The flooded MRT tunnel on 7 Oct 2017 caused serious disruption to commuters. But this is not the main problem.
There is a more serious consequence. It showed the failure of Lee HL's system of government Singapore. It showed the incompetence of the people that he appoints to run our ministries and agencies.
It is a clear signal of the tremendous problems that ahead for Singapore.
When Desmond Kuek was appointed to run SMRT five years ago, I thought that he was the best person that could be found for the difficult job. He was chief of staff of the armed forces. He commanded resources that were much bigger than the entire SMRT.
If we could entrust the big defence budget on him and his generals, surely it would be a less difficult task to entrust the running of the train system?
Although he did not have personal experience in running a train system, he can appoint suitable engineering and management people for the task.
He failed quite badly in this task. In that case, I wonder if we could rely on people like him for the defence of Singapore?
When Khaw Boon Wan was appointed to be the minister for transport in 2015, he was considered to be the best minister for the job. He had successfully tackled big challenges in the health and national development ministries.
I was most disappointed personally and for him that he also failed in this daunting task.
What worried me is the underlying causes. CEO Desmond Kuek referred to the doop seated "cultural issues". I suspected that he was referring to the attitude of the maintenance staff that was in charge of the tunnel.
I look beyond this team of low level staff to the entire system of running Singapore that I would describe as Lee HL's system. There are many flaws in this system that I had described on many occasions in the past.
They include the culture of avoiding responsibility, finding excuses, not taking charge, and other bad habits. I considered it to be a serious disease.
Yes, it is a flooded tunnel that should not have happened. But it reflects very serious "cultural issues" that should be addressed from the very top, from the prime minister himself. I hope that he realize the underlying problems.
Tan Kin Lian
There is a more serious consequence. It showed the failure of Lee HL's system of government Singapore. It showed the incompetence of the people that he appoints to run our ministries and agencies.
It is a clear signal of the tremendous problems that ahead for Singapore.
When Desmond Kuek was appointed to run SMRT five years ago, I thought that he was the best person that could be found for the difficult job. He was chief of staff of the armed forces. He commanded resources that were much bigger than the entire SMRT.
If we could entrust the big defence budget on him and his generals, surely it would be a less difficult task to entrust the running of the train system?
Although he did not have personal experience in running a train system, he can appoint suitable engineering and management people for the task.
He failed quite badly in this task. In that case, I wonder if we could rely on people like him for the defence of Singapore?
When Khaw Boon Wan was appointed to be the minister for transport in 2015, he was considered to be the best minister for the job. He had successfully tackled big challenges in the health and national development ministries.
I was most disappointed personally and for him that he also failed in this daunting task.
What worried me is the underlying causes. CEO Desmond Kuek referred to the doop seated "cultural issues". I suspected that he was referring to the attitude of the maintenance staff that was in charge of the tunnel.
I look beyond this team of low level staff to the entire system of running Singapore that I would describe as Lee HL's system. There are many flaws in this system that I had described on many occasions in the past.
They include the culture of avoiding responsibility, finding excuses, not taking charge, and other bad habits. I considered it to be a serious disease.
Yes, it is a flooded tunnel that should not have happened. But it reflects very serious "cultural issues" that should be addressed from the very top, from the prime minister himself. I hope that he realize the underlying problems.
Tan Kin Lian
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