Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has made public two letters containing the exchange between himself and the Transport Minister to avoid suspicions that the latter was asked to leave. The letter from Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew was dated today (August 11) and, surprisingly, PM Lee Hsien Loong managed to reply on the same day and publicize the exchange.
In the letter, Minister Lui Tuck Yew requested to resign and not contest in the coming election. He mentioned that he has raised this issue earlier this year but did not explain why he is resigning. The Transport Minister did not say he is taking responsibility for the series of public transport breakdowns but he had however, attempted to save his job by reducing public transport fares in December.
Last month (July 24), Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong removed the Transport Minister’s Kallang-Moulmein GRC. Lui Tuck Yew raised his concerns to Lee Hsien Loong’s decision to remove his constituency, Kallang-Moulmein GRC, saying he was very disappointed in the Prime Minister but the PM did not respond. Also, in April, PM Lee reshuffled the cabinet without replacing the Transport Minister’s position which he could have done if Lui Tuck Yew had really raised his decision to resign earlier in 2015 as the latter claimed. It is hence very hard to divorce from speculations that the Prime Minister has fired Lui Tuck Yew. There is no replacement for the Transport Minister position and PM Lee is in trouble over finding suitable candidates after several PAP MPs chose to resign as well.
Lui’s resignation – a sign of weak leadership from the top
“Singapore will not encourage a culture where ministers resign whenever things go wrong on their watch, whether or not they are actually to blame,” Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong was reported to have said in 2008 during the debate on the escape of terrorist suspect, Mas Selamat Kastari.
My Paper, 2008
Mr Lee was disabusing calls for the then Minister of Home Affairs, Wong Kan Seng, to step down after Mas Selamat climbed through a window at the Whitley Road Detention Centre and escaped.
Mr Wong stayed on and finally stepped down from the Cabinet in 2011, but remains a Member of Parliament (MP) till this day.
Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew’s surprise announcement on Tuesday that he will not be contesting the upcoming elections is, despite the criticisms, the right thing for him to do.
This is in spite of the flawed principle espoused by Mr Lee – that ministers will not be asked to resign when “things go wrong on their watch, whether or not they are actually to blame.”
While Mr Lui himself did not provide a clear reason for his stepping down, it is not unreasonable to suspect that he did it out of a sense of honour – to take responsibility for the failings of the transport system these past several years – and doing so in a manner which will not be seen as setting a precedent for ministers to resign when things go wrong.
“I have put in my utmost into fulfilling my responsibilities,” Mr Lui, who first came into politics in the 2006 general election, said in his letter to Mr Lee.
The upcoming General Election, he said, “provides an opportunity for me to step back from politics without causing major disruption to Government at the end of its term.”
Without a clear reason for his decision, speculations will surface and indeed they have.
“Was subjected to daily incessant attacks but carried on doing his duty, calmly, and with equanimity,” Law Minister, K Shanmugam, said on his Facebook page. “Could not have been easy for him and his family to be subjected to such incessant and frequently unfair attacks. Many in his position will naturally ask why should they subject themselves to this.”
Mr Shanmugam’s remarks stand in contrast to that of his fellow PAP MP and Mayor of Central Singapore CDC, Denise Phua.
Ms Phua, who is Mr Lui’s colleague in the soon-to-be-defunct Moulmein-Kallang GRC, said the latter “took the brunt of public anger” but “took criticisms and online flaming in his stride, and quietly focused on resolving problems on the ground.”
Nonetheless, to place the blame on criticisms, incessant or not, is simplistic and misguided.
While no one would argue that ministers nowadays do in fact face vocal criticisms from the public, one must also look deeper into the cause.
And as far as Mr Lui’s situation is concerned, there are many issues which have led to such vocal criticisms – and one of these is the lack of accountability from those who are in charge of the transport system, despite all the years of failures, delays, disruptions, and breakdowns.
For example, no one in the oversight regulatory body, the Land Transport Authority (LTA), has been taken to account for its failure to ensure maintenance work was carried out regularly and adequately.
The LTA website says, “LTA regulates and oversees all three main modes of public transport (taxis, buses and trains) and ensures that they meet safety and service standards.”
