Too bad the Ministry of Home Affairs doesn't have common sense.
ST April 21, 2008The above report raises many questions in my mind. I'm sure it raises many questions in your minds too, dear readers. Overall, the security just seems so lax. Jurong Bird Park keeps its birds under tighter security.
Gone in 49 secondsThat is the time it took for terrorist Mas Selamat to leap to freedom, in a re-enactment of his daring escape after he got out of the toilet in the Whitley Road detention centre.
By Ian Lim
IN THE executive summary on the report of Mas Selamat Kastari's escape from Whitley Road Detention Centre (WRDC) on Feb 27, the Committee of Inquiry (COI) found that the detainee could have made his escape on Feb 27 in 49 seconds.
In a re-enactment requested by the COI, a Gurkha guard took 49 seconds to retrace Mas Selamat's possible escape route from the detention centre.
An unsecured window in the toilet of the visitors block allowed him to make the prison breakout.
The executive summary was released by Deputy Prime Minister and Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng in Parliament on Monday.
On Feb 27, the COI found Mas Selamat was taken out of his cell for his family visit scheduled for 4pm to 4.30pm at the Family Visitation Block.
At 3.35pm, two Gurkha guards escorted him to a locker room to change into civilian clothes.
After changing into a light yellow baju kurung and greenish-grey pants, he was escorted by the two guards and a woman Special Duty Operative (SDO) - a junior Internal Security Department (ISD) officer - to the Family Visitation block at 3.54pm.
He asked to use the toilet next to the family visit room to shave and comb his hair.
One guard stood outside the toilet while the other followed him inside.
Mas Selamat used the urinal cubicle and closed the door. He flipped his pants over the ledge above the door. He left the tap running.
After a few minutes, the guard felt that Mas Selamat was taking too long. He alerted the other guard standing outside the toilet, who then reported to the SDO outside the toilet. The SDO asked a male Assistant Case Officer to check on the toilet.
At 4.05pm, the male SDO kicked open the door of the urinal cubicle, Mas Selamat was not inside.
The ventilation window pane located above this urinal cubicle had been swung open.
An immediate alert was raised that Mas Selamat had escaped.
The COI found that Mas Selamat had about 11 minutes between 3.54pm and 4.05 pm to make his escape.
The COI believes that while in the cubicle, Mas Selamat climbed onto the ledge located just below the ventilation window, pushed open the window and squeezed himself through it.
He probably held on to a water pipe running vertically down the external wall of the toilet.
The COI received forensic evidence from CID that smudges were found on the water pipe, although there were no conclusive fingerprints. A packet of seven rolls of toilet paper was found on the ground, which he could have used to break his fall.
There were also two CCTV cameras mounted where Mas Selamat climbed out, but they were not switched on as they were part of the CCTV system upgrading and the system was still in its testing stage.
There is no conclusive evidence of the exact route Mas Selamat took to escape.
The COI's view is that he was likely to have used a route 20m to the right of the ventilation window, where the inner and outer perimeter fences converged with the enclosed staircase and walkway.
Mas Selamat would have scaled the fence, climbed onto the roof of the enclosed staircase and walkway, and jumped over the converged perimeter fences.
Your comments, please.
I am quite confused. Aren't we were told he is still on orange prison clothing when he escape???
ReplyDeleteplease correct me if i am wrong..
It seems outrageous to me that such a series of major institutional lapses can occur coincidentally. If anything, WKS' so-called clarification raises more questions than answers.
ReplyDeleteThese disturbing facts suggest a complete sweep of all our security installations is warranted. Who's to say the problem's limited to WDC?
i had issues when the COI used the shortest possible time that mas selamat could escape to justify why they couldn't find him 10 minutes after he went missing.
ReplyDeleteSERIOUSLY. i didn't know he could figure out how to get to the PIE from the detention centre via the shortest way just by surveying the surroundings from a small window that was not secured. even then, it took a young ISD officer 2 mins and 44 seconds. erm. what abt a man who has no idea where the hell he is?
and to think they conclude that he had no assistance. my ass.
and of course. i think they could use some frigging common sense when it comes to grilles and push windows. even a 7-year-old might know better.
so that's where our tax money all go to. that's how the government justify their million dollar salaries.
SERIOUSLY.
I can't believe security is so lax. oh my goodness. It was simply too easy for Mas Selamat. Too easy!
ReplyDeleteHow come the fencing is so lax too? Most prisons and camps have much higher fences leh. This is truely very embarrassing for Wong Kang Seng.
Yuez
They needed 2 whole months to figure this out?
ReplyDeleteI do realise the investigation probed much further than can be reported to the general public, but still, please!
[crazy mode on]
Perhaps they needed the two months to, uhm, write the script and modify the set before they were ready to bring in the TV crew. I.e., we saw what they wanted us to see.
[crazy mode off]
Regardless, according to the current version of the story, we now have the alleged terrorist running around loose in Singapore without his pants, after having waltzed out of the detention center used to house the most dangerous enemies of state, and has since managed to feed and shelter himself entirely without any outside help, and without being detected by the massive ongoing manhunt.
Boggles the mind.
the s.a.f. camps are no more secure than the w.r.d.c. - i went for my ippt & rt and they don't even give a shit as to who walk in or out of the camp. really. anyone who dresses in p.e. attire can just anyhow walk in without any checks conducted.
ReplyDeletewith the ever increasing sub-contracting or privatisation of non-core activities, the s.a.f. is really becoming a joke (not that it isn't already). i recently came across an article saying that mindef & dsta are looking to letting private companies run the military ranges. what is the world coming to? they might as well privatise the entire security force - hand it over to the gurkhas so that we can have more 'mas selamats' running amok in the country.
The toilet looks so new like it was just renovated last week. What are they trying to hide?
ReplyDelete1st impressions...
ReplyDelete1. Guards severely lacking in initiative.
2. WRDC Superintendent complacent and more concerned about saving money
3. Ministers are still way overpaid. For such 1st class salaries, 1st class results are expected. An escaped terrorist is a FAIL!
This would imply that our prison is not safe at all. Prisoners could escape easily!!
ReplyDeleteCan add one more "No". No minister accepted responsibility for the failure/lapse by resigning.
ReplyDeleteIn real 1st world countries, the leader would have resigned on his own. It is then up to the electorate to decide in future elections if the leader is still fit to lead should he stand for elections again.
I am a volunteer with the Singapore Prison Services. I was shocked when I read about this COI report. I mean such way of escape can never happen in our prisons.
ReplyDeleteIt continue to shock me that ISD's detention centre's security and its layout is so so laid back.
One stupid question to ask our WKS since he was adamant that there was no inside help.
ReplyDeleteHow did Mas Selamat, without being discovered by anybody at the detention centre, managed to accumulate 7 toilet rolls supposedly held together in the same plastic bag and placed strategically outside the toilet to act as a cushion for his escape ?
Or do they supply toilet paper for the urinal cubicle ?
It appears that WKS still has a lot to answer. Not only his responsibility over such a blunder.
The real question to be answered is why he has not yet been caught after two months, no?
ReplyDeleteSecurity lapses at the detention centre are causal factors that can take secondary concern now, damage control the primary. Thus, the accounting for his being still-at-large.
And has the Government told us anything about that yet?
Remember, singaporeans, according to LKY, it is all your fault that the window was open, there was no grille, the fence was so easy to climb over, the CCTV was not working etc. All you Singaporean citizens were just too complacent, because your government is just soooooo good.
ReplyDeleteHaha. Mr Wang, the heading of your post sums up exactly the failures that most people had speculated over the past 6-7 weeks and the COI's findings just confirm what most people already know. Without CCTV, I guess some parts of the story are just, well, pure speculation.
ReplyDeleteAbout two months and with a panel of three competent brains in a COI and yet the Spin goes round and round, repeated over and over and over again. And what did the Investigations and Inquiries revealed? They uncover more questions. LOL.
ReplyDeleteThe Cyber Community have asked and are asking more questions, have any of the Questions and Queries been answered responsibly, sincerely and truthfully?
The Escape may not have tarnish the reputation of Singapore and affects its' commercial activities. BUT, by and large, Singaporeans have lose faiths and trusts in the Leaders!
True, there is nothing Lay Singaporeans can do against the incompetencies and sloppiness of the Leaders. And the Leadership is awared of this fact, therefore it knows, whatever and however they explained, it has to be swallowed. Can we say, we do not like it?
patriot.
Just makes one really wonder whether the guy really escaped?
ReplyDeletecomplacency is the best word to describe waht happened.
ReplyDeletein the past, Whitley held people who had no idea why they're there - Chia Thye Poh, the Catholic Marxist gang, Said Zahari...
for the first time, Whitley had to hold a true criminal, maybe? and the facility was just too complacent that he'll be cowed like all other past detainees?
oh well, it has happened. waht to do?
aygee
Don't forget they have guards with NO brains.
ReplyDeleteThe COI correctly pointed out that the guards failed in their duties. But even I can tell you that! The first gurkha should have knocked to ask why was he taking so long (he did not). The second gurkha should have asked the first gurkha to do that (he did not). The female officer should have asked the gurkhas to do that (she did not). How many guards does it take to knock a door? Apparently the answer is 4.
The COI observed that no one individual had full control to bring about the confluence of the material factors at the time of Mas Selamat’s escape.
ReplyDeleteI completely disagree with this point. If anyone, the superintendent had the control to prevent the escape from happening. He may not have been the guard who lost his line of sight of Mas Selamat, but he as the ‘CO of the camp’ (using SAF terminology as it was mentioned that he held a rank equivalent to an Lieutenant Colonel), would be responsible for setting up the centre’s S.O.Ps and ensuring that the physical security (grilles, fences, cctvs..etc) are shipshape.
More of my thoughts are here: http://simplygab.blogspot.com
Would like to hear more of your views Mr Wang.
