Monday, October 14, 2013

Silencing Of The Lamb

A simple "I stand corrected" obviously would not suffice. Still, it is sad to see someone of his senior citizen status to stoop and grovel, and eat his own words. For someone who once had the chutzpah and panache to declare, "I have always been outspoken," the taste must be as disagreeable as canine excrement.

In an unsolicited "Clarification Statement" dated 10 October, former top civil servant Ngiam Tong Dow, 60(?), retracted his earlier remarks documented in the Singapore Medical Association newsletter.

He is recanting the charge that today's ministers are afraid of speaking up in Cabinet because of their high salaries, saying it was "illogical" and unfair. Original quote from SMA interview:
"When you raise ministers’ salaries to the point that they’re earning millions of dollar, every minister – no matter how much he wants to turn up and tell Hsien Loong off or whatever – will hesitate when he thinks of his million-dollar salary. Even if he wants to do it, his wife will stop him."

He also recanted labelling the ministers as elitist, claiming that he had spoken without realising many in fact come from humble backgrounds. Original quote from SMA interview:
"The first generation of PAP was purely grassroots, but the problem today is that PAP is a bit too elitist. I think that they don’t feel for the people; overall, there is a lack of empathy."

The other things he had to say sounded awfully like the scripted 1988 televised confessions of the "Marxist conspirators":
  • "...I have not attended any cabinet meetings, and have never seen one chaired by PM Lee Hsien Loong. Thus my statement that ministers will not speak their minds before PM Lee is unfair as it was made without knowing what actually happens at cabinet meetings today." 
  • "I have been told by civil servant colleagues that cabinet discussions are robust - as robust as they were when I attended cabinet meetings as PS (PMO), when Mr Goh Chok Tong was PM, and Mr Lee Hsien Loong DPM."
  • "They have no reason not to speak their minds when they are convinced that they are doing right by Singaporeans."
Ngiam nuked the last semblance of his credibility when he segued into saying he knows "some ministers have given up successful and well-paying careers in the private sector to join politics at lower pay, while others could have chosen to join the private sector to make more money but did not". Age 60 is too early for senility to set in and, ruling out lobotomy - the operation would be expensive even with his life time civil service free medical entitlement - one has to conclude that a Faustian pact with the devil must have been contemplated to stave off an unpleasant trip to the woodshed.

44 comments:

  1. re ngiam, 60: dun think he has seen 60 for at least a decade. he was 73 in a BT article in nov 2010. so at 76, it is unlikely he stood corrected for the sake of his pension.

    it was an extremely foolish decision for him to clarify what he'd said, and even more foolish of whoever made him do so to errrr persuade him to do so.

    based on the fact that it's not the first time he has voiced such anti-establishment opinions and on such matters, we are now all agog to know what button/s of his was/were pressed for him to swallow such bitter medicine as Recanting what he had said abt the govt.

    it looks as if this will be the last we'll hear of his opinions.


    ReplyDelete
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    1. er... OSA? Or delay his monthly pension cheque? or... maybe its just another chapter of a make-it-up-as-u-go wayang? or maybe fu threw another tantrum and her dad challenged ngiam to a one-on-one, or.....

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    2. If it was a clarification of his own volition, it would have been almost immediately after the publication of his comments about a week ago. Instead it took Mr. Ngiam that many days to do so; something must have happened to make him regret and repent.

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  2. Am so sad for Mr Ngiam , for ourselves and for a coverment that for all intents and purposes only does "covers".
    Mr Ngian must have had a number of teas with his ex boss or bosses of late to be convinced that his pension and mist of all his medical coverage were worth more than being plain honest.
    He did not say that his statement were untrue only that he had no 1st hand experience of their validity as he was not physically present in those very robust meetings that supposedly took place ever so often after his retirement.

    Give the man a break, I say. He had already done yeoman service with what ever he had said, published and we should instead ponder why the PM was apparently so pleased with this latest "Un-solicited" press release by Mr Ngiam . No ?

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  3. Sad Singaporean10/14/2013 7:56 AM

    A family man will protect his family at all costs. I'm going to paraphrase Shakespeare. Tis better for Ngiam to have said than never to have said at all. Its crystal clear how this country is ruled. Exception - you won't see it if you don't have a brain

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    1. Fully agree. Just look at how Tang Liang Hong's wife's passport was impounded, and then hounded with the Mareva injunction.

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  4. Ngiam,
    of course they speak their mind because they know what to speak to keep their million dollars jobs ! This is how dogs, lackeys and sycophants behave by speaking the right thing to appease their master, just ask Yaacob. What do you think they only want flock of same feathers in their circle ? Because they are in the same frequency.

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  5. If even Ngiam can be silenced, what about ordinary people? It is no wonder why S'poreans only speak increasing aloud at the ballot box. And the ruling party is still puzzled why they are losing seats in Parliament.

