He says ministers should not be automatically removed for lapses down the line'If we go overboard in trying to solve one problem, the chances are we will inadvertently commit other mistakes which we will regret later,' PM Lee said. -- PHOTO: ZAOBAO SINGAPORE should not encourage a culture where officials and ministers resign whenever something goes wrong on their watch, regardless of whether or not they are actually to blame, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in Parliament on Tuesday.'

That would be the easy way out. It may temporarily appease an angry public, but it will not fundamentally solve the problem,' he said in his statement, which addressed the Government's overall approach, its responsibility and accountabilty over fugitive terrorist Mas Selamat Kastari's escape from the Whitley Road Detention Centre on Feb 27.

In the aftermath of the escape, some Singaporeans have criticised the Government, the minister and senior officials in charge for the major lapses that enabled the Jemaah Islamiah militant to flee and some have called on the Home Affairs Minister to take responsibility for the incident and step down.Responding to these, PM Lee on Tuesday urged the people not to 'over-react to one bad incident'.'If we go overboard in trying to solve one problem, the chances are we will inadvertently commit other mistakes which we will regret later,' he said.'For example, encumbering an organisation with unwieldy rules and processes may look good on paper, but in practice will simply generate a false sense of security, while hindering the organisation from functioning efficiently and achieve its goals.'

VIDEOMas Selamat: PM cautions against witch-hunt(4:17)RELATED LINKSClick to read PM Lee's full speechPM Lee said when something goes wrong, the first priority is to respond to the immediate crisis and then identify shortcomings and put them right.

Besides corrective measures to ensure that the problem does not recur, he said the Government will give as full a public accounting as possible, especially if it is a major lapse.

'Singaporeans need to know what went wrong, and what the Government will do to fix things,' he said.While the minister is ultimately accountable for the policies and operations of his ministry, PM Lee cautioned: 'But this does not mean that if a lapse occurs down the line, every level in the chain of command, up to and including the Minister should automatically be punished or removed.''

Based on the facts, we have to decide who fell short in performing his duties, and what is the appropriate disciplinary action for each officer involved. We also have to follow due process, giving officers the chance to defend themselves. Otherwise we will demoralise the organisation and discourage officers from taking initiatives or responsibility, for fear of being punished for making mistakes.''This same principle of responsibility and accountability also applies to Ministers.'Mr Lee said when a lapse happens, it is his duty to decide how the minister in charge has performed - whether he has been incompetent, negligent and if he is able to put things right.'The basis issue is whether the person is culpable,' added Mr Lee.'If so, we must act against him, however senior his position. But if he is not at fault, then we must have the moral courage to state so, and support him.''This way, everybody within the organisation can be confident that when something goes wrong, they will not be sacrificed for politcal expediency.'

I am not the sort of person that dwells into politics and analyse every string of sentence that pours out from our ministers’ mouths. Ultimately, I look at the whole picture instead of picking up minute details that are of negligible significance.

Let’s talk about POLITICS.
No doubt that the model of our governance is ever-efficient.
No doubt that our capable leaders have steered the nation into a developed one growing at a rate equivalent to that of a developing one.
No doubt many foreign countries are singing praises and trying to adopt our system.
No doubt we have a nation of complainers and whiners who, despite our general political apathy, are capable of blowing simple matters out of proportion with our seemingly analytical minds.
No doubt that that we are capable of organizing a ministerial panel discussing the complacency of the whole nation and not the the competency of our government, and whether ministers should be shown the cabinet door, when everything started off with a man limping out of jail.

Casual griping is a beloved Singaporean pastime, so is mine. I am neither spewing criticisms nor turning to armchair speculation, not least representing any organization but solely my personal thoughts.

Just take a look at the Mas Selamat incident. People are condemning the government for its lapse in security. Our dear MM, PM, and DPM would of course have their say of words. But the message they are putting across to me is “It’s not our incompetency as leaders, but your complacency as a nation, let’s not blame anyone in this matter, let’s just learn and move on.” Is this convincing or not? You decide.

Can Singaporeans find our own Obama or Clinton that shakes us out of our deeply entrenched political apathy? We really need someone with the charisma and eloquence of an inspirational leader to do so.