Thinking Aloud
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I have read this article the Straits Times 26 April 2008 and nearly fell off the chair. As it cannot be found on the online Straits Times, I had to type this out. This article is full of flaws in her arguments as she tried in vain to explain the whole incident.
Reading Internet posting often makes my blood boil. Especially recent one on Mas Selamet Kastari incident and the Committee of Inquiry finding disclosed by the Deputy Prime Minster Wong Kan Seng in Parliament this week.
Too many nitzens:
>>Obviously have not read the full account f what Mr Wong said, yet think they are in position to pass judgment.
>>Seem to feed on one another's vitriol, and try to outdo themselves in calling for punishment; and
>>Have no sense of perspective, seeming to think the escape of one detainee is sufficient cause for the entire government to be thrown into flux by sacking a minister.
How many of those calling for Mr Wong's resignation really mean it, I wonder.
Or will they be like Low Thia Khiang, the Hougang MP who, when pressed for an on-the-record statement that Mr Wong should resign, decline to provide one?
How many of these called for the resignation of Mr Teo Chee Hean, who was Defence Minister in 2003 when the commando died as a result of the dunking during training?
Not only was there a death, but the Ministry initially did not state how he died. It was only after two months later - after the newspaper reports and the Internet postings by friends of the commando - that appeared before Parliament to answer questions on the death.
If a fire should break out in an HDB block due to shoddy wiring, will the people the National Development to resign?
If a teacher with an undetected mental problem starts slashing at students in school, will the Education Minister have to resign?
In both cases, there will have been negligence- but does extend all the way up to the minister?
Common sense will tell you the buck has to stop somewhere, or there will be no ministers left in no time.
This is not to say ministers should be immune. If a block of HDB flats was found to be unsafe, for instance, due to shoddy workmanship, I would join the call those calling for the minister to resign, even if he had not known about it.
If a hospital was found to have been awarding tenders to its CEO’s family and friends, and the Health Minister knew but did nothing, the latter should be sacked, perhaps even charged with complicity.
But the Mas Selamat escapes? What loss has there been, except that of face – mostly?
If he were a homicidal manic, there would be danger to the Singapore public. But he is not one.
The danger he poses is incremental: He is now one more militant on the loose, whether in Singapore or in the region, joining the no doubt hundreds already out there. Terrorism did not begin, and will not end, with Mas Selamat.
The escape has been a big stain on the reputation of the Ministry of home Affairs (MHA). But it has been a lesser stain on the reputation of Singapore. We hold ourselves as infallible than the world hold us. If you talk to businessmen and investors, the escape has been no more than and interesting interlude, with no impact on their business decisions.
But this does not mean nothing more needs to be done. After such a high signature event, there can be a closure only if there are two things: a high degree of transparency, and the heads seen to roll. Such is the way human nature is wired.
To me – a not always sympathetic observer of local politics, as those who have followed my writing closely over the years will know – there has been unprecedented transparency in the way MHA disclosed information on the case over these two months.
Yes, there were confusing moments, such as when information about his clothing, his limp or his mole was made public. MHA will no doubt have learnt from this experience how to communicate more clearly and precisely in future.
Compare Singapore handling of the Mas Selamat escape with the America equivalent.
As recounted by the security specialist Michael Richardson in an article published in this newspaper on the March 28, Omar Al-Faruq, “one of the top Al-Qaeda leaders of South East Asia”, escaped in July 2005 with three others from the supposedly tightly guarded United States detention centre at Bagram airbase in Afghanistan.
When he escaped, the US was so embarrassed it did not disclose Faruq’s escape for some time.
“The news emerged only months later – during an army trial in November 2005, the US sergeant accused of mistreating Faruq in 2002,” said Richardson.
In Mas Selamat’s case, four hours, rather than four months, elapsed between the time of escape and the time of public disclosure.
Unlike the US Army, MHA informed the media on its own initiative, a fact I still marvel at. Time indeed is changing.
If people want transparency, they are getting a lot of it. Not everything, to be sure: For one thing MHA will not let you into Whitley Road Detention Centre (WRDC) just to satisfy your craving fro transparency. But nor will the US let you into Bagram detention centre.
As for heads to roll – this is where you could say the Government made a tactical mistake.
It should have given full details of the disciplinary action to be taken at the same time as it gave details of the escape, rather than leaving the latter to a later date. This would have silenced the hounds baying for blood.
Still, that the Government did not do so was not because it had no disciplinary action planned, but because it wanted everything in its time. This is the orderly Government, after all.