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    1. Killing the chicken to frighten the monkeys? Who dares to speak out now? Where is Singapore's ASSK?

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  6. Just read this -- Is by Singaporeans against poverty.
    "There are Singaporeans who are disconnected to what's happening in their fellow Singaporeans' lives," he said. "The project is about raising awareness that the poor exist in our midst."

    Some people are just disconnected as clearly alluded by NTD & those great work done by the connected. Enough said.

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  7. Err.. this is what we called making a fool of himself in the public.

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  8. and the pm said he is thick skin and flame proof? ha who is eating his words now

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  9. Key thing that stood out for me is the word "I have been told.."

    Not he say one ...

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  10. Speaking for myself, Ngiam should not be castigated for making his "clarifications". Which other person of his standing had even dared to speak up like he did? Can anyone seriously believe that he was not pressured to make the "corrections and clarifications?" A close look at the circumstances surrounding the statement will give you an idea of what might have happened. The remarks were made more than two weeks before. No rebuttals from the PM his Ministers. No midnight calls. Suddenly an unsolicited letter making clarifications brought on supposedly upon "feedback from "friends and colleagues" . Euphemisms for a thorough bollocking? From whom? Backtracking by a man known for his forthrightness, unafraid even to disagree with the great man when in office. The pressure must have been great. Read the statement carefully. Have you come across similar sounding lawyers' letters threatening defamation action? The neat paragraphing. The number of times the phrase " I realise" or "I now realise" appears in the statement. Scripted? Make your own judgment. Ngiam should have taken Lim Kim San's advice several steps further. Make sure that his and his family's future is secure before making those remarks.

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  11. " "When you raise ministers’ salaries to the point that they’re earning millions of dollar, every minister – no matter how much he wants to turn up and tell Hsien Loong off or whatever – will hesitate when he thinks of his million-dollar salary. Even if he wants to do it, his wife will stop him."

    Ironically, Ngiam has proven his point using himself as a example. He speak his brutal truth and then apologized to demonstrate the credibility of his own remark, and pinky and his cronies fall for it. Ngiam has outwitted his own party, and now the apology has backfired on the evil party.

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    Replies
    1. You could be right that it was a calculated move by Ngiam. He gets to keep his pension and benefits while at the same time help Singaporeans confirm the evil party is indeed evil and beyond redemption.
      > anything evil deserves to be exterminated ? <

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  12. I am inclined to believe Ngiam when he mentioned LKY said to him, "what's wrong with collecting more money ?" .....and of course both men at that point in time were exchanging views on the purpose of the COE.

    I hope the daft 60% singaporeans will now realise that the COE was not just an idea merely to regulate the vehicle population, but to collect more money, same idea with the ERP, COE bidding system, etc, etc.

    I hope a large number of the daft 60% will see this Ngiam fiasco as another example of the PAP intimidation and arm twisting tactics.
    The best response lies with them, i. e. make the PAP the minority and hope Ngiam and other retired civil servants live long enough....

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  13. The more remarkable point about this episode is not that Ngiam was silenced. No one, not least himself, expected to be able to get away with this amount of criticism without the establishment hitting back hard. No column here mentioned it, but the ST certainly carried an article a few months ago quoting the old emeritus economics professor and (ex-) in law of the familee supposedly agreeing with the "more FT and work fare is wonderful" pony show. For me, it is most interesting that the rest of Ngiam's cohorts, the supposedly self-sacrificing civil servants now comfortably retired and children and grandchildren installed elsewhere, kept quiet while Ngiam is being publicly humiliated with a cultural-revolution-style self-penned confession by god and his pen pushers. It seems to me that Ngiam is a one-off and there aren't any similar to him in his retired cohorts. Disturbingly, it also means the civil service had always been dominated by elitist, sycophantic and cowardly lots who even in retirement and end of their lives, see no fault in the system and continue to treasure their comfortable nest eggs. The conclusion must be pessimistic for red dot - it means the lee patronage system of buying the conscience and silence of the entire cream of every cohort is thriving and self-perpetuating even as the edifice is collapsing ... bleak.

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    1. I have the Same Feelings about the Episode as well as the Way the System operates.
      The State and Its' Citizenry, however Rich or poor, will be falling victims to the System. Despite the Perception that the Tiny Rock is rock solid economically, the Water Level is rising fast.

      TOO FAST FOR MOST, however the Top 30% should have standby and contingency plan. These folks must feel very safe; no matter whatever happens here in Sin.

