ANY reporter knows what to expect when covering a ministerial community event.

Besides the festivities and loud music, there'll be lots of handshaking and baby-holding - and if you're lucky, some soundbites for the media on the issues of the day.

What you don't expect, though, is seeing ministers and Members of Parliament (MPs) climbing a tree - just for the heck of it, apparently.

After the Aljunied GRC Chinese New Year celebrations at Bedok Reservoir on Sunday, MPs Madam Cynthia Phua, and Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Zainul Abidin Rasheed were strolling among the trees by the reservoir when the itch to do something spontaneous struck them.

Madam Phua was the first to clamber on a plastic chair and hoist herself up the tree - it was short, so she didn't have far to climb. Mr Zainul, who also happens to be the Northeast CDC's mayor, followed suit. The pair cheerily waved at bystanders, who quickly whipped out their cameras and phones to snap pictures.

Maybe they were carried away by the festive mood.

Whatever it was, the two seemed to be in genuine high spirits when they got down, and were immediately mobbed by reporters who asked what had spurred them into the act.

"Just climb for fun lor!" quipped Madam Phua.

And, apparently, for nostalgia's sake too. We were told by Madam Phua that she was an avid tree climber in her youth, and would often scale a rambutan tree, via her house's roof, to pluck rambutans.

Mr Zainul, meanwhile, had fond memories of paying 10 to 20 cents to climb jambu trees to pick the fruit.

All in all, it was a delightful fun moment that showed a glimpse into their personalities.

Too often, the public is presented with carefully orchestrated attempts to soften the stiff-necked image of government servants and politicians, be it MPs doing hip-hop dances or civil servants rapping. We appreciate the effort, but they can sometimes be painfully transparent.

It's different when they deviate from the script and show they have some spontaneity in them. No matter how small the act, it somehow makes them much more human and approachable.

So if there are any government officials reading this: There's no harm in lightening up a little. A sense of humour goes a long way - and we really need it in these trying times!