The Public Demands Better

“Director ISD met me and told me that he accepted responsibility for what has happened and apologized. Having known him for many years, I told him that I have full confidence in him and he must carry on.”
- DPM Wong Kan Seng

“I am satisfied that the Ministry has taken the correct remedial and disciplinary action, and that the Minister and top management were not to blamed for what has happened. DPM Wong Kan Seng and the Director of ISD both continue to have my full confidence."
- PM Lee Hsien Loong

The long awaited report into the escape of JI member, and alleged terrorist Mas Selamat Kastari on 21 April 2008, came as no real surprise to many people. As a taxpaying citizen of this country, I am extremely disappointed with the way the report has accounted for the security breach, and the glaring lack of government accountability on this debacle.

With each passing day that this controversy does not have closure that meets the growing expectations of discontented citizens, the window of opportunity for the government to show exemplary integrity, humility and leadership gets more narrow, particularly for the Ministry of Home Affairs as well as our Prime Minister.

Needless to say, this incident has also put the relationship of the government and it's people under further strain, from which the "great affective divide" gets even wider. That is bad for Singapore, and worse for Singaporeans, as our social compact is once again put to the test, with dismal results.

The public demands better. They deserve better, and rightly so. The winds of change have already begun to billow. Dissension has taken root.

“Perhaps nothing in our society is more needed for those in positions of authority than accountability. Too often those with authority are able (and willing) to surround themselves with people who support their decisions without question.”
~ Michael Armstrong, Former CEO of AT&T

“The ancient Romans had a tradition: whenever one of their engineers constructed an arch, as the capstone was hoisted into place, the engineer assumed accountability for his work in the most profound way possible: he stood under the arch.”
~ Michael Armstrong, CEO of AT&T (from his resignation speech in 2002)

Related topics:
1. Winter of Discontent
2. Winds of Change
3. Complacency
4. Change of Tide