[Thank You CLC] Breakfast Post (Volume 8 Issue 2 | 1 July 2019, Monday)

01 July 2019

Graduation message from CLC

1 July 2019 marks my 3rd anniversary in Centre for Liveable Cities (CLC); it also marks my last working day in CLC.

It is my honour to have work alongside numerous smart, talented, hardworking and fun folks in CLC. My time in CLC gave me ample exposure to assorted activities (e.g. writing, editing and publishing books, reports and articles; staffing duties; work trip etc.) that I can only dream of if I had remained in conventional agencies. It is definitely a chance of a lifetime to have work on Research, Publication, Capability Development, Advisory, Partnership, Events and World Cities Summit (WCS) projects concurrently. Most importantly, I learnt a lot of technical and soft skills along this journey. through the process, I also get to know a vast network of Singapore urban pioneers, knowledge experts, political leaders, mayors and overseas counterparts (some of whom became my friends).

Over the past few months, quite a number of people asked me why I would want to take the risk of forgoing a stable income to return to school for full-time studies. Many people already knew that I love maps and urban planning since young; and I always wanted to obtain a proper qualification/recognition in urban planning so as to stay relevant in the industry. The sudden departure of my father makes me think a lot about life. It hits me hard that life is too short to procrastinate and there will never be a better day to chase my dream. After weighing the opportunity costs and my long-term goals, I think it will be worthwhile to take a leap of faith to do something I have always wanted to do. At the same time, I can also focus on some of my personal projects (now I feel I’m 23 again!).

My journey in CLC has been rewarding, filled with sweet (perhaps sometimes, bittersweet) memories. Therefore, I wrote my farewell / thank you note in the format of a newsletter to thank everyone in CLC for their guidance, patience and love that you have showered in the past 3 years.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone in CLC for their guidance, patience and love that they have showered in the past 3 years. In particular, I would like to thank the following people:

People
Chairman Dr Liu Thai Ker
Chairman Dr Liu Thai Ker is inevitably my urban planning idol. HDB’s old annual reports has been a good source of information for my research projects for many years. Besides documenting the development history of Singapore’s New Towns, these archives also documented several bold initiatives piloted in the 80s under Dr Liu’s leadership. While I only get to interact with Chairman for 4 times (10th EDGE, WCS 2018, Chairman’s 80th Birthday & AR 2018), it is definitely my greatest honour to have work under him. I’ll definitely treasure the autographed copy of “The Little Red Dot”.

Executive Director Mr Khoo Teng Chye
ED is the undisputed authority in the water, port and planning sectors and CLC achieved its success through ED’s leadership. I have learnt valuable insight through staffing ED for the 8th ASEAN Connectivity Symposium “Delivering Sustainable Urbanisation in ASEAN Cities” and the Public Project Leadership Programme (PPLP) “The Role of Project Leader – Strategic Project Planning” presentations. Thank you for all the opportunities, understanding, patience and guidance given during my stay here.

Michael
I worked with Michael the most throughout my career in CLC; across various work streams from Urban Design slides and book, curation of Orchard Learning Journey, Bhutan trip UD workshop, to WCS 2018, CLC Lectures and WCSMF 2019 Exhibition. I need to shout out that i enjoyed working and learnt abundant knowledge from you! Thank you for being an approachable, respectable and fatherly mentor in my career that i never imagine i will ever had. & Thank you for your emotional support at times when i really need them.

Limin
Greatest gratitude to you for all your guidance and assistance! Thank you for trusting and accepting me into the Local Planning Team. I hope my contributions did not disappoint you for the Tampines, Limbang and Active Mobility projects. I’ll also remember our ‘very far’ site visit to Limbang and the ice cream break we had together.

Eng Kian
Thank you for entrusting me with the Japan partnership portfolio and giving me the trust and autonomy to do the necessary work. Your advices have always been very useful to me and I will treasure the moments we shared in Tokyo and His Majesty Emperor Akihito Birthday Reception. The Japan partnership account and Tampines Learning Journey are the assignments that I’ll miss the most after I left.

Dinesh
Thank you for being a respectable boss, particularly your patience, guidance and support during my time in Publications & KP; especially so when we have very different working styles and aesthetic taste. I am thankful that you assigned me to work on CLC and WCS publications (CLC AR 2018, WCS2018 Reflections, WCS2018 Highlights, WCS2018 MF Report, WCS EDM 2019 etc.). While its not the first time I’m working on real-life publication projects, I learnt new insights and considerations from you on how to make a book, report and EDM to function efficiently and effectively. In addition, it is interesting to note that we first met in 2009, when you guest-lead the field trip to People’s Park Complex for Lucy Davis’ “Cities Bodies Memories” module and fate brought us together again when I joined CLC. the world is just really small.

Jing Kok
We have known each other for such a long time that words can never be enough to express my gratitude to you. Thank you for all the advice, guidance and opportunities you showered over the years.

Comrades
Local Planning Team (LPT): Shih Min & Li Fang
Thank you for been the best work partners that I can trust and rely on for whatever projects that we are involved in! I believe the (almost) daily site visits to Tampines: combing the entire town to do ground audit, observations, manning pop-up booths and conducting walking conversations etc. really helped us to bond and developed work chemistry and dynamics. Thanks for being a good morale support during crisis time too. I’ll cherish the fun & lame moments we shared during site visits, lectures, lunch & chat.

