Accountability:
A widening gap
Anger mounts over PM absolving his Home Affairs Minister from blame over bungling security that allowed a dangerous terrorist leader to flee. Compiled by Littlespeck.
Apr 23, 2008

The responsibility of keeping Singapore’s most dangerous terrorist, Mas Selamat Kastari, in safe detention lies with Home Affairs Ministry.

Yesterday, the report came out revealing a long list of flaws that enabled the suspected bomber’s to escape – through a toilet window - and who remains at large.

They added up to a pathetic failure of the system of management and security audit of the Whitley Detention Centre, a tiny version of America’s Guantanamo, which houses terrorist detainees.

Mas Selamat is, of course, the suspected leader of Singapore’s Jemaah Islamaih, which the government said was planning to steal and crash a commercial place into Changi Airport as well as bomb foreign embassies.

(Mr. Lee Kuan Yew said if he had succeeded in reaching Indonesia, he could return to carry out bpmbing attacks on Singapore).

With this background, Singaporeans had expected the Prime Minister, Mr. Lee Hsien Loong, to act firmly and without favour – from the top man to the security guards – to show that such shoddy ways would not be tolerated.

This was the strict ways of his father, when Mr. Lee Kuan Yew was in power. Get the top man not the little man, put the fear of god in him and that would stop the nonsense down the line.

When he saw litters on the City Centre on his way to work, he would call up and lecture the permanent secretary, who himself would make sure they were clear quickly. “PM doesn’t want to see those litters again,” he’d make sure very one understand.

Decades later, Singapore, of course, has changed – a new Prime Minister and a new management culture.

This new forgiving culture of not holding the top cabinet or government man responsible when a serious mistake is made, inclusing the escape of a terrorist leader, who was trained in Afghanistan.

So obviously there is a gap in thinking.

He obviously feels it is not serious enough to take action against his Home Affairs Minister, while angry Singaporeans believe it is – especially when S$3mil of their tax-money is used to pay Mr. Wong Kan Seng every year.

I’ve compiled the following views from blogs and chat-sites that show that some of the heat against Mr. Wong has been transferred to the Prime Minister himself.
By Seah Chiang Nee

Blogs
Protecting their own kind
Gerald Giam
Prime Minister chose to trot out the "we are not like other countries" argument, when he pointed out that we should not have a culture where Ministers "fall on their swords" whenever something goes wrong, just for political expediency.
This is playing back like a tired old record from his father's era.
Most Singaporeans with half a brain will know it is less about being different from other countries, but more about protecting their own kind - the tight-knit network of elites who run this country.
http://singaporepatriot.blogspot.com/2008/04/protecting-their-own-kind.html

Not taking heat, so take heed
Melvin Tong
In my view, PM Lee failed to see one point: Singapore ministers are the highest paid in the world. Logically speaking, the echelon of accountability has to be higher in tandem, no?
In others countries where ministers do not receive astronomical salaries like their Singapore counterparts, they have been seen to step down even for mistakes they were not directly involved in or did not concern national interests.
http://melvintansg.blogspot.com/

Forums
HardwareZone forum
fi5hbone
Outrageous. It is not just about the officers that are the problem. The entire setup of the compound to house a dangerous criminal is simply astonishing. And being the Home Affairs Minister, I am surprised (then again, not really) that he did nothing about improving the security of the place. Disgusting.

VickyToh
Our PM Lee is making a big fool of himself. He is making a very big mistake by sending out a strong but wrong signal to all his ministers that "Don't worry... so long as you're one of my Top Men, you won't be prosecuted even though if you've made a Big Mistake..

superman
The higher your position in Government, the less likely you will be punished for anything wrong under your charge as you will always have lower rank people doing the frontline work and it will be these frontline staff who get punished should anything goes wrong.

pkchair
This is no mere lapse. To term it as such is completely trivializing the matter at hand here. The most wanted and dangerous man in Singapore escaped, and it’s only a lapse?

prestige
In my opinion, I think it would be really silly to remove Wong Kan Seng and Director of ISD simply because of this incident.
I also feel that they are right in punishing the lower rank officers up till the immediate management officers. They failed in their core duty (escorting/managing the premise in this case) of their job.
Please let me share my point of view.
Yes, you may argue that failure of the front line officers would imply that WKS and Director of ISD failed in their jobs, but the scope of responsibility WKS has to bear is way larger than that of the front line officers.
I am not saying that there is no fault on WKS/Dir ISD's part, but to remove them simply because of this incident when they probably have done many other merits on a much larger scope?
For those who argue otherwise, are you also implying that Commissioner of Police, PM Lee and the President have to be removed since they are all under their command? It has to stop somewhere along the line.
I feel that most Singaporeans are being too critical on the failure of the government and in the process, overlooking other merits.

eventidephoenix
Anyone watched the news today?
PM Lee said something about a CEO should resign after a mistake, but sometimes they have to stay behind to clear up the mess or something?
This whole saga, can ANYONE buy it?

