- Joined
- Dec 30, 2010
- Messages
- 12,730
- Points
- 113
Dear Patrick Tan:
I read your recent posting on Presidential candidate Tony Tan’s Facebook website. You noted that you are “proud” of your National Service. You further noted that you are upset by rumours that impugn your integrity and that of the “institution of National Service.”
It is great to hear about your pride in serving the nation. Rather than being upset, you should welcome and be forthcoming with respect to questions about your National Service. The issue is not you per se. What is at issue is something much more important and fundamental: Is a single standard being applied to all Singapore citizens? As such, your pride, education, awards, publications, and titles and honors is simply beside the point. To repeat, the question is whether you received preferential treatment with respect to your National Service. To ask this question is not to impugn your integrity or that of the institution of National Service. What is at stake is whether we can trust our government to enforce its laws uniformly and without prejudice. As the late U.S. President Ronald Reagan often noted: trust but verify.
Let’s face it Patrick, the Singapore government is opaque. Its machinations are only privy to a select few insiders. The main stream media is essentially an extension of the government/state. Do we really have a system of checks and balances? This leaves the average Singaporean in the dark. The earlier generation placed blind trust in their political leaders. That goodwill has been destroyed. Our generation believes in greater transparency and holding our politicians accountable. With respect to transparency, U.S. Supreme Court justice Brandeis had remarked that “sunlight is the best disinfectant.” The internet has been a blessing to our cause. Speaking for myself, the goal here is not to cast aspersions on you, your dad, or Singapore’s institutions. Rather, it is to check whether our trust in the Singapore government is well placed (and not misplaced).
You are the son of a former Defence Minister. Your dad is presently seeking the high office of the Presidency. His election to this office will be decided by us voters. This is a hope. There is a chance that he might waltz in if the authorities disqualify the other presidential candidates. We want to make informed decisions. In my view, honor, courage, and trustworthiness trumps academic credentials and experience. While it is easy to verify the latter attributes, the former can only be inferred from one’s actions. This is where you enter the picture. We want to know if your father can be trusted to dutifully carry out his charges rather than taking advantage of his office. So the question is whether your service requirements and deferment were altered to accommodate you. To be perfectly honest, I found your answer evasive on this issue. I found it somewhat similar to Janil Puthucheary equating his medical practice to National Service.
To summarize, the questions raised on your National Service is not an attack on your character. They represent justifiable questions to verify whether our elected officials serve their office in honor rather than taking advantage of their office. I hope you appreciate our point of view and please be more forthcoming. Please tell that to your dad as well since I find his answer equally evasive and dismissive.
The specific questions are as follows:
a. What is the basis for the extended deferment that you received?
b. What is the basis for allowing you to complete your NS in a research function? Are there other examples of such placement?
c. Why did you not finish your officer training?
I read your recent posting on Presidential candidate Tony Tan’s Facebook website. You noted that you are “proud” of your National Service. You further noted that you are upset by rumours that impugn your integrity and that of the “institution of National Service.”
It is great to hear about your pride in serving the nation. Rather than being upset, you should welcome and be forthcoming with respect to questions about your National Service. The issue is not you per se. What is at issue is something much more important and fundamental: Is a single standard being applied to all Singapore citizens? As such, your pride, education, awards, publications, and titles and honors is simply beside the point. To repeat, the question is whether you received preferential treatment with respect to your National Service. To ask this question is not to impugn your integrity or that of the institution of National Service. What is at stake is whether we can trust our government to enforce its laws uniformly and without prejudice. As the late U.S. President Ronald Reagan often noted: trust but verify.
Let’s face it Patrick, the Singapore government is opaque. Its machinations are only privy to a select few insiders. The main stream media is essentially an extension of the government/state. Do we really have a system of checks and balances? This leaves the average Singaporean in the dark. The earlier generation placed blind trust in their political leaders. That goodwill has been destroyed. Our generation believes in greater transparency and holding our politicians accountable. With respect to transparency, U.S. Supreme Court justice Brandeis had remarked that “sunlight is the best disinfectant.” The internet has been a blessing to our cause. Speaking for myself, the goal here is not to cast aspersions on you, your dad, or Singapore’s institutions. Rather, it is to check whether our trust in the Singapore government is well placed (and not misplaced).
You are the son of a former Defence Minister. Your dad is presently seeking the high office of the Presidency. His election to this office will be decided by us voters. This is a hope. There is a chance that he might waltz in if the authorities disqualify the other presidential candidates. We want to make informed decisions. In my view, honor, courage, and trustworthiness trumps academic credentials and experience. While it is easy to verify the latter attributes, the former can only be inferred from one’s actions. This is where you enter the picture. We want to know if your father can be trusted to dutifully carry out his charges rather than taking advantage of his office. So the question is whether your service requirements and deferment were altered to accommodate you. To be perfectly honest, I found your answer evasive on this issue. I found it somewhat similar to Janil Puthucheary equating his medical practice to National Service.
To summarize, the questions raised on your National Service is not an attack on your character. They represent justifiable questions to verify whether our elected officials serve their office in honor rather than taking advantage of their office. I hope you appreciate our point of view and please be more forthcoming. Please tell that to your dad as well since I find his answer equally evasive and dismissive.
The specific questions are as follows:
a. What is the basis for the extended deferment that you received?
b. What is the basis for allowing you to complete your NS in a research function? Are there other examples of such placement?
c. Why did you not finish your officer training?
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