Did MBT in leaking his decision to Mr E Low breech the code of
the Official Secrets Act Cap.213?
I believe that whilst the Minister (MBT) committed no incursion
against Sect24B, Town Council Act (Cap.329A), as according
statute he is only required to "by order published in the Gazette,
declare any housing estate of the Board ... to be a precinct
...carrying out any lift upgrading works in buildings..."
The issue of concern however involves the question of whether the
said Minister 'leaked confidential govt data' of his decision to
benefit his friend Mr Eric Low prior to the officially embargoed
release timing of such government announcement in The Gazette.
If so, the leak of such 'government data' to 'interested but
unqualified 3rd parties' due to the 3rd parties having 'personal
relations' with political title holders ought not be condoned as
that would indicate the lack of integrity of political office
bearers in safeguarding official secret government
information.
If this is so proven, then the best thing for the official
concerned to do is to resign as a sign of remorse having leaked
sensitive information that should have been embargoed till release
at a stated time through the proper government channel of the
'Gazette'.
How could Mr MBT assume that he had the authority to release such
info to Mr E Low?
That said, I find Mr MBT's decision to name Mr Eric Low as Hougang
constituency's 'grassroots adviser' most petty, unconstitutional, a
betrayal to the interest of Hougang residents and a behavior
unbecoming of a Cabinet Minister.
This is because section 24B, C (excerpts) of the
Town Council Act (Cap.329A) states that:
As clear as crystal is the fact that by statute, Mr MBT in
arriving at his decision about an LUP award, would have considered
primarily the input the Board(HDB) and the relevant Town Council,
the latter of which Mr Low TK is , by statute, Chairman. Any
accessory contribution from Mr E Low would have remained just as
accessory as Mr E Low remains- the loosing candidate in
GE2006.
By law, Mr MBT's leak to Mr E Low simply ends at Mr E Low making
the announcement of the LUP: something of little consequence except
to tell us that Mr MBT is a good friend of Mr E Low, to whom he
leaks important govt data abt 'LUP', such that by possibly making a
preempted announcement of the upgrading notice as should ordinarily
appear in the 'Gazette', Mr E Low might usurp the authority of
the incumbent MP of Hougang constituency- a rather unethical and
unprofessional act considering that such information should have
been embargoed for official released in the govt 'Gazette' and ought to be, like so is the case
in PAP led constituencies, the purview of the relevant Town Council
Chairman to disclose to his constituency.
Perhaps Minister MBT might have misinterpreted the statutes of the
Town Council Act (Cap.329A)? As such, Mr MBT's
explanation probably holds no water and in fact, might be in
contravention of the Official Secrets Act Cap 213.
Could Mr E Low still be involved with the LUP?
Mr Low's involvement with Hougang's LUP however, should end just as
quickly as it began. In not operating through the Hougang Town
Council but in suspicious rivalry with, Mr E Low seems only intent
on obfuscating the proper procedure by which LUP must be conducted-
that is, under the chairmanship and direction of elected
constituency/ town council MP Mr Low Thia Kiang (the statutorily
designated person/ organisation), who/which would statutorily
conduct and complete the requirements under section
24C of the Town Council Act (Cap.329A) (polls, commencement
of construction etc). Leaving Mr E Low little to do except to now
officially offer to assist at this juncture.
By this discourse, Mr MBT has 'unwittingly' sewn confusion and
dissent amongst the residents of Hougang constituency as to whom
the town council is and should be- an act most unbecoming of a
Cabinet Minister and most destructive to the sense of community,
dignity and democracy amongst the residents of Hougang constituency
or any other constituency in Singapore for that matter.
On a related note, Mr MBT is also very wrong to compare the LUP
with "other government
programmes such as the building of roads and schools", this
is because
For the sake of government integrity, someone should investigate
the presence and significance of this leak of confidential
information to interested but unqualified 3rd persons such as Mr
Eric Low who opportunistically attempted to capitalize on this leak
of government data by way of possibly making a premature disclosure
which ordinarily would have been revealed through the government
Gazette.
For the sake of the integrity of the executive, someone please
investigate if any rules have been contravened this probably
premature disclosure of a Ministerial decision in a manner contrary
to the usual procedure of publication in the government Gazette.
Rgds,
B.C.
Comments?
Reference(s):
- 'A rebuttal to MND: Why Mah Bow Tan is wrong on
upgrading': [TR, 14Oct2009]
- '‘Adviser over MP’ raises many questions':
"PAP MPs are appointed as advisers to the grassroots
organisations in their wards by the People’s Association (PA). In
the two opposition wards, the PA picked the PAP candidates who
contested but lost in the wards in the last two polls as the
grassroots advisers." [ST22Oct2009(hosted by TR website)]
- 'Don't attempt a "WikiLeaks" here':
"SINGAPORE: Authorities in Singapore will take a firm stand
against any leaks in official government documents. The Home
Affairs Ministry made this clear in Parliament on Monday in
response to questions on the impact of WikiLeaks on Singapore.
" [CNA: 10 Jan2011]
- "Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little
Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."-- Benjamin
Franklin
