TR EMERITUS

Barely a week after Lee Hsien Loong spoke of integrity and the importance of admitting one's mistakes, the Auditor General released his annual report and gave the PM the perfect opportunity to practise what he preached. The report for 2012/13 cites more than two dozen incidents relating to contracts worth almost S$300M where the PMO’s National Research Foundation appear to be in violation of The Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act. While the PM himself is not directly implicated, the failure of a department under his oversight to abide by its legal and contractual obligations clearly raises significant questions. Will the PM or his office stand up for their integrity and admit to these mistakes – as the PM has urged his political opponents to do over much smaller matters – or will silence be maintained? To quote the Auditor General’s report directly, under the heading “Prime Minister’s Office”: 62. The Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act (Cap. 30B, 2006 Revised Edition) stipulated the time frame for making payment and requirements for payment response to a payment claim. The Act was passed to address cash flow problems faced by the construction industry by upholding the rights of parties to seek progress payments for work done and goods supplied. 63. For the contract for building works construction and another contract for foundation works (total contract value of $295.72 million), AGO found 32 instances of late payment to contractors (totalling $254.04 million). In six instances (totalling $26.09 million), the delays ranged from 33 to 174 days. 64. For the three consultancy services contracts (total contract value of $27.25 million), AGO observed that NRF did not provide payment responses to the consultants’ payment claims (totalling $24.56 million). Report of the Auditor-General for the Financial Year 2012/13 Some observers may find it shocking that the Auditor General claims to have observed unlawful behaviour on the part of the government, but in fact this year’s revelation follows even more serious breaches detected by the AG last year. As was first reported by Kenneth Jeyaretnam, the Ministry of Finance last year broke the law – in fact the Constitution – in issuing a “promissory note” to the World Bank without presidential approval. In the same year, the Ministry for National Development was also found to have breached the Constitution by engaging in unlawful accounting methods on a land reclamation project. In any normal democratic country, unlawful or unconstitutional behaviour on the part of the government would be a significant scandal, in Singapore however these mistakes go completely unreported by a mainstream media that apparently deems the cleanliness of a hawker centre to be much more significant. A mainstream media also that uncritically toes the government line on what constitutes “integrity“, but will surely not call the PM out if he maintains silence in failing to admit to the many unlawful mistakes that have been committed by entities responsible to him. The key question arising from the AG’s findings is whether the current government are fit for purpose in terms of upholding the public interest. Can a government that despite being extremely well paid, repeatedly breaches the law, the constitution and their own contractual obligations be entrusted with the wealth and well being of the nation? The PM should take his own advice. Speak the truth. Things have clearly gone wrong, and even though it is inconvenient, the PM should admit to the unlawful mistakes made by the current government. A failure to do so will only leave the PM open to accusations of hypocrisy since these are exactly the steps the PM urged his political opponents to take over actually much more trivial mistakes made in the cleaning of a hawker centre. The PM should respond. His integrity is at stake. Andy Xian Wong * The author blogs at andyxianwong.wordpress.com. ** The author of this article contacted the Prime Minister’s Office who were offered the chance to comment on the concerns raised by the Auditor General’s report. No response was received.  Read More →

