Mods, sorry for starting a new thread on WP's statement; didn't
realise the MSK thread had a "sticky".
Regards
Nonetheless the preferred airings in internet forums, I think WP
deserves a fair share of space. Well, I mean forums should not be
dominated by an entity like the real world Singapore is by the PAP
:D
Regards
====================
11 March 2008 <!-- by
choongyong -->
Two weeks have elapsed since the escape of Mas Selamat Kastari
from the Whitley Road Centre.
Since the occurrence, the immediate priority has rightly been
placed on his recapture. Our security forces have been hard at work
in an island-wide manhunt, and Singaporeans too have put up with
various inconveniences at checkpoints and other areas to facilitate
this massive operation.
Many questions have been raised about how this incident could
have taken place in a country which prides itself on safety and
security. In seeking to reassure Singaporeans, the Minister for
Home Affairs has established a Committee of Inquiry under the
Prisons Act “to discover how the escape occurred and to recommend
appropriate actions to prevent such an incident from occurring
again”. (MHA letter to media dated 7 Mar 08).
As Whitley Road Centre is gazetted by law as a prison, the
government’s decision to convene the inquiry under the Prisons Act
is not wrong. The problem is that the Prisons Act states that such
inquiries shall not be open to the public. The Committee will
submit its report to the Minister, and no part of the proceedings
may be released to anyone except with the Minister’s written
permission.
This raises important questions as to how much the public will
eventually be told, since the Minister retains the discretion to
release the findings as he sees fit. In a matter of such high
public interest as the escape of a high-risk terror suspect from a
government-run facility, what assurances or checks are there that
the public will be given full information? In the interest of
transparency, other governments have conducted public hearings into
sensitive matters such as intelligence failures.
One option is for the President to appoint a Commission of
Inquiry under the Inquiries Act. He can do so when he considers
that having a Commission to inquire into any matter would be for
the public welfare or in the public interest. This regime will
allow the inquiry to proceed in public as the President shall
direct. If there is concern that release of certain sensitive
information will jeopardize the national interest, the President
may direct that certain information not be made public.
Moreover, since Singaporeans have been marshalled to assist the
authorities to hunt for Mas Selamat, the least the government could
do is to keep us fully informed of the inquiry and its
findings.
SYLVIA LIM
CHAIRMAN
11 MAR 08
http://www.wp.sg/wordpress/?p=69
March 11, 2008
<!-- more than 7 paragraphs --> <!-- show image if
available -->
<!-- story content : start --> THE opposition Workers'
Party on Tuesday urged the Government to keep the public fully
informed of the committee of inquiry's (COI) probe into the escape
of terrorist Mas Selamat Kastari, who has been on the run since Feb
27.
It said that as the inquiry is being carried out under the
Prisons Act, which means that the Home Affairs Minister retains the
discretion ot release the committee's finds as he sees fit, this
raises the question 'as to how much the public will eventually be
told.'
Said the party chairman Sylvia Lim in a statement: 'In a matter
of such high public interest as the escape of a high-risk terror
suspect from a government-run facility, what assurances or checks
are there that the public will be given full information?'
'Moreover, since Singaporeans have been marshalled to assist the
authorities to hunt for Mas Selamat, the least the government could
do is to keep us fully informed of the inquiry and its findings,'
she added, noting the huge security forces involved in the
island-wide manhunt, and the various inconveniences at checkpoints
and other areas which Singaporeans have to put up with to
facilitiate the massive operation.
Ms Lim, who is a Non-constituency MP, said many questions have
been raised about how the escape could have taken place 'in a
country which prides itself on safety and security.'
While it is not wrong for the government to convene the
three-member inquiry, headed by retired judge Goh Joon Seng, under
the Prisons Act, the opposition leader noted that such inquiries
are not open to the public.
<!-- show media links starting at 7th para --> 'The
Committee will submit its report to the Minister, and no part of
the proceedings may be released to anyone except with the
Minister's written permission,' she said.
She suggested an alternative option: a COI appointed by the
President under the Inquiries Act in the interest of public welfare
or public interest.
'This regime will allow the inquiry to proceed in public as the
President shall direct. If there is concern that release of certain
sensitive information will jeopardise the national interest, the
President may direct that certain information not be made public,'
she said.
Separately, the Criminal Investigation Department is also
looking into whether criminal wrong-doing was involved in the
break-out of the leader of the Singapore Jemaah Islamiah (JI)
terror network from the Whitley Road Detention Centre.
Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng has said that there was a
'physical breach' and 'security lapse' at the detention centre's
compound, which has since been plugged.
The panel, which will also recommend changes to prevent similar
break-outs, is expected to complete the review in a month. The
other two committee members are retired police commissioner Tee Tua
Ba and deputy secretary for security and corporate services Dr
Choong May Ling.
In launching the COI on March 2, Mr Wong said he would decide on
the part of the committee's findings that can be made public.
Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew has said that the escape of Mas
Selamat is a 'very severe lesson in complacency.'
The search for the fugitive entered the 13th day on Tuesday.
