Incredible.
63. ...Director ISD met me and told me that he accepted responsibility for what has happened and apologised. Having known him for many years, I told him that I have full confidence in him and he must carry on...
66. I have directed Commissioner of Police and Director ISD to investigate the operational lapses related to the escape and to ascertain accountabilities, taking into account the findings of the COI and CID reports. Officers who are responsible for Mas Selamat's escape will be disciplined and penalised. In this connection, I have asked Director ISD to examine the roles not only of the WRDC junior officers but also to go up the chain of command and include the supervisory and management levels of WRDC as well...
67. I have also instructed Commissioner of Police and Director ISD to replace the officers at WRDC responsible for Mas Selamat's escape as identified in the COI report.
According to our good friend, Mee Siam Mai Hum:
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has said that public officers, including Ministers, should not be automatically removed or punished just because a lapse has occurred down the line.
...
He acknowledged that the Minister is ultimately accountable for the policies and operations of his ministry, but said a rational approach to establish who is responsible for lapses has to be taken.
These include finding out who failed in their duties and whether there was negligence or incompetence.
So the lesson to be learnt, ladies and gentlemen, is that in Singapore, it always pays to be friends with the people at the top.
For one, you get to make lots of money. For another, you get to keep your job and all the benefits that go along with it, regardless of whatever boo-boo(s) you may make or may have made.
And to add insult to injury, it is Wong Kan Seng who insinuates it in such a nonchalant fashion, which is why I feel really sad for the junior officers etc. who are going to be sacked, demoted, etc.
Because in the end, they were just doing their job that they were instructed to do by the higher ups, so really, it is the higher-ups who should be held accountable for any folly that has been shown to have ensued.
And which is also why I am still disgruntled with this though: "Mr Lee made clear, though, that if there are questions over the integrity of the people involved, they would be removed, no matter how minor the incident is." (Wong)
Well, Singapore have questions over the integrity of Wong Kan Seng and Director ISD, so why shouldn't THEY be removed as well, even if their involvement in the matter seems minor in a scaled down comparison?
I foresee this is going to cost the PAP plenty in the next Singapore General Elections, unless the people are stricken by amnesia again. But let's hope for the best, shall we? The winds of change are bound to come one day, sooner than later.
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7 comments:
Pay dearly at the next elections? If they did pay, Lord High Lee Kuan Yew has deemed any election of the opposition a freak result and he'd call in the military.
Who pays dearly exactly?
hello, hope you're doing fine.
i think this might be an issue at the next general elections. but then again, the ruling party has a neurolizer (c.f. men in black) in the form of lift upgrades, GST offset packages, government dividends and other socialist policies.
i love handouts. more please! make me forget the pain!
If the Mas Selamat's case surprised you wait till the next election, bigger surprises are in store. They have reached the level where they will do anything to stay in power. We all now know how the so called proven system if checks and balance works. We have seen several brilliant examples. Losing power will mean proper checks and audits and my god I wonder what the cupboard holds. They know that too and so don't even bother
@Anonymous: I seriously don't know what you are going on about.
I always thought that Wong Kan Seng is related to Lee Hsien Loong by marriage. Think his wife is Mrs LKY's niece. If it's true, then all the better to be related to the top people.
To truly understand CRONYISM in sheep city, you have to start at the top. The PM's wife is overlooking our investments/reserves and is suppose to report to Dana, who in turn reports to the 'then' finance ministar[ also the PM ]. This Triangular relationship is above board and transparent to the public. Til today the public including our jaga at the istana[president] has little clue about the country's reserves. The last I read was what the MM said in the S.T. "The money is there". But he did not specify how much and our S.T. reporters did not venture to ask. Well folks, we should take heart that since it was reported that it would take something like 50+ man years to count the money, we can all sleep well and assume it must be helluva lot.
People always think that the People have finally had enough, and that the Revolution will happen.
Look what such thinking has gotten us over the last 2 decades.
Meh.
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