Media Release: Mr Wong Kan Seng,
resign
Singapore Democrats
The SDP has hitherto refrained from calling for Mr Wong Kan Seng's
resignation in the wake of the Mas Selamat fiasco even though a
strong case could be made for it. We were waiting to see if Mr Wong
showed any contrition for the debacle.
But the Minister has ducked, parried and done everything except
assume responsibility for what happened. With the release
of the Committee of Inquiry (COI) report and his utterances in
Parliament, calling for Mr Wong's resignation is now
imperative.
We present the SDP's case against the Minister and his top
officers:
With the partial revelation of the security arrangements at the
Whitley Road Detention Centre (WRDC), it is clear that there was
systemic failure within the operational structure of the facility.
It was not just missteps on the part of lower-ranking police
officers but rather wholesale negligence at the most senior
levels.
If the COI report is to be believed, the junior officers should not
be the only ones to bear responsibility of Mr Mas Selamat's alleged
escape.
For example, security fixtures such as the installation of window
grilles is the responsibility of administrative planners, not
Gurhka officers or Special Duty Operatives.
Likewise, the effective and fail-safe operation of the CCTV system
is beyond the control of officers charged with the day-to-day
guarding of the detainees.
Similarly, the guards cannot be responsible for the "cement ledge"
that enabled Mr Selamat to climb out of the toilet or for the
positioning of the so-called "weak perimeter fence."
Such physical structures can only be put in place by planners and
administrators of the Centre. Who in the Singapore Police Force is
responsible for the installation, design or construction of the
WRDC's features?
The Director of the Internal Security Department and his superior
the Commissioner of Police, of course. They, and not just those
handling Mr Selamat, must be held accountable. There is no wriggle
room here: Commissioner Koh Boon Hui and his ISD chief are culpable
of the security meltdown. Their resignation is a must.
What about their political boss, Minister Wong Kan Seng? It may be
argued that Mr Wong cannot be in charge of the minutiae of the
running of the WRDC. It must be pointed out, however, that the
"security lapses", to use Mr Wong's words, were not fleeting
moments of distraction. The structural weaknesses within the ISD
Centre were yawning holes waiting to be exploited.
For instance, how can the Minister-in-charge of prison security not
tell his subordinates what must be the ABCs of prison security:
Secure all windows and doors so that prisoners cannot run, walk, or
crawl out through them to escape.
And didn't he give a directive that surveillance cameras had to be
working 24/7? He wouldn't allow the CCTV cameras outside his own
residence to be left unmonitored or the security personnel not
guarding his home for any period of time, would he?
But this is not the end of Mr Wong's culpability. His
personal handling of the saga right from the get-go had
incompetence written all over.
It took 49 seconds for Mr Selamat to escape, 11 minutes for the
prison staff to realise this, but a whole four hours for Mr Wong to
sound the alert to the public.
It took another week before his Ministry told people what the
escapee was wearing. Then Mr Selamat was walking with a "distinct
limp", then that the limp was obvious only when he ran. Again this
came only days after the escape during which time the prisoner
could have already made his way to the North Pole.
One would have thought that within minutes after he was alerted of
the escape, Mr Wong would have gathered his top security officials,
collate data of the situation giving priority to the description of
Mr Selamat and his possible whereabouts, and disseminate them to
the public. This could all have been done within the first hour of
the breakout.
But instead of acknowledging his own misjudgments and making a
genuine effort to get to the bottom of the mess, the Minister cocks
a snook at the public by appointing, or at least agreeing to the
appointment of, his subordinate Deputy Secretary Dr Choong May Ling
and former subordinate and police commissioner Mr Tee Tua Bah to
sit on the three-member COI.
Has the Minister no self-respect to at least insist that the COI be
not only independent of his influence but also seen to be so?
As a result the COI report, or the little that has been revealed,
has been lampooned and ripped to shreds for its contradictory,
incomplete and poorly explained findings. It raises more questions
than answers.
The last straw for the Singapore Democrats is Mr Wong
casting blame on the junior officers while not-so-subtlely
exonerating himself. Mr Wong announced that junior
officers "all the way up" to the supervisory and management levels
of the WRDC will be disciplined and penalised.
He unabashedly avoids mentioning his own role in the episode. This
is the hallmark of a man without honour and pride in his work and
his responsibilities. When things go wrong leaders – true leaders –
step up and take responsibility.
They don't make fall guys of their subordinates to save their own
skins.
In truth Mr Wong's reputation is in tatters. He has demonstrated
beyond doubt that he is unfit to continue with his
job.
Mr Wong Kan Seng, the SDP calls on you to stop passing the blame.
Enough is enough. It is not the officers, it is not the window, it
is not the toilet. It is you. Now do the right and decent
thing: Resign.
Chee Soon Juan
Secretary-General
Singapore Democratic Party
http://www.yoursdp.org/media-release/30-media-release/
