TR EMERITUS

It doesn’t matter if it’s non-justification or justifying the unjustifiable. The cycle of justification has to go on. From COVID-19 to corruption probe, they find ways to spin justification. The virus was used to justify why Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong could not meet his target to step down – he had to steer the country through the COVID-19 crisis. Now, the talk from political analysts on mainstream media is that the ongoing investigation on Minister S Iswaran would make it “far harder” for PM Lee to do a handover. Justifying why PM-in-waiting Lawrence Wong has to wait longer. The arrest of Minister Iswaran has supporters justifying on social media that it shows the People’s Action Party (PAP) is able to ownself check ownself. Even presidential hopeful Tharman Shanmugaratnam waded in with similiar justification to “treat the setback as an opportunity to strengthen the system, to display full transparency.” Trying to turn adversity to advantage through their own brand of justification. Tharman himself has had to justify why he is the right man for elected president, given that he has been a PAP man for decades. But no amount of justification can erase what the people see on his forehead – the lightning bolt symbol of the PAP. Leader of the House Indranee Rajah has announced that Speaker of Parliament Tan Chuan-Jin’s unspeakable remark will be addressed at the next Parliament sitting—though Tan has since resigned as a MP today. They had to dig really deep to justify why six top executives were not prosecuted for the Keppel bribery scandal. Still, the people see the stern warning as a gut punch to the country’s zero tolerance against corruption. They are still trying to justify why SPH Media Trust should be funded to the tune of $900 million, despite the circulation data fabrication. The people see it as a complete waste of taxpayers’ money. In the case of Karl Liew, son of Liew Mun Leong, former chairman of Changi Airport Group, there’s simply no justifying why the prosecution did not ask for a custodial sentence, and why the judge said the prosecution’s submission read like mitigation. Karl was sentenced to two weeks’ jail for lying in the Parti Liyani case, only because the judge decided that “nothing less than an imprisonment sentence is due for such cases.” They have attempted to justify that HDB flats are affordable, GST increase is for the poor, the size of the country’s reserves are a secret, and the Singapore Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) is good for the country and good for Singaporeans. But how many people buy any of it? The one that sets a record for the most justification is the ministers’ controversial occupation of Ridout properties. From why ministers need to rent from the government when they have their own bungalows, to why the bid rent is similar to guide rent, to why trees were felled, to why such extensive and expensive repair works before move-in, to why a minister could ask a subordinate for a list of vacant rental properties, to why no conflict of interest, to why no breach of ministerial code of conduct, to why a buddy was the best man for an independent review. Just imagine the time, effort and money spent on justification after justification – from involving public servants and government agencies to convening investigations to convening Parliament. But it seems they are determined to go down the rabbit hole. Surely the people ought to realise by now that they are only buying time instead of going all out to stop the rot.   Augustine Low      Read More →

There are different levels of corruption that are commonly observed in various contexts. Here's a breakdown of each level: 1. Contract-related commissions or bribes: This occurs when a person in authority who is responsible for awarding contracts asks for a commission or bribe in exchange for awarding the contract to a particular individual or company. The amount of the commission or bribe is often tied to the value of the contract. 2. Nepotism or favoritism: In this case, the person in authority appoints a family member or friend to a position of authority or influence based on personal relationships rather than considering their qualifications, skills, or merit. This practice undermines the principles of fair competition and equal opportunity. 3. Awarding contracts to family or friends: Here, the person in authority deliberately awards contracts to their family members or friends without a fair and transparent competitive process. This is a form of favoritism and can lead to inefficient allocation of resources, unfair competition, and limited opportunities for others. 4. Accepting gifts in kind: This involves the person in authority accepting valuable gifts or benefits, such as fully paid overseas trips, from potential or successful vendors. By accepting such gifts, the person in authority may be influenced to make decisions in favor of those vendors, compromising their impartiality and the integrity of the process. 5. Accepting invitations to paid meals: This refers to situations where the person in authority accepts invitations to dinners or lunches paid for by potential or successful vendors. While it may seem less severe than other forms of corruption, accepting such invitations can create obligations and biases that may impact fair decision-making. These different levels of corruption can occur in various settings, such as government institutions, private organizations, or international bodies. They undermine transparency, fairness, and trust, and can have significant negative consequences for economies, public services, and societal well-being. Efforts to combat corruption typically involve strengthening anti-corruption laws, promoting transparency and accountability, and fostering a culture of integrity and ethical behavior.   Tan Kin Lian      Read More →