Mr Wong, in his statement to the Parliament on Monday, said: “I have directed Commissioner of Police and Director ISD (Internal Security Department) to investigate …..Officers who are responsible for Mas Selamat will be disciplined and penalized. In this connection, I have asked the Director ISD to examine the roles not only of the WRDC junior officers, but to go up the chain of command and include the supervisory and management levels of WRDC as well.”
His concluding line: “There is a proper process for disciplinary action under the civil service or Police Force rules and this must take its course.”
However, if the Government had waited for the disciplinary hearing results to be out before releasing details on the escape, Singaporean would still be waiting now. You pay your penny and you make your choice.
Words has it that we’ll know more about the disciplined and how by the next Parliament sitting.
Meanwhile, there really are many other things that I would rather focus my mind on.
I concur fully with the unionist G. Muthu Kumar, who said there are more important concerns for workers, like rising food costs. “People don’t bother about this Mas Selamat…..they’ve got no time to think about this,”
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Originally posted by Lin Yu:
I have read this article the Straits Times 26 April 2008 and nearly fell off the chair. As it cannot be found on the online Straits Times, I had to type this out. This article is full of flaws in her arguments as she tried in vain to explain the whole incident.
full mark for your efforts, lin yu!
what obvious flaws did you pick up? i actually tend to agree with her first two points. there are many detractors who do not read fully, but just as vicious in their diatribe. many have valid points, but these handful latch on the crtisicism wave and add fuel to the fire. they think they add on to the voice, but in fact they weaken's the argument put forth against.
As for the rest, i disagree with her. this is a serious lapse. the error is not a random error like a fire or a person's health in question. the dunking death is consequence of indisciplined officers, not a direct system's flaw. this, however is a direct consequence of a poorly executed or run detention centre that allow a terrorist to (plan for his) escape. mha and wks needs to take full responsibility. so far, wks seems to take the stand at arms' length of this fiasco. he has been disgraceful.
and her closing statement is narrow minded. can we not worry about rising cost and our security at the same time?
in the today newspaper, there is a great commentary written by a student on ltk's deafening silence. st also gives it prominence here. all inevitably weaken's his and wp's credibility. lhl, to his credit, saw the opening within seconds of ltk's silence and seize the situation to his favour. the opposition is fucked, by ltk no less.
we all have a disadvantage. our replies and comments can never be as measured and cohesive as the PAP's reply. we speak on our terms as individuals. hence, the opposition representation is critical, but alas proven to be just a squeky wheel. the opposition voice in parliament is muted, as exemplified by ltk.
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first......this whole article seems to be an angry woman ranting
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I'm still going to point out one of WKS's closing statements
"We must support them"
Why must there be a 'we' and 'them' when WKS is Home Affairs Minister? And when Singaporeans are supposed to be united as one?
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If a fire should break out in an HDB block due to shoddy wiring, will the people the National Development to resign?
If a teacher with an undetected mental problem starts slashing at students in school, will the Education Minister have to resign?
In both cases, there will have been negligence- but does extend all the way up to the minister?
Common sense will tell you the buck has to stop somewhere, or there will be no ministers left in no time.
over here, her argment was that the minister should not be responsible because of the the Minister of National Development cannot be looking into shoddy wiring work (the HDB Project Manager is responsible) or the Education Minister cannot be responsible for the mental teachers because he don't employ the teacher (the principal is responsible).
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comparing shoddy wiring and mental problem teacher with a national security issue that has dented Singapore's reputation seriously
hmmmm
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I found a coincidence:
W K S
M S K
the ying being balanced?
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I kind of agree to a certain degree with the introspective analysis provided by the article with examples and cite comparison of the Omar Al-Faruq's escape in order to examine the gravity of the issue.
The escape of JI member Mas Selamet Kastari could be viewed as a security breach or a lapse in operational procedure in the detention barrack. Both of which are easily prone to human error which needs to be further refine consistently on its operation procedure or reinforce on the security barriers by upgrading of technology alike.
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Well the Singapore system works this way. If there is one credit for successes, one man deserves it. The states times would claim that the one man is responsible for the success of Singapore. But there is the failure, there is always the small Kahkia to blame for.
Its seems like is Singapore has the best deal for our leaders. Credit they take, blame the Kahkia takes.
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"Unlike the US Army, MHA informed the media on its own initiative, a fact I still marvel at. Time indeed is changing."
WTH, if you dont inform the public and there is even less chance of recapturing and news leak a couple of months later. It would have been worse and simply part of the political calculus of Singapore Inc.
"Officers who are responsible for Mas Selamat will be disciplined and penalized."
