"It's a great honour for me to attend the passing-out parade as Reviewing Officer today. After 37 years of service in the Force, I feel a great sense of pride to inspect the latest batch of new blood graduates prior to my retirement.

 

Every graduate standing on the parade ground is the future and hope of the Force. A forward-looking Police Force must have in place a sound and systematic mechanism of manpower succession. Today, you and I just exemplify the succession based on this perfect mechanism.

 

After today, you will be dispatched to various districts to perform police duties. If your policing career is taken as a book, you are going to unveil chapter one. The Police College has written the preface of your book and you are going to decide its content. The more efforts you make, the more interesting your book will be. In your book, I believe you would mark down the challenges and achievements of your daily work with your sweat, enthusiasm and perseverance.

 

Given the diversity of police duties, the Force has adhered to the 'people-based' management principle by investing immense resources in training. Your career development in the Force will vary in future, but you are embarking from the same starting point. All of you have gone through the foundation training provided by the Police College, which has given you a good start for your policing career. You have already acquired the basic knowledge and practical skills for police duties. However, the training provided for you will not end there. The Force will continue to offer you a great variety of on-the-job training, upholding the 'people-based' spirit. Remember, you have a role to play too. You have to keep on learning and gaining experience from your work in order to enhance your professional standards. After work, you also have to excel and keep abreast of the changes and developments of society through lifelong learning in order to provide quality services to the community.

 

As police duties are varied and complicated, it is impossible for the Force to work out rules and regulations for you to follow in all circumstances. However, if you can strictly comply with the behavioural guidelines in respect of integrity and honesty values issued by the Force and take the 'Four Way Values' judgment model as your personal beacon, you will surely develop on the right track.

 

With the drastic changes in society nowadays, the public have more expectations of the Force. You have to endure great pressure under the adverse circumstances of your daily work, but the efforts you have made might not be recognised by all members of the public. Here is a couplet I would like to share with you, hoping it would be a source of inspiration for you to go about things and get along with people in future. The first line of the couplet is 'Make noble wishes. Build good relationships. Live a simple life'. The second line is 'Stand on high grounds. Be down to earth. Take a right path'. The first line says that everyone should cherish high ideals and aspirations, stay tranquil and satisfied, make friends prudently and put stern demands on yourself in daily life. The second line reminds us to stand on a high ground and broaden horizons, take a broad and long-term view in analysing issues and treat our lives with a down-to-earth manner. When things do not turn out as you wish, remain broad-minded and never bother yourself too much with personal gains or losses.

 

I hope you, young people, will learn to strike a balance among your work, family, friends and personal life. When you possess the wisdom of balancing life, you will be able to cope with the pressure of your work and life with ease, enjoy your life and gain job satisfaction.

 

Most of the guests attending the ceremony today are relatives and friends of the graduates. Thank you for supporting our graduates. I hope you would continue to support them in future. Police work is arduous, requiring not only the efforts of Force members but also the support and consideration of their colleagues, family members and friends.

 

Soon I am going to retire. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Force for my career development as well as my colleagues for their encouragement, support and care. I find great satisfaction and take pride in working for years with such a professional, responsible and caring police force.

 

Lastly, I wish all guests, graduates and Force members a good work-life and good health."