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 Yeo Peishan, MAS Scholar, 2000
Currently in Strategic Planning Office
I recall that after obtaining my A level results, my friends and I were poring through motley brochures for scholarship applications. MAS caught my attention as it proffered the opportunity to be a mover – I reckoned its policies and actions would deeply affect the financial landscape of Singapore. Also, quite simply, working for the central bank sounds like a pretty cool job to an 18 year-old. It’s pretty much unscientific – I read about MAS in the papers, I canvassed opinions by talking to lecturers and friends in the industry – and these things pointed to an organisation of good repute. And very importantly, (although I must admit that I didn’t know about the nuts and bolts of MAS’ work at that time) based on the general opinions I have culled, I could satisfy myself that this seems like a place where I would enjoy working, where the nature of work gels with my interests.
Many people may not necessarily be sure of what they want at age 18. But for me my choice had paid off, as I’m enjoying my work here.
I was previously in a supervisory department. For my first inspection of a financial institution, we had a meeting during which MAS queried some rather senior personnel of the institution on its accounting processes and controls. I remember sitting there wondering how I could possibly contribute to the meeting when my past year of academic training was in terrorism and weapons. It was a unique position to be in – having the license to query companies as I work for the supervisory authority, but not yet having the wherewithal and experience to utilise it, and having folks look inquiringly at me thinking, “Who’s that rookie?”
But we pick up the skills and confidence as we go along. Guidance from my more experienced colleagues certainly helped, as did approaching my task with a sense of inquisitiveness, interest and humility.
As mentioned above, one benefit is that I learn to speak up, even in a room of people who are more senior than me. That’s a challenge for many young supervisory officers, as our jobs entail frontline interaction with financial industry practitioners, and yet our age may not lend gravitas and weight to what we have to say. We can’t change the way we look, but we can improve the way we communicate and conduct ourselves so that we project a right image of MAS, and convince others to buy into our ideas. It also doesn’t mean being loaded to the muzzle with tonnes of questions and releasing them with one mighty discharge. It’s not about trying to impress others or bombarding others with your opinions. It takes discernment to ask quality questions and give constructive views, and I’m still learning.
Before I graduated, I met with a university classmate who had spent some years working. He gave me lots of tips on handling working life and told me point-blank, “It’s hard to find friends amongst colleagues.” Well, my experience has turned out a tad different. In fact, I prefer to refer to the folks in my division as friends rather than colleagues – not just the sort whom I acquaint myself with to get my job done, but people whom I would enjoy hanging out with outside the workplace – whether it’s hearty karaoke sessions, watching football matches or just feasting together. And when the work gets tough (e.g. deadlines breathing down your neck), as it inevitably will, having a group of friends tide through those times with you certainly makes the experience more manageable.
MAS is a large organisation, though. You may not know everyone as well, but I consider it a blessing to find a group of people whom I can truly consider friends.
The notion of a government job can connote certain impressions – serious, staid, stuffy, with multiple layers of bureaucracy. But I find people here generally open-minded and receptive to feedback, even from younger officers like me who may not have much workplace experience. To add, most folks here are quite happy to share their knowledge and guide me in my tasks. And they do so without making me feel as though I’m impinging on their time; but with a sense of having something valuable to impart. I appreciate that a lot.
The greatest satisfaction, I would say, is when something you’ve worked on gets implemented and you see its effects trickle through the organisation, industry, or even Singapore. I remember my dad once reading about a MAS project in the papers and asking me about it. He didn’t know I was involved in that project, but was simply asking because it was a policy which affected him. It was rewarding seeing my labours translated into policies which have a bearing on the lives of ordinary Singaporeans, such as my dad. And hopefully they are good policies which the public can relate to, and generally agree with.
In many ways, I’m still learning and figuring things out. Responsibilities and job scope can change, particularly in an organisation like MAS which wears different hats, and which can accord officers the opportunity to try their hand at different things, from supervision to development and even economic policy. But at the end of the day, I suppose it’s about whether our experiences make us believe in the organisation sufficiently, and care about it sufficiently, to want to do our best, whether you’re holding this portfolio or another.
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Ng Tze Wei, MAS Scholar, 1998
Alvin Chow, MAS Scholar, 1994