The COI executive summary contains a few discrepencies:
ReplyDelete1. The cubicle was only for urinating. Where did Mas get the 7 rolls of toilet paper. Is there are need for toilet paper for urinating ?
2. All the windows were supposed to be grilled in a major renovation. However, due to some misunderstanding by the contractor this one was not grill. This is indeed strange for over a $million contract. Even average Singaporean will jump when this happens to him.
An inspection by ISD operatives found this weakness and alerted the Superintendent of WRDC. Instead of taking immediate actions to correct the security loophole, he just saw off the window handle. This from a top security man is difficult to swallow.
3. With no money, without pants, completely disoriented after such long period of confinement, how did he managed to run away so fast ?
How they can conclude no inside or outside help, hah? Out of sight, no camera recording and hence no evidence? If so, quite simple to be investigator leh.
ReplyDeleteGahmen is using the "lift upgrading distraction" trick to draw away public's attention from the real issues and problem. Senior govt management, ie. WKS and Director of ISA is clearly responsible and accountable for what had happened. It is either their complaceny from too much blowing their own horns and fat pay packet or sheer incompetency. Yes there may be SOPs. But that alone is not enough as any good management guru will tell you. Why no mention by the COI whether the SOPs are adequate. SOPs must be monitored for actual application and compliance in a robust and high-secuirty manner, considering that Mat Selamat is publicy enemy-terrorist No. 1 and dangerous if let free. When was the last comprehensive audit done and what exceptions were reported then.
ReplyDeleteIn a high security environment, if cctv, grills or other security tools etc are yet available or ready for use, you tighten rather than loosen controls and freedom of prisoner movements.
These are systemic and macro matters that highly paid senior management who make above-world class salaries are duty bound to do. Yes the guards and supervisors are poorly trained. Yes punished them for their incompetencies. But the buck don't stop there. As WKS said, the leaders' responsibility is to select and employ capable leaders down the chain of command to put system and the competent manpower in place to do the job rightly. From what had been disclosed to the public, they clearly have failed and failed very very badly. Blaming complaceny of the low end staff is a BIG COPOUT as they are mere scapegoats. They may be simpleton but the greatest fools are the ones who set up the system and engage them without adequate supervision and control.
If WKS does not resign, the cabinet should, taking a leaf from the military book, at least demote him to a Minister of State and put some other more capable person in his place. The Director of ISA without doubt should be told to take a walk of no return. Isn't it much easier to keep a prisoner in than to guard against someone getting into a gaol. Yet they fumble on so many counts. Indeed a world class boo-boo.
Surely this is all too much a coincidence. Mas has probably been killed. Wild goose chase.
ReplyDeleteWhat I would like to know if the Committee of Inquiry has bothered to check if this same superintendent has put up grilles in his own home. In all probability, the answer is yes, like most Singapore homes. And if so, I think Singaporeans deserve to know why the same basic security measures warranted of an ordinary home in safe Singapore were not deemed necessary for a detention centre
ReplyDeletethey are really bullshitting
ReplyDeleteThey can't even tell a lie.
Look at the picture.
The windows are right at the celling. The door does not go all the way up to celling. If he realy escaped from the window he can actually be seen climbing out, though vision might be obscured by the door. How do you expect the guard to let him go away unless the guard is looking the other way.
secondly according to the map provided by straits times there is no tap inside the urinal cubicle. How can he turn on the tap inside the cubicle when the basin is in the main toilet where the guard is??? Do you see any tap in the urinal cubicle? The statement is not even congruent with the physical evidence. The reason is because they can hide behind the cloak of secrecy citing security concerns.
Thirdly how can the guard not hear any thing. His vision might be obscured but I am sure they don't employ deaf guards. Opening the window that does not have a handle will certainly have to make some noise. Climbing out and all that.
Who turn on the tap for so long? Running water for so long the guard didn't suspect anything? This is really ridiculous. Even plain untrained person like me would suspect something.
There is the urinal cubicle and the toilet bowl cubicle. How can they put the prisoner allow the prisoner to go to the cubicle with a window while the toilet bowl cubicle is facing a wall. Which security personnel make this kind of decision. And he took of his pants. Don't tell me he is taking a dump in the urinal. He seemed to intending to do so taking with him 7 rolls of toilet paper. Who stores toilet paper in urinal? You mean they need to clean their genitals like the ladies after urinating.
If they suspect that the prisoner has escaped isn't the first thing to do to call out to him to finish up quickly. If there is no response they would have busrt into the cubicle to see what is happening. Since when gurkhas become so dumb to talk to the partner who inturn talk to the female officer who asked a male officer to break open the door. It sounds that they are almost trying to assist Mas to escape. Either singapore police is really dumb or the minister thinks we are dumb.
The whole story is just absurd. They should employ a better scriptwritter. I agree with other this is really comedy.
palmist
come to think of it. Since when do we have doors for urinals??? I think it is first in singapore. It gives criminals more privacy to manufacture their escape. I must vote that place for the best prison facilites to do a jail break. No grills remember.
ReplyDeletepalmist
Its really hard to believe there was no CCTV cameras installed in security centre to capture the scenes.
ReplyDeleteWe are told that the window handle was sawed off as a security measure.
ReplyDeleteHow did sawing off the window handle fail to prevent the window from opening?
Did Selamat gain access to the necessary tools to pry open the window?
Alternatively, since the toilet was accessible to the staff and family members of detainees, did anyone help Selamat pry open the window?
I could write an essay on what I think on this so I won't.
ReplyDeleteHowever, one point that I find incredibly hillarious is the cameras that were being upgraded or, more accurately, that there was no secondary system running while the upgrading was happening.
I mean, come one, guys, we're talking about a place where certified security risks are housed, not your local kopitiam undergoing a routine toilet upgrading. Even "lowly" jobs in the IT industry like data migration is carried out with a secondary system running to ensure existing acitivities are not compromised.
Another reason why this camera issue sticks out like a sore thumb to me is, when I heard it, I said "say, isn't this a similar reason to why SMRT failed to catch someone throwing himself onto the tracks not too long ago?"
What an anti-climax! Who are they blaming now? The window, the grilles, the urinal, the toilet papers, the water pipe, the tap, the guards etc. And who actually made the greatest escape? Mr. Wang already told us the answer a few weeks ago. Its WKS!
ReplyDeleteActually the report told us nothing that we do not know. Of course there is no grills on the window because he can climb through it. Of course the guards are either not working or do not know how to work or he would not have the chance to escape.
ReplyDeleteWhat surprise me is that it took 2 months to tell us what we already know, this is truly a waste of tax payer's money.
the circumstances under which Mas Selamat escape is simply too ridiculous. in fact, too many conincidences.
ReplyDeleteread the news thoroughly and even you might feel it's a story that's already been written before the escape. Are the guards really that dumb? Is security at Whitley really that bad? And of all toilets, why did selamat end up in one that has no window grilles?
my conclusion is simple (regardless what ah wong has to say): there maybe an insider job and mas selamat might very well be 'working' for ISD. far fetched as you may think it is but consider it for a moment......
Oh! The DPM did blame some people like the guards and their supervisors. And HE BLAMED EVERYONE ELSE INCLUDING HIMSELF!
ReplyDeleteAccording to him, anything humans do are prone to 'human weakness'.
We all know that, because corruptions, abuse of power and impropriety are all human weaknesses. Are they not?
patriot.
To begin with, I don't agree with ISA. It is open to abuse. If the person is proven guilt and send to jail, this whole "escape" would not have happened.
ReplyDeleteThe most simple explanation on this issue is that he has died.. notice WKS did not answer this question at all !!!!
ReplyDeleteStrange thing is that they still say Mas Selamat was alone! How far can he run in 11 mins? How can he escape the manhunt, dogs and soldiers without help? That I find strange.
ReplyDeleteFrom the report, I came to some conclusions:-
ReplyDelete1 it was definitely an inside job
2 WKS has no clue who the moles are
3 the contractor was a relative of one of the MIWs
4 the story by WKS is fabricated by an AO who had had little life experiences ie straight from some UK or US varsity
5 after 911, the monies that were supposedly spent to enhance our home security have gone to someone's private dockets
6 our local contractors have very low productivity. They took over a month to renovate a toilet cubicle causing the COI to be overdue
7 i also question the actual day of escape because they have not mentioned a half naked selemat running around .... this new angle is a last minute inclusion in the script
8 those previous detainees were all innocent and law abiding people
the only thing that i looked out for in the report, is: WHO'S HEAD GOING TO ROLL?
ReplyDeleteTo my disappointment, NO heads rolled.
*cheh*~...
Strange thing is that they still insist Mas Selamat was working alone. How far can he run in 11 mins without being seen by anyone? How did & how can he escape the manhunt, dogs & soldiers, without help? That I find strange.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if he has any trousers on after more than 7 weeks of running around Singapore's forests in his underwear.
ReplyDeleteI am beginning to admire this chap.
He is more "man" than our dear WKS.
There are some things we must have zero tolerance for. National security is clearly one of these. Imagine what happens if an enemy launches an attack on Singapore, we are caught totally offguard and the same mickey mouse excuses are presented. It is the term "confluence" that is significant.How can so there be such a confluence of silly mistakes in Mas Selamat's escape? Not one, not two but multiple errors. What does this really show?
ReplyDeleteThe report and WKS's statement are totally unbelievable.
ReplyDelete1) If Gurkhas suspect that something is happening, you mean to tell us that they are not allowed to force open the door? Then we employ them for what?
2) If the female officer not supposed to open the door herself, you mean to tell us that she can't order the Gurkhas to do it? She's got to go and get a male Singaporean officer to force the door open?
3) If the Gurkhas gave chase, they might have caught him. After all they need only 49 seconds to get out of the toilet and another 2 mins to clear the fence, and they are supposed to be trained in junglecraft and tracking. And Mas is a 47 year old unfit man with a limp.
