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Coffeeshop Chit Chat - Yaacob: Response by PUB “commendable”...</TD><TD id=msgunetc noWrap align=right> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE class=msgtable cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="96%"><TBODY><TR><TD class=msg vAlign=top><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgbfr1 width="1%"> </TD><TD><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR class=msghead vAlign=top><TD class=msgF width="1%" noWrap align=right>From: </TD><TD class=msgFname width="68%" noWrap>kojakbt_89 <NOBR></NOBR> </TD><TD class=msgDate width="30%" noWrap align=right>Jun-19 11:30 pm </TD></TR><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgT height=20 width="1%" noWrap align=right>To: </TD><TD class=msgTname width="68%" noWrap>ALL <NOBR></NOBR></TD><TD class=msgNum noWrap align=right> (1 of 4) </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgleft rowSpan=4 width="1%"> </TD><TD class=wintiny noWrap align=right>34852.1 </TD></TR><TR><TD height=8></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgtxt>Yaacob Ibrahim: Response by PUB to Orchard Road flooding is “commendable”
June 20th, 2010 |
Author: Your Correspondent
http://www.temasekreview.com/2010/06/20/yaacob-ibrahim-response-by-pub-to-orchard-road-flooding-is-commendable/
Three days after the unfortunate flooding at Orchard Road which shocked the entire nation and caused millions of dollars in losses and damages, the PAP Minister of Environment and Water Resource Yaacob Ibrahim finally made an “appearance” not to apologize, but to commend his subordinates for their “response” to absolve his ministry from any blame.
The Orchard Road flooding was attributed to a “choked” drain, an explanation which has not gone down well with Singaporeans who questioned if there was a lapse in general maintenance by PUB.
PUB CEO refused to divulge details of what happened during a tense press conference yesterday though he admitted that PUB was “caught off guard” completely by the “freak flood.”
When Bukit Timah was flooded last year November, Mr Yaacob claimed that it was a “freak event” which occurred “once in fifty years” though he made a similar statement only three years earlier during another massive flooding in the same area.
Mr Yaacob was not present at the official PUB press conference, but (still have the cheek to) praised his subordinates for their “efforts” in controlling the flood at a community event.
“I think the response by the PUB, by the agencies, has been commendable. We have done our best to help the businesses affected, the people affected,” he was quoted as saying in the Straits Times.
He was quick to dismiss the screw-up as another “learning experience”:
“Every event is a new learning experience for us. This rainfall was totally unexpected, I can be very honest about it. If you look at rainfall patterns, we’ve never seen such a pattern. Having said that, it means there are new things happening, so the approach we should be taking is to learn from this, improve upon it, and assure Singaporeans that we’ll do our best to prevent this as much as possible,” he added.
He also declined to answer questions from the media if PUB is prepared to compensate for the losses suffered by the retailers as a result of its oversight.
“‘At the end of the day, we will continue to assist them as much as possible, and the PUB has gone out of its way to help them clear the water.”
Mr Yaacob doesn’t seem to understand simple English. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what PUB does to help clear the water – the fact remains that the businesses have suffered millions of losses because of its failure to maintain the drainage system.
Given that he is paid more than $2 million dollars a year, such a lacklustre response is disappointing to say the least. Under Singapore’s unique system of ”meritocracy”, high-ranking leaders can get away with almost any mistake made without having to account to the public.
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http://www.temasekreview.com/2010/06/20/yaacob-ibrahim-response-by-pub-to-orchard-road-flooding-is-commendable/
Three days after the unfortunate flooding at Orchard Road which shocked the entire nation and caused millions of dollars in losses and damages, the PAP Minister of Environment and Water Resource Yaacob Ibrahim finally made an “appearance” not to apologize, but to commend his subordinates for their “response” to absolve his ministry from any blame.
The Orchard Road flooding was attributed to a “choked” drain, an explanation which has not gone down well with Singaporeans who questioned if there was a lapse in general maintenance by PUB.
PUB CEO refused to divulge details of what happened during a tense press conference yesterday though he admitted that PUB was “caught off guard” completely by the “freak flood.”
When Bukit Timah was flooded last year November, Mr Yaacob claimed that it was a “freak event” which occurred “once in fifty years” though he made a similar statement only three years earlier during another massive flooding in the same area.
Mr Yaacob was not present at the official PUB press conference, but (still have the cheek to) praised his subordinates for their “efforts” in controlling the flood at a community event.
“I think the response by the PUB, by the agencies, has been commendable. We have done our best to help the businesses affected, the people affected,” he was quoted as saying in the Straits Times.
He was quick to dismiss the screw-up as another “learning experience”:
“Every event is a new learning experience for us. This rainfall was totally unexpected, I can be very honest about it. If you look at rainfall patterns, we’ve never seen such a pattern. Having said that, it means there are new things happening, so the approach we should be taking is to learn from this, improve upon it, and assure Singaporeans that we’ll do our best to prevent this as much as possible,” he added.
He also declined to answer questions from the media if PUB is prepared to compensate for the losses suffered by the retailers as a result of its oversight.
“‘At the end of the day, we will continue to assist them as much as possible, and the PUB has gone out of its way to help them clear the water.”
Mr Yaacob doesn’t seem to understand simple English. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what PUB does to help clear the water – the fact remains that the businesses have suffered millions of losses because of its failure to maintain the drainage system.
Given that he is paid more than $2 million dollars a year, such a lacklustre response is disappointing to say the least. Under Singapore’s unique system of ”meritocracy”, high-ranking leaders can get away with almost any mistake made without having to account to the public.
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