The experiences of Singaporeans today have reached one full circle and is no different from the 1950s generation that lived in hardship, uncertainties – facing poor wage and labor exploitation, bleak housing conditions and limited prospects in upgrading. It was a period of social discontent as the population could not find any economic contentment, which led to political upheaval. The PAP conveniently twisted the historical events to suit its narrative and political agenda, and conveniently left out the facts that the 1950s generation had desired fair wages for a fair day of work. Unions were aggressive then as the employers were adamant to block labor from advancing their goals, but settlements had always been reached even as there were strikes and walk-outs. The outcome was that wages were advanced and businesses continued to flourish. Regrettably, after fifty-five years of continuous PAP controlling the seat of Government, it has surreptitiously brought the various unions under a common umbrella in the NTUC, which the PAP controlled. Even as the Unions were made toothless, the PAP also embarked on a new strategy to takeover as many profitable businesses as the many newly created Government Linked Companies were created to usurp the roles of private enterprises. Compared to Communist States like China and Vietnam, Singapore today has more State-owned businesses that provide all the essential services and produce that are needed by Singaporean. Today, the single largest employer in Singapore is the Government Linked Companies under the various disguised names that end with “Private Limited” – which are all capitalized by Tax Payers’ Money. After 55 years, Singaporeans today are no better than the 1950s Generation, struggling to make ends meet, coping with poor living conditions, even as high cost of living made lives worst with depressed wages, poor employment prospects – and without any avenue to even call for a labor strike. Still the 1950s Generation were forced to become pro-active and gave the opportunity of a life time to a young lawyer – named Harry Lee – and his team of young cohorts to form a New Government during GE-1959; even though they had ‘ZERO Political Track Record and ZILCH experience in Government’. After 55 years, Singaporeans today are in a better position to work with a NEW GOVERNMENT than the 1950s Generation, as several Singaporean generations had manned the various levels of of administrative, executive, and operational positions that made Singapore Incorporated function. It was not the PAP Ministers and MPs that made Singapore function, but ordinary Singaporeans that made Singapore what it is today. Do we need the PAP given its poor performance under the present LEEdership for the last 10 years ? Singaporeans today has come to a cross-road, and need to decide immediately for change, or the changes made by the PAP will wipe us into oblivion. Emeritus Singaporean  Read More →

In this article, I want to share the impact that the Roy vs LHL incident has had on me, a new Singaporean Citizen. I am sure, like me, a number of other new citizens are watching this saga unfold and drawing their own inferences. As a new Singaporean citizen, I have benefited from PAP policies. My view has always been that while the PAP is somewhat "elitist" in its policy matters, its pro-business and capitalistic commitment is good for Singapore, given our limited resources. My belief was that while Singaporeans do compromise on their freedom in the current political structure, it is more than made up for by the benefits, i.e. the safety provided by law and the efficiency seen in policy implementation. When making arguments in favour as above, I was often challenged by native Singaporean friends. Principle issues highlighted were the fates met by people like Jeyaretnam, Chee, etc. Ignorant of the experience, I discounted the matter. Roy’s incident has changed that. To experience this first hand has added a whole new perspective. It baffles me how a matter like this is being managed with such high-handedness. Roy was wrong in writing some unsubstantiated views, but not all his work was that. Furthermore, as a citizen of our country, he has every right to expresses his views, right or wrong. The PM, on the other hand, is the leader of our country. His role, in my view, should be to provide the relevant information so people can form their own "informed" views. The role should definitely not be to kill the questioning spirit. A leader who silences every opposing view with a sledgehammer, will raise an army of intellectual weaklings. To inculcate and tolerate difference in views, is basic human spirit and one needs to learn from that. It's also a must-have if we really want the so called "constructive" politics to flourish in Singapore. In my mind, Roy had apologized and the PM could have accepted it, despite the perceived shortcomings in the apology. Thereafter, government machinery should have been used to address the concerns Roy raised re CPF, thus dispelling any misconceptions some people may have had. Doing this is not hard given that we are all educated and are not so many in numbers. However the course of action actually taken only reflects that the government is not confident it can address the issues raised. More importantly, to go all out to squash a common man (Roy is no politician!) and try to make an example of him, only breeds fear and hatred among the population. To reiterate, I am not saying that maligning others or the PM, is right. I am voicing my concern regarding the manner in which this matter is being dealt. Before this incident there was little that could have dissuaded people like me from voting for the PAP in the next GE. But this incident has made me seriously question that. I, for one, am most unlikely to vote for the PAP. I now have a reason, as I definitely don't want my Singaporean children to live in fear of expressing their views. At the same time I also want them to grow up in an environment of compassion and forgiveness. I love this country and have been an ardent reader of TR Emeritus to keep myself aware of the alternative views. Today my heart is a bit more aligned to some of the commentators here [but not to the views of the most cynical ones ;) ]. May this saga end with a more rational and compassionate outcome. And, may the questioning spirit revive and thrive, among our countrymen. Not just in politics, but in every walk of life. Concerned Citizen * Submitted by TRE reader.  Read More →