4) Director ISD has to go, at the minimum. Why is PM protecting this guy? He is clearly to blame. He has the main responsibility to ensure that so many cock ups do not happen at the same time - no CCTV, no high fence, bloody obvious route from toilet to "weak spot" in the fence, failure of security protocol when a detainee is in the toilet.
5) COI has failed in its purpose. what are its findings on the manhunt, and more importantly what are its findings on the immediate aftermath of the escape, other than the fact that response times were reasonable? But what else do we expect - otherwise we will just get the blanket cover up "in the interests of national security".
A shocking example of the manhunt cock up: Why, when Mas Selamat's baju kurung was found in the forested area shortly after the escape, are the public told about 2 weeks or so (can't remember when now) after the escape that he is still wearing the baju kurung?
Still too many unanswered questions. I can't believe that anyone is satisfied in the least with this comedy in parliament. All the PAP is interested in is to "rebutt" our opposition MPs when they should really be answering to the people of Singapore. Perhaps that is the real problem - the ISD's only experience is in handling our own people, church workers and activists, not some real guerilla fighters.
madpig
I really do not understand why it takes almost 2 months to come out with a report that i could have taken 2 days to fabricate out.
ReplyDeleteI've dedicated a post to the ST article as well, if anyone of you is interested, it's http://milogong.blogspot.com/2008/04/orh-thats-how-msk-did-it.html
Dear Mr Wang
ReplyDeleteThank you for providing this space for discussing the matter.
I'll fill up some other questions that others have not already identified.
1 - the water tap. DPM WKS was not entirely truthful when he said in Parliament that Mas Selamat turned on the water tap. What he needed to have said is that Mat S jammed up the urinal water outlet so that water flushing did not stop. There is clearly no regular water tap in the urinal cubicle, only the water flushing outlet built into each urinal. Why did WKS try to mislead us? I don't know. But it certainly stopped others not so sharp-minded from questioning why the Gurkha guard could be fooled by running water continuing for over a minute.
2 - the 10-minutes-delay. The urinal cubicle has a door that is not full-height. Anyone who wondered why Mas S was taking so long could have clambered up and look into the cubicle. Yet we are told that they took 10 minutes to decide to break down the door and found him gone. Worse, the Commission of Inquiry did not even question why the guard could not see Mas S above the door partition as he climbs out the window.
3 - the toilet rolls. The COI pointedly stated that a bag of toilet rolls on the ground outside could have cushioned Mas S's fall. Yet they failed to explore how the rolls came to be there. Obviously, Mas S could not have taken the rolls of toilet paper into the urinal cubicle in full view of the guard, nor is there any sane reason for so many toilet rolls to be provided at a urinal cubicle. Surely tracing who left those rolls on the ground would point the way to his accomplice? I dare say if you check every camp in the whole of Singapore, Army, Police, whatever other camp, you will not find a camp where there is a bag of toilet rolls lying on the ground behind a toilet.
4 - the perimeter fence. The COI made out a case that Mas S escaped through the weak point where the roof of a linkway joins up with the perimeter fence. Nowhere is it revealed that Mas S was led from his cell block to the visitors' block blindfolded. Only the TV news and their newspaper TODAY mentioned this critical point. Ask yourself - if he was blindfolded as standard procedure, how was he able to plan out this route of escape? Who told him about this weak point? They said they used the lie-detector. Did they use it on the Camp Superintendent?
Hmmm... A CCTV system that was not working, a window without grill, a bag of toilet paper lying on the ground outside the window, refusing to look into the cubicle through the top of the door, a single point of weakness at the perimeter fence and the detainee knew about it in spite of being blindfolded --- and we are told they do not suspect he had an accomplice?
Mr Wang,
ReplyDeleteSelamat did not deliberately escape. Rather all the element and condition at play show that he is invited to escape. It shows that the the ISD deliberately want him to escape by opening all possibe route of escape.
Why Selamat successfully escape knowing that he is not entitle to GST rebate due budget surplus. Don't you find it coincidence ?
It also means that it is possible that they deliberately create the conducive condition for Selamat's escape. And it is up to Selamat whether he want to escape because if he do, at least his escape distract the public on enquiry about surplus overshot, and if he don't, just be it.
Looking at how the surplus issues have entirely been downplayed, I won't be surprised Singaporeans are been conned.
I not kidding you whether I say the government ripped in more than $32 billions surplus at end of this year after listening to Sylia's speech at Youtube.
Money greed rule over government's moral authority and conscience in Singapore. I'm sure this government stage the perfect escape condition.
1)The toilet looks like designed just nice for escape. Look at the high ledge, just nice below the window. And, as someone else has said, it looks newly renovated.
ReplyDelete2)Looks like ISD was designed for political dissidents, not for REAL criminals. People like ex-Professor Chee SJ wouldn't bother to escape, not the physical type.
In any other country (liberal democracies at least) some minister or other would already have resigned over this. Nothing like that has happened in Singapore. maybe someone has already been scapegoated and no one knows about it. Interesting how SG is a police state in some ways (ID cards, biometric data stored in passports, fingerprints taken at 12 years of age) but security is so lax in others. Ironically if Mas Selamat were a Singaporean he would not have been able to plan his escape without help--just using an ATM would alert the authorities, and renting a car would also need IC evidence, we wouldn't even be able to use our personalised oyster cards to travel on the MRT. So someone else would have to help us get money etc. It is actually easier for him to disappear into the shadows as there are no records of his travel patterns (from oyster card), address of family or friends here (from IC and interrogation of parents) is someone was helping him.
ReplyDeleteRegular Reader
The detention centre is design to prevent recuse from outside rather than breaking out from inside. Do u believe it?
ReplyDeleteOne thing we can learn from this high-powered Committee of Inquiry is that we need to have at least 7 rolls of toilet papers to cushion the impact of any huge blunder, such as allowing the escape of a limping Terrorist Chief, who is still allowed to roam freely within Singapore to inflict untold damage and possible loss of lives anytime anywhere.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, how did the 7 rolls of toilet papers placed nicely at such a specific position to cushion the impact?
The executive summary of the COI released by the government is very difficult to believe. I still do not understand exactly what happened in the toilet.
ReplyDeleteThese facts should be clarified by the government:
1) Where is the tap that was left running as a decoy? Is the tap connected to any basin? Otherwise how can a tap be left running for close to 11mins without flooding the floor of the toilet?
2) Exactly how long was Mas Selamat out of sight in the cubicle before the cubicle door was broken open? If it was indeed 11 mins, this must surely be an extraordinary long period of time given to a detainee to urinate. Why was Selamat given so much time in the cubicle?
3) What is the purpose of installing a door to enclose two urinals? Surely it cannot be to safeguard the privacy of two people peeing side by side?
Is there even a need to install a door to the urinal cubicle? There is another cubicle in the same toilet for bowel movements (shitting). Any toilet user who wants privacy could use that cubicle with a door.
I hope the answers are already out there and I have simply missed them. Otherwise I do not understand how anyone can believe the Executive Summary. Mr Wang, I hope you are reading this and can enlighten me. Thanks.
Not right Mr Wang. If he had only 11 minutes of lead time, why did the news breakout only 4 hours later and the police search and blockage activated somewhere along that timing?
ReplyDeleteDoesn't add up!
Wong needed to save so they can pay the cabinet kaki enough. Mrs Goh will tell you it is still peanuts.
ReplyDeleteSo when credit comes, our leader all come out to claim, and when something go wrong - not my fault.
This government is morally bankrupt, they peg their pay and the moral to the wall streets.
High pay to the high talent, we have sub-prime crisis. Soon you shall have a big departure fee for these Pay-and-pay geniuses. Too bad Yeow CT could not make it as he screwed up too early.
No sher, Shitlock! That's all we need to say after reading the COI fantasy report.
ReplyDeleteWKS' wooden, stumbling presentation in Parliament gave no answers and ducked all responsibility. Doh! The man cannot even READ out a paper convincingly, for Gawd's sake. At the end of it one half-expected him to shakily raise a gleamingly sinister gold ring and squeak weakly, "One ISD to rule them all - and in the Darkness bind them". S'pore teachers take note: it was a masterclass in "Oh What A Tangled Web We Weave When First We Set Out To Deceive".
Scene of crime suspiciously brand spanking new, no signs of weathering even after 4 years. A fabulously fit, stout, middle-aged, disabled master terrorist capable of exiting a tight window while bearing 7 rolls of toilet paper - all in perfect silence, mind you, and without leaving more than an unidentifiable smudge. He knows exactly which direction to take despite always having been moved around along underground tunnels in the facility. He scales a 10-foot high wall effortlessly, sprints along an unused roof (making no noise or marks at all, of course) and executes a tremendous Olympian broad-jump. In a mighty bound, he clears two 12-foot barbed-wire topped fences at least a metre apart. He lands like a cat from that height, completely unharmed, and disappears like smoke. And mirrors.
CCTV in a high-value detention facility strangely comatose. Sniffer dogs whose noses are numbed by the terrible smell of something rotten in the air. A Father who says it's our fault for being complacent. A Son who warns against over-reaction because it's not really their fault. Only The Holy Goh's lips remain tightly sealed to avoid a careless foot-insertion.
A bogus fairy tale with holes big enough for an elephant to jump through? Shurely shum mishtake. What a marvellous comedy movie this would make!
We're left wondering how the hell all this farce could have come about. Did it begin with a small backside-covering lie that took on a life of its own and snowballed into a monster that sucked in the very highest echelons of government? What could have been worth the huge expenditure of resources, the strangling of commerce, the damage to dignity and common-sense? Surely it couldn't be just to avoid loss of face, could it? I dearly would love to know.
In any other country, Mas Selamat's kith and kin would be all over the news, their opinions sought, their worried faces appealing for him to give himself up. Here - an ominous silence. It's as if his whole family has vanished into thin air. Could someone please explain why? Have they been gagged, intimidated, bought off, or are they simply shy? It is downright unnatural.
