Raymond Anthony Fernando has always been an active contributor to the suggestion scheme both at company, personal and national level. During his stint in a large media company, he received 8 commendations from the General Manager for submitting outstanding suggestions. On a national level, Raymond was presented with an award (A pewter plate) from the Singapore Police Force in July 1998 for his contribution to road safety, and letters of appreciation from government leaders. Raymond has also served as a volunteer for 3 years in the Government Feedback Unit, contributing ideas to help in nation building. Today, he continues to contribute to the well being of all Singaporeans. Some of Raymond's suggestions/ideas, reproduced in summary, are spelled out by him below:

News captions screened over TV's News channel for the benefit of the hearing impaired - idea suggested on 3rd October 1997
Although my idea was rejected by the media company I worked for on 3rd October 1997, I decided that this community project was a useful one, so my wife and I decided to re-package the same idea and send it to the authorities on 3rd November 1998. My wife and I were delighted to receive a reply from the Feedback Unit on 7th January 1999 informing us that the idea was being considered by the national broadcasting station.

Using technology to improve the lives of prisoners - idea submitted on 5th March 2004

On the 5th March 2004, I wrote to the authorities suggesting that they use technology to enhance the lives of prisoners by introducing E-mail facilities for prisoners at specifies times/days. This facility can be " built in" for the rehabilitation programmes. It is quicker and will reduce the present workload of staff by more than three times. Briefly this is how the proposed system could run:-

Each prisoner can be given a password to log into a computer. His e-mail address is then given to his family members and friends who can tie-up with the prisoner through this electronic means. For security reasons, a moderator can screen all letters/messages transmitted by this means. At specific dates/times, prisoners can have access to a computer, key in their password and then read their mail. The prisoners can also reply to the sender, but the moderator again screens this before it reaches the family member/friend.