Please tell us how and by whom leh.
Funny the writer asked for Teo Chee Hean's head to roll. Being a woman, she would have never been in the army and does not know about all the dark secrets of the SAF. Actually abuse of power is pretty common and I am sure that everyone have known a casualty of training at some point.
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This is not to say ministers should be immune. If a block of HDB flats was found to be unsafe, for instance, due to shoddy workmanship, I would join the call those calling for the minister to resign, even if he had not known about it.
How could that be? if her example above stands, then the responsible person should be the structual engineer if it is the structually unsafe. There! I'm not responsible again!
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If a hospital was found to have been awarding tenders to its CEO’s family and friends, and the Health Minister knew but did nothing, the latter should be sacked, perhaps even charged with complicity.
any similarities? if an engineer can run a multi billions investment company?
would the writer join in the call like she claim?
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But the Mas Selamat escapes? What loss has there been, except that of face – mostly?
If he were a homicidal manic, there would be danger to the Singapore public. But he is not one.
Do we intent to wait until the chickens are hatched from the eggs ?
"if he is homicidal manic....". omg, did the writer know why he was detained in the first place? His ambition was to clash an aeroplance into Changi airport and more...
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As recounted by the security specialist Michael Richardson in an article published in this newspaper on the March 28, Omar Al-Faruq, “one of the top Al-Qaeda leaders of South East Asia”, escaped in July 2005 with three others from the supposedly tightly guarded United States detention centre at Bagram airbase in Afghanistan.
When he escaped, the US was so embarrassed it did not disclose Faruq’s escape for some time.
“The news emerged only months later – during an army trial in November 2005, the US sergeant accused of mistreating Faruq in 2002,” said Richardson.
In Mas Selamat’s case, four hours, rather than four months, elapsed between the time of escape and the time of public disclosure.
Unlike the US Army, MHA informed the media on its own initiative, a fact I still marvel at. Time indeed is changing.
I'll give credits if MHA could keep it more more than 4 days. didn't the writer know that he was suppose to meet his family?
As for similarities in the US and the WRDC case, the sergeant and probably the GC and SDO bites the bullet
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As for heads to roll – this is where you could say the Government made a tactical mistake.
It should have given full details of the disciplinary action to be taken at the same time as it gave details of the escape, rather than leaving the latter to a later date. This would have silenced the hounds baying for blood.
Still, that the Government did not do so was not because it had no disciplinary action planned, but because it wanted everything in its time. This is the orderly Government, after all.
How can there be a tactical mistake? PM pat DPM back and DPM pat Dir ISD back. everybody 没有事.
Head did roll. only the minnows
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However, if the Government had waited for the disciplinary hearing results to be out before releasing details on the escape, Singaporean would still be waiting now. You pay your penny and you make your choice
I have to agree with this statement. You pay your penny and you make your choice. You vote them in and you live with it.
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Meanwhile, there really are many other things that I would rather focus my mind on.
I concur fully with the unionist G. Muthu Kumar, who said there are more important concerns for workers, like rising food costs. “People don’t bother about this Mas Selamat…..they’ve got no time to think about this,”
I respect the writer choice but these statement is poor in taste. This is my country and I have the duty to be concerned.
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Lastly, how could ST allows trash to be published. not only its content, the grammatical errors too.
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Originally posted by Lin Yu:
Lastly, how could ST allows trash to be published. not only its content, the grammatical errors too.
ST wil publish any trash as long as it is in favour of the gov. Perhaps it is because most of the articles they are receiving are against the gov (which they can't use for some obvious reason...)? -
erm... Too long to read... But if the minister failed in his duty to do his job, it would be his responsibility when it concern national security. If not, hire him to shake leg?
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Slap WKS with a "full donation of minister salary for 2 years" punishment
Can keep him in (PM happy) and can appease everyone a little.
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forget about how he escaped.....the minister should resign IF that Mas is never re-captured!!! since they gloated how good our security forces are....FIND THAT TERRORIST 1st!!!
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Lin Yu,
The writer is the politcal editor of ST.
Just because u disagree with some of her opinions,it doesn't mean the article is trash.
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Originally posted by PRP:Lin Yu,
The writer is the politcal editor of ST.
Just because u disagree with some of her opinions,it doesn't mean the article is trash.
hmm......maybe I was another angry reader afterall -
After this incident, WKS would do well to put all prisoners in chains and strip them of all clothing like Guantanamo. Cancel all visitors contact and remove all toilet doors. They must do their business in the open like animals. Hard for them to escape anywhere with chains at their wrists and ankles. No more prison breaks.