Tag: Paper Generals

Commentary: Retired Military Generals Are Only Familiar With Simulated Situations, But Not For Real Life Issues

The long time practice of putting retired military generals to take charge of public institutions that are vital to the social and economic lives of citizens – even if they had volunteered for the job – may not be the wisest thing to do after all. They may be scholars no doubt, but if they had spent all their working lives running military outfits, day in and day out facing simulated situations, they may not find it easy to adapt to real life issues.
For example what technical experience does an ex general have to run a train system that is increasingly sophisticated and vital to the economic and social lives of the nation? What we need for the job is a first class engineer with good management experience who, if necessary, is prepared to even defy his political bosses with sound and practical solutions.
The same thing goes for the management of our national shipping line which went to the dogs when a military general was put in charge. In spite of his scholar reputation I am quite sure he would have zero knowledge about shipping which is a world of difference from what he had been accustomed to.
It is very easy to sit in your comfortable offices and earn big bucks but if you know nuts about the bolts (and nuts) of what makes the company tick, you are not the man for the job. Simple as that.
If we see no change in the way appointments are made, be prepared for more cock-ups.
Our selected president who is supposed to have the power to veto appointments should look into this.

Source: Mohamed Jufrie Bin Mahmood

November 18, 2017
Oh Generals, Generals Wherefore Art Thou?

Dear Singaporeans,

When was the last time a SAF general turned PAP politicians fought in a Single Member Constituency? Has this happened before?

I think not. From George Yeo, to Teo Chee Hean, to Lui Tuck Yew and the more recent entrants of Chan Chun Sing and Tan Chuan Jin, our SAF warriors have been parachuted straight into GRC and swiftly swept into parliament.

Ng Chee Meng, the latest military man to trade in his soldier uniform for the white-on-white is no exception. Ng will be contesting in Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC under the tutelage of DPM Teo Chee Hean; and like his other soldiers turned politican colleagues, he will, in time to come, lead a GRC.

But how can we say a politician is competent if he has not won his own battles? In fact, how is a general victorious if he has never fought his own battle?

Let’s not be mistaken, I am not against the PAP promoting their own to political stardom and some generals are actually effective and inspiring leaders. But to truly earn the respects of citizens, maybe they should start fighting their own wars and not hide behind someone’s back.

Freddy Tan

Source: www.allsingaporestuff.com

August 25, 2015
MRT Breakdowns: If PAP Does Not Fire Paper General-CEO, Commuters Should Fire PAP

The latest SMRT breakdown which affected more than 250,000 won’t be the last. As the population increases towards PAP’s 6.9 million target, rest assured the mother of all SMRT breakdowns will be making her appearance. The government should not continue to deny what’s inevitable.

In URA’s Revised Concept Plan 1991, the government had wanted “to develop a viable land transport network that could meet the demand of a population of 4 million by the year 2030”. Obviously, even if it’s not obvious to our scholars, there are going to be issues. And plenty of them – more than 60 breakdowns and delays after GE 2011.

What we currently have is a broken system and no amount of papering over the cracks from our perpetually-concerned politicians will help. Every assurance coming from the PAP will be another half-truth.

Commuters are not blaming SMRT staff or engineers but PAP for a system which parachutes scholars with ZERO relevant experience into top positions in the civil service and GLCs.

A permanent solution is to get rid of such a non-transparent and unaccountable system, failing which the alternative is to say good riddance to PAP.

In view of the abject failure of ex Ferrari driving CEO Saw Paik Hwa, any responsible CEO would have employed personnel with decades of experience but not Kuek.

Abject failure ex CEO Saw

Instead, CEO Kuek roped in 4 of his army buddies with ZERO relevant experience “to steer the beleaguered transport operator back on track”. How’s that for an insult? Through his action, Kuek clearly had no intention to improve SMRT.

On the latest incident, Kuek reminded the public that “the journey to bringing about a much higher order of reliability and assurance is a difficult one, but we are committed to doing so .”

Hmm .. still dare to TKSS after inconveniencing more than $250,000 commuters? If his task was so simple, he would be earning a 5-figure annual salary, not $2,300,000. Without PAP support, Kuek would have been history. In fact, he wouldn’t be able to insult commuters as SMRT CEO.

When we look at other parts of PAP’s system, we can see that it is rotten to the core and in urgent need of a revamp.

As the regulator of SMRT, LTA is headed by ex navy chief Chew Men Leong. Not only did SMRT CEO have zero experience, neither did the head of its regulator!

Zero experience + zero experience = trial and error/need more breakdowns to learn lessons/commuters suffer.

