The Cowboy Minister of Transport

The Transport Ministry had caused the casualty of two ministers in the past and is regarded by any incoming incumbent as a hazardous occupation. So PM Lee Hsien Loong was presented with a knotty problem in selecting a new Transport Minister. Quite understandably no courageous candidate would stick his neck out by volunteering. It so happened PM Lee had a sudden hunch that the post was tailored for the flamboyant Khaw Boon Wan who he regarded as a trouble-shooter. It also fitted into the flamboyant character of Khaw who saw this as a golden opportunity to flaunt his so-called extraordinary prowess.

Khaw was obviously tickled pink by the plethora of publicity surrounding his appointment. He was portrayed as a potential omnipotent rehabilitator of the notoriously inefficient rail system. He regaled the public with his knowledge of the mystique of the rail network and on how he thought its maintenance should be pursued. He spoke as if he was an expert on the intricacies of the construction engineering of the rail system. He would put his engineers whom he described as "rat-catchers" to make a comprehensive detection of any potential flaws in the maintenance of the technical construction. He appointed Mr. Tan Gee Paw, Chairman of PUB, as an advisor to the MRT as his so-called unique invaluable experiences in water supply maintenance are thought to be very apt and most useful in solving the rail maintenance problem. Mr. Tan appeared to be the person who coined the word "rat-catcher" to describe the engineers, who may not be amused. Khaw said maintenance is not sexy which may not be comprehensible to the public.

To be fair to Cowboy Khaw Boon Wan, his almost daily regalement could not but have attracted the rapt attention of the public but sometimes it may seem to be a little bit long-winded. And does his daily talk lull the keen sense of security of the public that rail disruption will be a thing of the past? The answer was almost instantaneous when the North East Line broke down on 26 October causing disruption to about 41,000 commuters in the morning rush hour. And all that Cowboy Khaw could exclaim was that it had tarnished our reputation and not a word to soothe the ire of the commuters. Well, this is not a very auspicious start of his watch and he will no doubt keep his fingers crossed that another disruption will not be so soon in coming until he is well prepared mentally to tackle such disruption to his well-oiled programme. To the Public he seems to be solely occupied with the affairs of the MRT to the exclusion of all else in his ministry. Over time he may yet prove that he is the right man for the job. Maybe he should try to open up his window a little bit and consider the nationalisation of the transport system as a panacea to all the transport ills. The only drawback is that this idea originated from the Workers' Party which is anathema to the PAP.

Can we have the truth?

The Hepatitis C virus infections at the renal ward of the Singapore General Hospital saga has shown the glaring ineptitude of the PAP Government in a cover-up of the medical mishap of such magnitude from the public until October  when the discovery was made in April/May. What really dismayed the public was the wide gap of misadministration when the MOH's Director of Medical Service knew of the existence of the cluster of 22 infections on 3 September and 18 September when the Minister for Health was informed of the cluster. And the public was only informed in October. It just is not the kind of confidence to be given to the public of the ineptitude of the Healthcare system when six inexplicable deaths were involved and the public only came to know about them so long after.

The attitude of the Minister for Health in all these ill-boded events seems so remotely in evidence. He seemed to accept the late reporting of the cluster to him as something normal and quite contented to allow his officials to handle the incident apparently without oversight. This seems to be supported by the letter of his Press Secretary to the Straits Times Forum on 20 October. There could be no question that the formation of the independent review committee could not have been done without his knowledge or imprimatur.

But is the independent review committee really the answer to the task of thoroughly investigating the unfortunate outbreak of Hepatitis C virus infections at the renal ward and the inexplicable inordinate delay in announcing it to the public? The composition of the committee is such that it may not be able to act freely and independently without awkward constraints. It is hardly in the public interest if its report is not independent in the strictest sense.

The PAP Government should therefore seriously consider the suggestion of the Workers' Party to constitute a Committee of Inquiry in place of the review committee to look thoroughly into the incident. The Government should not adopt a head-in-the-sand attitude just because the suggestion came from the Workers' Party. NCMP Leon Perera who acts for WP in making the suggestion is to all intents and purposes doing it in the public interest and is not trying to be one up on the PAP. So the automatic reaction of immediately putting the WP on the defence without examining the merits of the suggestion may not go down well with the public but the PAP flush with their recent GE victory may choose to ride roughshod over the WP's suggestion with impunity. There is nothing the WP or the public can do if this is how the PAP wants to show its hubris.