417 service staff in public transport awarded for kindness
SINGAPORE — As a taxi driver, 62-year-old Lim Ee Teh has been providing his passengers with various acts of kindness, from offering them sweets to allowing them to pay their fares by bank transfer on a “trust basis”, without demanding their personal information.
Only two of the eight passengers had abused his trust and did not transfer the fare amount to his account.
Mr Lim said: “(It’s) easier said than done, but I’ve learnt to let go because (there is) no point carrying that weight on your shoulders.”
The cabbie was one of 417 service staff in the public transport industry who were honoured at the annual National Kindness Transport Gold Awards today (Oct 28) for their efforts in making commuting pleasant.
Mr Lim, a full-time ComfortDelGro taxi-driver, and 24 others were winners in the outstanding award category, given to those who have gone beyond their duties by amplifying kindness to others.
Mr Lim, who has received 81 commendations throughout his 21 years of taxi-driving, hoped that he can inspire others to “work from their hearts”.
“When people appreciate (your actions), it brings you to the next level. You tend to want to do more.”
Mr Lim also found himself in the limelight recently after YouTube personality Eden Ang commended the driver in a Facebook post that later went viral.
In his post, Mr Ang said he took Mr Lim’s cab on his way to an audition and realised just before alighting that he had forgotten his wallet.
Not only did Mr Lim agree for payment for the fare to be made by bank transfer, he also gave Mr Ang S$20 in cash when he discovered that his passenger had another audition to go to.
Mr Lim said he did not know about Mr Ang’s Facebook post until his 28-year-old son showed it to him, adding that he felt overwhelmed by all the attention.
Another recipient of the outstanding award was Ms Katijah Sarbu, a 48-year-old station manager at Paya Lebar MRT station.
Ms Katijah described her 30 years of service with the SMRT as a “minute-by-minute learning” journey.
To ensure that commuters have a “happy and safe travel”, Ms Katijah said she always tries to solve their problems together with them, especially in times of crisis, such as train breakdowns and delays.
She said: “I hope I can be a mentor to my other colleagues. This award is not just for myself only, but for the rest of my colleagues at SMRT. Wherever they come from, I share this award with them.”
The award recipients were chosen by a panel of judges appointed by the Singapore Kindness Movement (SKM).
SKM’s general secretary Dr William Wan hopes that more will be inspired by their own colleagues to display the spirit of kindness in the public transport industry.
He said: “Everybody has kindness inside them, but they are too busy, self-absorbed, (or) pre-occupied with something ... (to realise) that someone may be in need. So let’s be more aware, as you walk around, smile a little bit more, make connection with people, and (by) being more aware, it’s more likely that we can show our kindness.”
