In the second instalment of a three-part series, recently retired politician Amy Khor recounts her experiences working across various ministries and the challenges she faced in her 24-year political career.
Former Senior Minister of State Amy Khor candidly acknowledged that the Clean Tables campaign was one policy that she got “scolded a lot” for, when she was at the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment.
It was a matter-of-fact response.
Her pleasant demeanour revealed no resentment over the public’s reaction to the initiatives she had championed while in office.
She spearheaded the Clean Tables campaign in February 2021. Under this initiative, diners at hawker centres, food courts, and coffee shops must return their used trays and crockery to designated areas after eating.
“People were talking about; how do you expect the elderly and the young children to return [their trays]?” the 67-year-old recounted the complaints. “There were a lot of views. Does it mean we deprive the cleaners of their work?”
Dr Khor described the initiative as a “win-win” solution. Patrons gain access to cleaner tables more quickly. Cleaners can focus solely on cleaning the tables, and their workload is lightened. For hawkers, crockery and utensils reach the cleaning area quicker, allowing for a more efficient process and faster turnaround.
The cleaning industry, she noted, has been facing a shortage of cleaners, particularly locals, due to an ageing population. This initiative helps cleaners, making their jobs easier, and hopefully, helps them stay in the job.
“When you have policies and programmes where you need people to change their habits and behaviour, it’s a greater challenge because people are used to their current lifestyles,” she explained. “You need people to understand why you are doing it. It’s not to inconvenience them, but to benefit them as well as everybody.”
While it is a challenge, she added, the key is to engage with people on the ground, understand their concerns, and “make it as convenient and as easy as possible for them to change that.”
“Now, [the initiative] is generally well received,” she said. “In fact, it’s become second nature for some. When they go overseas, they also return their trays. I’m very happy with that.”
Amy Khor: Reducing the use of disposables required us to balance differing views
Among her many contributions, Dr Khor led the creation of Singapore’s first Zero Waste Masterplan in 2019. This plan aimed to extend the lifespan of Semakau Landfill beyond 2035 by implementing various measures to reduce waste disposal by a third by 2030.
She also championed measures to reduce waste – especially electronics, packaging and food waste, and promoted hawker culture, among issues.
Dr Khor was involved in the roll-out of a mandatory minimum charge of five cents for disposable carrier bags at larger supermarkets in 2023. This was part of efforts to reduce the use of disposables in Singapore.
“It’s not meant to be nasty,” she clarified in her ever-affable manner. “There was feedback from the ground that people are using too many disposable carrier bags. Some people have a lot at home. And the environmental groups were concerned about why we are using so many disposable carriers.”
She noted, however, that the government understands the Singaporean habit of bagging garbage in carriers and aims to “strike a balance between these perspectives.”
Eventually, the government accepted a citizens’ workgroup’s recommendation to impose a charge on single-use carrier bags at supermarkets.
She is heartened that Singaporeans have since adapted to using reusable bags, with the supermarkets reporting a 70 to 80 per cent reduction in the disposable carrier bags used.
Amy Khor: We must design programmes that meet the needs of people
In her transport portfolio, Dr Khor also demonstrated the importance of understanding residents’ needs before implementing policies and programmes.
As Senior Minister of State since 2020, she was involved in driving the Friendly Streets initiative which aims to make Singapore’s streets safer and friendlier.
When the initiative was implemented in her constituency Hong Kah North, her team went on site to observe pedestrians’ behaviour before constructing the barrier-free kerbless crossings.
“Before you build a kerbless crossing, you must see where they cross the road. If you build somewhere else where they don’t cross the road, it will be useless,” she explained. “We need to look at their behaviour to see how we can address some of these issues.”
Engaging seniors to explain the Pioneer Generation Package
At the Health Ministry where she was Minister of State from 2013 to 2020, Dr Khor also made sure Singaporeans were at the core of programmes.
In 2014, she was part of the team implementing the Pioneer Generation Package. She recalled getting her team to directly engage with seniors instead of relying solely on traditional and social media.
“We needed every pioneer to know that they would be able to afford the healthcare they need with the package,” she explained. “We decided that if we really wanted to give the seniors peace of mind, we needed to meet them one to one so that we could answer their specific questions and needs.”
The Pioneer Generation Office was formed in 2014, and her team trained Pioneer Generation Ambassadors to deliver a consistent message and explain the package to the pioneer residents.
Her team included the newly elected Jasmin Lau, current MOS for Digital Development and Information, and Education. Ms Lau was then a public servant with MOH. Together, the team conducted dialogue sessions across every constituency to answer public queries.
Dr Khor served as Senior Minister of State for Manpower from 2013 to 2015 and mayor of the Southwest District from 2004 to 2014.
Throughout the interview, Dr Khor repeatedly stressed the importance of engagement for effective policymaking.
“Even after rolling out programmes and services, the concern may not be addressed. We need to find out if they meet people’s needs. Are there any refinements that we need to make?”
She further emphasised: “When we design and plan programmes, we must remind ourselves not to do what we think is good for [Singaporeans]. Instead, we must engage them, identify their aspirations, desires, and needs.”
Read: ‘Every day was an exciting day’: Amy Khor on her 24 years as a politician
