7/17/2007

Princelings and Whistle blowers

Two letters by Chan Hwa Loon and Lin Junjie in the ST discussed about the Hongyi saga. Chan Hwa Loon was more concerned about the possibility of an attempt to cover up a princeling which is a step towards the direction of feudalism. That is very bad for a young and modern country like ours to take. Protection of princelings and covering their misdeeds is worst than nepotism. He expects the SAF to shed light on this issue given the rumours in cyberspace. The consequence is serious if we have such a culture in public services. Lin Junjie was more concerned about how a whistle blower is treated. If Hongyi did what he did out of frustration over an issue of favouritism and condoning a breach of military discipline, then his action should be taken as a positive act and be commended. Why should he be punished instead for raising a serious bloop in the SAF? Who else would dare to stand out and be a whistle blower? There must be an official channel or culture to protect whistle blowers who risk everything to disclose a misconduct or foul play. This saga has opened up a can of worms. Thanks to the brave act of a young man. Now should he be punished or be commended?

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

Suddenly someone talks about protection of whistle blowers in the #146. When Durai was suing the two poor chaps who blow the whistle on him, did anybody talk about protecting those two poor chaps. Perhaps someone did, but you know peasant whistle blowers deserve different treatments.

Anon.Dimwit said...

I read of someone who also wrote the ST Forum, saying why hy ought not be punished. One of the writer's perspectives is that we already hv too little idealists here, so why be so hard n pressed down one in hy..
However I see it, I poo poo the idealist idea in hy saga.
Let me share along the way here. :)

Anon.Dimwit said...

May we not see but one side of the coin.

In hy's saga, I see NOT "idealism" in his actions.

I see brashness, immaturity even.

• B'cos of youthfulness?
• B'cos of his privileged background?
• B'cos of his personal attitude?
• B'cos of some personal hidden agenda?

Anonymous said...

Thanks to the brave act of a young man. Now should he be punished or be commended?


Just in time National Day Awards around the corner lah,,

Abao said...

Commended for speaking out, punished for breaking protocol.

Anonymous said...

How come nobody ask why LTA X got so big balls to skive when white horse is there? then OC some more close one eye. Got people got that big balls meh? Whole thing like a soap opera playing on people feelings ...

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

we will not know the real truth unless we have the full picture. and to know who is that lta x will clear a lot of doubts.

let's look at the facts being revealed before we make any judgement. this case is too open to be covered up anymore. more rumours will be spread in cyberspace if not clear up quickly. reading some of the comments and insinuations in other blogs gives one a very uncomfortable notion.

it is like another kind of nkf.

Anon.Dimwit said...

Dear Redbeanie & all,
In my nsf days, my platoon sgt voiced his dissatisfaction with our LTA officer, n asked for men-level support so we can collectively seek our CPT (captain) officer for help.
I stood out, then a few fellow nsf men followed.
It was a proper chain of command we engaged.

But as all Sengkapolian guys who've been n seen thru their ns life will know, our complaints were heard but what came out of it?

The LTA officer was verbally reprimanded (we believe). He was wrong. We knew thus we complained. He was apparently taken to task somehow.
Subsequently those young idiots who stood out n up against him received & felt heat from him.
I got my share - raw & real. :P

I wasn't idealistic.
• I was stupid.
• I was naive.
• I was young. & very green.
• I was exacting frustration against this LTA officer.
• I was standing along my sgt & men.

Idealist? Hero?
I was an idiot. Period. ;P

Btw, Sengkapolians are not stupid. Even thru NS. :)

Khiat Han Hwee Adrian said...

Somehow lacks some EQ in handling problems like that.

If everyone is like him, our Defence Ministers, Chief of Defence and Chief of Army will be full of emails.

I feel that it is an immature act and is a lack of life experience in handling problems and emotions due to his sheltered and privilege life.

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

in any organisation there are always assholes around. and some gang up like a mafia and bully the rest, especially the young officers. favouritism, cliques, inner circle, etc will be there. and once in a while you need a die hard bruce willis to come in and bashes around, breaks the rules and breaks a few heads. got to shake them up before they get too complacent.

personally i have seen many malpractices as a young officer. whether it was a case of being outranked, too cautious, defeatist, our culture of fearing authority, many young officers will take them in their strides without fighting back.

i like fighters.

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

i have heard many grotesque stories. one was an officer whose educational level in the computer was changed from a graduate to O level. could it be a genuine mistake? difficult to think so.

i am not sure how this would impact his career advancement, for he found out too late, after he had left the service.

Anonymous said...

If you are not a scholar, you go no where in public service. That's the ultimate reality, graduate or not.

Anon.Dimwit said...

noneliteI fight.
Not for the sake that I'll be liked.

Hehe, Red Bean. ;)

Anon.Dimwit said...

I fight.
Not for the sake that I'll be liked.

Hehe, Red Bean. ;)

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

hi dim, you are getting poetic.

complacency is what is happening and logics get screwed up and still believe to be superior.

that is what this island is moving towards. but that is natural. political power comes from the barrel of a gun or something like that.

Anonymous said...

At least now I read of someone who dares put his toes out where his mouth speaks & his heart feels.

Bravo dimwitted!

Anon.Dimwit said...

Me no hero la, anon 10:12. :)
We all are heros in our existences in Sengkapoh.
• When we see things for what they are.
• Manage our thogs besides merely whining.
• Taking proactive action & responsibility for ourselves & our loved ones.

Thru the years as we live, work & grow here, some of us learnt to be more discreet, to be shrewd, to mellow n be more tempered in how we see things n who/what we deal with in life.

Again, not ALL Sengkapolians are stupid. :)

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

sometime we generalise for conveniene of making a statement. but things are never black and white, all good and all bad.

in goodness there is some badness. in badness there is some goodness.

hongyi, being a prince, understandably will attract more attention, positive or adverse. there will be people who just simply love to hate him. some will love to admire him. some will be objective and some will be subjective.

a son of a heartlander will be easily forgotten. or who cares.