1/04/2006

whistle blowing

please read the fine prints. one clause says you must be able to afford the legal fees and compensation if you are sued in court. a successful whistle blower is like an entrepreneur. one succeeded while a thousand went bankrupt along the way. but the reward is different. one gains nothing, one gains wealth. one gains contempt, one gains recognition.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Until the law is enacted to protect the whistle blowers and restrict the effective use of defamation to intimidate and silence the whistle blowers, our PM Lee's call to speak up and be counted is just another lip services from the government.

One must not forget that Singapore is an unique society according to SM Goh. Nothing will change in the foreseeable future. Let move on...

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

haha, speed,

you are learning very fast.
let's move on. period. case close.

Ⓜatilah $ingapura⚠️ said...

There should not be any laws protecting whistle blowers because then the system is wide open to abuse.

Say I was CEO of criminal Corporation B. I bribe you, an executive with Criminal Corporation A to whistle blow on your employer. I of course am also a Criminal Corporate Raider.

When the stock of Criminal Corporation A drops because of *unfounded* allegations, I simply short their stock - and make alot of money. Everyone in Criminal Corporation A is now under suspicion, and tarred with the same brush.

Whistle blowing can be an important tool in monitoring and regulating those Criminal Corporations. But I believe that regulating these corporate criminals must be done totally from the free market. The Criminals-In-Charge of their corporations have to answer to the Complicit Sharholders - who stand to lose money if their appointed Criminal CEO'S behave badly.

There is already a system to deal with these unsavoury types: it's called The Criminal Justice System and it is especially designed to put these fuckers behind bars.

The more laws we have, the more complicated it gets. And every law can be exploited - by the criminals.

Take for example "the war on drugs". This has caused more criminal activity than if there weren't any such "war".

Enforcing and policing laws also require resources. And it means diminished freedom for ALL because of the intrusive nature of law enforcement.

Almost everyone who works for a corporation is a CRIMINAL. Once you accept that, you'll understand that the only way to regulate them is from the market. These CRIMINALS like to make money. It is up to the customers to ensure that they, the customer, holds all the power - all the time, so that the CRIMINAL perhaps becomes an HONEST MAN which serves his customer

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

you are right my friend. it is better to start at first principle, make sure that everyone is decent and honourable. if this fails, all the laws and actions will have other side effects and reactions.

whistle blowing or laws for it are double edged swords. it can cut both ways.

a genuine group of independent directors that is part of the practice in the corporate world is an effective tool to prevent misdeeds. provided the system of independent directors really allows the directors to be independent. and of course the fall back position is accountability and punishment for all violators, including independent directors who failed in their duties.

Ⓜatilah $ingapura⚠️ said...

Ludwig von Mises: "Every reactionary lacks intellectual independence." - Nation, State, and Economy

Speedwing said...

Hi Redbean

Writing this from Starbucks JB. I like this phrase, " Enough of this, let's move on............." .

I guess the NKF saga will fall neatly into this category????

I will wait and see what will come out of all this huffing and puffing....." We will prosecute to the full extent of the law......".

However, I will certainly not hold my breath.

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

hi matilah,

i think i have to agree with you on the reationaries. most of them thought they have an ideology or formula. but they could not understand the essence of the philosophy and blindly apply or follow lock, stock and barrel.

even in religions, most of them are reactionaries.

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

hi speed,
i saw in the news yesterday stating that the staff and the patients wanted to move on. so convenient. wonder why they are so eager to move on?

this issue cannot be settled so easily. many things are at stake. and there are many questions waiting to be answered.

we are just spectators to a show.