The gov now desperately needs to produce Mas Selamat alive and well to sweep away all suspicion as to his fate. Otherwise, most will believe "Full fathom five doth Mas now lie, of his bones are coral made".
And You are right About the biggest escapee. But really should the Dragon prince at least cut his pay and investigate who appoint the joker "female" personnel in the first place.
ReplyDeleteAnd the gurkha no common sense also if suspect go in so long already at least ask for a response what.It is not as if he is shy or..... NVM The FT are always better..... and cheaper....
Uniquely Singapore
And I agree with anon above About the Budget surplus being forgotten
complacency.
ReplyDeletebut not on us the citizen's part but the arrogant people who designed the security system of Whitley and the ones who feel that singaporeans are easily fooled by words.
i mean, just because this place houses the political prisoners, shouldnt they wisen up the security when they put Mas in there!? he's a JI person for God sake! upgrading the area? then tighten the survellence in that area! but no~ look at what they did. it would be a burglur's dream if this was a commercial property. even domestic property has better security than this place. at least most toilet windows have grills.
i thought if someone escapes, the first thing that they do is to determine what the escapee was wearing? they just happily assumed that Mas is gng to escape and wear detention uniform while at it.
in fact, the whole singapore has been on a wild goose chase.
given this report, it is my guess that Mas had been planning this escape. making use of his family visits, he notices that this huge window is not grilled. and hence when he decides that it is time, he goes into the locker room, wears his ISD shorts inside his "greenish-grey pants" and his "light yellow baju kurung", requests to go to the toilet, takes off his "greenish-grey pants" and escapes in his ISD shorts and light yellow baju kurung. makes sense?
anyone watched the Will Smith movie on the robots? the NS-5 that the company produced were used in military as well. and hence, when the robots went amok, it was no use asking for militarian help. quoting from the movie, "you might as well hand the whole country up in a siilver platter".
this is a simliar scenario that is going to happen if privatisation of security happens. which is suggested that is happening by some of the posts i see here.
James Gomez got CCTV...Mas Selamat got no CCTV....not even a subsitute one....aiya....,
ReplyDeletePeople the ISD never intended to keep terrorist in WDC at all. We all know what that center was for...don't we.
ReplyDeleteThen WKS adds that it was too crowded as well...with about 44 people detained....
Now I wonder....in 2001; i think 911 took place...now it is 2008...why didn't the ISD director recommend a better facility to hold all these detainees..IE terrorist you know...
i wonder if these people read Fredrick Forsthy ...the terrorist are not stupid like the 66.6% you know...
Why wasn't a better facility set up in time....I believe to build one would take only a few years maybe 2 to 3....
Maybe ISD director wanted the cosy enviroment....
do you guys' even know how much the diretor gets paid... an easy 300k or more a year ...you know...what and this is what the goondu can do..and WKS smiling and apologising.....and accepting apology....
I just don't understand these guys....but
it looks like a well planned escape not just for Mas Selamat...but also for those caught in WKS claws....and he has claws......
1) The COI is not independant because it is convened by Minster of Home affairs himself - he needs to protect his ass.
ReplyDelete2) American and Europeans laud the ISD. That is a lie. I am sure they do not support the arrest of the Catholic marxist conspiracy. That was a political decision done to quell the maturing of the populace. Those chaps were speaking out to help philipino maids and the poor, and the govt could not manage it and those poor catholics and playwrights were taken by ISD. Even lawyers representing them including Francis Seow were captured for daring to speak out. Google it and you will see that ISD has unfortunately hampered our growth and political freedom over the years.
They simply make themselves to look incompetent. There's much more behind the scene. If Mas is alive, either he is in Sg or out of Sg. If he is in Sg, how can he have survived for so long. If he is outside Sg, wouldnt u think that his being alive would be capitalised upon by JI by now. Why is JI quiet so far? Wat do u think is JI thinking now? Why is it that the earlier detainees were the only ones released so far?
ReplyDeleteApparently, the physical breach at the WRDC is not the only foul up. The immediate locale of the search was proven to be wrong. Based on media reports on the evening of Mas's escape, it was reported there was a lock down of the Goldhill area.
ReplyDeleteSubsequent, media reports stated he was spotted at bus stop in front of the SJI hostel, opposite the old PA. Also, cameras at a home along Upp Thomson Rd, near a Mobil petrol station spotted him about 1-2 hrs after his escape.
They should have thrown a circular cordon for a few KMs and it would have been more effective in sniffing Mas out or slowing down his flight.
Look at ourselves. Men, search your hearts before you point the fingers at those guards. Did you take your guard duty/ops duty during national service seriously?
ReplyDeleteI for one had ops duty. I spent endless weekends watching crappy free to air channel 5 and 8 in my vests and slacks waiting for that call that never came. I should be doing endless equipment checks again and again just to be sure, but I only did it once. That's only the tip of the iceberg. I've heard of stories of how weekend duties are spent so incredulous its vulgar.
and yes, the government in my opinion should be taking full responsibility but at the same time, I think we need to look at ourselves too.
Mr Wang,
ReplyDeletePersonally speaking, I quite pity the gurkhas. From history, we know what kind of warriors/fighters/soldiers are they.
Somehow they got the blame pushed on them now.
Sad.
Jinny,
ReplyDeletePlease, just cos some of you were complacent in NS doesn't mean the ones guarding terror suspects should be allowed the same slack. And don't paint one broad stroke for all NSmen. When we ran guardrooms, I'll say we weren't fooling around. Prowling and checking IDs were all done seriously. We even changed our routes for patrolling now and then. As guard commanders, we often moved in the dark shadows to check the duty guys were doing their jobs.
How could they say that the detention cente is designed to prevent rescue from outside rather than breaking out from inside. In other words the danger is outside, not inside the detention centre. I can't understand the stupid logic.
ReplyDeleteThe more they try to cover up, the more foolish they look.
Wow!
ReplyDeleteGuantanamo makes our WRDC looks and feels like a holiday chalet in some tropical island paradise. No CCTV, No Grills, No Guard Dogs, No constant monitoring, almost nothing except some half hearted attempt at incarceration.
All these soft approach and so called "rehabilitation" bull don't really work. In the end, it caused a "silly" and "incredible" embarrassment to the government and our reputation is not only dented, it crumbled.
Not only is Al Queda laughing, the US is also probably embarrassed to have such an incompetent ally in a violent, terrorists infested part of the world. We need to send our "complacent" key personnel to learn from Uncle Sam starting with a rudimentary lesson in dealing with dangerous minds. I hate to say this but even Indonesia does a better job.
Two thumbs down for the WRDC, probably the world's softest, most luxurious political detention centre.
Two thumbs up for Mr. Mas Selamet's "technical brilliance" in executing Singapore's great escape. Admittedly, even a duffer could have done it!
An enterprising film maker may want to make a film out of it. That's the easy part. The hard part is deciding whether to classify it under the "thriller" or "comedy" genre.
Come on, Singaporeans, you all really swallow what the COI report and what WKS told you lock, stock and barrel, bait and hook?
ReplyDeleteThese are people who want you to believe what they want you to believe. And they had almost two months to do that.
Start thinking out of the box, man!
"yamizi said...
ReplyDeleteMr Wang,
Personally speaking, I quite pity the gurkhas. From history, we know what kind of warriors/fighters/soldiers are they.
Somehow they got the blame pushed on them now.
Sad."
i fully agreed with you, yamizi. the news really make the gurkhas look like a bunch of numb skulls ,as if they are really that pathetic like some of our 'outstanding' NSFs and NSmen.
I have personally trained along side a gurkha during my NS days and I can honestly state that he's a very professional (yet friendly) soldier. I'm sure it applies to every of his colleauges ,yes, including the guys at whitley.
#1 Escape happened
ReplyDelete#2 After 2 months of intense hunting effort still cannot get him in tiny Singapore
#3 Silly and hilarious account of how he escaped, cannot collect vital evidence (bcos camera not working) and yet have the conclusion no inside or outside help
#4 The highest ranking person not to be blamed, let alone resign or sack
What do you think? Another uniquely Singapore?
Yesterday I chatted with three taxi-drivers (transport in the course of my work) and when I mentioned the Mas Selamat explanation, they burst out laughing!!
ReplyDeleteWhen I was an Army MO, I remembered that drug addicts had to pee in the presence of medics! And this high security prisoner was given the privacy of an unsecured toilet??
ReplyDeleteIn many cases, a CEO/ Director of a company is held accountable for what happened in the company in Singapore, whether he/she is aware of the problem is not important.
ReplyDeleteEg., it doesn't matter whether it is the mistake of the HR Manager, or the supervisor who just decides to pay cash for some labours he engaged to move furnitures, if an illegal worker is caught doing work for your company, man, even if you are 10 levels up and know nothing about it, you'd better engage a good lawyer or prepare to get punished personally.
Sigh, there are different rules for different classes i guess.
I would rather they keep quite and not publish any press release for this matter, it only shows that they are either highly incompetent or they have something to hide.
I am beginning to lean towards the various conspiracy theories, as the events unfolded and findings are so unbelievable, gosh...
dw
jinny,
ReplyDeleteI always took my guard duty seriously. And I sincerely believe there are many other NSFs who took thier guard duties seriously too.
I think the toilet shown in the COI report was specially built just to fit the story line. Any one with a bit of handyman skill will know that the window with a sawn off handle can still be opened easily using bare hands. I think this was created just to demonstrate one of the "lapses" in the security. Secondly we all know that a standard office toilet door does not enclose the cubicle fully. There is a gap below and I am quite sure one can see the user's legs without having to kick down the door. Also with two urinals in the cubicle, I wonder what is the need for a door at all. The door is built here just to fit the story that the guard cannot see the person while he is using the urinal.
ReplyDeleteI think the COI report is quite a tall tale!! The story is poorly directed, unfortunately.
i agree with yamizi.
