Lack of talent in Opposition

The Mas Selamat case is a golden opportunity for the opposition to score whatever points they want in Parliament. Unfortunately their performance so far is very unflattering. The best opposition came in the form of Inderjit Singh, who was able to ask some meaningful questions quite forcefully. I must say that I am very disappointed. How could the whole embarrassing episode get by and the opposition could not even make a small dent on the govt? And they had to shield their eyes in the face of a few glares. The lack of talent in the opposition camp to rise to the occasion is very telling.

The Parliament Glare

On the first day of Parliament Low Thia Khiang popped the cheeky question to Kan Seng on whether the rumour that Mas Selamat was already dead. All he got was a glare. And he conceded and answered his own question, that Mas was not dead. Yesterday he was asking Hsien Loong about accountability and suggesting that Kan Seng should resigned. He got a Hsien Loong glare. And he kept quiet when Hsien Loong asked him if Kan Seng should resign. At the rate that it is going, the glare will be so blinding that Parliament need not switch the lights anymore.

A new prison in Changi

It was reported that a better and more secure facility would be built inside Changi to replace the WRDC. A forumer wrote to Today saying that it was a bad idea as the terrorists and highly dangerous prisoners would be in contact with other prisoners and could turn it into a breeding ground for terrorists. He suggested an island like St John to keep them away from the masses. All very bad idea to me. We should not be wasting so much public money on terrorists and dangerous prisoners. And please don't give up our tropical island resorts to them. What they need is a double layer container, sealed and placed in the centre of nowhere. That should do the job. Just add a CCTV for added surveillance. But make sure it is switched on.

Notable quote by Redbean

'You can delegate a task, but you cannot delegate your responsibility.' Redbean I learnt this as a young officer in NS.

Professional and competent

I always have high regard for our security people. And I said that not without any justification. The last 40 years of security and a sense of being in a safe country speak for this belief. And many Singaporeans can swear by this too. But with the Mas Selamat case, it puts everyone in doubt. The Chinese has a phrase called 'mao dun.' This is best exemplified when my kopitiam talk cock friends pointed out all the glaring shortfalls that a boy scout could do better. The escape was due to a confluence of factors, factors that are too elementary, that should not have been there in a highly professional and competent organisation. Grunt has pointed out many shortcomings and confusing facts above that I don't wish to elaborate or to repeat. If Mas Selamat escaped through a well thought out plan, with the assistance of a gang of helpers, that would be a different issue. What had happened, when a highly dangerous prisoner could practically walked out of a high security centre, must have baffled many people. What does the simplicity of the escape says? It is this simplicity that is shocking and unforgiveable, if I have to put it bluntly. The security personnel and system were not challenged a little bit. They actually facilitated the escape. The more I look at the facts presented, the more ridiculous the escape becomes. And my kopitiam friends asked, 'Can you call that professional and competent?' I have nothing else to say.