More than 1,100 calls and emails on potential leads have been
received by police so far.
Besides reporting sightings or discarded belongings on the
fringes of forested areas, many Singaporeans have offered tips on
how to nab the escaped detainee.
March 12, 2008
<!-- Author --> By Peh Shing Huei <!-- more than 7
paragraphs --> <!-- show image if available -->
<!-- story content : start --> THE opposition Workers'
Party (WP) has called for an alternative panel to be set up by the
President to look into the escape of terrorist Mas Selamat
Kastari.
Instead of the committee that was set up by Deputy Prime
Minister and Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng, the WP proposed
yesterday that President S R Nathan appoint a Commission of Inquiry
under the Inquiries Act so that investigations 'can proceed in
public as the President shall direct'.
In a press statement signed by chairman Sylvia Lim, the WP noted
that Mr Wong's Committee of Inquiry is being set up under the
Prisons Act.
This is not wrong, since the Whitley Road Detention Centre is
considered a prison under this law, said Ms Lim.
However, she pointed out: 'The Prisons Act states that such
inquiries shall not be open to the public. The Committee will
submit its report to the Minister, and no part of the proceedings
may be released to anyone except with the Minister's written
permission.
'This raises important questions as to how much the public will
eventually be told, since the Minister retains the discretion to
release the findings as he sees fit.'
<!-- show media links starting at 7th para --> <!--
Vodcast --> <!-- Background Story -->
As announced by the government, the independent committee is
headed by former High Court judge Goh Joon Seng and will look into
how Mas Selamat, 47, broke out of the detention centre a fortnight
ago and recommend changes to prevent similar breakouts.
'In a matter of such high public interest as the escape of a
high-risk terror suspect from a government-run facility, what
assurances or checks are there that the public will be given full
information?' asked Ms Lim, who is also a Non-Constituency MP.
'In the interest of transparency, other governments have
conducted public hearings into sensitive matters such as
intelligence failures.'
Since Independence, seven Commissions of Inquiry have been
formed, including one on the Sentosa cable car accident in 1983 and
another on the Hotel New World collapse in 1986.
In recommending that the President appoint a commission of
inquiry under the Inquiries Act, Ms Lim noted that this would
'allow the inquiry to proceed in public as the President shall
direct'.
'If there is concern that release of certain sensitive
information will jeopardize the national interest, the President
may direct that certain information not be made public,' she
added.
She asserted: 'Since Singaporeans have been marshalled to assist
the authorities to hunt for Mas Selamat, the least the Government
could do is to keep us fully informed of the inquiry and its
findings.'
But Ms Lim also gave credit to the security forces, saying they
have been 'hard at work in an island-wide manhunt' and that the
immediate priority has 'rightly' been placed on Mas Selamat's
recapture.
TODAY
WP urges President to appoint
panel to probe JI leader’s escape
LEONG WEE KEAT
[email protected]
THE Workers’ Party (WP) is
urging the President to appoint
a Commission of Inquiry to look
into the escape of detained Jemaah
Islamiyah leader Mas Selamat
Kastari, instead of the
committee appointed for that
purpose by the Minister for
Home Affairs.
P a r t y
c h a i r m a n
Sylvia Lim
noted that
under the Inquiries
Act — a
new law
passed last
September —
the President
of Singapore
can appoint a
Commission
to look into
any matter
“for the public
welfare or in the public interest”.
He can also direct that the inquiry
“proceed in public”.
Her party’s concern is that
the current Committee of Inquiry,
as established under the
Prisons Act, allows the Minister
to “retain the discretion to release
the findings as he sees fit”.
“The problem is that the
Prisons Act states that such inquiries
shall not be open to the
public … This raises important
questions as to how much the
public will eventually be told,”
Ms Lim said in a statement,
even as she noted that it was
technically “not wrong” to convene
the inquiry under the Prisons
Act since the Whitley Road
Detention Centre — from which
Mas Selamat escaped on Feb 27
— is gazetted as a prison.
The current committee is
headed by retired High Court
judge Goh Joon Seng, with former
Police Commissioner Tee
Tua Ba and the Home Affairs
Ministry’s deputy secretary for
security and corporate services,
Dr Choong May Ling, on board.
In response, a Ministry of
Home Affairs spokesperson said
that Deputy
Prime Minister
and Home
Affairs Minister
Wong Kan
Seng has stated
that “after
the Committee
of Inquiry
completes its
inquiry, we will
give a full account
to the
public on how
Mas Selamat
escaped and
what has been
done to tighten security to prevent
such a thing from happening
again”.
Pointing out that the escape
of a “high-risk terror suspect”
was a matter of “high public
interest”, Ms Lim, who is a
Non-Constituency Member of
Parliament, said that if the concern
was that “release of certain
sensitive information will jeopardise
the national interest”,
the Inquiries Act allows the
President to direct that such
facts not be made public.
Ms Lim added that “since
Singaporeans have been marshalled
to assist the authorities
to hunt for Mas Selamat, the
least the Government could do
is to keep us fully informed of
the inquiry and its findings”.
