Now that our well-paid minister has dug his own hole and made
himself look a fool in the process, now he blames "bootlickers"
for
I wonder how do the junior specialists and officers in charge of
these WHs feel about being called "bootlickers", for taking extra
care with these human equivalents of porcelain jars, considering
the consequences of having one of these "porcelain jars" get
damaged in training, compared with the rest of us cheap plastic
mugs.
I don't blame these junior commanders for twisting around a
"well-meaning" policy (if thats what it is - I have my doubts), I
blame the idiots who instituted and carried on this policy for a)
not thinking through it properly in the first place and b) not
reviewing this policy through the years through careful monitoring
to check if unforseen circumstances like what we've seen have
cropped up.
Well done, we pay in gold, yet we STILL get monkeys
-------------------------------
Minister tells more about 'white horses'
By Goh Chin Lian
http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/topstories/story/0,4386,220805-1069279140,00.html?
PEOPLE in Internet chatrooms did not believe him, nor did some
writers to The Straits Times Forum page.
They argued that contrary to what Minister of State (Defence)
Cedric Foo told Parliament last week, that 'white horses' did not
get special treatment during national service, the opposite was
true.
Yesterday, the minister gathered reporters at the Defence Ministry
headquarters in Gombak Drive to elaborate further on who the 'white
horses' were and what sort of treatment they were given.
He revealed that the list included sons of current and former
Members of Parliament and Nominated MPs, senior officials -
lieutenant-colonels upwards, deputy assistant commissioners in the
Police and Civil Defence and civil servants from Superscale Grade H
onwards - and even doctors.
Also included were sons of 'a very big group' of others who earned
at least $9,500 a month, he said.
Knowing who these influential people were allowed the Singapore
Armed Forces to prevent them from abusing the system.
This means those classified by a doctor as medically unfit had to
also get the nod from the commanding officer of the medical
classification centre, an extra step not required of non-white
horse servicemen.
Even with the officer's approval, cushy office jobs in Mindef were
out for these full-time servicemen, who had to be sent down to the
ground units instead, he said.
The fit ones would also have to rough it out in combat positions on
the ground, as part of the checks introduced in the late 1970s when
many boys preferred clerical and other 'softer' positions.
But if the system was working so well, why did the SAF abandon it
three years ago?
For one, Mr Foo said, today's servicemen aim higher because they
know employers value those who have been officers or section
commanders.
Another reason is that Singaporeans have come to accept that the
SAF treats its servicemen fairly, so there was no need to spend the
money now on monitoring white horses, he said, without saying how
much it had cost.
He told reporters he had wanted to expand on his reply to
Non-Constituency MP Steve Chia in Parliament but did not get the
chance as there were no follow-up questions.
When contacted, Mr Chia said it was difficult for some Singaporeans
to believe that white horses were treated no differently from
others.
Some Singaporeans have said they had witnessed special treatment
for white horses and their platoon mates, who would get more
frequent canteen breaks, better food and later wake-up hours.
They are wrong, said Mr Foo. 'You see something as favouritism
which may not be the case, and the white horse system was to
address such possible misperception.'
To those who 'nitpick about how many canteen breaks one platoon
gets', he said the platoon could have earned the rewards because of
the hard work of its men.
Instructors could also be at fault, he said. 'Like anywhere
in society, there will be some people who are more prone to
bootlicking, but let me say categorically that it is not the policy
in the SAF.'
He stood by his statement that there was no special treatment, and
no one had claimed that white horses had used their influence to
get exempted from NS or to downgrade their medical
classification.
'If you hear of a case like that, please let me know,' he
said.
