An Infantry Officer by vocation, MAJ Helmi completed field appointments with the 1st Battalion Singapore Infantry Regiment and the Officer Cadet School before taking on the role of Head of the Training Plans Section at the Ministry of Defence. “These assignments taught me the importance of being firm and principled when making decisions,” he says. “As officers, we must have the moral courage to stand up for what we believe in, and to advocate change and improve the system.”
During their long watch at Parliament House, the Vigil Guards kept their heads bowed, making no eye contact with anyone. Those who had other work responsibilities during the day would come by at night to relieve their fellow officers. Though they experienced numb legs and sore backs standing vigil, these weren’t the hardest things they had to bear – it was maintaining their composure.
“Many who came to pay their final respects to Mr Lee wept quietly, while others were more distraught,” recalls MAJ Helmi. “We also heard many kind words and expressions of thanks to Mr Lee for his sacrifices. An elderly lady tried to get up from her wheelchair to pay her respects; it was hard for her, but she felt that it was the least she could do.”
Civil Service values and ethos, and beliefs about the way we should work will only be internalised and sustained if they are imbibed and believed in by public officers, generation after generation. The power of Mr Lee’s lasting achievement is that we’ve internalised these as our own.
DISCIPLINE, DEDICATION, VALUES
As the Vigil Guards diligently kept watch, an orderly would march out at the 15-minute mark of each shift to check on them. At the 29th minute, she’d march out again to let the Guards know that their shift would soon end.
Superintendent of Police (SUPT) Connie Seek, 38, of the Singapore Police Force (SPF) was one of two orderlies on duty during each 12-hour shift. “It was heartening to witness the whole Public Service mobilised in such a short time and working together around the clock,” she says. “I was also moved to see Singaporeans from all walks of life and of all ages bidding farewell to Mr Lee throughout the night.”
As an Officer Commanding at the Technology Crime Forensic Branch of the Criminal Investigation Department, SUPT Seek oversees a forensic analysis team and manages SPF’s cyber crime training needs – roles that didn’t exist when her father, a retired police officer, walked the beat.“I admire the discipline, dedication and values of the SPF, so it was natural that I followed in his footsteps,” she says.
SUPT Seek was also drawn to a profession where she shared the same opportunities as any of her colleagues. She ascribes Singapore’s culture of meritocracy to Mr Lee. “We’re not judged by gender or ethnicity, but according to what we can do,” she says.
Like her fellow Vigil Guards, SUPT Seek bore the weight of the occasion with grace. “When Mr Lee became our first Prime Minister, I wasn’t even born yet,” she says. “This was one way I could contribute and bid a proper farewell to him. It’s the least I can do.”