      Anyway, despite his recant, I say kudos to Ngiam Tong Dow. Most, if not All Singaporeans, can understand You, knowing very well the People that run the State.
      In fact, me kind of expects Mr Ngiam to face music sooner or later. Actually, no harm getting some music, sweet or disturbing. Everyone has to face them, music make by man and music make by nature.

      patriot

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    2. Well put. The current lexicon is to"co-opt" dissenters.

      Delete


  14. Lets not forget he was bred for his role & function in Government.
    ( being a scholar etc ).

    We assume that Ngiam speaks the truth. Just because his remarks sounded so candid and "insightful". Its his opinions.

    Yet, by issuing statements to 'correct' his remarks only confirms that the roots are indeed very, very deep. With this event, it is safe to conclude that PAP will stay in power till eternity.

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  15. he's doing for his family.
    anyone knows what his family doing?

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  16. This episode very clearly and completely blows out of the water those believers (or half-believers) who said to give the Our Singapore Conversation (OSC) process a chance. The OSC is now shown to be the BIGGEST wayang of the PAP at the expense of public and taxpayers' money!

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    1. The fact that they couldn't even accept his comments as feedback for our NatCon tells us this whole NatCon is a real wayang con job ?

      Some more when Ngiam is one of their men ?

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  17. The retraction just reinforces the truth in the original assertion. A subtle move of genius from an ex insider?

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  18. Nothing has changed has it?

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  19. Hail foxy Fuhrer !!

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdzQcJ0UGXY

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  20. Actually, if you analyze NTD's "apology", you would see that he has learned from the govt on how to apologize without really apologizing.

    He said that he had not attended any of LHL's cabinet meetings and so it was UNFAIR for him to conclude that the ministers dare not speak up. Nothing said about what yes men/women.

    Reminds me of the incidence when Winston Churchill was censured because he had said that half of the members of this house (meaning the British Parliament) are idiots or drunkard good-for-nothings (or words to that effect). He was asked to apologize and retract his statement. He stood up and apologized by saying "OK, I was wrong, half of the members are not idiots."

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    1. You mean actually hor?

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    2. You mean like:
      Ngiam: You guys are bunch of feckless....
      Faceless bugger: That's not so, say that's not so or else...
      Ngiam: ok, you said so, so it must be so lor...
      ?!!

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    3. Classic grass root Singlish gobbledegook. I like belly muck.

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    4. Yah lor...better dan write queeny england long long but actually tok cok sing song good to see only immpressive to idiots but no substance

      hooor

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    5. Now glass loot olganisation pee aeh (PA) oso incrude Tagalog tokers leh.

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  21. Yep. Like those you read in public apology notices in the newspaper. Ngiam was very obviously made to phrase it in that manner to satisfy the hatchet man or face a potentially ruinous defamation suites by the ENTIRE cabinet! We can all recall what happened to JBJ, can't we!
    The Lees must have taken the opportunity to also warn off others like Prof Tommy Koh for his recent remark about LKY suing his political opponents to bankruptcy!

    The familee is incorrigible, the only way to exorcise the Lees' curse on Singapore and Singaporeans is a nay vote come GE 2016. It has gotten to the point that one can't wait for GE2016 to come around soon enough.

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  22. If you don't see it, you can't comment? So if you comment, it's unfair. So all the more, they want to keep people in the dark.

    Someone tells you discussions are robust so they are robust? Then how come the population white paper was not robust? How do you explain the acute shortage in HDB flats? So robust until cracks are showing up all over the place?

    These days, I rather they don't speak their mind. What is true cannot be said, what can be say is crap. Let's go green by having less pollution.

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  23. When someone with the stature and high public profile like Ngiam can be so easily brow-beaten and made to do a complete reversal then it is best for the rest of us, who are lesser mortals, to simply not stick our necks out at all.

    The same subversive tactics can be said and used on Ong Teng Cheong, Devan Nair, JBJ, Francis , Tey etc etc.

    This is the kind of future our politics are for eternity if people still fail to awaken how severely wrong this 1 party has turned this home country of ours into.

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  24. The love of many shall turn cold. Sin is a very cold place, actually

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  25. If you've already been enlightened by his uncensored comments earlier, can you be "unenlightened" again by this retraction later?

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  26. Who is afraid to speak up? So long as it is in accordance with the law, their laws, there is no fear of speaking up. The elected leaders know and follow the laws or their vision well and have been speaking up so Ngiam was right to retract.

    They are all paid to speak up.

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    Replies
    1. Yup, Ngiam was guided by the law to retract

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  27. a lot of people think he is smart to save his "rice bowl". people who people in the truth more and risk losing their lives and money in the process are considered stupid.......

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    1. people who BELIEVE in the truth

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  28. They approved,amended and defended the laws. They are the laws. A few "good men" became the law of the land

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  29. It could happen or already is. Allah is now exclusive domain decided by cabal or exclusive brilliance of highly learned men.

    Should that be the way?

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