1. Lights, Camera, Action! On 4 December 2013, the Supreme Court’s Level 8 Viewing Gallery was converted into a
glamorous Supermodel runway for “Service Runway”, the opening event of the Supreme Court’s biennial
Customer Service Week 2013. Our budding models and fashion designers dug into their creative juices to
design costumes out of used aluminium foil, Salvation Army hand-me-downs, recycled beer cans and even
discarded bubble wrap to showcase the values of our Service Creed in unique, innovative styles.
Customer Service Week 2013
December 2013
CHIEF JUSTICE OF FIJI
The Chief Justice of Fiji, the Honourable Anthony Gates,
called on CJ Sundaresh Menon on 1 November 2013. CJ
Gates expressed gratitude at the hospitality shown to the
Fijian judiciary by the Supreme Court during the 5th Asia
Pacific Judicial Reform Forum (APJRF) held from 31
October to 1 November 2013.
welcome
Guok Nam Choo, Stenographer,
Corporate Services Directorate
“I am Elizabeth Guok and I joined the
Supreme Court on 3 December 2013. Prior
to this, I was a Secretary in NIBC Bank Ltd
(a Dutch bank). My hobbies include
reading and listening to music.”
The months of November and December were opportune times for us to wrap up a very eventful
2013. Though court vacation commenced on 2 December 2013, it has been an activity-filled year-
end with staff working round the clock to prepare for Customer Service Week 2013, the WITS In-
House Presentation and of course, preparations for the upcoming Opening of the Legal Year 2014.
Oh Chong Onn and Ling Chih Kang from FFPD, LMD, IA, Compliance
and CISD stormed the runway as Thor and Loki, complete with
Nordic-style war hammers fashioned from aluminium foil, fashioning
themselves as warriors of service excellence! Muhammed and Elyse
Ang from LD pole-danced and boogied in their Valentine cut-out
costumes to the tune of “Too Sexy For” to show their all-
encompassing love for their customers, while Jack Lim and Selina
Khor from CSD modelled as “Victoria’s Secret Angels of Service
Excellence” in costumes stitched from discarded bubble wrap. Leong
Yu Fun and Simon Sim from PSes & Court Orderlies rocked the
runway with neon biker jackets to show that their service style is
cool, bright and cheery!
Yvonne Leung and Chris Teo from CPD blazed the runway in the
elements of the earth – fire, water, earth, air – in costumes pieced
together from recycled mineral water bottles and beer cans to
represent harmony in teamwork for excellent service. Khurshed
Haron and Nicole Zhan from OPA impersonated Professor Henry
Higgins and Eliza Doolittle from My Fair Lady in their Salvation Army
hand-me-downs with reference books in hand as they believe there is
always room for improvement in service.
Upcoming
Opening of the legal year 2014
The Opening of the Legal Year 2014 Ceremony will take place
on Friday 3 January 2014, at 10:30am in the Supreme Court
Auditorium. The most important event of the legal calendar in
Singapore, the Opening of the Legal Year 2014 Ceremony will
be hosted by CJ Sundaresh Menon and the Supreme Court
bench. The event will be attended by the Minister for Law and
Foreign Affairs, the Attorney-General, the President of the Law
Society of Singapore, and dignitaries from the legal fraternity
(former Chief Justices, Queens’ Counsels, law academics,
managing partners of top law firms).
In keeping with tradition, CJ Sundaresh Menon will be hosting
the Opening of the Legal Year 2014 Dinner at the Istana that
same evening. His Excellency, President Tony Tan Keng Yam and
Mrs Mary Tan, will be the Guests-of-Honour at the dinner.
The Supreme Court’s 2014
Executive Planners and
Calendars will be ready by
23 December 2013. Do look
out for OPA’s email for
collection details!
CEO AND FOUNDER OF THE WORLD JUSTICE PROJECT
William Neukom, the CEO and Founder of the World Justice
Project, an independent, non-profit organisation dedicated to
advancing community justice, called on Andrew Phang JA, on
13 October 2013.
According to the World Wildlife Foundation, the
world uses 1 million tonnes of paper every day. Too
much of this paper usage is wasteful and
unnecessary and puts huge pressures on the
environment. For this year-end festive season, let us
play our part to help to preserve the world’s
remaining natural forests and the people and
wildlife that depend on them.
1. Think before you print: Think twice before you need to print. If you absolutely need
to print, print double-sided or two to a page.
2. Print small (but legibly): If you're printing a PowerPoint presentation, put two to six
slides on one page. Format Word documents to have narrow margins and single spacing.