ReplyDeletethe gurkhas keep getting the blame from the first entry mr wang put up abt the escape. and it is a very sad thing. people seem to forget what gurkhas are supposed to be and what they represent, instead ppl just catergorize them into mere "mercenaries".
All i can say is WKS looks terrible on TV when he read the dam COI or whatever you called it. And when small Lee came to his defence, you could see that he almost jump up and hug Lee and cry......
ReplyDeleteI don believe one bit of the COI, all bullshit. I really hope one day the truth be out, then we will all know how ISD really operates...........
My 15 year old son was arrested and remanded for setting fire to a rubbish bin one night. He was handcuffed and remanded for one whole week. I flew back from my job overseas but could not see him for one week. I saw him only when he was handcuffed and brought to court one week later. I gave up my overseas job to help him pick up the pieces in his life.
ReplyDeleteTo think that a top terrorist is given more freedom and leeway than my 15 year old son really breaks my heart. Is a fifteen year old not expected to make honest mistakes? The problem seems to be that they are too serious when there is not a need and too lax when there is a need to be serious.
What is happening to Singapore. So harsh with our children and so lax with dangerous criminals?
you know, all the comments are interesting, certainly a break from the state sanctioned media.
ReplyDeleteHow about all the commentors flood the straits times with their thoughts? the paper may not publish it, but it will at least let them know that the government's official explanation just doesnt cut it with many, many people.
To Yamizi and a few others
ReplyDeleteI don't quite agree about this particular Gurkha guard.
Besides the gap below the door, there is a huge space between the ceiling and the top of the door. Look at the picture again. It's pretty clear to me that they must have looked into the empty stall well before they kicked open the door. I don't know what they're trying to hide.
Either this particular Gurkha guard is empty in the head (plus his colleagues at the scene) or they should check his bank account. Well, of course they must have already checked his bank account, but did they check his family's accounts back in Nepal?
I suppose its an coincidence that Wong Kan Seng and the Director of the ISD are apparently long-time friends, having known each other for over a decade and washing each other's backside in the process as well.
ReplyDeleteHaven't heard the ISD director making any comment or apologies, have you?
PM Lee says not to turn this into a witch-hunt, then I would like to tell him to pls make sure he practices what he preaches in the future. Its ok for him to witch-hunt people who are a threat to "national security" (but really, are just a threat to the PAP and incompetent ministers like we-know-who) but its not ok as long as the hunted targets are people who would support him and ensure that he stays in power due to undisclosed connections.
Free speech. Democratic society. Based on Justice and Equality. Please stop teaching those young impressionable kids these things till you show them what the real stuff really is.
Right now, its called fictatious free speech which you need permits for, democratic society that applies only to PAP and supporters of the MIW, on the basis of not Justice nor Equality, but Status and String-pulling.
cctv upgrading...yeah right.
ReplyDeleteRobert L,
ReplyDeletein no way, did i say that the Gurkha should not be investigated in whatever ways he's implicated in the case.
what i'm trying to explain is that Gurkhas are professionals and well trained men and it's actually a little far fetched to believe that the one at whitley did not take the initiative to investigate on his own when MS took too long a time in the cubicle(don't the guards have their own rules of engagement when it comes to handling detainees using the toilet instead of the 'chain of command' manner of reporting?).
again, like others have commented, the COI's report is indeed full of plot holes. It's as if somebody intentionally want us to believe that the guards are really that dumb and WRDC is really that lapsed in security measures.
"Mr Lee stressed that while it is an easy way out for ministers and leaders to accept responsibility and resign to appease an angry public, this will not fundamentally solve the problem.
ReplyDeleteHe acknowledged that the Minister is ultimately accountable for the policies and operations of his ministry, but said a rational approach to establish who is responsible for lapses has to be taken. "
My 9 yr old niece just inform me that her classmate is going to be public caned for stealing a few dollars...
my question is.. will caning a 9 yr old kid solve the fundamental problem or is it a rational approach?
sorry if this does not sound relevant but i wonder if 2nd chance was given to this kid as well? 2nd chance seems to be only given to elite..
Thank You very much! Mas Selamat; for waking us, the People of Singapore, up!
ReplyDeleteYou have made and is making the People aware of their follies all these years. May You rise from your grave and knock those that are still sleeping(if the theory that you are gone is true)!
Your humbly: patriot.
You know Mr Wang, I am very sad at PM Lee's rombust defense of Minister Wong. But I am ashamed of the sense of responsibility or humility of Minister Wong.
ReplyDeleteNo, I do not expect or want him sacked or to resign. That's the last thing I want after PM Lee publicly commented on his dismal pool of non-talents.
But I thought the last if any thing the Minister can do, was to offer zero bonus for himself this year. Not like he should be getting much, even any bonus after this event. But that is exactly what we Singaporeans have been saying about disconnect. The heart, the human heart. The ability to say "I am sorry" and take responsibilities for it. And after about 2 million in salaries, what are the bonus to the Minister, to earn some respect and have us on his side again.
You see Mr Wang, even SMRT is required to have a heart.
They did not plan nor intended for a maintainence error deep at night after operation hours, which caused train delays the next morning. And they did what the Minister did not do. They arranged for bus services immediately before the sun decided to rise. They took initiative to solve a situation.
And what did they get? A SGD400,000 fine.
And what occured under the Minister's watch, is much much less serious than the SMRT train delays it seems.
robert that is only if you assume that the report is true and accurate.
ReplyDeleteThe gurkhas are 10x more garang then our singapore soldier. Tell me who is the right frame of mind would consult others before checking on the prisoner? If they discover something wrong they would break down the damn door and make sure that the prisoner is around. He only need to shout to get the attention of the other guard and officers. You believe that trained soldiers will make this kind of mistake?
It is also totally ridiculous that the female officer would not enter the male toilet. If the prisoner go missing their ass is on the line. Why does she care about a naked prisoner? Would anyone take it easy when the prisoner you are guarding might be missing? It makes no sense.
I say those gurkhas are just scapegoats. The real story is still out there.
palmist
As much as I hate Mas Selamat for adding more shame to the Malay and Muslim population and also making me feel like an absolute idiot next time I wear my army uniform for reservist duty, I have to give it to him for openly and definitely revealing to us what idiots a lot of people in our civil service and also those that form our 'ruling class' are!
ReplyDeletecctv repair/not working/not recording plot played before at MRT station suicides...
ReplyDeletewah lan... get a better script writer lah...
WKS should go la -- witchhunt ect is all nonsense. Screw up means screw up le wat the hell. Terrorist escaped le not a Mickey Mouse mini affair.
ReplyDeleteThere, there, there, just look at the state of your Pampers! Come here little darlin' one and let mummy brush away those angry tears and take your blood pressure. Don't want friends to see you like that and call you 'cry baby', 'paptard', 'wonky seng' and all those nasty, cruel names, do you? Here, rinse mouth with this nice Dettol and mummy will let you wipe the glue from your nose with this special toilet roll, OK?
ReplyDeleteYou know we only have 3 rolls left? That Mas came and said, "Aunty, can borrow some or not?" and he took seven - seven! I said, "why you want so many for?" and he said "to make a pair of wings so I can jump off the roof and fly". Mummy knew he was as mad as a kuku-bird right then.
See, see, didn't I tell you if you played with that naughty boy Mas it would all end in tears? Did you listen to mummy? Lucky kor-kor was there to protect you and caution against over-reaction and witch-hunt culture, otherwise those goodu kit-shickers would try to make you retake your PSLE and give up your X-Box, then how?
But mummy was so proud to see how you and kor-kor defended your position by answering question with counter-question and pushing the blame on those dumb kindergarten kids with their Mickey Mouse construction sets and LEGO blocks. Who's a clever boy then!
Mummy saw your expression when you read that COI and she knew you were letting one rip into your Pampers right then. Mummy knows these things. Go change now. When kor-kor comes over, mummy is going to fix him his favourite mee-siam with extra no-hum, see if I don't.
Now, listen. Don't you dare SpeedDial lau mah at the ISD, understand? You know how hard she has to work and how little she's paid to do the cleaning, so if you make life harder for her by moaning about Mas, mummy will be very cross with you, got that my little soldier? Good boy!
Unconditional love always,
Mummy.
Dear "i am peesai", the word is decency.
ReplyDeleteOur Clown Prince has said that Ministers cannot be held liable for any mistakes committed by those down the line of command.
ReplyDeleteThen may I asked our infamous Clown Prince why is it that we have laws which hold the boss liable for something which is not the direct result of his own doing.
One example is the Work Safety and Health Act, where the boss of a firm can even be jailed if it is found that his firm has not provided the complete safety precautions to prevent a fatal work accident from occuring at his workplace.
Going by the same logic as our Clown Prince, then we shouldn't jail the boss if he did not cause the accident to happen.
So how can we have some laws which seems to apply one set of standards to some people while we have another standards for our leaders to apply according to their own standards.
Something is definitely not right with our PAP leaders.
robert l,
ReplyDeleteWell that's if you believe the report to be true.
Everyone has their own views about the incident. If you had seen how a gurkha operates when he's on duty and how they train (man they can really run), maybe you will see things in another light.
Gurkhas are generally religious and brought up in a cetain ethical code and belief. And if they cannot perform, I doubt they will be employed worldwide in the first place.
WKS , Has the problem solved? The top terrorist is still on the run nearly for the last 8 weeks as what you believed he is still in this small little island Singapore !
ReplyDeleteWKS , resign, resign,resign immediately to save your party image. It should be an "hounourabe" thing to do.
Since you are branded as "talent" , show your worth by going back to the private sector which you came from and earn the additional one-third of salaries you are deprived of for being minister!
I think WKS was termed a bulldog who could sink his teeth into any problem and tackle it. WKS catches them all, or something like that. didn't we hear that at one speech?
ReplyDeleteDisappointing.
