Ways which SMRT staff serve from the heart

Being able to do one’s job competently and as required is expected, but to do so from the heart can make all the difference.

These are values exemplified by Assistant Station Manager (ASM) Malaveli D/O Jaganathan, 64, who is based at Kranji MRT station.

In January last year, she noticed an elderly male commuter who appeared lost at the station. After approaching him to offer her assistance, ASM Malaveli discovered he had forgotten how to get home. It was also around 8pm, and she was concerned about his safety and well-being.

Fortunately, ASM Malaveli found his home address from his identity card and paid for a taxi to send him home safely.

“I knew he was lost and all I wanted was to make sure that he could get home safely,” said ASM Malaveli.

This same motivation to serve with empathy from the heart was also shown by ASM Radin Azman Bin Ali.

ASM Radin, 53, who serves commuters on the Bukit Panjang Light Rail Transit (LRT), was off duty when he noticed a student card left at the fire extinguisher on the station platform of Choa Chu Kang LRT station.

It belonged to a student from Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP), and having misplaced his own wallet before, he knew exactly how it felt like to lose an important personal item and to have to deal with the inconvenience it brings.

Determined to reunite the student pass with its rightful owner, ASM Radin kept the item securely in his office and called NYP’s administrative office as soon as possible, which was two days later on a Monday morning.

ASM Radin said: “Within one hour, the student showed up at the station to collect his student card and he was very thankful that I called the school as he was about to make payment to get a replacement card.”

ASMs Radin and Malaveli may be based at different stations along the MRT network, but their commitment to service excellence and SMRT’s WeCare culture is the same.

As ASM Malaveli aptly summed up, “WeCare means always being there to help commuters so they feel well cared for.”