3. Send documents electronically: Scan and send documents by e-mail in PDF format
rather than printing and faxing/mailing them.
4. Send e-cards: Send personalised greeting e-cards quickly and easily by email. Save
hard copy greeting cards for only really important contacts.
5. Reduce unwanted paper mail: Contact mail senders to take your name off their
mailing lists.
6. Recycle and reuse paper: Use the blank sides of unneeded single-sided copies for
note-taking or outdated letterheads for in-house memos.
7. Conduct “paperless” meetings: Instead of printing out meeting notes, bring your
laptop to your meetings and update your notes electronically.
8. Electronic storage: Store your project meeting notes, timelines and communication
materials electronically, rather than in physical files.
9. Transact electronically: Manage your transactions electronically to reduce the need
for cumbersome paper invoices, transaction records and confirmation letters.
10. Edit electronically: Edit your documents electronically with “Track Changes” and
“New Comment” commands, rather than printing draft after draft. Only print when
finalised.
Selecting the winner was a tough decision for the judges as well as for
the audience who sent in their voting slips. But after much
deliberation, Chong Onn and Chih Kang’s “Thor and Loki” act as
warriors of service excellence won the “Service Runway” Grand Prize!
About 60 staff attended the two workshops conducted during
Customer Service Week 2013 – “The Art of Being Helpful for Service
Excellence” on 5 December 2013 and “Corporate Etiquette and
Professional Image” on 9 December 2013. From these workshops, as
well as from our experience at “Service Runway”, we learnt that
achieving service excellence is never just a singular effort – it always
requires teamwork. A big thank you to all who took part and supported
a very memorable Customer Service Week 2013 and we look
forward to working together as a team to enhance our service skills at
the Supreme Court.
Rock stars of service excellence!
Going back to the elements
of great service
The “Service Runway” teams strike a pose with CE and RSC
The Supreme Court’s WITS (Work Improvement Teams) achieved 6 Gold and 4 Silver
Awards at the WITS In-house Presentation held on 6 December 2013. This is a record-
breaking achievement as our past records show we garnered the best results of 5 Gold, 3
Silver and 2 Bronze Awards back in 2011. Congratulations to all our WITS for a job well
done!
Thanks to all the WITS, we have exceeded the ISO9001:2000 Quality Objective of
attaining at least two Gold Awards for WITS Projects. The Supreme Court thanks all WITS
Members, Leaders, Facilitators and Advisors for making this event possible and achieving
the record-breaking results for 2013.
WITS scores a new record!
0
2
4
6
8
10
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
1
2 2
1
5
5
3
3
4
4
3
5
4
6
Gold
Silver
Bronze
WITS Awards (2009 to 2013)
The Council of Judges is an annual event involving the Chief Justice, Judges of Appeal, Judges and
Judicial Commissioners of the Supreme Court. The Council of Judges is required to be held at least once a
year under section 81 of the Supreme Court of Judicature Act (Cap 322, 2007 Rev Ed). This year’s
Council of Judges was held at the Supreme Court on 22 November 2013.
Council of Judges
The Supreme Court hosted a tea reception for lawyers on the LASCO (Legal Assistance Scheme
for Capital Offences) on 29 November 2013 in recognition of their contributions to the Criminal
Bar and an opportunity for LASCO lawyers to exchange learning points and views of the latest
developments in Criminal Law practice in Singapore with members of the Bench and judicial
officers of the Supreme Court Registry.
LASCO Tea
DELEGATION FROM COMMONWEALTH PARLIAMENTARY ASSOCIATION
The Supreme Court hosted a visit by the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association
(CPA) on 21 November 2013 while they were in Singapore as part of the CPA’s study
programme for Parliamentarians to help them gain insights into the Parliamentary and
judicial systems of other Commonwealth countries. The three-member delegation from
CPA comprised Mr Ian Liddell-Grainger, Leader of Delegation and UK Member of
Parliament (Conservative Party), Professor Stephen Pollock, UK Member of Parliament,
Viscount Hanworth (Labour Party), Mr Peter Wishart, UK Member of Parliament
(Scottish National Party) and were accompanied by Mr Paul Broom, Director of Political
Affairs of the British High Commission in Singapore.
Spread the Yuletide joy with the Supreme Court’s Season’s
Greetings e-card for 2013! Featuring a pencil sketch of
the Supreme Court building and an art deco-style snow
flake design, it is a fitting Season’s Greetings e-card to
wrap up 2013 and look towards a great new year ahead.