The OBS investigation shows you how business is done in the real world. It need not be illegal, but there is always a line that seduces you in. It’s call the integrity line, and at times, you walk over it without even knowing it. No one is inoculated from it. We lie to ourselves when we think that, in all circumstances, we are above that line. We deceive ourselves when we claim that we will not cross it, come what may. That’s imagined reality. It’s a fantasy we take consolation in just to give ourselves that self-elevating pat on the back. All men are tempted, but not all resist it, especially all the time. Only those reported are caught. Many go to their graves with a pensive smile. That is the real fortune of life. It’s call the luck of the draw. And it takes mental fortitude too, particularly the kind that knows when enough is enough. For an intemperate mind can never be a reformed crook. Anyway, Ong Beng Seng (OBS) is a businessman. He knows his way around. He knows the tracks he had laid for the win. Read his dealings over the decades and you detect a trend. It’s about cultivating relationship. It’s no trade secret there. Who doesn’t know that? Relationship is the lubricant that sets the wheel of fortune spinning. Mr S Iswaran and Mr Ong Beng Seng at the F1 Grand Prix in 2022 (S Iswaran's Facebook page) ST reports some prominent transactions in the past. He has dealings with top politicians and leaders in the country. In 1996, OBS sold four luxury condos to the Lees, father and son. It was developed by HPL, owned by OBS. It was purchased at “unsolicited discounts” between 5 and 12 per cent. They were early bird discounts, across the board, and as a show of goodwill, the discounted sums were donated to charity. In 2018, OBS was “linked to a scheme where Maldives’ then president Abdulla Yameen and other officials leased out at least 50 Maldivian tropical islands to tourism developers without a public tender…Yameen and his deputy Ahmed Adeeb were later jailed for embezzlement and bribery.” And the recent inroad is in May 2022. “HPL was part of a consortium - along with (Temasek) - that bought the real estate assets of Singapore Press Holdings…for US$2.8 billion.” These assets included Paragon shopping mall and the Seletar shopping mall. Now, he and our transport minister are both arrested and questioned. They are out on bail. While he will be traveling, Iswaran is grounded, having his passport impounded. Lesson? Just one. Thucydides wrote: “The strong do what they can, the weak suffer what they must.” You can see how the world has been going thru seasons of convulsions just to reverse that order of things. It is the tireless march of civilisation. It is a dreaded fate poets, sonneteers, bards, philosophers and even rappers have been bemoaning (or bitching) about. The building blocks of our history is essentially about this restless, at times, desperate fight for equality, fraternity and justice. And it has always been a wicked trail of martyrs’ blood still pinning for the promised new heaven and earth. It’s a utopian dream that is tragically inspiring. Alas, the fight for the weak (and poor) has never stopped since the beginning of time. We have time and the vast numbers in our hands to spare. Yet, power favours the strong, and in their hands, they bend fate, structure and the wills of men and women to their personal design and delight. So, the rich will do what the rich does best; and the poor will do what the poor does best. Never the twain shall meet because they work in different universes. But the poor, just like the weak, will suffer what they must because the vain hope is that one day the lucky ones will rise from the ashes, and discover for themselves the ironic truth that they differ little from those they have been spending most of their life overthrowing. That is the cycle of the march of civilisation between those who rule and those who are ruled. And OBS, Iswaran and the billions of us are just its chess pieces, existing or thriving for a brief forgettable season, before our time is up and a new game is set based on the same rules before and that familiar roll of the weighted dice.   Michael Han   * The writer blogs on Facebook.      Read More →