Singapore Customs marks International Customs Day 2009 Each year, Singapore Customs joins the global Customs community in observing International Customs Day, and this year was no exception. The agency celebrated International Customs Day on 4 February 2009 as a Singapore Customs family to take stock of its achievements in the past year and look ahead to the challenges ahead.
Director-General Mr Fong Yong Kian addressing Singapore Customs staff during the event to mark International Customs Day 2009.
For the 350 officers who attended the event, it was a day of staff engagement and dialogue
to reaffirm Singapore Customs’ contributions and commitment in assuring the integrity of the trading system and supporting Singapore as a global trade hub.
As part of the celebrations, Director-General of Customs, Mr Fong Yong Kian presented World Customs Organization Certificates of Merit to four officers from the Trade and Compliance Divisions for their contributions in protecting the environment. He also presented Long Service Awards to 72 officers in recognition of their dedication and service to the community, and the Director-General's Award to the "STARS" team. Comprising officers from the Policy & Planning Division and volunteers from other divisions, the team's high level of commitment and dedication had contributed towards Singapore Customs' achievements in organisational excellence.
The Singapore Customs management team engaged staff in a dialogue session.
The programme included a sharing entitled "The SDPC Publicity Story" on the full spectrum of communications initiatives put in place for the implementation of the SDPC Cigarette Marking Regulation, from early consultations with the industry stakeholders to media publicity and community outreach and education efforts. The regulation, which came into effect on 1 January 2009, requires all duty-paid cigarettes sold in Singapore to be individually marked with the letters “SDPC”.
The “STARS” team was presented with the Director-General’s Award for their contributions towards organisational excellence.
Rounding off the event on a high note was the unveiling of the new Singapore Customs uniform. Read more about the new Customs uniform in this story. As a prelude to the unveiling, the audience was taken on a nostalgic trip down memory lane with a audio-visual presentation that provided a glimpse into Customs uniforms and working environments of years gone by spanning from 1910 to the present.
Doing its part for environmental protection
The World Customs Organization (WCO) dedicated International Customs Day 2009 to the environment with the theme “Customs and the environment: Protecting our natural heritage”. In line with this theme, Singapore Customs awarded WCO Certificates of Merit to four of its officers in recognition of their contributions towards protecting the global environment and natural heritage.
