WGS Jaguar Scout Group - MINDS

Interview with Mrs Jaya Mohideen
Mrs Jaya Mohideen led MINDS as President from 2003 to 2009. She established key policies and frameworks that not only
put MINDS in the forefront of social services, but also safeguarded MINDS from governance failures and the impact of the
global economic downturn. Besides MINDS, Mrs Mohideen also helped to influence directions that shaped the services and
well being of persons with intellectual disability in Singapore through the MCYS Enabling Masterplan.
Mrs Mohideen is Singapore’s Non-Resident Ambassador to Finland, a business woman and a mother of two. Among her
many laurels are the prestigious Singapore National Day awards - Public Service Star (Bintang Bakti Masyarakat) and Public
Service Medal (Pingat Bakti Masyarakat). She was made a commandeur of the Order of Orange - Nassall by Queen Beatrix
of The Netherlands in 1993. Mrs Mohideen is also the first woman Non Resident Ambassador in Singapore. MINDS is very
fortunate to have her continue as Advisor to MINDS.
MINDSpeak: How did you
first hear of MINDS and what
motivated you to become
involved with the organisation?
Mrs M: I was approached by
Prof Tan Ser Kiat to succeed
him as President of MINDS.
MINDSpeak: Do you recall
what came to your mind
when you first visited MINDS
schools/centres/homes? What
has changed since then?
Mrs M: My first visit to Tampines Home in 2003 was an
eye-opener. The Home was housed in an old school with
multiple and undulating levels. It was most unsuitable
for persons with intellectual and physical disabilities.
This reinforced my full support for MINDS to have all
purpose-built schools and institutions, which programme
had already been initiated by Prof Tan. We have now
completed our building programme to achieve this
objective. The more important observation during that
visit was that MINDS was then operating in three silos:
schools, homes, and employment/training centres.
For MINDs to move forward, it had to be transformed
into a seamless organisation with integrated, cohesive
and holistic policies and programmes. We have also
completed this exercise.
MINDSpeak: MINDS President, Mr Conrad Campos,
attributed MINDS’ sound corporate governance to your
leadership even before all spotlight was on charities in
recent years. What caused you to pay such high level of
attention on corporate governance since years ago?
Mrs M: In any organisation, good corporate governance
is the cornerstone of that organisation’s success
and continuity. No organisation should be run as a
personal empire as it would surely fail. I am familiar with
organisational change and re-engineering of organisations
and processes.
03 mindspeak: the heartvoice of special people
As the Exco and I were ultimately accountable, I had to
build checks and balances to safeguard public funds,
focus on staff and career development, training, and
deployment. Several committees were established to
deal with specific subjects and new young professionals
were inducted into MINDS. MINDS is now an open and
transparent organisation.
MINDSpeak: What is the toughest part of your work or
the biggest challenge that you faced over the years with
MINDS?
Mrs M: My toughest challenge was to sell my views
to my colleagues in the Exco and later to the staff
of MINDS. I am deeply grateful to my fellow Exco
colleagues as they were equally involved and committed
to our causes. What MINDS has achieved is a collective
effort by Exco and our sterling staff. I may have been
the initiator but the actual delivery is the collective work
of many in MINDS.
MINDSpeak: What is the most rewarding aspect of your
work with MINDS?
Mrs M: I am still committed to MINDS and am still a
MINDS volunteer. It is rewarding to see how policies and
programmes directly impact on and benefit our clients
and staff.
Front row, left to right: Mr Conrad Campos,
President of MINDS; Dr Aline Wong,
Vice-Patron of MINDS; and Mrs Jaya Mohideen, Advisor of MINDS.
Back row, left to right: Mr Keh Eng Song,
CEO of MINDS; and Mr Jeffery Tan, Honorary Secretary of MINDS.