Humans of HTX: From underdog to grassroots leader

Some watershed moments can change one’s life profoundly. For Tan Teck Chuan, such an inflection point came in 2009, at a preschool in Kampong Glam fraught with the anxiety of residents waiting to consult Member of Parliament Denise Phua.

Caught up in the thick of his sons’ primary school balloting exercise, the frazzled father-of-two had turned up to seek help with their admission. But he left the session pondering deeper questions.

“Some of the residents couldn’t speak English. Some came in wheelchairs. Others smelt unwashed,” recalled the director of HTX’s Platform Systems Sustainment Centre. “As someone new to community engagement, I wondered why so many were experiencing issues.”

The episode heralded the start of his enduring journey as a grassroots volunteer, during which he found a sense of purpose helping low-income families apply for financial assistance. It’s a calling that has been equally heart-rending and gratifying, as he’s borne witness to both crushing intergenerational poverty and social mobility – thanks in part to community driven initiatives.

“We once aided a family with two children that was unable to afford milk powder. The man worked really hard and, several years later, came in to thank us as they had just purchased their first HDB flat,” said Teck Chuan. “That was a moment I’ll never forget.”

Experiences like these, he added, stoke his passion for community service, as well as reinforce his belief in humans’ propensity to flip the script of life and seize the second chances they are presented with.

Turning setbacks into triumphs

The 55-year-old veteran public servant is well-acquainted with the concept of second chances. Raised as the youngest of five siblings, he lost his father while still in secondary school. With his mother working long hours at a factory assembly line to support the family, he was often left to his own devices. As a result, he skipped studying for soccer and lagged academically in his early years.

He may have been an underdog whose O’ Level grades only secured him a place at the Singapore Technical Institute – then dogged by blue-collar stereotypes from elitist quarters – but Teck Chuan later turned that narrative on its head. While serving National Service, he applied to Ngee Ann Polytechnic on a whim and was accepted.

“My mother said, ‘Don’t worry about the money, just go’,” he recounted. “I decided then to give it my all, because of the hardship my family had endured to put me through school.”

And he made good on that resolution. The unlikely scholar notched multiple academic awards, including the first Tay Eng Soon gold medal for outstanding work as a diploma student in building services. The latter area of study had piqued his interest ever since he began dabbling in architectural drawings as a hobby, using the computer-aided design software AutoCAD.

“I used the 2D drawing feature and my imagination to create 3D images,” he grinned. “It required a lot of patience but nurtured my passion for technical drawings.”

His magnum opus is a rendering of the handsomely domed Cardiff Hall, an Edwardian Baroque architectural masterpiece in Wales, which he created while pursuing his mechanical engineering degree at Cardiff University.

After graduating, Teck Chuan returned to Singapore with a first-class honours degree – among a panoply of awards – and was promptly hired on the spot during his interview with research and development organisation DSO (Defence Science Organisation) National Laboratories in 1996.

A lifetime in public service

Teck Chuan left DSO after three years to join the Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA), a decision driven by a desire to broaden his capabilities. This kick-started a 15-year stint at the statutory board focused on technology acquisition and systems development.

A crowning achievement from his time there was spearheading the 3G digital transformation of armoured vehicles in the early 2000s. In 2015, he joined the Ministry of Home Affairs, paving the way for his eventual role at HTX. Here, he’s thrived in an environment he describes as “flexible” and “exciting”.

A good measure of the director’s leadership would be his team’s collective wins. Platform Systems recently developed an IoT solution that streamlines SCDF’s firefighting operations. While commanders previously had to manually check each fire engine’s water and foam levels, these newly installed sensors transmit real-time data on water, foam, and pump temperature to a central app, providing an instant overview of all vehicles’ resources.

Built entirely in-house, from app development to sensor installation, the system has been piloted successfully and enhances operational efficiency and safety.

“I always tell my team to avoid looking at the status quo,” he said.

Clearly, his guidance hasn’t fallen on deaf ears. One example of this is a recent ad hoc project his team undertook: to prevent potential tampering of Home Team vehicles that were parked overnight at a workshop before an event the next day, they installed a camera with motion detection software – impressively developed by interns – that sends intrusion alerts and images via messaging service Telegram.

“I’m very happy that they come up with such things without my knowledge. This is what you call initiative; seeing a potential problem and doing something about it!” he effused.

Leading with a soft touch

With his genial demeanour and quick, crinkly smile, the father-of-two and prolific balloon sculptor – his masterpieces include mind-bogglingly intricate thrones and a lion head – is the antithesis of a hard-driving boss.

Instead of brute forcing rigid daily stand-ups and hierarchical command structures, he leads with warmth and approachability. This is, after all, a licensed Registry of Marriages (ROM) solemniser who once presided over a HTX employee’s marriage. He has also participated in the inaugural Purple Parade – which champions inclusivity of persons with disabilities – since its inception.

“Inclusivity is ensuring we don’t look at the disabled differently, because they are part of our society,” he asserted.

For him, paying it forward – whether through grassroots volunteering or nurturing his team – is simply a response to seeing hardship around him and feeling compelled to act.

“If I didn’t do something, I’d just feel bad about it,” he reflected.

Mentoring is something he holds close to his heart, as he believes young engineers often enter the workforce with preconceived notions about how they or others should behave.

“I always tell them there’s no single stereotype for an engineer or a government officer. You have to adapt, take feedback, and not cling to rigid ideas of what leadership looks like,” said Teck Chuan, who received his 30-year public service Long Service Award in 2025.

In the same vein, he believes that the role of a public servant has evolved over the years.

“I used to think being a public servant meant strictly abiding by the rules,” he shared.

“But here at HTX, I’ve come to realise it’s about thinking outside the box and finding innovative ways to be more productive.”