4/23/2008
Witch hunt for scape goat
In Chua Mui Hoong's article she mentioned that the govt has accepted responsibility for the Mas Selamat escape and went on to discuss the virtues or correctness of pin pointing the one who is responsible for the escape. Who is culpable, who is to be blamed, who actually contributed to mistake or failure?
What it finally boils down to is that the person who is directly involved in the issue should be held accountable. Those higher up, who are at a distance, who are not directly involved, should not be dragged in and be held accountable.
Given this line of reasoning, the govt should not even accept responsibility for the escape. The people to be held accountable should be the guards, the people designing the detention centre and managing the detention centre. The rest of the govt has nothing to do with in.
It is meaningless to accept responsibility without accountability. And it is wrong to accept responsibility when one is not involved or remote from the incident.
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It is also immoral to accept million dollar salary without taking responsibility.
We used to say, that army always cock-up, like it was an inherent culture then. That we have not only managed to discard the complacent image, but also nurtured a sophisticated state of the art fighting force today, is a tribute to the extraordinary team and the high standards we have in the SAF. But this team seemed different. Last time, I was really disappointed, when a surveillance video was accidentally recovered by US coalition forces in Afghanistan. Unbelieveably, I remembered asking, what were our boys focussing on? That despite all the sophistication and budget, they were ignorant about a plot on our Yishun MRT. And that we have to hear about it from another party half way around the globe! This time, I am really shocked, by the unbelievable lapses. More than that, I am concerned about the accountability and reponsibilty issues. We may use different words to explain different things at different times, but the facts do not change. It was a comedy of errors, a chain of mistakes, and we apologised, honestly and humbly.
To put things in perspectives, this is a credibility issue. And it has been an awesome eye-opener too. Else it encourages a complacent culture, the buck must stop somewhere. The standards must be consistent.
this is a very serious matter but the tales get stranger everyday. hope we can get mas selamat one day to know the whole story.
the standards in singapore are high, sometimes
Whack him!
So it means the higher you are in the hierarchy(also higher salary), the less responsibility you have when anything untoward happened during your watch. You have Underlings that takes care down the line.
I may be wrong as I could not remember clearly, but the Officer Commanding a Unit was held responsible when a soldier died during training (drowned by his instructors). Maybe someone can confirm this?
unfortunately I cant rember that one, but I have full confidence in the way they handled things there. the SAF has an unblemished reputation, not just locally. yet through the years, it had recorded many unhappy incidents. such as, like you mentioned, drownings. there were also deaths from training and disasters from air/naval crashes. even then, at no time were there any blame directed at the person at the very top or suggestion for his removal. why is this so?
personally, I think the secret lies in the meticulous manner in which they handled those incidents. I think the things they did have won the confidence of all. for example, their officers were there to lend their condolences at the bereavements. more importantly, they always start the investigations with the premise that no one is protected or unimpeachable whatever their background. they didnt focussed on defending, speaking up for friends, colleagues, fellow workers or white horses. or in saving faces. instead they focussed on the problems, every time with the promise that no stone will be left unturned. that's really how the SAF endeared themselves to its people as a highly respected institution.
but I felt uneasy about this MS incident. there were all sorts of suggestions as you can see. and defensiveness was in the air as it has never occurred before. dont get me wrong, I am not saying who should be accountable as I really have no idea at this stage. but if I am somehow responsible even at a distance, to the camp's incident for example, I would go voluntarity. yes, I would really consider doing the honourable thing if it means salvaging the credibility of the entire corp. one of the MPs mentioned this. the private sector practised competitive renumeration, as it did hiring and firing. I agree with him. if anyone wants competive renumerations and iron ricebowls, he should have said so. these are my perspectives.
One can see the face of WKS as he sat while his boss defended him.(Picture in ST) Question here - Does the populace accepts PM rational explanation or will the populace mix matters over their expectation on the thouroughness of these highly paid Ministers.
Will ppl forgive forget.. or will their confidence slowly erodes... Credibility had already been lost and now the issue of accountability hangs over quicksand...
Will ppl act rationally during next election and accept PM's explanation?
Ppl expect responsibities/accountability to be tied with high salary.
Many SIN worked long hours to carry that same responsibilities but on a megre pay packet.
Many expect due natural justice be done when attributing accountabilities.
By pushing away responsibility, they have lost all credibility with the people. That is something very difficult to earn back.
I hope they do not judge the people's angry reaction lightly this time as a passing fad. With the erosion of living standards and onset of more difficult times ahead, the next election may hold some surprises.
Everybody here is dreaming of an election surprise. The GRC system is so watertight and designed so craftily that it ensures perpetual rule. Forget and continue to adapt and live under the present PAP. You fellows are wasting your time posting all these round and round. It is a sad fact of live here. Take it or leave it.
I can tell you the political power of the PAP remains unaffected.
Next election, they'll still have a majority--maybe smaller than 66%, but they'll still be governing.
I think our Clown Prince has made another blunder. Going by his logic, then some of the following existing laws need to be changed :-
1) The boss of a firm can be jailed if he is found to have employed an illegal worker even if he is not involved in the recruitment of the worker directly.