After Chew left the navy in 2011, he was parachuted into PUB and became CEO with zero relevant experience. When flash floods hit Singapore in December 2011, Chew was praising PUB for its efforts to alleviate floods and claimed that we are the “victims of our own success”. Chew could not empathise with businesses which had lost millions. To Chew, PUB was a runaway success and it was really not their problem.

Trial to use buildings for water storage by PUB?

Image credit: STOMP

What about ex LTA CEO, Chew Hock Yong, who needs to shoulder some of the blame for the recent breakdowns? Under PAP’s merry-go-round system, Hock Yong was promoted to Second Permanent Secretary, MND, to oversee the newly-formed Municipal Services Office. Does one need to have extensive experience at LTA in order to be promoted to MND Perm Sec?

In a statement, the Ministry of Transport extended its appreciation to Mr Chew for his significant contributions in his four years as LTA’s chief executive. It sounded like Chew Hock Yong did a perfect job as LTA CEO overseeing SMRT and one should not link any SMRT breakdown to him.

During Roy’s cross-examination on 1 July, PM Lee had agreed that the CEO should take responsibility for MRT trains breakdown. 31 years earlier, Lee Kuan Yew had also said that if things did not work, the chief would be held responsible and “firing the chief is very simple”. (quoted from TOC article)

Sadly, the reality is PAP is all talk but no action, one rule for ordinary Singaporeans and another for elites. Instances of unaccountability:

During the twice in 50 years Orchard Road ponding in 2010 and 2011, PUB CEO Khoo Teng Chye put the blame on everything except himself and refused to apologise. Khoo was not fired but went on to head theCentre For Liveable Cities, fully funded by taxpayers.

For serious lapses at CPIB involving $1.7 million in public funds, which tarnished its reputation, director Eric Tan was not fired but merely redeployed to another department in 2013. Instead of an internal promotion, Eric was replaced by Workforce Development Agency’s Wong Hong Kuan who had ZERO relevant experience. Before Eric became CPIB Director, he was with the ICA and had ZERO relevant experience. More about Eric Tan at Singapore Notes.

And surely nothing beats this – a commissioner of police becoming PUB CEO.

If there was succession planning, surely there must be employees within the organisation with more extensive experience to become CEO than appointing a scholar with ZERO experience. Truth be said, meritocracy is dead and promotion under the PAP is based on loyalty, nothing to do with merit.

There are too many instances of PAP not holding itself accountable for epic screw ups. PAP can’t simply issue statements of perpetual concern and let the matter be. Instead of transferring a deadweight to another government department, it’s about time to let SMRT CEO go. Being a scholar with decades of experience in the military and government, Kuek should be able to find meaningful employment anywhere.

By “firing the chief”, LKY must have meant letting him go before he wreaks more havoc on people’s lives, not transferred. With the mess that PAP has created, LKY is likely to be turning in his grave.

Conclusion

Public transport commuters must demand for Kuek to be held accountable, ie fired, or it will be too late after a disaster has struck. From the above examples, it is obvious PAP has acted irresponsibly by allowing government organisations to be helmed by parachuters with zero experience.

Promotions in the civil service and GLCs are based on loyalty to a political party and unrelated to meritocracy. PAP is self serving and does not serve citizens. Such a system is rotten to the core.

If PAP can’t even show that it’s serious on accountability for once by firing SMRT CEO, commuters should not hesitate to fire the PAP at the next election.

Source: https://likedatosocanmeh.wordpress.com

July 13, 2015
More Ex-Miltary Men In Cabinet After Next GE?

If a report by the Sunday Times (7 June 2015) is any indication, the Singapore Cabinet is set to imbibe more ex-military men into its fold.

The current Lee Hsien Loong Cabinet has 19 ministers.

Out of these, six are former military men, including the Prime Minister and one of the deputy prime ministers, Teo Chee Hean.

They make up almost one-third of the current Cabinet.

This looks to continue, with perhaps even an increase in such credentialed men at the very heart of Government, depending on whether any incumbents step down at the next General Election (GE), which is due by January 2017.

The Sunday Times reported:

“Talk is that those from the top government ranks who may take the plunge include Chief of Defence Force Ng Chee Meng, 47, Chief of Navy Lai Chung Han, 42, Chief Guards Officer Melvyn Ong, 40…”

The three men have spent a large part of their careers in the military.

Undoubtedly, no one should expect that these highflyers in the military would assume a “lesser” political role as mere Members of Parliament (MP), if they should get elected by Singaporeans.

The men, in fact, would form the other half of the so-called “4^th Generation leadership” which PM Lee spoke of recently.

He said in a radio programme in May that the first half of the next generation of political leaders were already in place, and that the other half would be installed after the next GE.