A committee of inquiry held after the two massive breakdowns in December 2011 concluded that “maintenance lapses [were the] main cause of [the] train breakdowns.”
“Lapses in the way SMRT maintained its rail system were key contributory factors behind last December’s MRT breakdowns, a high-level inquiry has concluded,” the Straits Times reported back then.
In the first half of this year alone, there were five major MRT service disruptions, which were close to half the total last year.
And just last month, another massive breakdown affected some 250,000 commuters.
Yet, no one has been held to account for all the years of disruptions – not even Saw Phaik Hwa, the former CEO of SMRT.
Instead, she was made the highest-paid SMRT CEO at the time, for two years running, taking home a paycheck of S$1.85 million before she resigned in 2012.
But her salary has been dwarfed by that of her successor Desmond Kuek, who has seen his pay doubled – from about S$1.2 million to $2.25 million – in the space of just 3 years, and making him the highest-paid SMRT CEO ever.
And transport fares continue to rise, despite the billions of dollars which have been poured in, and which will be poured into the public transport operators.
It also doesn’t help that even the former chairman of the Public Transport Council, which regulates fares, slammed commuters for expecting higher standards without wanting higher fares.
Straits Times, May 2014
So, given these and many other issues, is it any wonder that the man at the helm has become the target of unhappiness?
And isn’t it simplistic for the likes of the Law Minister to point to so-called “unfair attacks” by the public to explain one possible reason for Mr Lui’s stepping down?
Mr Lui has done the honourable thing – whether he felt he had done his best or whether he felt he had failed to resolve the transport problems – by stepping down.
For this, perhaps the man ought to be applauded.
At least he does not make excuses for himself, or lays the blame on critics or “unfair attacks”.
If indeed Mr Lui decided to step down because of these “unfair attacks”, then the blame really should be on the weak leadership from the top which shields those directly responsible for failures.
Ironically, it is Mr Lui who seems to have held himself to a higher standard than that of the Prime Minister, who has not shown the gumption to take his ministers (and others) to task but instead shields them with ill-conceived arguments – that “Singapore will not encourage a culture where ministers resign whenever things go wrong on their watch, whether or not they are actually to blame.”
This can only breed even more distrust and give rise to more criticisms.
Just look at the Auditor-General’s Office recent report on its audit of government ministries and statutory boards – has anyone been similarly held accountable?
Political analysts yesterday were surprised not just by the announcement of Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew’s departure but also its timing, given that the polls could be just weeks away.
Given the People’s Action Party’s reputation for meticulous planning and leaving few things to chance, the move to make public Mr Lui’s decision to step down before the polls must have been carefully thought through, the analysts added. They were, however, divided on whether it would benefit the ruling party at the polls.
While Mr Lui’s departure could be perceived as the Government being accountable for transport problems, it could also be seen as an individual unfairly carrying the can for what should be a collective responsibility, they said.
Singapore Management University law don Eugene Tan noted that transport — which was a hot topic in the 2011 General Election (GE) — could again be a lightning rod in the coming elections. Mr Lui’s stepping down before the polls would “uncomplicate matters”, he said. “What troubles me is whether a precedent has been set on Ministers taking personal responsibility notwithstanding the principle of the Cabinet’s collective responsibility. I find it rather odd and worrying that the Transport Minister seems to have taken the rap personally. I don’t think anyone can say that he has not been equal to the task … It’s not for want of trying (by Mr Lui),” he said.
National University of Singapore political scientist Bilveer Singh said he was rather taken aback by the move. “We do not stand down ministers before a GE,” he said, also noting that for the PAP, “it is not a question of whether a member … decides where and when to contest (elections). It is decided by a party machinery”.
Institute of Policy Studies senior research fellow Gillian Koh saidMr Lui has had “a difficult run”, given that he had inherited some of the problems plaguing public transportation — a similar situation faced by his predecessor Mr Raymond Lim.
Mr Lim, who served one term as Transport Minister, stepped down from the Cabinet after the 2011 GE. He remains a Member of Parliament, but is also likely to retire from politics before the coming GE.
