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| Good cop, bad cop, and vice versa |
Extensive use of the objective pronoun rained like projectiles hurled at Little India, and there was no dodging the accusations let fly:
"You did not know because you chose not to know"
"That is your imagination, not reality"
"You have somehow made it worse by not taking any action"
"You don't know means there must be something wrong with the system"
"We believe that you have read the crowd wrongly"
"So was it a failure of you or a failure of the system?" It was a question that prompted the beleaguered Deputy Assistant Commissioner (DAC) Lu Yeow Lim to respond with: "Is the honourable member asking for an opinion or a question?" From the line of questioning rolled out in the terrifying tirade, the politically correct answer has to be about the man. Opinion-wise, the system has to be at fault. The same system that allowed a limping terrorist to make it across to Johore, and a mentally challenged female to drive pass the immigration checkpoint unperturbed.
Maybe the whole charade was just a test run for the limits of the new anti-harassment laws proposed. If Lu is indeed being laid out as sacrificial pawn, he deserves a medal for not letting the buck stop at a higher rank - where it should really belong.
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Don't read too much into wayangs of BoI. By "failure of the system", they meant the inability to count accurately how many home team chiak liao bees and guns Lu commanded on the ground. The corrective action of the tone-deaf civil service would then be have more GPS-enabled batman gadgets to boost GDP. As for the "higher rank" being held accountable, the reluctance of the MIW to push their scholar commissioner to the dock to answer for the screw ups tell you how far up the buck will go. Motto for the red dot civil service: Bonuses to the top, accountability to the bottom - leedership has its privileges.
ReplyDeleteYou made the problem worse.....It is unfortunate that Lu was the commander-in-charge and i believe any others who are inexperienced in the handling of such situation would be caught in between. Theory and practical are two different things, and I wonder if this applies to our army generals as well.
ReplyDeleteSingapore has too many 'paper army generals' and i wonder if they are able to perform when confronted a complex yet sensitive situation in reality....
Not just too many paper army generals but also paper police commanders. The SPF gives the impression they are on the ball and fearless only when it comes to surrounding harmless opposition members like Dr Chee and comrades.
Deleteif honourable minsters and minsteresses can blatantly "meditate with eyes shut" in front of national TV through the most important (at least for taxpayers) parliament session of the year, then 30 minutes to wake up, take off pyjamas and on the uniform, and finally to summon the action squad should be complimented for nifty response. No one asked where the DS, PS, home minister and DPM, PM were? stupid question, an orang tuah was celebrating his birthday, they were toasting the birthday old cock, of course!
ReplyDeleteI am glad to see the COI panel means business and didn't pack any whitewash in their kit. I believe the older establishment is looking at the current going-ons with alot of disdain. They are not going to sully their name to let the current bunch of the hook. Maybe there's hope yet.
ReplyDeletePlease lah. The COI is just a smoke screen to misdirect blame to people on the ground than to those high up in their ivory towers formulating policies to screw up the people by mass importing foreigners as a form of cheap labour to subsidize businesses and suppress wages of ordinary workers. Even if a good exchange rate for these foreign workers, condition must be so bad that their unhappiness with the government turns them into rioters, putting our sheeple law-abiding Singaporeans to shame having no spurs to stand up against the oppressive regime suppressing all our pay and making us compete with third world labour.
DeleteYou make light about the uniform. That is a mistake. In warfare and in situations like this the chain of command has to be literally seen. The rank of the officers are clearly shown in their epaulettes for this purpose. DAC Lu, like others in the top brass of the police and the armed forces are "paper generals". This a real cause for worry. The school prefect type can hardly be relied on for blood and gore. It is time to look into the desirability of a conscript army run by scholars as opposed to a professional army. The debate had started in the Western countries for some time now. Read the relevant literature.
ReplyDeleteThere was a time the generals clamoured to be chauffeured in Mercedes Benzes - so that the enlisted men would "look up to them". Fortunately common sense prevailed, and there was no more talk of luxury cars.
DeleteI thought the COI made it clear it was not a fault faulting exercise to blame anyone but to look into what caused the riots. But the way they were being questioned, it gave me the impression that the script was already written to emphasize the Govt was nowhere to be blamed for the riots ?
ReplyDeleteI am quite confused that on one hand while they insisted that precious time was lost in calling for the riot squad, but on the other hand they also suggested that the police commander should have wasted a few more minutes to put on his uniform.
Which is more important, could the COI at least make up their own minds ?
Political expediency may require some heads to roll because of what happened. COI maybe clearing the way for such an eventuality. It is easy to pin the blame of individuales, especially those who hold positions of responsibility
Delete.
I am heartened by the apparent impartiality and objectivity of the members of the COI thus far - give them a tiger...oops, mango cheese tarts, PM Lee. Is it the same incident, when he met with the first responders over breakfast on 24th December?
ReplyDelete"He thanked them for performing their duty with courage and collectedness, and encouraged them not to heed some of the online criticism about their actions….and said they were able to carry out their duty because among them were officers who had many years of experience, and they had undergone training."