If these three military officers join the Cabinet, it would mean Singapore may have close to 40 per cent of Cabinet made up of those from the uniformed services, assuming no further changes to the Cabinet.

This compares with the five SAF men who were in the 2001 Cabinet, out of 17 ministers.

The recruitment of military types or “scholar soldiers” into government started more earnestly in the mid-1980s, when the ruling party started to find it hard to attract candidates from the private sector.

This, however, was not planned, according to former minister George Yeo, said Diane K Mauzy, in her 2002 book, “Singapore Politics Under The People’s Action Party”.

“The transition from purely civilian government to one including Brigadier-Generals and a rear Admiral… was sudden, and it raised some qualms and presented Singapore with at least a minor image problem,” she said.

She further explained:

“To increase the prestige of the SAF, a major SAF scholarship scheme was introduced in 1971, and the ‘best minds’ were channeled that route. Later, when the academic and professional recruits did not work out for the most part, and attracting candidates from the private sector or the Administrative Service proved difficult, the military scholars, especially from the first two scholarship batches (1971 and 1972), increasingly provided the PAP with its new talent. Most of these scholar-soldiers were immediately appointed Ministers of State.”

PM Lee was among those who were awarded the SAF scholarship in 1971 to study mathematics at Cambridge University. (See here.)

Ms Mauzy also noted then Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong’s views on the number of military men in Cabinet.

“Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong is aware that having too many military men in government is bad for Singapore’s image, and he also believes it would not be good to have too many in Cabinet with the same military (engineering and mathematics) mindset.”

Until these men shed their military uniforms and put on the whites of the PAP, all talk is mere speculation.

But if the talk is true, it may yet again point to a problem the PAP has faced for a long time – the inability to recruit from outside the usual hunting grounds of the military and the Civil Service.

Nonetheless, it is worth asking ourselves if having a large number of former military men in the Cabinet is something good for the nation, given the challenges we face, which calls for experience in the private sector, and a non-conformist, out-of-the-box mindset.

The last thing Singapore needs, in going forward, is groupthink at the very heart of government.

But for now, the so-called “4th Generation” leadership under the PAP looks set to be led by military men.

Source: www.theonlinecitizen.com

June 9, 2015

Paper Generals Should Be Left Out Of Politics

The Singapore Cabinet comprises the PM, 2 DPMs and 15 ministers. 5 of them, or slightly more than a quarter, had been generals/equivalent in the military before becoming politicians.

Another country with many high ranking military officers in the government is North Korea. Myanmar which used to parachute generals into top positions in the government have recently begun a cabinet reshuffle to replace ministerial positions held by the military with scholars. It appears Singapore has regressed – the number of ex generals increased after the last election (ex general George Yeo replaced by Chan Chun Sing and Tan Chuan Jin).

Military men do not make good leaders in the government for the simple fact that they are used to giving orders. They are not listeners but control freaks. This is evident in Singapore where the mainstream media, grassroots organisations and government bodies continue to be controlled by the PAP.

Our leader, PM Lee, is himself an ex general, the youngest in Singapore’s history. That PM Lee does not listen is obvious from his ‘solutions’ to our chronic problems ie.

– Overcrowding/increased cost of living – increase the population to 6.9 million under PAP’s PWP.
– CPF retirement shortfall – sell HDB homes and downgrade with assistance from HDB.
– CPF and statutory board failure – edit government web pages and continue to conceal data from the public.
– High cost of public housing – change the Resale Price Index to make prices look lower.
– Rat infestation – HDB, town council and NEA not responsible but blame feeding of stray dogs.
– Foreigners displacing Singaporean employees – employ more foreigners because Singaporeans are overpriced and foreigners help to create jobs for us.
etc.

Ten years under ex-general PM Lee’s leadership, Singaporeans have only experienced policy failure after failure. Instead of addressing them, the PAP only masks its failure with the implementation of the PGP, dishing out more grants, shoves its own ‘right’ version of Singapore’s history down our throat, attempts to control online media, silence the CPF ‘noises’ at Hong Lim Park, etc.

What’s worse about our system is that ALL the generals DO NOT have any combat experience. These paper generals have been fast-tracked because of their stellar academic results and nothing else. What are their real achievements? Transformation of the army by throwing tax dollars at costly state-of-the-art weapons? Introducing pixelised uniforms which have been ditched by the US army? It’s a waste of tax dollars to have about 20 to 30? paper generals on a little red dot.

SAF/President’s scholars are destined for top jobs in the military since day one. These scholars are ‘untouchable’ and their superiors are acutely aware of their limitations. They simply are not able to understand what the rank and file/ordinary citizens go through.

