The DPM and PM should answer questions instead of side-stepping them
choongyong.koh April 24th, 2008
I attended the Parliamentary Sittings on 21 Apr and 22 Apr in the Public Gallery, hoping to be able to listen to the Ministerial Statements by DPM Wong Kan Seng and PM Lee Hsien Loong on the Mas Selemat Escape and the Government’s responsibilities in situations like this.
The COI report did leave some questions to rest, but raised more questions because of the many coincidences and obvious laspes in the whole incident. More confusing, is the way some questions are answered. DPM Wong and PM Lee selectively avoided the crux of certain questions, and sometimes used rhetorical questions to side-step MPs’ questions.
Did MHA conduct regular audits?
One of the key lapses in the report was that the toilet window was without grilles. When asked on Monday “Did MHA conduct regular audits at the Whitley Road Detention Centre (WRDC) prior to the escape of Mas Selemat”, I was expecting a simple “Yes” or “No”, followed by some elaboration of why yes and why no.
Instead, the answer was a description of what procedures there were in the WRDC practiced by the ISD and the Gurkha Contingent and that the ratio of guards is more than that in the prison. After beating around the bush for a few minutes, DPM Wong finally admitted: “The only thing ought to have been done better is a regular system check and audit”. The way he presented the answer masks the fact that the big glaring mistake is the fact that MHA did not institutionalise regular security audit in WRDC.
Dispelling ground speculation
Later in the same session, Mr Low Thia Kiang asked the question “Is the DPM aware that there is speculation that Mas Selamat died inside WRDC?”. Granted that this is a speculation, but as it has been brewing in the ground since the escape in late February, it is definitely in the public’s interest to present some concrete evidence (the COI was given full access to WRDC and the necessary information, and CID has performed “extensive interview and forensic examination of the site”) to help dispel the speculation. Instead, what I observed was that DPM Wong was visibly agitated when rising to answer the question, and side-stepped the question by asking Mr Low if he believed that Mas Selamat is daed.
Whether Mr Low believes Mas Selamat is dead should not change the fact that the DPM should, in the interest of the general public, dispel the speculation, if HE believes that Mas Selamat is not dead.
Oversight role of MHA
The first question to be asked in the 22 Apr 2008 session was from Ms Sylvia Lim: what in PM Lee’s view “is the oversight role of the MHA vis-a-vis the ISD”. PM Lee did not explain the kinds of responsibilities MHA has to take should there be any problem in ISD, neither did he specifically say it is a “hands-off” approach. He basically reiterated the duties of ISA and stated that it “reports to MHA and is accountable to MHA for its performance”. He continued to state that “MHA monitors ISD by tracking whether Singapore stays safe”. Nothing in the response answered the question of what is the MHA’s responsibility should anything go wrong with its subordinate department.
Accountability and responsibility
The most interesting rhetorical question comes when Mr Low again raised to ask a question, on how the PM could reconcile the fact that ministers’ salaries are pegged to the corporate world, whereas their accountability and responsibility when something goes wrong is not. From the Public Gallery, I saw the PM stood up and lightly slapped his notepad on to the lectern before saying “I thought that the member would eventually come to this question.” He went on to give reasons why DPM Wong should not resign, gave general statements like “Companies which change CEOs every two months or every two years do not prosper”.
Of the list of reasons, I think the most absurd are arguments like “if any questions showed the DPM … told people not to grille up the window, …didn’t need so much fencing….”.
He capped the descriptions with a question “let me ask the member (Mr Low) whether he thinks the DPM ought to quit because of this”. Mr Low did not answer, and I don’t think he needed to. PM Lee was again side-stepping the question of how to reconcile high wages with apparently no accountability, so why should Mr Low continue his thread of discussion?
No firm stand?
An article in ZaoBao (议员应该有坚定立场, zaobao 2008-04-23) criticized Mr Low for not having a firm stand. I think the reporter was confused by the many side-stepping and rhetorical questions. If the reporter had kept a clear mind and listened to the questions asked by both Mr Low and Ms Sylvia Lim, it would be very obvious (at least it was very obvious to me) that the firm stand is that there should be accountability and responsibility taken by the MHA (not necessarily the resignation of the Minister, but some form of accountability nevertheless) in this incident. Answering rhetorical question to fuel unnecessary debate (just consider the kinds of debates that will lead to if the rhetorical questions were answered) is not their role.
All Posts
Cruedo to you.
I think you have put the exchanges in the right context than those reported.
However, if only Mr Low would simply reply the PM with “He should”.
Low Thia Kiang ask a good question but his reply is quite lame. When ask by DPM Wong Kan Seng if he believes that Mas Selamat died in prision he should say.
1. I don’t know what to believe anymore. Should I believe that the garment employs completely inept prison superintendent and brainless prision officers who let a limping terrorist escape? or
2. It’s easier to believe that Mas Selamat died while in custody than to believe the ineptness of the police, gurkha, army, navy and airforce cannot catch a limping biskit of a terrorist after 9 bloody weeks. Even with the help of state of the art, cutting edge technology.
3. It’s easier to believe that than to believe that out of the tax-payer’s money to pay your high salary and you don’t have the decency and due diligence to check on prison toilets.
4. It’s easier to believe than to believe that the police K9 unit never bothered to train blood hounds to track escapees. Instead they rely on mongrels and other cheapo breed dogs. Everybody knows that blood hounds are the best tracker dogs, everybody except maybe the folks at the home affairs ministry.
So Mr Low Thia Kiang, please think things through before you ask a stupid question, you just might be able to whack a smart aleck of a minister on the side of the head.
When one asked a question, one expects an answer.
When one do not get the Answer to the Question asked, one should asked for the Answer again or rephrase the Question. Or one may ask for the anwer in a different way such as ‘Why Not?’ in the case of MP Low Thia Khiangs’ Question to DPM Wong Kan Sengs’ returned Question.
MP Low Thia Khiang was very disappointing in this case.
patriot.
I agree Christipher that it’s easier to believe that Mas Selamat died while in custody. If the government wanted to extract full political mileage from his death, then this story of his escape was necessary to:
a) Absolve themselves of his death (however it occured)
b) Create a national concensus on the impact of his ‘escape’ and a forced sense of patriotic unity.
This episode would also enable PAP to easily justify further draconian policies and ‘anti-terror’ legislation which continues to trample of human rights and political freedoms.
All this media tried to divert the attention from the actual case by putting the blame on Low TK. If Low asked for the resignation of Wong, would the lame PM comply,? knowing that the answer is ‘ no ‘, so why answer him. Do you observe within few seconds, the joker shot back and said no answer, that settles everything, so wash hand liao. This is called accountability !!!