When Singapore hosted the Trump-Kim summit last year, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong spoke extensively to the media, telling Singaporeans “I hope you will understand this is for a good cause, it is a national effort, and I hope we will be all be able to work together to show the world what Singapore can do.”
After the summit, Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen waxed lyrical, giving an A grade to the Singapore Armed Forces for security preparations for the summit: “I suppose in exam terms, this is a preliminary test which I think we scored an A.”
Mind you, this was an event where Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan admitted that Singapore’s role was merely to “serve tea and coffee.”
Our leaders went out of their way to score points over a summit that Singapore hosted, but in the aftermath of the latest death of a national serviceman, Aloysius Pang, they conspicuously went missing.
They left it to the military brass to hold a media conference, giving very scant details of what happened.
What in heaven’s name has happened to the Prime Minister who is a former general himself? And why did the Defence Minister not see it fit to take charge and take responsibility?
In fact, not a single leader or politician dared to face the nation to give an account of the latest tragedy.
PM Lee and Dr Ng spent so much time and effort to claim credit for a summit. But when a young Singaporean died tragically while serving the country, they abdicated their duty and responsibility to face the nation. They relegated the task to SAF generals who appeared ill-equipped to give a creditable account of what happened.
Is this what has become of our leaders? They come out in full force when the going is good but when things turn tragic, they go missing.
https://www.theonlinecitizen.com/2019/01/26/in-tragedy-and-adversity-our-leaders-display-moral-cowardice-by-going-missing/
Just another puppet pushed to the fore by the monkeys in white. Get real, Si Hou sounds like 死 猴 in Chinese, what do ya expect?
Singaporeans call for resignations and pay cuts of top MINDEF and SAF leaders over training death
The public backlash against the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) and the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) over the death of Corporal First Class (National Service) [CFC (NS)] Pang Wei Chong, Aloysius has been raging on. More Singaporeans are now calling for heads to roll at the top echelons of the military.
CFC (NS) Pang, an armament technician, had been undergoing their reservist training in New Zealand and had been carrying out repair works inside a self-propelled howitzer with his team last Saturday when the gun barrel was lowered, crushing him. Despite the best efforts of medical professionals, Pang succumbed to his injuries and passed away.
CFC (NS) Pang’s untimely passing is the fourth training death in the past 16 months alone, without counting the suicides of active servicemen in the same period.
Yesterday, as news of Pang’s death broke, countless Singaporeans called on MINDEF and SAF to be accountable over CFC (NS) Pang’s death.
A press conference called by military chiefs yesterday to explain the circumstances of the late NSman’s death did little to stave off the people’s furore and many have now agreed that harsher punishments for the top brass are due:
Ex-Presidential candidate Tan Kin Lian has also called for SAF chiefs to take pay cuts for every training death. The former NTUC income CEO suggested today:
“For each death of NS man, SAF should deduct 5% of the salaries of the chief of defense and chief of various service branches, up to 30% a month. They will know what to do.”
Opposition figures like Goh Meng Seng and Lim Tean are among those who “liked” Tan Kin Lian’s suggestion.
http://theindependent.sg/singaporeans-call-for-resignations-and-pay-cuts-of-top-mindef-and-saf-leaders-over-latest-training-death/
I write this now at 0245 hours, 24 Jan 2019. It’s not possible to go back to sleep after I awoke to take a pee and happened on the Yahoo-reported news of death of Aloysius Pang based on an SAF news release dated 23 Jan 2019, 2329 hours i.e. less than 2 hours 45 mins when Corporal First Class (NS) Aloysius died at Waikato Hospital, New Zealand.
Now, in a short space of a mere nine months,
Pte Lee Han Xuan Dave on 30 Apr 2018 Pte Lui Kai on 3 Nov 2018 CFC Aloysius Pang on 23 Jan 2019
have all died.
And, of course, it is Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), that “The Ministry of Defence and the SAF extend their deepest condolences to the family of CFC (NS) Pang and will continue to render assistance and support in their time of loss.”
And, as is the norm in Singapore, when a precious, priceless, ir-revivable, ir-resurrectable life is lost, no less – I’d say, but no more – than “An independent Committee of Inquiry will be convened to investigate the circumstances leading to the incident.”
