, so I provide a little bit of expertise and consultancy with regards to medical coverage.” In addition to Henry, now eight, Dr Lim and his wife have Sean, 16, Howard, 14 and Jaden, aged 10. Weekdays and weekends are often spent taking turns chauffeuring the boys to school and enrichment activities – Howard and Jaden are both competitive swimmers – and ensuring that Howard, who has mild autism, gets the support he needs to keep on top of his studies at the School of Science and Technology, Singapore. Similarly, Mr Kamlesh Ramchand, an Executive Committee member at the HomeTeamNS Bedok Reservoir clubhouse and an active reservist troop commander at Bedok Police Division, rotates the child chauffeuring duties with his wife. They take turns waking up early to send his two eldest, Tanya, 11, and Pia, 10, to school, while the other parent takes Divina, aged 5, to kindergarten. His girls are also busy with enrichment activities. Besides academic classes, there are Sunday morning Jiu Jitsu classes for Tanya and Pia, who also bowls for her school team and attends regular training sessions. “I’m the logistics guy at home,” said Mr Kamlesh, who also wears strategic management and decision-making hats in his Executive Committee role at HomeTeamNS Bedok Reservoir. He added: “I believe in being of service to the kids so that they are enabled to pursue their dreams. I demand effort over results, and I do my best to ferry them around and expose them to opportunities and new experiences.” BEING THE BEST ROLE MODELS THEY CAN BE Both HomeTeamNS volunteers admit that their careers are no longer the main priorities in their lives. Instead, their families come first. “Fatherhood has made me stay at home a lot more,” reflected Mr Kamlesh. “By nature, I’m a nomad, I like to go out. I’ve become more homely over the years – because I have more reason to stay at home. In addition, my very colourful language has started rubbing off on my kids, so I have been reprimanded on several occasions by my wife to watch my ‘French’!” Dr Lim says that being a parent has made him less selfish and more patient. Formerly a corporate-level officer who travelled 40 per cent of the time for business, he changed his career path to be more present for his children. “I do see a lot of resemblance between my boys and myself, and it makes me cognisant that you cannot do what you like – sometimes you have to be a good role model. But overall, it’s worth it to see your child progressing, growing and maturing – and hopefully, they will be successful in time to come.” Agreed Mr Kamlesh: “It’s very important to be a positive role model for your children. Kids relate to the world through the examples we set. How we relate to our parents, how we spend our free time, our commitment to family and work – they are always watching.” To model his daughters how to juggle work and volunteering commitments while still making time for family, he does his best to join them in picking up new skills that they’re interested in: “It’s things like abacus, or the Rubik’s cube, or coding. I may not be as good as them – no time! – but they truly respect the effort and initiative.” FINDING FUN IN BONDING Despite their busy schedules, Dr Lim makes it a point to connect with his sons by getting them to accompany him on weekly runs, swimming together, and making paper crafts with Henry. “I would say hey, it’s boring for me to be running alone, so come and help Daddy,” he said. “From my volunteering with HomeTeamNS, I know they also have a lot of activities over the years – not just for NSmen, but also our family members. For example, I brought the boys along to the opening of Adventure HQ at HomeTeamNS Khatib so they could try rock climbing. Two of them were a bit afraid of heights, but everyone had fun during the rappelling part.” On Mr Kamlesh’s part, he often lets his children take the lead in deciding what daddy-daughter activity they want to do, such as playing chess or trying out new foods such as frogs’ legs. He also enjoys bringing his girls out on one-to-one bonding trips to nearby destinations. Recently, he brought Divina to Langkawi. Besides giving his children a chance to enjoy sightseeing and other touristy activities, he says
Fatherhood has changed LTC (NS) Muhammad Rashid Ramli’s approach to life and leadership.
