Accountability
“I am often accused of interfering in the private lives of citizens. Yes, if I did not, had I not done that, we wouldn’t be here today. And I say without the slightest remorse, that we wouldn’t be here, we would not have made economic progress, if we had not intervened on very personal matters – who your neighbour is, how you live, the noise you make, how you spit, or what language you use. We decide what is right. Never mind what the people think.“
- Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew in 1987
With all due respect to Minister Mentor Lee, we wouldn’t be where we are today without him. But are we still seeing this kind of mindset in our politicians today? If so, does it still work today or will it work going forward?
The first principal is, accepting that what were in the past, no longer works as well in the present. And may not work at all in the future. So one must be set in the mode of change. How to change is a challenge and for most people, they experiment and they end up doing the wrong things. But that’s part of the Darwinian process of sifting out. So one has to be in experimental mode and be alive to new possibilities. And be humble about our ability to anticipate new trends. And to say “I was wrong, let’s try again”.
- Minister for Foreign Affairs George Yeo, 2020 Shaping Ideas, suggesting the need for change.
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Below are some examples of “when things go wrong”. Comments made in parliament can be found here. Due to the length of some of these text, comments were extracted and not in full. Please visit the sources I have linked and make your own conclusions.
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Ministry of Finance – Financial Crisis of 2007 – Present
Al Jazeera: “…Do you feel a little bit responsible that maybe you should have seen things coming and done more to prevent it?
Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam: “…Many of us knew that there were problems in the US financial system, to some extent globally. We all know it would be destructive. But frankly, no one actually predicted or expected the scale and severity of this crisis, globally or even in the US. ….but I think it is not just finance ministers, central bankers or regulators who got it wrong. Everyone got it wrong...”
Al Jazeera: “But you knew that was happening at that time, why wasn’t the alarm raised then?”
Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam: “I think there were mistakes made, particularly in the US, and some other financial markets…”
In all fairness, there was little we could do when majority of our GDP comes from exports. Politicians, especially those involved in financial markets, tend to say what politicians should say, otherwise it could cause unnecessary panic.
Below are examples of what politicians shouldn’t say, with the exception of Ron Paul who is a Republican.
Not everyone got it wrong.
Ron Paul knew the US was going bankrupt way back in 2003 and his repeated warnings were ignored year after year:
Peter Schiff got ridiculed in 2006 and 2007 for talking about the massive collapse:
Gerald Celente, Marc Faber and Jim Rogers, just to name a few more, all expected the big collapse. Everyone thought they were crazy pessimists before the crisis.
Recovery or Cover-up? Gerald Celente shares his views on the future:
How did the worst recession in 30 years, as described by Dr Tony Tan, disappear and the weather became sunny, according to Minister without portfolio(what?) Lim Swee Say recently? It didn’t disappear, it got postponed and amplified by G20′s $5.5 trillion money-printing.
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Ministry of Home Affairs – National Security
“I am sorry that it happened.”
- Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng, on Mas Selamat’s escape.
This statement which sounded more empathetic than apologetic, fuelled further public outcry and calls for his resignation.
When Mas Selamat was finally caught in Malaysia, mainstream media was full of praise for local authorities.
- “Minister’s hail arrest” – Straits Times
- “ISD provides crucial lead” – Straits Times
- “Singaporeans cheered by news of Mas Selamat’s arrest” – TODAY/CNA
- “Sources said that it was the Singapore ISD that gave the Malaysians the lead on Mas Selamat’s trail. If so, the department, which has come under the heaviest fire, has redeemed itself.” – Straits Times
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Ministry of Education – Breeding Discriminating-Elitism, Killing Creativity?
Why do Finland’s schools get the best results? (click on link to watch video report)
Finland’s schools score consistently at the top of world rankings, yet the pupils have the fewest number of class hours in the developed world.
BBC World News America, Helsinki
Last year more than 100 foreign delegations and governments visited Helsinki, hoping to learn the secret of their schools’ success.
In 2006, Finland’s pupils scored the highest average results in science and reading in the whole of the developed world. In the OECD’s exams for 15 year-olds, known as PISA, they also came second in maths, beaten only by teenagers in South Korea.
This isn’t a one-off: in previous PISA tests Finland also came out top.
The Finnish philosophy with education is that everyone has something to contribute and those who struggle in certain subjects should not be left behind.
