kingkong
2006-04-26 12:10:59 UTC
Here's the article by Chee SJ that is known to defame PAP and government.
So which part of article is incorrect or false ?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Govt's role in the NKF scandal
1] Ministers went out their way to defend NKF even as people were unhappy
over the organisation's operations
[2] In all the hand-wringing and breast-beating by the Government over the
NKF issue, Singaporeans must not lose sight of one thing: Such a scandal is
inevitable given the kind of secretive and non-accountable system, bred by
the PAP.
[3] The Government now tries to exonerate itself by playing the innocent and
gullible party duped by greedy NKF officials.
[4] It forgets that in April 2004, Minister Khaw Boon Wan had, in reaction
to public unease about the NKF, sought to appease Singaporeans by telling
them that the Ministry of Finance "would have reacted many years ago" if
there was any breach of rules by the NKF. (See Channel News Asia report on
right.)
[5] At the same time the Second Minister for Finance, Mr Lim Hng Kiang, said
that the NKF had "quite a sound record" because it spends "ore than 80
percent of its funds on its beneficiaries" (See Straits Times report on
right) whom we now know are not kidney patients.
[6] Clearly, alarm bells were raised. People could see that something was
wrong and they had expressed their unhappiness over the years.
[7] And yet, the Government which had the power to do something, chose not
to.
[8] Not only did it choose not to rein in NKF but it also continued to
praise the charity and encouraged people to donate to it.
[9] With assurances from not one but two Ministers, the charity went on its
merry way.
[10] The question that is on everyone's lips is: If Mr TT Durai had not
taken out the legal suit, would the Government have bothered to look into
the NKF records? NKF would in all likelihood have continued to operate with
the Government's blessings.
[11] The NKF fiasco is not about bad practices. It is not even about
negligence on the Government's part.
[12] It is about greed and power.
[13] It is about the idea that the political elite must be paid top dollar,
no matter how obscene those amounts are and regardless of who suffers as a
result of it.
[14] It is about a system engineered over the decades by the PAP that
ensures that it and only it has access to public information and by fiat
decides what is allowed and what is not.
[15] It is about what a "democratic society, based on justice and equality"
should not be.
[16] Singaporeans must note that the NKF is not an aberration of the PAP
system. It is, instead, a product of it.
[17] To ensure that there is transparency and that Singaporeans are kept
informed of matters directly affecting them and their future, the Government
must:
[18] One, disclose the breakdown of the cost of building HDB flats and the
profits HDB makes.
[19] Two, reveal where and how GIC uses our savings.
[20] Three, disclose the salaries of the top executives of Temasek Holdings
and other GLCs.
[21] Four, declare the assets and incomes of its Ministers.
[22] Five, reform the election system to ensure that it is free and fair.
[23] It goes without saying that someone must be held accountable over the
sordid NKF affair. However, real accountability starts much higher up.
So which part of article is incorrect or false ?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Govt's role in the NKF scandal
1] Ministers went out their way to defend NKF even as people were unhappy
over the organisation's operations
[2] In all the hand-wringing and breast-beating by the Government over the
NKF issue, Singaporeans must not lose sight of one thing: Such a scandal is
inevitable given the kind of secretive and non-accountable system, bred by
the PAP.
[3] The Government now tries to exonerate itself by playing the innocent and
gullible party duped by greedy NKF officials.
[4] It forgets that in April 2004, Minister Khaw Boon Wan had, in reaction
to public unease about the NKF, sought to appease Singaporeans by telling
them that the Ministry of Finance "would have reacted many years ago" if
there was any breach of rules by the NKF. (See Channel News Asia report on
right.)
[5] At the same time the Second Minister for Finance, Mr Lim Hng Kiang, said
that the NKF had "quite a sound record" because it spends "ore than 80
percent of its funds on its beneficiaries" (See Straits Times report on
right) whom we now know are not kidney patients.
[6] Clearly, alarm bells were raised. People could see that something was
wrong and they had expressed their unhappiness over the years.
[7] And yet, the Government which had the power to do something, chose not
to.
[8] Not only did it choose not to rein in NKF but it also continued to
praise the charity and encouraged people to donate to it.
[9] With assurances from not one but two Ministers, the charity went on its
merry way.
[10] The question that is on everyone's lips is: If Mr TT Durai had not
taken out the legal suit, would the Government have bothered to look into
the NKF records? NKF would in all likelihood have continued to operate with
the Government's blessings.
[11] The NKF fiasco is not about bad practices. It is not even about
negligence on the Government's part.
[12] It is about greed and power.
[13] It is about the idea that the political elite must be paid top dollar,
no matter how obscene those amounts are and regardless of who suffers as a
result of it.
[14] It is about a system engineered over the decades by the PAP that
ensures that it and only it has access to public information and by fiat
decides what is allowed and what is not.
[15] It is about what a "democratic society, based on justice and equality"
should not be.
[16] Singaporeans must note that the NKF is not an aberration of the PAP
system. It is, instead, a product of it.
[17] To ensure that there is transparency and that Singaporeans are kept
informed of matters directly affecting them and their future, the Government
must:
[18] One, disclose the breakdown of the cost of building HDB flats and the
profits HDB makes.
[19] Two, reveal where and how GIC uses our savings.
[20] Three, disclose the salaries of the top executives of Temasek Holdings
and other GLCs.
[21] Four, declare the assets and incomes of its Ministers.
[22] Five, reform the election system to ensure that it is free and fair.
[23] It goes without saying that someone must be held accountable over the
sordid NKF affair. However, real accountability starts much higher up.