YoungPAP forum
roberttehkh
This is truly world's best leadership - just watch the charisma of a leader explaining all the faults in his prison windows as caused by other junior officers except his own ministry.
Our leaders have been telling the whole world that they were the world's best and now it is a rare chance indeed for the world's best to prove their mettle and courage in accepting simple lapses in the whole prison as their own lack of care for results in his ward.
Have our leaders given this opportunity to prove to the world now finally passed this crucial test of leadership as being the world's best as claimed in their own self-glorifying memoirs?

Online Poll
Must (Home Affairs Minister) Wong Kan Seng step down?
Yes – 154 votes (94%)
No – 10 votes (6%)
164 people have voted so far

SammyBoy forum
DrPanacea
A board of enquiry almost never investigates the people above it. This one is no exception.

zhihau
The Home Affairs Minister ought to be sacked, or to resign gracefully while he can.

max1421
The PAP Government would not act thus as doing so would be synonymous to admitting a guilty plea. Whatever the actions taken, the credibility of the PAP machinery is badly damaged.
As indicated, the PAP Government cannot and will not take any action as it would be slapping its own face if it were to.
However, Prime Minister has indicated [as I read it] that Wong Kan Seng would be maintained for the present moment for 'continuity' - to rectify.
Wong Kan Seng is 'finished' as no office bearer-politician can survive such show of incompetence.

halsey02
There must be some public announcement of what is to be done to Wong Kan Seng by the Prime Minister of Singapore, if they want credibility and respect to what they have done.

tfk11
I think the Prime Minister has got the ground feel totally wrong. It’s the PM against the people now!

JW5
Agree that he should have been censured.
Don't think that he should have been sacked or forced to resign.

nivaasah
Somebody should tell PM that there should be zero tolerance for cock-ups in Singapore? Why? Because we spend un-earthly millions on this cabinet so things must be nothing short than perfect, PERFECT to the tee.
Since they admit that they are like other mortals and subject to human errors and not perfect, then they should not receive this kind of pay!
So long as they continue to draw obscene salaries, then we shall hold them to an unearthly standard of being perfect.

JW5
I think that is as much of a public reprimand of the minister as the citizens are going to get. There's not going to be anything more than that. If people are really unhappy about that guy, then vote him out at the next GE.
But I think that the PM made some good points, I can't help but think that the cases of the top guy resigning over incidents has been overdone in some cases overseas.
Does it really achieve the objectives or does it encourage more finger pointing and blame placing?
The only point he didn't address was whether the ministers, especially the one in question, are worth the salary they are paid, given the mistakes made.
Perhaps this doesn't warrant a resignation, but does this deserve such high pay, from which the funds ultimately come from the citizens and the country?

sexfrenzy
Regardless relative or not, PAP always covers one another other so that they all can enjoy fat salary and bonus at the end of the day.
I was wondering since 2001, they know there is a security flaw in the toilet whereby the window was not barricaded. Who made the decision not to fix that, why was it not fixed.

TheJUDGE9
At least one thing stands out from his speech: that the government is AWARE of calls for Wong’s resignation. That calls for accountability is loud and clear enough for him to have to come out and say something about it.
The government must now know that not everybody is going to just "move on" and pretend nothing happened. People are watching, and demanding accountability.
The next fiasco, the calls will be even louder and someone high-ranking at perm-sec or ministerial level must step down.
Give him consolation credit for coming out and stating his position. It's a big thing, because it's a signal that we all should shift our culture to a more forgiving and tolerant one.
Perhaps it's just as well. They instituted a ruthless and merciless culture for the last few decades, now the same mercilessness is about to be applied to themselves, which they never thought would happen.

slohand2
I used to work in the financial industry. One little mistake and your career will go out the window. The reason being the government bodies stressing integrity in Singapore to gain International repute.
So what the PM is saying is totally unacceptable, quite different from the values inculcated thus far. I guess it’s a question of double standards. I will let my vote count.

LaMei
Hmm.. they want their pay to peg with the private sector..
But yet when mistakes are made, they can't take responsibility like those in the private sector!! sigh!

Hans168
PM is advocating a culture of forgive and forget. Did his father do the same with all those he whacked?
Wong Kan Seng should quit if he is to be treated as credible and deserved to be respected!

DamnBore
It appears that our PM is keeping Wong Kan Seng just for his own political purposes and thus drag down his own credibility.
From his actions many will find that he lacks the conviction to put straight the things he finds wrong. This runs contrary to his exhortation that his government will do whatever is necessary to make things right.
He may in the future replace Wong but for the immediate present, the Home Affairs Minister deserves at least a good censure prom Parliament. The opportunity has been lost by our PM to reflect the anger and disappointment by the people with the Minister.
For this I find our PM spineless in the face of party comradeship.
Apr 23, 2008