Only a HONEST mistake for this great escape. My foot !
ReplyDeleteEven MM reminded Singaporean to be prepared for a return hit if MSK managed to escape out of Singapore.
WKS, RESIGN RESIGN,RESIGN. what a shame if you do not have the moral courage to tender your resignation. I believed you should know how to write a resignation letter since you came with many years of experience as HR professional in the private sector many, many years back.
LHL certainly drew the wrong line. If the escape by itself is not sufficient to warrant the resignation or sacking of WKS, then the amateurish handling of the crisis should. These are supposed to be highly paid professionals who they claimed to be the best in the world and yet fumbled from one end to the other in handling the crisis. Who put these men in charge ? - WKS. There were also sign of systemic failures within the Ministry. Who is in charge of the Ministry ? - WKS. The line should be drawn just above WKS. The PM put WKS there but then WKS has over the years did some good works, so the PM could be spared. But WKS ? No way. Not defensible.
ReplyDeleteThis is hilarious, i find grills on windows in HDBs, public toilets, my office, simply everywhere and those guys didnt think of that??
ReplyDeleteDont they watch Hollywood movies? Seariously, if i was a prisoner, the first thing (and most easy) would be to watch out for open windows or doors...et voila...
holy macaroni!
Imagine that the PAP is more efficient in catching people throwing litter from their HDB units. They have CCTV cameras covering every angle and recording 24/7.
ReplyDeleteCameras along the roads to catch speeders and red light beaters. Cameras operating all over S'pore but the ISD detention centre.
The great escape is not by Mas Selamat. The great escape, as already suggested, is by WKS protecting his ass from being sacked.
Comparing the damage from this incident to the MRT maintenance error causing a few hours of train delay, there were days if not weeks of inconveniences and loss to all the causeway commuters, poor business to the Woodland neighbourhood, and may be higher prices of some of the poultry and veg supply from Malaysia, besides the 'unknown cost' for deployment of additional resources of the various agencies.
ReplyDeleteIn the Q&A session, Low TK asked if regular audits were done. The final line of the answer was 'The only thing that ought to have been done better is a regular system check and audit. These will now be carried out on a regular basis'.
Does that mean it was not done previously?
I would expect large or medium organisation, similar to those who have the ISO stamp for their company, will do this to look out for inadequacy of admin, operational practices and facilities. This will be usually ordered by the senior management. When this is not happening and something goes wrong,the senior management will have to shoulder some of the responsibility.
All said and done, I think the Government still has no clue as to how Mas Selamat escaped and where he is right now. As many pointed out, the COI report generated more questions than answers. No logical person will believe a plot like this with gaping holes.
ReplyDeleteIt's sheer wonder that foreign media has yet to pick up this report and air their thoughts. Or perhaps they are at a loss for words to even comment on all these absurdity. Will someone please tell me this is just one cruel joke, that our highly-educated and highly-paid leaders did not mess up big-time, first over the way they handle the escape, then over the way they try to convince us with a script that our usually serious-looking Gurkhas will not be able to keep a straight face over.
To those who commented on my post, I would like to express my thanks.
ReplyDeleteThere should be no doubt that, if the Gurkha is highly competent, then the account given by the Govt is indeed untrue. For the most basic of their operating procedure is the line-of-sight. With the large gap between the door and the ceiling, an immediate line-of-sight into the cubicle is easily available. Hence anybody would agree that the Gurkha must have looked into the cubicle and established that it's empty, well before the time they kicked down the door.
This is one of the more amazing aspect of the tale told to members in The House Of Parliament. Yet, none of our distinguished representatives asked about it.
It's no longer the simple matter of the Gurkha guards allegedly not doing their jobs. It not just Wong Kan Seng not doing his job. It's not just the COI not doing it's job. The malaise has apparently spread like a cancer to the entire members of our Parliament.
It's rather unreasonable to ask Wong KS to resign. After all, most of the mistakes made at the bottom are really lapses by individuals.
ReplyDeleteInstead, Low Thia Khiang should have asked in parliament that Wong's pay be given a sizable CUT. I think that hurts him more and still sends out the right message to the people.
End of the day, he still has to clean up the mess so let him do his job.
To those who think asking WKS to resign is unreasonable:
ReplyDeleteAre you worry he is going to be jobless , don't worry there are position(s) which can be created out from the govt machinery. Since he is so talented in security matters , there are many security firms out there willing to engage for his "good" advice. You don't have to pity the pappies
What is there to clean up the mess? The limping terrorist is still on the run. Singaporean have not even heard when this limping man can be caught
Resign immediately
> "Instead, Low Thia Khiang should have asked in parliament that Wong's pay be given a sizable CUT. I think that hurts him more and still sends out the right message to the people."
ReplyDeleteOn the contrary, I think this sends a completely wrong message.
This will only mean that we are keeping someone, who is not-the-best, on the job.
Why should we settle for less than the best when we can afford to pay top dollar? Won't we then be guilty of sidelining the really capable people?
You don't usually ask the same people who create a mess, to clean up after themselves, do you? In real life, when a person makes a BIG mess, it is usually another (more capable) person who steps in to clean up.
To chnrxn and anon,
ReplyDeleteDo you seriously think there is even a slight possibility that WKS will be asked to leave/sacked/forced to resign?
When the guardsman on ranger training died during POW treatment, did Teo Chee Hean resign? No, the Chief commando officer was dismissed instead.
When the courageous collided with ANL Indonesia, who was held accountable - the ship's captain? the chief of navy? Teo Chee Hean? Nay...instead two junior officers were charged and made scapegoats.
Likewise, it is inevitable that scapegoats will be made examples of in this MSK fiasco.
Pushing for a ministerial pay cut will send out a clear message that these senior ministers are not untouchables, that top dollar = top quality and if they are underperforming, there will be consequences.
In this particular case, i do believe it is completely unreasonable to dismiss WKS because while we can blame the lack of grilles/availability of toilet paper/non-functioning CCTVs on government negligence, ultimately, the guys at the bottom were sleeping.
But that doesn't absolve WKS from blame. Pushing for a pay cut goes in some way to easing taxpayer's monies on these million-dollar men.
Actually why the Home Affairs Minister not rotated? He has been in it for 14 years. Other ministries, minister changed at least one or more times. Why huh? Is it because even with more than million dollar pay, nobody want it or capable to do it, is it? That's why WKS cannot resign bcos nobody to take over is it? Or just like the Prime Minister post, nobody want it or capable and so PM Lee has difficulty even finding successor to himself?
ReplyDeleteWah lau eh, just a small island of 4 million so difficult to govern huh? In other countries even just a city mayor can be in charge of a few times more people and area and draw much less salary.
Singapore really unique lah.
Will Mas Selamat later do an "Osama" style video whereby he will tell all how he escaped and post on the Internet?
ReplyDeleteYou know Osama is on the US most wanted list but still cannot be caught but occasionally appeared on video taunting the US.
If that also happens with Mas, the embarassment to WKS and the COI will be unimaginable.
Will it happen?
'Actually why the home affairs minister not rotated' asked anon 1.38.
ReplyDeleteWell, the MHA is the one keeping a tight lid on all and sundry who threatens the PAP, so they need someone close, someone trusted and someone related. Who else better to trust than keeping it all in the family?
For the reading pleasure of the oppressed:
ReplyDeleteP (SHIT)
[P sits in the centre of a Mandala created with newspapers placed in four directions. He chants the word P and goes into a shamanic trance.]
In the beginning there was nothing but shit. Just shit. Only shit. Shit was silent. Shit was roaming free for eons. And then shit boiled and burst into a spectrum of small shits. And every small shit interpreted and fragmented the wholesome shit according to its hallucinations and made it its personal shit. And so shit lost its freedom and became the holyshit frozen in books and icons.
You and I are sperm-meets-egg conception. Holyshit is spirit-meet-intellect constipation. When one group cannot defecate, it tries to give holy-enema to convert another group and vice-versa, and the whole place stinks with religious fart. Can holyshit shit? Yes. Our ancestors considered gold as the shit of their holyshits and killed each other for it. The battle still continues in the global share markets. But you see, there is a bigger shit than all these holyshits put together.
[P mimes defecation and then wipes his posterior with the newspapers] North! East! West! South! NEWS. The mediashit! It has the power to ignite hell out of heaven and paint heaven out of hell.
[To the audience] What? You are a reporter? You will caricature me as one digesting our national newspapers and excreting shit? You mean you will get the powers-that-be to sue me for defamation and make me bankrupt? Oh! Please! Please! Don’t do that. I am also a government spook like you. I am from the internal shit department. I can detain you without trial and inject shit into your brain daily. Oh you are afraid of shit? Good. You better! And this goes for all of you too. Who do you think you are? You are all ordinary shits in this system run by a more shitty powers that be. So shut your holes … both top and bottom and listen to my tale of shit you bloody shits.
My mother was pregnant. Being a fat woman, she used to eat a lot during her pregnancy and bomb the toilet with big long fat shit. She got constipated and went to toilet. While she was forcing out her shit I plopped out and fell into the toilet smack on her comforting maternal shit. I was silent and it appeared that I was enjoying the warmth of my mummy’s shit and the following golden shower. My mother had screamed ‘P’ instead of ‘BABY’ and so I was named P.
Hello! I am P. It is my pleasure to meet you. P means shit. Excrement, excreta, feces, human waste. Everyone started calling me P. You are so cute P. Look at P’s P. One who shits so much will become a genius. How are you P? Hi P! Excuse me P! Can I help you P? Give me a word that starts with the letter P. P, attention! I like P. I love you P. Don’t ever look down on shit. I mean shit is important. If you don’t shit, shit will kill you. Shit is a powerful assassin.
Do you know? The power of a person is said to be in his excrement. Our ancestors buried their shit to ward off evil spirits. The shit and urine of higher Tibetan lamas are processed into pills and offered for sale as medicines. But you have to be careful when you eat shit. Over 50 infections can be transferred to humans via shit.
