Thursday, October 16, 2014

Career Moves

Tongues are a wagging at the surprise move of top cop Police Commissioner Ng Joo Hee to a watered down appointment as head of National Water Agency PUB. Why make the announcement now when he will be Chief Executive of PUB only in January 2015? Maybe it has to do with the interrupted holiday when Little India burst into flames, and the intervening months will be a good time to, say, sign up for a pastry course in France. After the excitement of law enforcement, managing once-in-50-year events must be a boring prospective.

With all the ongoing concerns about national security, one wonders if it is prudent to let the jihadist wannabes know that the highest ranked officer of the police force is playing musical chairs. Ng was Director of the Singapore Prisons Service from 2007 to 2009. 27 February 2008 was the day that Mas Selamat chose to take a leak and then led the police on a wild goose chase. Ng was appointed as Commissioner of the Singapore Police Force (SPF) in 2010. 8 December 2013 was the night when the junction of Race Course Road and Hampshire Road in Little India was set ablaze and turned into a battle zone. Some other loose ends during his tenure may never see the light of day: Dinesh Raman's death by positional asphyxiation (silenced by settlement), Shane Todd's weird suicide account (challenged by parents).

All that will soon be water under the bridge. Ng is a recipient of the SPF Overseas Scholarship. Under our system of meritocracy, scholars are never seen to fail in their assignments. They just mosey from one cushy job to another, immune from the threat of competitive foreign talents from abroad. Ng's predecessor, Chew Men Leong, stepped down as Chief Executive of the Public Utilities Board on September 30, only to be made Chief Executive of the Land Transport Authority. Ex-Rear Admiral Chew was awarded the Singapore Armed Forces Overseas Scholarship in 1987, and made Chief of the Republic of Singapore Navy from 2007–2011.

Ng will be remembered for his unsolicited commentary on a fellow ex-law enforcer. "Boon Gay has been found not guilty... but certainly his acts are reprehensible," he said, "He has broken every one of our values and he has tainted the whole police force by his behavior and that is very disappointing." Never mind that in January 2012, prime minister Lee Hsien Loong had said of former Central Narcotics Bureau Director Ng Boon Gay, "If he did wrong, he must be punished; if he did nothing wrong, he must be exonerated." See what happens if you don't go with the flow?
Water as a cooling off agent

11 comments:

  1. Early announcement to indicate that a top post is 'chope'(reserved) for him lah.
    See iron rice bowl or is it golden rice bowl?

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    1. Maybe the waiting period is signal for him to look for alternate employment. With all his fancy degrees, and if he still can't find another job, it will be proof he is just another scholar jiak-liao-bee.

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  2. Career moves or musical chairs. Ineptitude certainly has its rewards for the mandarins.

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  3. We laughed at Malaysia when civil servants cannot be sacked only to be transffered to another department. Now we have the same thing happening right at our door steps. Scholars cannot be sacked as they cannot make mistakes as far as public is concerned. Once they under performed, they jump from one post to another. Only those who have "balls" stand up and resigned by citing health reasons.

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  4. Since he didn't do a good job of fighting fire when little india went into flames, a move to water dept seems a logical step to activate him to go with the flow lah..

    Just like if people are very good at telling his-story, then we should make them become part of history so they will do an even valuable job of creating history lessons for everyone lah..that way, 'winners' can become 'losers' from the podium and see if they also deserve a place in history too.

    取长补短 meh..

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  5. In other first world countries, when a mistake or scandal has occurred, the person responsible would have offered to resign or sacked for gross incompetence.

    Here in Singapore not only he's been protected or held accountable, this guy simply moves to another cushy post. Where is the accountability and transparency??? "The buck stops here" mantra certainly does not apply to elite scholars.

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  6. He's quoted as saying he did not want to be a policeman - and it showed in his performance, or lack thereof.

    /// After the excitement of law enforcement, managing once-in-50-year events must be a boring prospective. ///

    Why not? After all, he just messed up being in charge of a once-in-50 year riot.

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  7. Does it not take a fool to admit now that he was not interested to be a policeman then when he is actually the police chief for the last few years ? What will his subordinates then think of him ? Playing the fool, is it ?

    And does it not also make a bigger fool of the Minister who promoted someone who was not really keen to be a policeman ? What do you think, DPM ?

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    Replies
    1. Not really. We also have politicians (best that money can buy) who made it to ministers, and even prime minister, then emeritus and then some.

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  8. "Why make the announcment now.....?"

    To give him time to get his feet wet.

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  9. Perversion is everywhere in living,

    Sin is no different.

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