Singapore has what is touted as the best government and cabinet in the whole wide world, with million $$$ salaries to match. Salaries that are the absolute highest in the world – I’d say, in the history of mankind. But for lesser than S$53,000/- p.a. (NT$1,180,940) or 5% of a Singapore minister’s salary, the Taiwanese (and others) get a defence minister who took full responsibility and resigned from just one conscript death.
But no sir, Singapore ministers are untouchable, irreplaceable. With the PAP’s uninterrupted and absolute power for 60 years, a debased leadership concept of “collective government responsibility” i.e. “the responsibility of Government was a collective one, and no minister carried difficult problems like public transport alone”, under PM Lee Hsien Loong has become, I’d say, absolute currency.
So, will Mr Ng Eng Hen do the honourable thing to take responsibility for 3 deaths in 9 months and, horrors! resign? If our nation’s recent past is any indication, Mr Ng’s will be a long time coming, I’d say, if ever.
Why? Well, the record of deaths where a minister has no honour and never given a full, transparent accounting is eight deaths. I speak of the 2015 SGH Hep C infections that hit 25 patients of which 8 died, 7 of those deaths likely linked to the infection. Still, Mr Gan Kim Yong was re-elected in GE 2015 and reappointed Health Minister even as the deaths were reported. Apparently, Singaporeans are either forgiving or unconcerned with honour or leaders taking full responsibility as Gan’s Chua Chu Kang GRC won 76.69% votes.
Now, let’s look at the publicly available info concerning the Defence Minister’s activities to see how engaged or concerned he was since Aloysius Pang got injured on 19 Jan. On Mr Ng’s FB, we read;
19 Jan: “Had good prata this morning at Clementi Road.” (Likely that he was not yet informed or Aloysius was still not injured.
20 Jan: Entire day spent at Bishan GRC’s community programme. (Total silence on Aloysius Pang.)
21 Jan: Found time to congratulate the Rep of Sgp Navy (RSN) Maritime Security Task Force on its 10th Anniversary. (But still total silence on Aloysius Pang.)
22 Jan: “I like these pieces of art for Singaporeans along Little India for ARTWALK Little India.” (Still, total silence on Aloysius Pang.)
23 Jan: (about 3 pm or only after 5 days! and about +5 hours before Aloysius Pang died)….Finally, some words about Aloysius Pang…and a very oft-repeated Americanized “our prayers go to CFC (NS) Pang to turn this difficult corner, as well as to his family members for strength.”
So, very, very sadly, all that Aloysius parents, siblings, relatives, friends, colleagues and Singaporeans will likely get to hear from Mr Ng Eng Hen at the scheduled press conference, if he shows up, after his only Facebook “our prayers go to CFC (NS) Pang to turn this difficult corner, as well as to his family members for strength”, will be the usual ‘our condolences…every death is unacceptable to me…an independent COI will be convened…(lower ranks?) will be punished if found at fault.’ FULL STOP.
On behalf of all Singaporeans, particularly those of us with sons, brothers, husbands and relatives currently serving National Service, allow me to remind Minister Ng that Mr Goh Keng Swee, our first Defence Minister, initiated and promulgated the SAF’s Code of Conduct. The First of the Six rules in the Code reads:
“We always honour our Nation. We will do everything to uphold it and nothing to disgrace it.”
You have been Defence Minister since 21 May 2011. In that +8 years, there have been 11 deaths under your watch. This compares with 7 reported ones from 9 Mar 1997 to 2010, 14 years (source: Wikipedia).
Unlike almost all the other cabinet ministers, I personally admire you as amongst only 2 or 3 ministers who quit their private sector million $ careers to serve the country. I doubt that you are serving (only) because of all the trappings of being always given first class treatment by the US Pentagon or NATO countries for the kind of taxpayers $$$ that you can authorise to spend on their hardware. Or that you can bring your wife to France for some couple quality time on 12 Jul 2018 (while being CEO, she deliberately chose to absent herself even as a “war room” had been initiated to look into SingHealth’s very serious cyber leak 2 days earlier, 10 Jul).
Where is thy honour, Mr Ng? If that you have not, according to Mr Goh Keng Swee’s Code for SAF, it is simply disgraceful.
Law Kim Hwee 24 Jan 2019, 0546 hours
https://2econdsight.wordpress.com/2019/01/23/where-is-thy-honour-mr-ng-eng-hen/