Singaporeans wish to know what minister Dr Vivian Balakrishna meant when he iterated he would assume “full responsibility” with regards to the TraceTogether brouhaha.

If he truly regrets what has transpired, he should come clean, apologise upfront and bow to Singaporeans before resigning.

Only by doing so will he be deemed contrite.

Simply saying that he “regrets” the “anxiety caused by his mistake” (without directly admitting fault) while still continuing to be paid millions just goes to show how empty his words (do these even qualify as an apology?) are.

Will this be a repeat of the YOG incident where he came away unscathed despite the ginormous budgetary gaffe committed?