Whether you squat as an easterner or sit as a westerner the end result is shit. Whether you wash with water or wipe with stone, sand, leaf, rags or paper, it is mandated by your tradition and religion. The East recognised the nutrient value of ‘night soil’ as fertilizer for agriculture and recycled shit into crop land. The West found shit abhorrent and had ambiguous feelings about shit. Was it valuable fertilizer or was it a nasty and embarrassing problem to get rid of? But today both East and West have renamed shit, the toxic sludge as biosolids and sell it to us as packaged fertilizer.
Shit is very post-modern you know. It is unfinalizable. It changes all the time in shape, colour and smell. We don’t even bother to scrutinize our shit when shitting but think that we understand our shit by closing our nostrils to label it as shit. [To the audience] Hey! What was the color of your shit yesterday? Don’t know? That’s why your individual shit has no right or identity of its own until it is influenced by others’ shit in the sewage pipes in their marathon run to the septic tank to become sludge. Self and others dissolve in shit and so none of us can be isolated unless we are anal retentive. Shit has many voices. It is a true representation of polyphony. Have you ever thought of recording the new-age music you produce in the toilet before shitting? You could collect the sound bites of shitting performed by different races and sell it as a remix to the proletariat. Or notate it and conduct a symphony for the bourgeoisie. Or finally declare it as the new national anthem to dispense instant patriotism to the sub-altern mass which would thump its left breast with the right fist to mime badly written lyrics at a carnival, the national day. Therefore all of us must shit to define our nationhood. We are many, but one in shit.
Do you know that shitting and holding shit is actually an experience through which we really get a chance to produce something and control that production? That’s why when we grow older, our production of money is similar. When we dream of shit, it means money is coming. Your anus is abundant with nerve endings like the nipple, mouth and genitals. When you shit it releases opiates in the pleasure centre of your brain. So you must dream on to re-invent and keep your shithole busy if want our economy to grow. This is the motto of our Emperor.
Oops! I forgot about our Emperor. You know? I was asked to investigate the national shit. A drop of shit fell from the sky and landed outside the Emperor’s palace on his last birthday. The Emperor was furious. He had forbidden shitting in the palace. He was puzzled. Did the constitutional shit he was fabricating seep out of his palace without his approval?
He ordered all the elected and nominated eunuchs of his palace to spread open their backside for inspection. He personally sniffed and checked every royal eunuch’s shithole to catch the culprit. But his eunuchs who had been sodomised by the Emperor daily had forgotten the art of shitting. They dare not dream of hatching clandestine operations against the Emperor and were only conditioned to shit promises and warnings through their mouths during pre-election walkabouts. The eunuchs could not be incriminated. It was traumatic for the Emperor. He could not find a scapegoat to castrate and project his power. So he went to break wind at the golf course.
When I arrived at the scene of crime, I was taken aback. The shit was alive. It was growing into a hill and adorned the facade of the palace. Bloody democratic shit! It could not be controlled. The people were queuing up to collect shit as souvenir. They were quibbling over the quality, quantity and sanctity of the Emperor’s shit. Yes. They called it the Emperor’s shit. Being spittoons that had always looked up to receive the piss of the Emperor from cradle to grave, they were not concerned about the shit’s subversive nature. To them, the shit was a gift from heaven. To the Emperor’s consternation, the shit was guerilla warfare from the opposition. I met the Emperor at the golf course. He was swinging his club at grasshoppers, “Hey don’t shit on my grass. This is my golf-course.”
“I have shaped this country from shit. I have disposed all opposing shit. I have made shit work. It is a miracle acknowledged by the whole world. And now, who has the guts to give me shit? What is this shit doing in front of the palace? Who threw it? Is it a sign of dissent from the idiotic subjects who are shit-scared of me? I am the Emperor. I am the founding-father of this nation. I have every right to know about every shit in this country. Come on! What did you find out? Give me the shit P.”
“Sir … It looks like shit. But it is not shit. Our foreign-talent scientists conducted genotyping of that shit for extraction and amplification of DNA to trace the shit back to its extractor. But it has no genetic-code. No smell. No permanent colour. The colours keep changing. It is not fossilized shit … I mean Corprolite, and the Corprolite analysis did not reveal anything about its origin or history.”
“Shit!”
“Sir, may be some alien had a wine or coffee enema in space and it landed outside our palace?”
“Shit!”
“It is not gender specific shit. Not male, female, gay or transgender shit. When rebels and freedom fighters were hung by our former colonial masters they emitted a stream of shit from their anus. So I checked with our neo-colonial academics and they confirmed that it is not a post-colonial shit either.”
“Shit!”
“Sir! I don’t know who is precipitating this shit. But it is being generated with an unscrupulous and sinister design to achieve the nefarious purpose to expose us as true shit. Shit! What am I saying? Am I becoming shit?”
“P! You are supposed to be a solid stool. But you are becoming a diaper full of diarrhoea. Let me tell you my gem of a bogeyman story. I have often used it at many election rallies to shake and shape our backboneless masses to vote for my loyal eunuchs. And it has always worked. Now, listen carefully P.
There were two close friends. After they died, one was reborn as a god while the other was born as a maggot in a pit of shit. The god was endowed with magic powers. He wanted to meet his friend from the past life. He materialized at the shit pit and his friend recognised him. They were overjoyed at meeting again.
The maggot asked the god, ‘So what's it like where you were reborn?’
The god said, ‘It's cool! Nothing but pure enjoyment! Everything is clean and delightful. Whatever you wish for, it appears instantly. I hope you can join me.’
But the maggot started crying, because he pitied his friend. ‘Listen,’ he said. ‘Life is so much fun right here. I play all day in this shit. I don't even have to wish for what I want to appear, because it's all right here in this shit. You really ought to stay and enjoy this brilliant shit. Shit is enlightenment. Come! Eat shit!’
P! Do you want to be a god and enjoy the first world standard of living or rot in delusion as a third world maggot in shit?’ The opposition is a maggot. It can never change anything. It can only change its floating postures in its hocus-pocus shit-manifesto. I suspect one of the maggots must have the backing and funding from some foreign source to create the shit outside the palace to overthrow me. Shit! Never!
P! I will detain the maggot without trial. I will interrogate the maggot. I will deprive it of sleep. I will force the maggot to sign a confession to admit what it did not do. And if all these fail, I will deport the maggot forever to die in exile and announce that he ran away in shame. What do you think P? ”
“Sir! If those who oppose you are maggots from hell, then you must be our heavenly god right? You will ensure that all your subjects will have enough cash in deathsave special account for their burial or cremation, right? Brilliant! Long shit the Emperor.” [P kneels and pays obeisance.]
“Yes P! I am the Emperor of the Middle … no Riddle Kingdom. I am now ordering you to activate our shitroot committees to gather feedback from the shitsociety to find a shitsolution to solve the shitriddle that is shitting outside my palace. Hurry P hurry! I have to eat less and live longer to shit more to increase the national reserves to consolidate my dynasty. [Screams] But before that, I must know whose shit is that shit? Check this out P. [Emperor sings and performs the shit-dance] Shit shit shit! I don’t take shit! Shit shit shit! I only give shit! Shit shit shit! Because … I shit therefore I am … shit shit shit … full of bullshit.”
The Emperor went into his offbeat orbit of shit and I was instinctively compelled to go out and dig shit. I gathered, filtered, vetted, censored and then forwarded the vox-pops to the Emperor. He listened to the soundbites of the interviews I conducted:
“Holy shit! It looks like a pig. It is the symbol of our greed.”
“Holy shit! It looks like a water-buffalo. It is the image our laziness.”
“Holy shit! It looks like a pariah-dog. It is the totem of our slavish spirit.”
“Those who believe in this new shittestament, except ours will burn in hell in a sea of shit. We should build a vomiting-wall made of bricks from this holyshit and throw-up our theological shit.”
“Make stones out of this holyshit and throw at those who call us fundamentalists and fanatics.
“This is the dragon-king’s shit from heaven. Can sell shit as brain-food, fertility pills, aphrodisiac to increase our dwindling race.”
“You must be bathed in holyshit to become a born-again shit to win a passport to heaven.
“This Corprolite reveals under our scientific gaze that it is the last shit of a blasphemous mendicant who was crucified for keeping long-hair. Can one who claims to be a member-of-heaven really shit?
“We found this Corprolite while drilling for fuel in the desert. It could be the new messiah. We could use this shit as RDX to blow up the non-believers and hit the jackpot to heaven.”
“The priest will make a string from the holyshit to do shit-ceremony to make us twice-born highcaste shits and give holyshit as sacred offering to the idol-worshippers.”
“This is the shit that came out when the fair-skinned gods and dark-skinned demons churned the milky-ocean for holyshit. The gods drank the shit and had diarrhoea. The gods had hidden the shit from the demons lest they digest it and become fair-skinned. Now we can market this holyshit to make the dark-skinned ‘fair and lovely’ after all these centuries.”
“Do you know that after shitting, we, the fair-skinned used to end the ritual by rinsing the mouth eight times with water, whereas the dark-skinned used shit as nightsoil.”
“Whatever comes from the heaven is holyshit and we want to transform this shit into a mesmerizing cube and force people to go around it to solve the riddle and get stoned for free.
“All the ethnic groups were allowed to visit the holyshit. Some stoned the shit and called it evil. Some stole the shit to fertilise plants at home. Some garlanded the shit and took it home to mix it with water and sprinkle their homes for holy cleansing.
“The minority is shit. So make it a security dog to guard the holyshit. Minorities with IT knowledge, especially expatriate shits are born to guard shit.”
“Shit is only a perception. It is only your mind. There is shit when we, the real shit, perceive shit as shit. When you shit and see shit, you become the microshit of a universal macroshit. So shit.”
“There is no shit! Only Ssshhh … and that’s it.”