Dr Koh said: “In terms of policy, there has been no effort spared to address the issues at the Ministry and government level, and at the operational level, transport companies have also come under very strict scrutiny by the Land Transport Authority. Politically though, voters might recognise that a price has been paid (with Mr Lui stepping down).”
Mr Lui’s engineering background has been seen by some as an advantage in his role. As to who among the present crop of office holders — or potential new faces — may take over the role, Dr Koh said: “The reforms are there to be implemented, but at this stage it will still have to be someone with a stout heart to take up such a challenging portfolio (that) affects millions of Singaporeans every day.”
Assoc Prof Tan added: “What is really needed now is a Minister who is prepared to take on a portfolio which is now regarded very much as a poisoned chalice. It could be a career-limiting move. Hopefully there will be someone who is willing and bold enough to step up to the challenge.”
I am distraught that Minister Lui Tuck Yew is stepping down.
I have known Mr. Lui since I was an 18 year old JC student when as a LTC in the Navy, he mentored me for the Temasek Seminar. He was very patient with me and taught me a lot, despite his busy schedule. Mr. Lui is kind, humorous and does not not have a single
bad bone in him. He also possesses a first-class mind.
Being Minister of Transport is a thankless job. Has there been a Transport Minister that has been loved? Yeo Ning Hong, Mah Bow Tan, Yeo Cheow Tong, Raymond Lim – his predecessors all had to deal with the same inherent un-squarable circles. To ensure a controlled population of cars needs a quota. But with a quota, prices go up as more affluent Singaporeans can afford to bid more. On public transport, every time prices go up by even 2%, people cry bloody murder. Yet, nobody wants to admit that fares have to be paid for either by taxes or commercially, and it is the same thing in the end.
Mr. Lui took over a public transport system in 2011 that faced many challenges. I do not want to go into details about the reasons here as it has been covered elsewhere, but suffice to say, it was not Mr. Lui’s fault.
Under the circumstances, he did his level best. COE prices were stabilised, and the bus operation system changed to a public-private partnership model and tendered out to foreign companies.
The train system would take time to improve since MRT lines, unlike housing cannot be built in 4 years. Maintenance is difficult when unlike in other cities, entire lines cannot be shut down for months for repair.
In the meantime, Mr. Lui continued suffering abuse that he did not deserve. Whenever a train broke down, he was abused. Whenever, bus fares went up, he was abused. Whenever COE results were announced, he was abused.
I would like to ask everyone to take a moment and reflect whether any human being, doing his job, regardless of how highly he is paid, deserves such abuse.
If we continue to treat our public servants and Ministers like that, no pay will entice capable people from stepping forward to serve.
In such a scenario, Singapore will only get second-rate people to lead us, people who will gladly suffer abuse because they have no better option. The best people however do.
And if we get second-rate leaders because of this, Singapore deserves it.
In the meantime, from the bottom of my heart, I want to say thank you to Mr. Lui for doing a thankless job.
I am certain that in whatever profession he chooses after this, he will be a much happier man.
Minister Lui Tuck Yew has announced that he won’t continue. Several people spoke with him, including myself, to try and get him to change his mind.
But his mind was made up.
People like Tuck Yew don’t come along every day. Person of complete integrity and honesty – and spent his life serving the country. By the time he became a Minister, he was hugely experienced. And he brought that experience to his portfolio. Was subjected to daily incessant attacks but carried on doing his duty, calmly, and with equanimity. Could not have been easy for him and his family to be subjected to such incessant and frequently unfair attacks. Many in his position will naturally ask why should they subject themselves to this.
He had an excellent engineering mind and understood the issues in transport. Oversaw the announcements of so many major initiatives, including the building of expressways, new MRT lines, bus service expansions etc. And you knew that with Tuck Yew in charge, the billions the Ministry were spending would be disbursed honestly .He could have served in any Ministry with distinction. Was in Foreign Affairs with me. And was a great colleague.
Another good man gone. Another loss to the system.
Finding people to fill positions is not difficult. But finding good men like Tuck Yew is always more challenging.