A tactic used in virtually every lesson is the provision of an additional teacher who helps those who struggle in a particular subject. But the pupils are all kept in the same classroom, regardless of their ability in that particular subject.
Finland’s Education Minister, Henna Virkkunen is proud of her country’s record but her next goal is to target the brightest pupils.
”The Finnish system supports very much those pupils who have learning difficulties but we have to pay more attention also to those pupils who are very talented. Now we have started a pilot project about how to support those pupils who are very gifted in certain areas.”
As I understand, streaming in schools proved to be an excellent idea, transforming a population with low education into a highly educated one. Dr Goh was quoted as saying it was necessary to reduce “wastage” from drop-outs back then.
Now education levels are greatly increased and drop-out rates extremely low – due to Dr Goh’s vision, should we still keep the streaming policy now that we have achieved what Dr Goh set out to achieve?
I have no vision like Dr Goh, but my neighbors’ kids fight, the A class kid scolds the other “stupid” just because he is from the E class. I am sure other Singaporeans can quote many such examples.
This attitude can also be found online, where graduates or the privileged turns healthy discussions on various issues into name-calling events.
Even in Parliament, young Ministers you-know-who, have the same condescending attitude.
Should we learn from Finland? Where smarter kids mingle with everyone else and help one another. This should be the basic guiding principle to create a more gracious society.
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Ministry of National Development – Public Housing (Supply and Affordability)
“HDB flat prices are subjected to market forces. They move up or down depending on demand and supply factors similar to private properties. It is possible therefore for the prices of HDB flats to fall below their purchase price even with a subsidy.”
- The Minister of State for National Development (Ms Grace Fu Hai Yien) (for the Minister for National Development), 22 January 2007 in Parliament, titled “New HDB Flats (Subsidy)”, setting the record straight.
On 27 August 2007
Concerned by the supply of new flats and its effect on young Singaporeans, Mr Chiam See Tong asked whether there is enough supply of HDB flats for newlyweds to purchase from HDB instead of having to go to the resale market.
“I would like to clarify that the demand for housing from first-timers is met through new flats as well as resale flats.”
- The Minister of State for National Development (Ms Grace Fu Hai Yien) (for the Minister for National Development), 27 August 2007 in Parliament, titled “New HDB Flats”.
Did Mr Chiam See Tong see something coming way back in 2007? Today, young Singaporeans could hardly afford resale market prices. Even for those who can afford when they receive housing grants, they cannot afford to pay for the COVs because most of the money are in their CPF accounts.
“Nobody, no matter how prescient, no matter how clever, would have been able to predict that this is what is going to happen this year. All of us were caught off-guard…I did not expect the prices to go up. But the point is, are we able to respond to this change. And the answer is yes.”
- Minister for National Development Mah Bow Tan, 29 December 2009, Channelnewasia article, having forgotten Mr Chiam’s concerns back in 2007. The point is, being one of the highest paid ministers in the world, should the people have higher expectations? The answer is also yes.
“The Government does not track the type of properties rented, purchased or owned by new citizens (20,513 in 2008, 2009 data unavailable). As a policy, we do not distinguish between indigenous and new citizens. Our commitment in housing is to provide sufficient and affordable flats for first-time Singaporean homebuyers, whether new citizens or otherwise.”
- The Minister of State for National Development (Ms Grace Fu Hai Yien) (for the Minister for National Development), when asked by Mr Terry Lee, 22 February 2010 in Parliament, titled “Increase in New Citizens”.
Is the policy of not tracking housing choices made by this group of new citizens efficient in terms of managing overall supply and demand?
“But the population planning parameter (of 6.5 million) remains unchanged.”
- Minister for National Development Mah Bow Tan, 8 March 2010 in Parliament.
It seems like we need to re-look into the policy of not tracking housing needs of new citizens as we are still some 1.5 million away from this “planning parameter”.
“The overall objective is to make sure housing prices do not outstrip real economy… in that sense what we try to do is make sure prices don’t go up faster than incomes and make sure prices don’t go down or crash. And that’s the reason why we target NOT the real demand. The fundamental objective of HDB housing is owner occupation and long-term investment.”
- Minister for National Development Mah Bow Tan, 14 March 2010, Channelnewasia “Talking Point Special”, seemingly disagreeing with Ms Grace Fu’s comments on 22 January 2007 (scroll up if you missed it) and possibly encouraging further speculation.