Many years of experience, when the last riot was more than 40 years ago? Didn't the COI reveal that the first responders admitted that they were not trained for riots? “What has happened is not acceptable,” Committee of Inquiry (COI) chairman, former judge GP Selvam, told Deputy Police Commissioner, T Raja Kumar. I wonder who is mentally challenged, the judge or the prince.
All training exercises are but theatrics, performed for VIPs entertainment.
ReplyDeleteThere is lots of theater everyday.. from SAF to SGH to even MNCs and TLC.
Meanwhile, Rahmat & Seng Huat toil away to earn their income.
No time for theater for them.
Poor DPM Cheeken, it doesn't rain but it pours for the Home Team, it seems. The leaky Whitley Road detention centre and Mas Selamat (Wong Kan Seng's baby), the Shane Todd suicide and coroner's inquiry, the Kovan murders, the sex scandals of the heads of the SCDF and CNB, the Dinesh Raman prison death, the porous Immigration Checkpoint, the muddled efforts of the men in uniform in Little India. There was a bright spot though when they cracked the abduction of the PM's son's mother in law where he said "Great job by the Singapore Police Force". Does one swallow herald the start of spring and the longetivity of the Minister? Is he the Last Man Standing, where the buck should stop? What do you think?
ReplyDeleteIronic isn't it.
ReplyDeleteOne group were charged and deported for 'failure to disperse' while another opposing group is accused of 'failure to act'.
I mean, if the first group was actively participating or refused to disperse, thus show their "aggressiveness", then wouldn't that ground evidence actually support DAC Lu for his "inaction" for fear of further aggravation?
What if the rioters had reacted violently to aggresiveness by the SPF. That would have caused injuries and death. SPF did the right thing and no lives were lost. It would appear that COI are looking for someone to blame for what happened...
Delete"Mas Selamat is either in Singapore or outside Singapore." - Wong Kan Seng, Minister for Home Affairs (Straits Time 9 May 2009)
DeleteEither the Singapore system is inadequate or somebody is to blame ... right?
If somebody can be blamed, then obviously the system is very good and robust ... no?
If system is very good and robust, then we must reward our Ministers with more pay increase ... no?
Any time is a good time for a Ministerial pay increase ... no?
DeleteThis whole episode is an exact replica of a similar riot happened in Guangzhou where a Nigerian was dead at the police custody which resulted in the massive protests from hundreds of african migrants. Only difference, there was no blame on alcohol , and there was no burning of vehicles and COI either.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/jul/16/china-african-protesters-immigration-raid
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_YBLrY4B4I
http://v.ku6.com/show/xjsJfBC8jd0C7NYr.html?lb=1
http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/china-news/african-immigrants-protest-becomes-melee-with-police-254885.html
Seems like DAC is being thrown under the bus?
ReplyDeleteLet's ask a basic question.
ReplyDeleteUnder the current status quo.
Is the Singapore Police Force operationally capable of responding to a riot?
Is the PAP operationally capable of forming the next government?
Are Singaporeans psychologically ready to vote in a new government?
To answer your questions - No, No, No.
DeleteYes, the buck indeed should not just stop at the DAC. It should go all the way up and back to whoever was in charge of the Home Team - The Ministry of Home Affairs. That include its past minister, whom we will always remember for that MSK saga !
ReplyDeleteOn Tuesday, former police commissioner Tee Tua Ba said there were 130 officers on the ground. Yesterday he said there were 190 officers on the ground. The best answer has to be from DAC Lu, "Maybe on paper in the court room". This is what happens when we have paper generals in charge.
ReplyDeleteThere is either 130 officers or there is 190 officers.
DeleteJust like Mas Selamat is "either in Singapore or he is not in Singapore ... Wong Kan Seng's famous forecast"
maybe 60 of the officers are not yet operationally ready? Hence the confusion?
Or maybe it's the police chief that is not yet operationally ready?
Or maybe PM Lee is not yet operationally ready?
Ex-CP Tee Tua Bah is NOT a paper general. He walked into the terrorist hijacking to negotiate mano-a-mano. At that time, he was Commander of the Police Coast Guard. High enough position, well-off enough, with 2 kids at home. Still put his life at risk. Which is much more than can be said about DAC Lu who jealously hoarded all 8 of the policemans to protect him with shields. Even stopping 2 of his men when they wanted to charge.
DeleteAfter the hijacking negotiations, TEE was the Commander on the ground at Hotel New World. Don't think anyone can argue about the responses he directed there.
Also, as a side note, YES he is very particular/proud about the uniform. In fact, he loves it so much that he sometimes wears it at home when he meets visitors/friends.
Did you see the photo of TTB disembarking from the plane after the Laju incident was over? He was not in uniform. Maybe he was afraid to be identified by the hijackers while onboard. As for the priceless insight about him wearing his uniform in the house, that must be the only way to command respect even in his own home! :)
DeleteIt is likely that All were not operationally ready.
ReplyDeleteAll are experts on paper only,
after all, All of them inherited
their positions with SOPs on
their tables for them to just
follow. How many of them
went through the Regime of
going through the Ministry or
Organization they inherited?
The root cause is the woeful lack of resources and manpower. They have admitted to the Special Ops as scarce resource. Does it mean the home team only have such limited resources that dealing with a riot will mean no more manpower left to do other things?
ReplyDelete