2) The boss of a firm can also be jailed if he is found to have caused the fatal accident of his worker at his workplace by not providing a safe working enviroment.
How can we have double standards, one set of laws for holding someone responsible even if he/she is not directly liable and another interpretation that one should not be liable if the mistake is not directly caused by him/her.
Is the law for our Clown Prince above everyone else ?
pap will still win by a big majority in the next election, just like umno.
i recommend you people to read the editorial of toc. everything that needs to be said were there.
"toc." is ...???
"toc." is ...???
April 24, 2008 11:12 AM
A Political Blog site "The Online Citizen"
If you observe this lady Chua Mooi Hoong's writing,which i have done for some time,she is a classic example of Govt's mouthpiece!
A lot of her articles start off like she is really critical of questionable govt policies,or decisions.
However,the ending is always the same.
Ends up,she is always a big useless trumpet.
I believe she gets a handsome salary for her job.
ok, just read toc., quite powerful views there... let me quote the shocking brutherly comments;
................................
"..... Wong Kan Seng’s exoneration of Director ISD after a private talk with him makes a mockery of accountability. Compound this with PM’s exoneration of Wong Kan Seng after discussing the matter with him in private and that mockery becomes a travesty of justice...."
................................
> she is a classic example of Govt's mouthpiece! <
Oh, how furtively pornographic!
I wonder if she swallows the stuff.
I mean, if she herself believes what she says.
She swallowed and regurgitates alright. Like writing 'manage' instead of 'fix'
I for one stopped buying newspapers unless there is a good reason for it. IF i need to keep myself abreast about anything happening in Singapore, the internet is my source without the propaganda. Like their counterparts in Malaysia, our press is the mouthpiece of the ruling party and same as the rest of us citizens, a repressive society, the reason for their existence is reliant on the government. The same can also be said of the other forms of local news media.
I suggest you all save your money and see what the press will do with their dwindling readership. They are earning tons of money from advertisement sponsors.
You're forbidden by law to publish or broadcast any content in Singapore. To do so, you must first seek approval, and then permission from the state.
What the govt is trying to sneak past the people, and impose a higher degree of serfdom on the people is the argument: "We regulate print and broadcast, therefore we must regulate the internet".
Will The Sheeple-poreans be bamboozled, yet again? Or will The Sheeple sees that the emperor is stark naked, and stark raving mad and heel bent on making you and your kin obedient slaves to serve the interests of the ruling elite?
Stay tuned...
The blogsphere has so far thrown up the following views;
1. instead of absolving important figures from an early stage, full uninsulated transparencies are needed. hence the need for 3rd party investigations.
2. as suggested by lady MP, why no 3rd party investigations, perhaps at the president's pleasure, instead of internal reporting.
3. top management has everything to do with good performance, but little to do with bad performance.
4. though gross incompetence revealed in the findings smacks of devil-my-care complacency that may have long existed in the corporate culture (grill problem was discussed years before), but blame was seen shifting to the middle and lower ranks.
I was taught from young that a true leader is one who accepts responsibilty for his underlings' failings. It is a great responsiblity to shoulder, but the load comes with the job. You can't have your cake and eat it too, as you can't eat your cake and have it too.
In politics, you can always have blue cheese under the moon as long as your boss are with you. The question here is there must be reason for your boss to keep supporting you. Until unless the boss's position is also under threat. Where is the threat? So they can have cake and eat it, why not. Over and over again.
See this scenario being played out. Nearer to election ..." Mas Selamat is arrested...? There will be thunder after thunder. ppl will cheer victoriously. There will be claps and dances. You can imagine this hypothetical scenario.
So you see, timing is everything. CID can flush out a criminal within hours why not Selamat?
When PM asked WP Low whether he want to see WKS resign..That man just sat there while the house waited for his response.. Who is now the scapegoat?
On hingsight...WP LOw "He is your cabinet minister and you are the PM who makes the decision, the ppl will judge your decision"
The government official will never been responsible for anything since they delegate the task to someone to do it ! Remember Nicoll highway ?
GIC, Temasek, all will not be responsible for our money lost because LHL, LKY, HoJinx delegate the task of managing our CPF, reserve, investment to someone else.
When thing go good, it is their credit, when thing goes bad, it is that someone else's fault.
Amazing Singapore government !
the position that ministers who are not directly involved in a fiasco need not resign is pushing the limit too far and will not go down well with the people, especially when they are paid in the millions.
Right, it is the one main reason why Singaporeans are so angry about this episode, paying themselves astronomical salaries without accepting responsibility. Only in Singapore can this be possible.
It shows Ah Mat & Ah kow the average paid can bring a system to a halt.. It is scary scenario that heads didnt roll this time when something do go wrong instead they pat each other backs. There is disquiet and public unhappiness. They will slowly lose faith while Chua Moi Hooi acts a the mouthpiece and sucks.
thanks for the views. most of the points have been covered and recovered. as such, i agree that it is time to move on.
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