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Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports – Homelessness in Singapore
Some brief history before we start:
“How much do you want? Do you want three meals in a hawker centre, food court or restaurant?”
- Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports Vivian Balakrishnan, rejecting Dr Lily Neo’s request increase the amount those on the Public Assistance scheme receive, in a dismissive and condescending tone, on 12 February 2007 in Parliament.
“… when you listen to his closed-door forums, you can sense a slight streak of controlled impatienceness and authoritarianism in him… In 2002, he labelled the Malaysian Media as “WILD ANIMALS”, which is quite an unprecedented comment made by any Singaporean Ministers.”
-According to this website: Link here
“Anonymity in cyberspace is an illusion…..if need be, we can identify you, and if we have to, we will be prepared to prosecute you.”
- Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports Vivian Balakrishnan, on 21 February 2009, Channel NewsAsia.
According to Minister George Yeo however, “Everyone now has alternatives, bypasses. This has outed the evolution of global politics and human relationships. So it’s a fascinating period that we are living through. The way people lead, persuade, get things done – all that has to change and all that remarks this century.”
Authoritative leadership by fear is not going to work.
“If you were a poor person, anywhere on this planet, Singapore is the one place where you will have a roof over your head, where you will have food on the table. Even if you can’t afford it, we will have meals delivered to you. You will get healthcare. Do not lose sight of the fundamentals. And I am confident that we have done our duty for the people who need our help.”
- Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports Vivian Balakrishnan, in March 2010, during a forum organised by REACH.
On the latest issue of homelessness in Singapore: Let’s see what was said in Parliament on 2 March 2010:
“Sir, in 2009, around 299 persons were referred to MCYS for evaluation of their housing needs. Most of them had housing difficulties because they were either estranged from their families or their flats had been repossessed or they had sold their flats and had not been able to buy another one…At the end of 2009, 148 families have been assisted through this scheme, of which 107 families have been discharged to alternative housing arrangements. The final and last resort for those who are unable to work and have no family members is to be admitted to a Government-funded welfare home for destitute persons.”
- Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports Vivian Balakrishnan, on 2 March 2010, titled “Problem of homelessness in Singapore”, in response to concerns raised by Mdm Halimah Yacob.
It is hard to determine whether all the 299 who were referred to MCYS received help as he used “persons” and then “families”.
According to his numbers, for those who were referred, 107 families have been discharged to alternative housing arrangements. How the other 148 families have been assisted and whether they are still homeless are still unclear.
“There was a question about whether we restrict the movement of people in Angsana Home. Well, there are some rules in place. We need some rules in place, first, to ensure the security of the all the other residents. Secondly, there are many people in that Home who are in there because they have been brought in under the Destitute Persons Act, which means that they may not necessarily be there on a voluntary basis. The other resort is to go to New Hope or to Lakeside Family Centre. These are units which HDB has assigned to these two VWOs. Again, they are not comfortable because, obviously, they are not totally private in the same context which you would have, if you were in your own home.”
- Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports Vivian Balakrishnan, on 2 March 2010, titled “Problem of homelessness in Singapore”, in response to concerns raised by Mdm Halimah Yacob.
Based on the above living conditions of “alternative housing”, we have a clue on why majority of those referred to MCYS were not “discharged” to these housing options. It seems that the “assistance” is not all inclusive and maybe we should come up with new ideas to better handle this issue.
The same “dismissive and condescending” attitude can be seen from his response to the concerns raised by the video below and many Singaporeans:
“This is a clear example where a foreign media has failed to ascertain the facts. Some irresponsible websites have also caused these falsehoods to circulate widely on the internet. Now that the facts are out, let us see whether those who have been propagating these falsehoods have the courage and the honesty to set the record straight.”
- Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports Vivian Balakrishnan, on 27 April 2010, Channelnewsasia.
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The Government seems to be very concerned about losing its rule, otherwise it wouldn’t have made it hard for the opposition to enter Parliament as MPs and not NCMPs. With all the “unfair” rules in place, it seems that the ruling party is unlikely to lose its grip in the short term. What the Government should try to understand is, Singaporeans are most concerned about when something goes wrong, without opposition, who is there to maintain proper checks, on behalf of the People?
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