If You Can't Do, Teach

You would think that it is a matter of common courtesy that you inform your employer your intentions for the job commitment, and give him sufficient notice should you decide later to quit. More so if you were appointed Attorney General of Singapore.

Walter Woon, 54, obviously kept it all to himself. If indeed, "I only agreed to do this job for two years," as Woon claims, no one else knew about his stepping down, until he announced his last day will be on  April 10.  Since his replacement has to complete his current work obligations before being able to start in October 1, they had to rope in Solicitor-General Koh Juat Jong to serve as acting AG for the interim 6 months from April 11 to Sept 30. So why the sudden haste for the departure? Woon may say he had long planned to return to teaching law at the National University of Singapore, but his new employer hasn't figured out what his job scope will be: NUS law dean Tan Cheng Han said he has yet to discuss his plans for Woon. He'd better ask if how long Woon intends to stay this time.

As A-G, Woon raised eyebrows when he decided, on his own initiative, to appeal for a life term for Aniza Essa, a young mother, who was already convicted of instigating her boyfriend to kill her enstrangled husband. The Court of Appeal rejected his legal arguments, and affirmed her 9-year jail term. Could he be a sore loser?

Coffee shop talk has it that it's all a game plan for political office and a higher income tax bracket during this coming general election, rumoured to be in June. Which seemingly runs contradictary to his stated (honourable) intentions: "At this point of my life, I think that I can make a more significant contribution through teaching and writing." Well, if he does change spots, the party he signs up with certainly deserves what they get.