Graft Trouble in Paradise Island

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Graft Trouble in Paradise Island


August 3rd, 2013 | Author: Contributions






Singapore’s image as an efficient, clean and corrupt-free country is
under siege as high-profile corruption cases come to light.


Seah Chiang Nee


The trial for fraud of a senior official of Singapore’s admired
anti-corruption body has shocked the city’s five million residents.

Under all criminal conditions, one body – the Corrupt Practices Investigation
Bureau (CPIB) which originated under British rule – has steadfastly remained a
pillar most Singaporeans feel they can rely on to ensure integrity.

That unquestioned faith may have been shaken in July as a result of the
prosecution of Edwin Yeo, CPIB assistant director who faces 21 charges of fraud
and other offences involving S$1.7mil (RM4.3mil).

Years ago, two junior officers had gone astray, but Yeo is a big fish none
had expected to be caught.

His arrest is one of a number of serious corruption and sex scandals
involving people in high public office in the past two years.

It threatens to upset the dream of former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew to
stamp out graft among his top officials.

“Poor Lee! He now finds that all the sacrifice he made to make Singapore
efficient, clean and corrupt-free is crumbling,” said Peter Chong.

Another Singaporean, Tan Kwong Moh, added: “This is very surprising news to
many Singaporeans that a high-ranking CPIB officer is facing charges in
court.”

It is not only civil servants but also private individuals – ranging from
business CEOs and church pastors to footballers – who have muddied Singapore’s
squeaky-clean image.

Integrity has become a casualty in post-Lee Singapore. The recent high
profile spree has kept state investigators and the courts busy working
overtime.

It comes as more Singaporeans are struggling to cope with rising prices and
over-crowding and looking towards their cabinet ministers to improve their
lives.

Some of the top officials who fell foul of the corruption law were highly
paid, their salaries comparable with, if not higher than, peers in the more
developed countries.

It was precisely to stop high-level corruption that led founding leader Lee
to design in the 1980s the world’s highest pay scheme for ministers and high
government echelon.

Many are also scholars, a breed of elites with good academic grades who had
their bureaucratic careers mapped out in advance for them.

Opposition leader (Singapore People’s Party) Lina Chiam declared that high
salaries will not deter corruption and urged the government to do away with
them.

Her statement reflected general public sentiments, with several writers
calling for Lee’s high-pay strategy to be scrapped because it is not effective
in the new, globalised world.

Others want the authorities to lower dependency on scholars to govern and
administer Singapore. Many could lack initiative and integrity.

“So much corruption committed by highly-paid people has proven that money and
high grades cannot stifle greed or change character weakness,” one commentator
said.

“We should lower government pay to move closer to the norm of the mature
countries,” he added.

The list of Who’s Who of top bureaucrats charged or convicted for corruption
took a turn in 2011.

Two top men of the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) – Deputy Director Koh Seah
Wee and manager Lim Chai Meng – were jailed for 22 years and 15 years
respectively for cheating government agencies of S$12.5mil (RM32mil).

Other cases followed, including:

1) Former Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) chief Peter Lim was sentenced
to six months’ jail in sex-for-contract corruption case.

2) Another security chief, Ng Boon Gay, head of the Central Narcotics Bureau
(CNB), was acquitted of a similar charge when the court found the witness “not
credible”.

3) Segamat-born law professor Tey Tsun Hang of National University of
Singapore (NUS) was jailed for five months in January for corruptly obtaining
sex from an ex-student in return for better grades. He was sacked.

But the biggest story is the arrest of CPIB assistant director and head of
field research and technical support. Edwin Yeo, 39, had allegedly
misappropriated money intended for department use. One charge was for
forgery.

A gambling habit was apparently the cause. CPIB is now considering banning
its top officials from visiting casinos. Yeo had gambled away S$241,000
(RM616,000) at the Marina Bay Sands casino.

PM Lee Hsien Loong has set up an independent inquiry to look into the
circumstances and recommend changes. Deputy PM Teo Chee Hean called the case
“particularly serious”.

Some observers see this erosion of morality and ethics as inevitable in
high-cost materialistic Singapore with so much money being circulated.

Singapore is run more as a business corporation rather than a city that is
steeped in humanity and culture.

Too many Singaporeans, including the scholars and businessmen, actually
subscribe to the “Greed is Good” theory to achieve success. Frequently
successful entrepreneurs are honoured by the state more than social workers and
charity volunteers.

Are we on the road of no return? Far from it – given Singapore’s revered
graft rankings in the world.

In 2012, Singapore was ranked fifth globally by Transparency International
for (least) corruption, although dropping from 1st place in 2011.

It was overtaken by Denmark, Finland, New Zealand and Sweden.

DPM Teo said that despite what happened, the civil service remains largely
corrupt-free with only one in five of graft probes involving a public officer.
He gave no indication if there had been an increase or drop.

Generally, older Singaporeans want a tougher government response to hit
high-level corrupt officers.

A retired teacher said if the trend is not nipped in the bud, Singapore could
slide into a horrible future.

“When corruption catches hold here, it will do so slowly over a period of
years. It won’t happen overnight. It will then be unstoppable,” he
added.

Seah Chiang
Nee

Chiang Nee has been a journalist for 40
years. He is a full-blooded Singaporean, who was born, bred and hopes to die in
Singapore. He worked as a Reuters corespondent between 1960-70, based in
Singapore but with various assignments in Southeast Asia, including a total of
about 40 months in (then South) Vietnam between 1966-1970. In 1970, he left to
work for Singapore Herald, first as Malaysia Bureau Chief and later as News
Editor before it was forced to close after a run-in with the Singapore
Government. He then left Singapore to work for The Asian, the world’s first
regional weekly newspaper, based in Bangkok to cover Thailand and Indochina for
two years between 1972-73. Other jobs: News Editor of Hong Kong Standard
(1973-74), Foreign Editor of Straits Times with reporting assignments to Asia,
Europe, Africa, the Middle East and The United States (1974-82) and Editor of
Singapore Monitor (1982-85). Since 1986, he has been a columnist for the
Malaysia’s The Star newspaper. This article first appeared in his blog,
http://www.littlespeck.com.


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