To quote Minister For Health,
Mr Khaw Boon Wan on NKF's Investigations Into Allegations:-
All Members have called for a full and thorough
investigation. As Dr Amy Khor put it, many questions remain
unanswered and public unrest should be addressed. We certainly
intend to do so.
Dr Khor suggested that a committee of inquiry be convened to look
into the matter. The Commissioner of Charities has the powers to
initiate such investigations. But due process must be observed. The
Commissioner must first establish clear evidence of wrongdoing,
which includes getting the charitys side of the story.
At the end of the day, it is the substance of the investigations
that matters, and not the form, whether it is called a commission
of inquiry, an investigation or independent audit. We are all
committed to finding answers to the many questions raised by
Singaporeans and getting to the bottom of this matter. That is what
counts.
The new Board has appointed KPMG to do an independent review. Let
us give them time to work on this thoroughly, away from the public
glare and emotions, so that assessment can be made objectively and
calmly. All the questions that I asked in my statement yesterday
will be addressed. Their findings will be made public.
The various Government agencies are comfortable at this point to
have the new Board lead the investigation into past practices.
Knowing them, I know they will get to the bottom of the issues.
Precisely because of the high standing and reputations of the
individuals serving on the Board, this House and the public can
feel confident that their review will be full, thorough and that
sound judgement will be applied.
In the course of the review, if it is found that laws have been
broken, the relevant authorities will certainly step in. I fully
agree with Mr Tan Soo Khoon that any wrong-doers must face the law.
If there has been any criminal act, the law will take its course.
If there have been poor judgements, they will be acknowledged. If
there are systemic flaws, they will be fixed.
As I said on July 14, I do not condone fraudulent practices. But we
cannot conclude, a priori, that there were criminal acts on the
basis of what has been published to date. We are a law-based
society. Let us follow the due process.
Let us also try to look at this issue from the perspective of Mr
Durais family. His daughter emailed the Prime Minister. Let me
quote a few lines from her email. She is a young student in JC but
very mature for her age. She wrote: I was adversely affected by
this fiasco. She added: Since I was young, my father had very
little time to spend with us
I always asked myself why my father
had no time for us. Were we less important to him than his
patients? Was his work more important than us?
She went on to ask the PM: after the review by the new board, you
will help him to restore his reputation and honour, if no wrong
doings were found?
From the media report on the man, Mr Durai looks to me to be an
arrogant man. His achievements are real and significant. But may be
the ego and arrogance went to his head, leading to poor judgement
and insensitivity.
I think there are lessons for us here. No matter how great our
achievements are, we live for others. Look at the late Mr Hon Sui
Sen. There was no ego in the man. He completely personified
humility. Likewise the late President Wee Kim Wee and hence the
huge outpouring of emotions at his funeral. President SR Nathan is
another such humble man who has done great for society, but remains
his past self.
I scanned through the local media today. I could not help noticing
the different spin the Straits Times put to the MPs speeches
yesterday, compared to all the other local media, like TODAY and
ZaoBao. Let us hope arrogance has not also gone to the head of the
victor in the Court case.
If really there were some wrong doings and slowly more cans of
worms open up, will Mr Khaw end up like Mr. Anwar Ibrahim, and the
whole episode just turn up to be another anti-climax of 'Honest
Mistake'?