“I Don’t Think So” / INTJ Club: Ken & Yuting
During Staff Retreat 2019, the 3 of us found out that we have the same working style - “I Don’t Think So”. Thereafter, we realized that we shared the same personality type too (INTJ)! INTJ forms just 2% of the population. Before joining CLC, I didnt knew of any INTJ in my social circles. But i get to know, work & make friends with 2 other INTJ in CLC (3/62 is a whooping 5%)! Glad to have know both of you and happy that we get to work, sing KTV and share lame jokes together. :)

Lucky Alley neighbours: Jinyi & Stewart
It is so called the Lucky Alley because both (ex-)neighbours won the Grand Prize for MND D&E (Jinyi for 2015 and Stewart for 2016). [sidenote: i won the hillarious 4th Prize in 2016 too.]

New Wing neighbours: Jinyi, Stewart, Han Jun, Eugene, Ningzhen, Hwee Jane, Suba, Belinda, Shih Min, Li Fang etc. I miss the time in 2016-2017, when the New Wing was an isolated, peaceful & cohesive developing estate filled with fun, helpful & caring people. The New Wing then really manifest the Framework of liveability and community spirit (e.g. creating our own pantry). thanks everyone for the random chat & memories.

Tofu Lunch Kakis: Hwee Jane, Jinyi, Ningzhen, Shih Min, Li Fang, Belinda, Clarice, Yuting, Shi Hui, Pei En, Yakult, Xiaochen, Jiayun, Yedi, Yixun, Nathaly, Elly etc.
Belachan Sports Kakis: Clarice, Kay Teck, Grace, Nicole, Belinda, Hwee Jane etc.
Its not everywhere where colleagues are friendly, helpful, competent and fun. I’m glad besides being colleagues, we can call ourselves friends who can gossips during lunch & did fun activities together after office hours (e.g. ktv, pool, rockclimbing) after work.

Tag-Team
UD Team: Luther & Shih Min
Thanks for being on-board with me for this project and worked really hard together as a team. Hahahahaha (you know what I mean). It’s a pity that I didnt get to launch the book personally during my time, especially since I have been working on it for 3years. But I’m confident that both of you can continue the good effort. Remember to invite me for the book launch.

KP Team: Dinesh, Joanna, Kelly, Grace, Nicole, Shih Min, Li Fang, Belinda, Pei En, Nathaly, Naufal, Katherine & Afiq
While I love to work on publications, it has been a bittersweet ride working on WCS, Lectures and websites. It is quite daunting for an introvert to work on events. I am grateful that Dinesh has been a very understanding boss who understands my strengths & weaknesses. It is almost impossible to juggle a day job and WCS/WCSMF concurrently (either portfolio will be compromised), but KP is very fortunate to have a team of extremely hardworking and responsible staff who are willing to sacrifices their personal time to produce quality work for both portfolios. But nevertheless, please reduce the opening hours of the Night Safari; because beside work, health & family are equally important.

WCSMF 2019 Exhibition Team: Michael, Dinesh, Elaine, Luther & Nathaly
Nathaly & I finally collaborated again after the Tampines project and I really must say that she is a superwoman! Please continue to keep up the good attitude and effort. Thanks to Elaine for all the helpful advices & assistance she gave during crunch time. Also thanks to Belinda who is helping us with the budget submission.

Remnants of WCS 2018 Team: Kelly, Grace, Nicole, Katyana + Cherub + Katherine
WCS 2018 was an insane roller-coaster ride! I’m proud that we, as a brand-new team for 2018, managed to fight all surprises & delivered the Summit successfully. I’m especially grateful to have Kelly & Cherub as partners for Programme, splitting the insane work load & stress level for MF/JOP & tracks respectively. Not forgetting our army of very hardworking & competent interns: Clarise, Yan, Asy, Marcus, Jonathan, En Ru, Daniel & Charmaine.

Corporate Development: Audrey, Esther, Candy, Alice, Lita & Asiah
Last but not least, the hardworking ladies from Corporate! Thank you for all the advices and logistics assistance.

Friends
Han Jun - Thanks for being a very competent and helpful buddy; teaching me the ropes and makes me feel welcomed when I first join CLC.

Teng Leng - Thanks for been a very supportive boss & friends. Thanks for telling me that ‘father-son relationship’ is permanent relationship. These words are very important reminder and morale support during difficult times.

Mayers - thanks for all the opportunities, guidance and support given in the past 7 years. Hope to explore alternative opportunities for the Tampines Learning Journey. :)

Cherub - thanks for been a great neighbour and partner for WCS 2018 Thematic Tracks programming. I always get alot of useful insights from our conversations.

Chee Kia - Its not easy to find fellow 金庸 fans among my group of friends, hence I always cherish the conversations we had on his novels and characters. All the best to your future endeavours too.

Nora / Makcik Keropok - you are definitely the superwoman of CapDev! i remembered CapDev almost collapsed when you were away for maternity. thanks for all the logistic and procurement tips & guidance over the years.

Lita / Maria 8 - “I’ll Be Back~”, “pls help me send my regards to xxx”.

+ friends like Elyssa, Ruhi, Alice, Deborah & Sharon etc. - thanks for all the help, guidance, little chats & memories that we shared together.

Infinity
I’m also taking this opportunity to salute my wonderful seniors/alumnus who have guided and supported me significantly: Remy, Brian, Amanda Yang, Adeline, Chocks, Hanson, Victoria, Tessa, Sophianne, Guru, Yimin, Joshua, Mercy, Hazel, Dionne, James, Mina, Michelle, Thinesh, Jaszmine, Siet Ling, Sharol, Diana, Joanne, Erin, Jason, Yusen, Siti, Yuting & Guan Hong. Without their prior guidance, I would not have been who I am today.

& don’t stop having fun!

[Thank You CLC] Breakfast Post (Volume 8 Issue 2 | 1 July 2019, Monday)

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