Don't Take Us For Fools

America was prepared to let the whole wide world know that the Challenger space shuttle explosion was caused by a faulty O-ring. And the Apollo 13 glitch was damaged Teflon insulation on the stirring fan wires that short-circuited and ignited the contents of oxygen tank number 2 in the Service Module. In Singapore, the level of disclosure stopped at "a faulty network device" that caused a bank system to crash on the morning of September 13. Nobody will ever know whether it was a printed circuit board, integrated circuit, micro-chip, transistor, diode or capacitor that brought down the financial institution's IT infrastructure.

Okay, now tell us what happened

While it was admirable that CEO Chris David Conner promptly messaged an apology to its customers before the day was over, the guys in charge of the network didn't provide a clue for the hiccup, except the vague "device" and "parameter" reference. Hardly sufficient technical input to provide useful information for others to avoid a similar disaster. In July 2010, DBS’s banking services were disrupted for more than 6 hours due to errors traced to a repair job completed by IBM, their outsourced vendor. The statement that the Armonk, New York-based company took disciplinary action against the employees involved, and reviewed procedures for its staff, implied human errors were at fault. If that melt-down also involved a "device" or "parameter", no one would be the wiser.

Singaporeans are used to the "dumbed down" approach from the bureaucrats. It's a given that the average citizen has too low an IQ to understand factual data that would explain where GIC gets its money to play the market, how HDB prices are formulated and why the CPI upped 4.5% in May despite MAS's expensive open market operations to maintain a strong Singdollar that supposedly fights imported inflation. That's why detailed accounting is so short in supply. But it has to be a tragedy when the private sector is adopting similar approach. The public is conned into signing up for gigabit internet access, without being enlightened that the Ethernet card in their computers is good up to 100 mbps only. Well, if ignorance can help fuel the GDP growth, who's to say it's wrong, seems to be new mantra.

Perhaps the top dogs in charge are too technically challenged to see through the fog generated by their subordinates. One is reminded of the first CEO of IDA, who responded to doubters of her qualification to lead the country's IT development with words to the effect, "I may not know what CDMA stands for, but I can always hire someone who does." Collect the pay, get someone else to do the job. That has to be the national sickness that resulted in another major glitch yesterday - a whole 4-hour service breakdown that disrupted train services at all 16 stations on the Circle Line. Will competent people ever be appointed to the right office in our nation?