Responding to questions on the by-election outcome of Saturday January 26, Ng Eng Hen haughtily dismissed the notion that the result is a report card of the ruling party's performance. Ng said, "this is a by-election in just one constituency". Both Teo Chee Hean and Lee Hsien Loong also attributed the dribbling to the "by-election effect", the acclaimed Archilles heel which has brought down the juggernaut a second time.
Which is why Teo Ho Pin (MP, Bukit Panjang SMC) is also grinning from ear to ear. The Prime Minister may have called for a review of the Action Information Management (AIM) sweetheart deal, where a $140,000 transaction could be confabulated into a $30 million boondoggle - if the Deputy Director (Enterprise Software Group, NCS Pte Ltd) could be supponaed to testify about his key achievement with the Singapore Town Council.. Whatever the findings of the Ministry of National Development (MND) team charged with the investigative task, you can safely bet Teo will not be allowed to fall. And trigger another dreaded by-election.
The wayang must continue. Yesterday, PM Lee gave a clue how the system is perpetuated when he told delegates at the Singapore Perspectives Conference organised by the Institute of Public Studies his view on Freedom of Information, "If you know that everything you write down is going to be made public, a lot of things are not going to be written down." Which is a really curious remark, considering that his father has written volumes about his version of Singapore history. Teo, himself, has written enough about AIM to be guillotined several times over.
The people taking over Punggol East, given Sylvia Lim's discoveries at Aljunied Hougang Town Council, should bring in forensic experts to go over the books. We are not talking about mangoes in the filing cabinets here, but airing of more nasty stuff that has not been written down for posterity.
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Is he not giving everyone a hint that there may be more skeletons in the closet if there is such a thing as "Freedom of Information Act"?
ReplyDeleteSee the ridiculous contradicting standards of governance : Want to be paid the world's highest political remuneration and yet does not want to have the same equivalent world class standards in accountability & transparency?
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"If you know that everything you write down is going to be made public, a lot of things are not going to be written down."
ReplyDeleteDid he really say this?
OMG the political corruption smell gets smellier by the day
"If you know that everything you write down is going to be made public, a lot of things are not going to be written down."
ReplyDeleteNot only does he not believe in FOIA, he imposes the draconian official secrets act! I dare him to run in a SMC in the next election!
They dared LTK to come out from Hougang SMC and contest in a GRC years ago, which LTK obliged during the last GE. They must have wished they had not provoked the tiger to jump over the wall.
DeleteWhich white elephant dared to come out from his constituency to contest in an SMC? Not even the old man or holy ghost dared to do that when Hougang and Potong Pasir were in opposition hands.
LHL's subordinate, Lawrence Wong spoke about Singapore's system of Meritocracy at the same conference. When Temasek was a major shareholder of F&N, his younger brother was meritorious to chair the Board and it seems the new owners, being Thai do not subscribe to our meritocratic system.
ReplyDeleteI have no doubt that our meritocratic system will land him another cushy job. Koh Poh Koon was also singing a similar song about how our meritocracy helped him moved out from poverty. He must be very happy for Hsien Yang who never had to bother with buying chopsticks, what with his mouth and hands full of silver and gold knives and forks.
very happy for Hsien Yang who never had to bother with buying chopsticks, what with his mouth and hands full of silver and gold knives and forks.
ReplyDeleteinteresting throughout how rich $$$$$$ is the Lee family?????????????
The end result is still ashes to ashes and dust to dust.
DeleteWait till the accounts at TH gets written down.
ReplyDeleteThat is why Wikileaks diplomatic wires were viewed as existential threats by all politicians - juicy revelations like old Yoda confirming (we were not told how he confirmed it, whether by first hand observation or by some moles from the PAP observing from close range Berseh 1.0) Anwar's sexual preferences would make ordering the F35 a good decision if UMNO gets the boot.
ReplyDeleteAnd he did add that Singapore's system does not imply coorelation between popular votes and parliament seats - either he does not understand the Westminster parliamentary system, or more likely, there is a plan to change the consitution from one-man-one vote, to old Yoda's some-men-more-votes, per his recommendation to Habibie after the 1998 riots to help Golkar stay in power.
I wonder whether there have been some massive spring cleaning of the PAP town council's cabinets, closets and books these past few weeks in the wake of the AIM scandal and impending scrutiny by MND.
ReplyDeleteActually the checking of whether there is hanky panky should have been done by an independent party rather than MND. That should put paid to any nagging doubts about transparency, but I am sure the results would have given Minister Khaw going for another heart bypass trying to explain.
Now, LHL is giving a hint that going forward, a lot of things may not necessarily be in written form. What is he driving at is anybody's guess. Surely it cannot be good if that is the intention.
Bring in the shredders, Enron-style.......
DeleteSo is he going to use ISA - his mother favourite weapon? How much did his brother and sister in law raked in from the FN deal? Are the softdrinks still safe to drink?
ReplyDeleteNo wonder people can afford flown in sushi direct from osaka.
DeleteSomehow, the emu/ ostrich syndrome had taken hold.
ReplyDeleteLet it be.
Hear the PM mentioning about 20/20 vision and forecasts.
Now, who or what agencies have perfect forecast track records ?
So how does be moves on, when the outcomes deviate? You revise and hope to learn from it.
Did our "coverment" know and attempt to learn these many years ? I did not see any. Maybe, whatever they did was never written down......
It will be gentlemen deal, handshake style.
ReplyDeleteInstead of Freedom of Information, it will be Free of Information.
We just got a Grade D for purchasing Defence Equipment under some International Transparency Index. Our Spokesman said it's OK because we still have CPIB reporting to our PM.
ReplyDeleteBut is it OK if any PM (present or future) turns out to be another Suharto, Marcos or Chen Shui Bian?
When we had LKY, Teh Cheang Wan committed suicide and the secrets and scandal died with him. Who are Suharto, Marcos and Chen Shui Bian?
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