At the end of the long documenting ordeal, the Emperor was not pleased with the information culled from the public shitlogue. The twelve eunuchs who ran his multi-shit-corporations ventured their professional opinion on shit. The meeting was held in the royal toilet. The eunuchs sat on silver and bronze toilets according to their ranking. The Emperor sat on the golden toilet.
”Please take care of my shit. I suffered so much to build this shit. My shitty-subjects are waiting for my death. They are saying that god has sent his shit to destroy my peace. This strange shit has disrupted social harmony. My beloved shits are suddenly fighting over some mysterious shit from some unknown heaven. The protesters are shitting in public. These Philistines have no decency in their act of protest. I am shocked to see that they have not let go their petty, migrant, barbaric, uncouth manner of shitting after all these economic achievements. I suggest we launch a national shitting campaign to teach them how to shit gracefully. But for now, I have declared martial law as a temporary measure. Those who shit in public will be shot on sight. Shitting in public is banned. Anyone caught in possession of the holyshit found outside my palace will be prosecuted and sentenced to death. They will be force-fed with their own shit until they die. Do you have any strategies to impress the shits to swing the votes in our direction? Come on! I came to this position by winning battles. And you pathetic shits came to power by licking my spittle. That’s why you are still thinking. Okay. Start shitting.”
1: “Long shit the Emperor! No more shares. No more cash. No more subsidies. Give
shit as gift to the voters.”
2: “Long shit the Emperor! Sell shit commemorative coins and shit first-day covers
to generate revenue for our eunuchs’ party.”
3: “Long shit the Emperor! Use shit as the new watermark in our currency.”
4: “Long shit the Emperor! Use shit as land refill to increase our size.”
5: “Long shit the Emperor! Announce there is uranium in our multi-cultural shit and
frighten our neighbours.
6: “Long shit the Emperor! “Make shit our national icon!”
7: “Long shit the Emperor! Create a national shit perfume to mask inter-ethnic BO.”
8: “Long shit the Emperor! Make biogas from shit and supply it free to households.”
9: “Long shit the Emperor! Use shit to paint our national monuments.”
10: “Long shit the Emperor! Give the minority nationalshit awards made from shit for
sucking up to empower them to think that they are valued by the majority.”
11: “Long shit the Emperor! Make ballot paper with shit to create a sense of
belonging to motivate our voters.”
12: “Long shit the Emperor! Long shit the Emperor! Long shit the Emperor! Er… Please forgive me Emperor! I cannot shit like the other minions. We have to tell the truth to the people. We have to be transparent to win their hearts. Now, I’ve to tell the truth. The unknown shit is actually your honourable shit. It is a constitutional rule that nobody should see the shit of our Emperor. But, it was accidentally dropped by the foreign-talent pilot from the Hercules helicopter while transporting it to the Swiss Bank. The inter-religious council of shamans had advised our Emperor that his shit was special and it would turn into Jade if it is kept unexposed for every five years. Our great Emperor wanted to sacrifice his shit for the nation’s reserves. But it is too late. I accept full responsibility for exposing the Emperor’s shit. Emperor! Please punish me as you wish. I am not fit to be even shit. [Emperor lets out a loud fart.] Emperor! Emperor! Emperor! Please wake up! Is there anybody in the house who could give anal pulmonary resuscitation? Oh my shit! [Wails] The Emperor is dead as shit!”
The Emperor had a shit-attack when he heard that his shit was exposed. His shit had shot-up to his head and flooded his brain. It was diagnosed as shit-brain arrest. National mourning was declared and all were told not to shit for a month. Those who breached the rule were taxed for their shit. Many broke the rule and it eventually generated revenue. So a shit-tax was introduced. Tourists had to keep and show their shit on departure for reimbursement of their GST.
Meanwhile, the shit outside the palace stopped growing when the Emperor died. A shit-logue session was held to consult the public and a survey was also conducted to decide the fate of the colossal shit outside the palace. Finally, they decided to commission the shit medallion winning artiste to sculpt the Emperor’s statue from the remaining shit.
He named it Emperor Shit. Emperor Shit was opened for public view. It was a towering statue in shitting posture. When interviewed, the sculptor said, “Hi! When I was playing with the Emperor’s shit in my studio, I had a shit-dream. Emperor Shit appeared and whispered into my anus - YOU BLOODY SHIT! And I started shitting immediately. It was a cathartic experience you know. I took it as god-given mantra and created this master-shit of art. I hope you like my shit. Oh thank you for the shit-coverage.”
All religious and community shit-heads were invited to the eye-dotting ceremony of Emperor Shit. The ceremonial eye was dotted with red paint by Prince Shit. Prince Shit gave a heart-wrenching speech.
“There can be only one shit and that is Emperor Shit. Nobody else is fit to be SHIT in this country. We have fulfilled Emperor Shit’s wish. We have launched Emperor Shit into space. Emperor Shit’s body has been placed in a hi-tech solar powered coffin which is also our latest satellite. Emperor Shit satellite will hover in space above our country as long as this planet exists in our galaxy. Emperor Shit will now occupy the middle kingdom between earth and heaven. He will be watching us forever. I take great pleasure in pressing this button to start the transmission of Emperor Shit’s images to earth. Please welcome Emperor Shit’s second coming. Hail Emperor Shit! The founding father of our shitnation.” And Emperor Shit was opened with 21 royal fart salute. The statue was placed exactly on the same spot where Emperor Shit’s shit fell and grew.
As Emperor Shit was irreplaceable, replicas of his statue from the leftover shit were made and distributed free to the people. I too keep one at home and pray, “Oh shit of all shits, may we receive thy supreme shit so as to achieve happiness, prosperity and progress for our nation.”
Now you might wonder why am I pouring out all these shit to you? It is my duty as a law-abiding patriotic citizen to propagate a sense of belonging. Yellow, brown, black or white, we are all equal as shit. So we have to pick up the skills of shitting in the shadow of Emperor Shit. Okay. Let me share the good news. I have been promoted and deployed as the guard-dog for Emperor Shit’s statue. My duty is to bark and chase away those alternative shits who try to vandalize the statue with graffiti, scribbling blasphemous stuff like FREEDOM OF SHIT.
And now, the whole nation is eagerly waiting for the countdown to the first death, pardon me, first shit anniversary of Emperor Shit. Many myths have been circulating about Emperor Shit:
“Emperor Shit is not dead. He is hibernating in shit in space.”
“Emperor Shit will wake up if there is trouble in his empire.”
“Emperor Shit will come to redeem us. We are waiting for his return.”
As a mark of respect for Emperor Shit, all shits have been asked to excrete a minute of shit in the pose of Emperor Shit’s statue. [P poses like Emperor Shit.] The countdown begins now. [Countdown sound-effect. Shit rains on P as crescents and stars.]
VO: [The Emperor’s scream echoes from above] I will wake up even from my grave to SHIT.
[Multi-ethnic voices shout] Emperor Shit’s statue is shitting. Hello! Police! My Emperor Shit statue at home is shitting. My statue is shitting royal-yellow. My statue is shitting holy-green. My statue is shitting holy-saffron. Holy shit! No! Wait! My statue is shitting more Emperor Shit statues. You want to buy Emperor’s Shit? Special price for you.
Emperor’s Shit started to grow again. ‘Anal’ysts commented that it could be due to global warming and unpredictable weather changes. Prince Shit realized that he cannot hide in the shadow of Emperor Shit’s shithill anymore.
“I, Prince Shit, hereby declare a state of emergency to find a solution again. Our new generation-shit eunuchs are hard-pressed for time to shit together to decide by consensus. Until then I need your mandate to approve only the liberalization in the arts on styles and approaches in shitting. Let us hold our hands together, irrespective of our differences to leap forward as one family by shitting, and not speaking, freely.”
Imagine pressing your tube of tooth-paste and ordering the paste on your brush everyday. You assume that you are focalizing truth but you spit it out. You don’t want to eat it. But you have to gargle it everyday. Truth is like the fly on your shit. It shifts all the time unless you pin it on your shit. But you don’t want to dirty your hands in shit. You want to pretend that there is no fly. But shit is the only reality. You want to catch a fly? Go home! Have a good shit. Search! Catch if you can!
_____________________________________
P was presented by Teater Ekamatra in Project Suitcase: Police + Thief 2006, on Thu 23, Fri 24 and Sat 25 Mar 2006 at the Guinness Theatre, The Substation, with support from the National Arts Council and Arts Fund. The performance was given an Arts Entertainment Licence with RA18 rating with an advisory – ‘This play contains adult themes’ - by the Media Content Division (Publications and Arts) of the Media Development Authority.
Performed by
Ahamed Ali Khan
Producer: Noor Effendy Ibrahim
Production Manager: Mohamad Jamal Mohamad
Lighting Design: Fiona Lim
Sound Design: Andre Danker
Set Design & Stage Manager: Elangovan
Sound Operator: Substation Crew & Andre Danker
Crew: Ibrahim Sawifi & Mohamad Zulfadli Mohd Rashid
FOH: Adibah & Siti Khalijah
Written and directed by Elangovan
Paperback, 90 pages, Published: 2007, Singapore, 1st Edition
ISBN: 9789810589509 ©Elangovan
http://www.selectbooks.com.sg
For the reading pleasure of the oppressed: P (SHIT)
ReplyDeleteHave to say it made my eyes bleed to read this piece. Am I the only one to think this a load of boring old smut?
Self-indulgent, tediously repetitive, tiresome juvenile scatology about as subtle as a smack in the face with a wet fish. It's only surpassed by the COI report as delivered by WKS to parliament.
Now that's what I would call a REAL load of shit.
Pushing for a pay cut is just going to give them an excuse later if they screw up further or dabble in... (gasp) corruption!
ReplyDeleteFor those who crave power and authority money isn't the crux of it. Where it hurts them most is when they sink into obscurity and irrelevance. So sack them!