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The ‘A’ Division NS Commander of the Singapore Police Force, DAC (NS) Patrick Fung, has witnessed a lifetime’s worth of changes during his 40 years in service. TEXT: KEENAN PEREIRA PHOTOS: DAC (NS) PATRICK FUNG For a sense of how the Singapore Police Force (SPF) has evolved, look no further than senior officers like DAC (NS) Patrick Fung, 56, who enlisted in the mid-1980s. This transformation is even evident in the way National Service officers are selected to join the SPF. “It was a different path to the Force back then,” he recalls. “We all did our Basic Military Training on Pulau Tekong and a handful of us were selected for training at the Police Academy from there, unlike today, when most start with police training.” DAC (NS) Fung was first posted to Police HQ, within its Strategic Planning Department. He only began serving in a land division – in his case, the ‘A’ Division – during his subsequent in-camp training cycles, whenever he returned on holiday from law school in the United Kingdom. Patrolling the streets of Singapore in the early 1990s was an “eye-opening” experience. “I got to see a very different side of Singapore,” he reminisces. “On the surface, everything is very nice and polished. But when you start walking the streets, you’re exposed to another side of life: Suicide, domestic disputes.” Like many of his counterparts, DAC (NS) Fung acknowledges that he himself had lived quite a sheltered life. “But being in the Force was a privilege as I got to see and understand these social issues first-hand and not take our own luck for granted.” He remembers the first suicide he was dispatched to assist with. “I think it was in Toa Payoh. Back then, we didn’t have those blue tents to cover the bodies. We had to use newspapers, or whatever we could find to clean up the area.” How would today’s officers fare in that world? “It was a different time,” he stresses. “There was no channel for us to talk about how we felt or to prepare us for what we were going to do. Of course, that’s not the case anymore. Now, the wellbeing of our officers is something we are very concerned about — and with good reason, I think.” CHANGES FOR THE BETTER As the NS Commander of the Singapore Police Force’s ‘A’ Division, DAC (NS) Fung is tasked to look after the welfare and wellbeing of his NSMen. Structural changes have made this easier, as there are policies to support SPF officers, both NS and regular. “These extend to mental wellbeing and care, which is very encouraging,” he explains. He sheds light on progressive changes within the organization as well. “Most admirably, we’ve moved away from being a ‘boys’ club’ — women now have a place in every part of the SPF, which was very different from the past, when they were restricted to operating our phone lines or manning our stations. As a father of three daughters, I can confidently encourage any of them to take up a career in the SPF today.” DAC (NS) Fung also oversees the deployment of NSmen to support key events in the ‘A’ Division, which covers central Singapore. Given this area, this means that he and his team are responsible for supporting the security operations for major events like the F1 Grand Prix, New Year’s countdown parties and the Shangri La Dialogue. But the event that stands out the most to him is the annual National Day Parade, which comes under the ‘A’ Division’s purview, whether it is held at the Padang or the Marina Bay Floating Platform. “I think the only time we didn’t support it was during the first year of COVID-19, when it was held at the STAR Arts Performing Theatre.” NDP holds a special significance to the servicemen of ‘A’ Division shares DAC (NS) Fung. “And because we do so many events a year, our people are quite up to date on what needs to be done. Doing it once gives our men a good idea of what is expected of them. Through regular deployments like these, our NSmen can build closer working relationships with their regular counterparts and learn more about current policing procedures.” It is usually at events like these that many of his men interact with members of the public as well. Just as the SPF has evolved to meet with the times, it has also had to rethink the way it interacts with the public. “In the old days, you could easily get compliance from the public. But as our population has become more educated and discerning, we have had to change our tack,” he explains. “There may be questions about our procedures and instructions, so our officers need to be trained to answer those sensitively and yet, firmly.” In this area, NS officers have an advantage over their regular counterparts. “They spend most of the year as civilians, so they definitely have a good grasp of public sentiment.” Like our stories? Subscribe to our Frontline Digital newsletters now! Simply download the HomeTeamNS Mobile App and update your communication preference to ‘Receive Digital Frontline Magazine’, through the App Settings.
The glass is always half-full for SCDF (NSF) SGT Marc Loh, whose hopes of earning a taekwondo black belt were dashed by a torn hamstring.