The 5 (ex) paper generals in our cabinet are:

1 (Major General) Chan Chun Sing

Chan is a PAP MP of Tanjong Pagar GRC which was a walkover in the 2011 election. As such, the popularity or unpopularity of Chan is unknown. Chan has not even spoken at an election rally but from this video, you can be certain he will be a flop without the GRC system.
Chan has not worked a single day in the private sector and his understanding of local issues is suspect. He served in the army from 1987 to 2011 and was (coincidentally) promoted to army chief during his last year in the army.

Chan was promoted to Brigadier General (BG) in June 2007. Three short years later, he was promoted to Major General (MG) without accomplishing anything significant. He stayed on as the chief of army and ‘retired’ after only 1 year of service/OJT, wasting precious tax dollars. If Chan had already decided to go into politics, he should have allowed others who would have stayed on to contribute to the army. Or was Chan promoted to look better in politics? Combat experience – zero.

2 (Brigadier General) Tan Chuan Jin

Like Chan, Tan also served in the army from 1987 to 2011. Among all the newbie ministers, Tan was the most respected. But from Tan’s handling of the CPF issue and the MOM’s reluctance to address the flawed immigration policy, Tan’s credibility has taken a beating. Tan’s fast-tracked career in the military has disconnected him from ordinary citizens. He has yet to realise PAP’s policy failure and prefers to continue with tweaks.

3 (Rear Admiral) Lui Tuck Yew

As an SAF scholar, Lui was fast-tracked to top navy position within 20 years, including his taxpayers-funded studies of course. He was also the CEO of HDB in 2005.

4 (Rear Admiral) Teo Chee Hean

Like scholar Lui, Teo’s military career saw him promoted to head the navy within 20 years.

5 (Brigadier General) Lee Hsien Loong

Lee joined the SAF in 1971 and rose through the ranks to become the youngest BG in 1983 within a mere 13 years. Excluding the 5 years of studies funded by taxpayers, Lee achieved his miraculous promotion within 8 years. According to Dr Michael Barr, Lee “graduated in 1980 …by this stage he had risen to the rank of Major .. despite having only served for about three years on operational duty”.
The interesting thing is Lee’s final years in the army where he had received a promotion every year from 1981 to 1983 without a single day in combat!

In other democratic countries, it takes ‘forever’ to be promoted when one is already holding a very high ranking position. Guess our generals are not known as ‘paper generals’ for nothing.

Lee’s phenomenal rise in the SAF?

With a military career as smooth as silk, it is not that PM Lee doesn’t want to understand the reality of mere mortals like us but he really can’t.

The table (below) is a summary of our paper generals.

NAME	ENLIST	RESIGN	YEARS	RANK
LEE HSIEN LOONG	1971	1984	13	BRIGADIER GEN
TEO CHEE HEAN	1972	1992	20	REAR ADMIRAL
LUI TUCK YEW	1983	2003	20	REAR ADMIRAL
CHAN CHUN SING	1987	2011	24	MAJOR GEN
TAN CHUAN JIN	1987	2011	24	BRIGADIER GEN

* Lee Hsien Loong holds the world record for attaining the rank of BG in the shortest time, without any combat experience, in a democratic country. Our military is designed by scholars, for scholars. Every Tom, Dick and Harry scholar will become a general so long as he toes PAP’s line.

PM Lee and DPM Teo were both born with a silver spoon in the mouth. One shouldn’t expect them to understand the struggles of ordinary/low wage citizens and PAP’s flawed policies confirm their disconnect.

Real leaders should never be fast-tracked to top positions based on academic results. Currently, all paper generals are not really elected because of our unique GRC system designed to perpetuate PAP’s power.

Running a government requires a consultative approach while it’s a top-down approach in the military. After years of a top-down approach, it becomes impossible to teach old dogs new tricks. Paper general George Yeo has already paid the price for not listening. Paper generals are failed politicians as is evidenced by their refusal to engage in a meaningful manner with their ‘wayangs’.

Without a doubt, generals are army-trained and best left in the military. If paper generals can run our country, pigs should be able to fly.

Source: http://likedatosocanmeh.wordpress.com

January 7, 2015

Tag: Paper Generals

Commentary: Retired Military Generals Are Only Familiar With Simulated Situations, But Not For Real Life Issues

Oh Generals, Generals Wherefore Art Thou?

MRT Breakdowns: If PAP Does Not Fire Paper General-CEO, Commuters Should Fire PAP

More Ex-Miltary Men In Cabinet After Next GE?

Paper Generals Should Be Left Out Of Politics