CHAPTER 28 - Luminaries on the Infocomms Technology Stage

Summary

“IDA's job rotation framework gave me a chance to work at various government agencies.”

— Foo Yeen Loo, CSE Pioneer

THE HIGHLIGHT OF Foo Yeen Loo's career was tinged with national pride. In 2002, she was in Stockholm to receive the prestigious Stockholm Challenge award on behalf of the Singapore Government. The international competition acknowledges initiatives that use information and communications technology to benefit society. Singapore's eCitizen portal beat 17 finalists from 90 submissions worldwide. Yeen Loo was the executive information technology (IT) consultant for Infocomm Development Authority (IDA).

Yeen Loo spent her IT career in the government. “IDA's job rotation framework gave me a chance to work and contribute at various government agencies,” said Yeen Loo. In 2005, she did a project to help elderly and blue-collar Singaporeans transact with the government online. “The government wants everyone to enjoy the convenience and benefits of transacting online,” said Yeen Loo, who was IDA's Assistant Director of the Electronics Services Division. “We offer help and hope to bridge the digital divide over time.” In 2008, she went to the Subordinate Courts to head the information systems department. Her role was to use new technologies to enhance efficiency. Yeen Loo is concurrently the deputy director at the Ministry of Transport and the head of the IT department in the Ministry of Finance.

Yeen Loo makes a modest contribution to the information, computer and telecommunication industry. It accounted for about six per cent of Singapore's gross domestic product over the past decade. IDA is the statutory body tasked to develop this industry.

There are other lady NTI pioneers who spent their entire career in this industry. Un Wai Foon is the Vice President for IT at the National Healthcare Group; Janet Sie Thim Theam is with SingTel doing network infrastructure; Chong Geok Thine is the customer service manager at the Ngee Ann Polytechnic computer centre. In 2008, she received the Efficiency Medal, a National Day award given to those who help to enhance productivity at work.

Estee Lim Siew Tan started her IT career with National University Singapore Computer Center's computer-aided design and manufacturing division. She moved to Data General, a billion-dollar computer company in the late 1980s.