The perception that people tend to abuse public services fuels those in charge of dispensing public services to invariably come up with regulations with an implicit deterrence against abuse.

The problem with adopting the assumption that people will tend to abuse the system is that it creates a vicious circle of self-fulfilling prophecies. Why? Because monkey see, monkey do.

So, it is not surprising to find such an underlying attitude in all layers of public and civic life.

Suppose we change our basic assumption of abuse to appreciation.

We can begin by assuming that people generally appreciate what others do for them. Then, there will inherently be an attitude of thankfulness in response to helpfulness among most people.

We can begin by doing this when formulating policies to introduce new or improved public services.

When we announce such new services, our tone of voice and language must also show a more generous attitude and genuine respect for human decency.

Then we can look forward to a more friendly experience when accessing public services, and genuine appreciation from users.

Thomas Lee Hock Seng (Dr)