I refer to Yahoo’s “Police arrest man after vehicle dashes through Woodlands Checkpoint".
Two months ago when a Malaysian woman slipped past the same checkpoint, DPM Teo had called the security breach “unacceptable”. It appears that “unacceptable” is becoming the norm after a Singapore registered car crashed through the security barrieron Friday and was located only after 5 hours.
What happened after the January incident was ICA’s reaction which created daily huge jams and inconvenience to drivers on both sides of the causeway.
However, the government did not address systemic issues by punishing the rank and file instead of holding leadership accountable. It should not surprise anyone if a similar incident occurs in future because ‘applying band-aid to a gaping wound’ essentially solves nothing. The ability to address systemic issues by the government remains to be seen.
What ails our civil service, not just the ICA, is the overreliance on technology and throwing tax dollars at building infrastructures to resolve issues. Those who excel academically are parachuted into leadership positions regardless of their lack of relevant experience or passion.
The objective of installing a security barrier is to prevent a security breach. If a car could simply crash through it in full view of ICA officers in broad daylight, we must have wasted millions of tax dollars. Those in charge have to be held accountable.
A clearer picture has emerged with a video showing seven ICA officers attempting to stop the stationary Mercedes Benz. The driver appears uncooperative, one officer took out a baton to threaten the driver, 2 officers tried to open the door and some were just gesturing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=dlIuZaaYJHo
The situation did not take on any urgency at all! Is the ICA going to offer justifications for not using firearms? Despite the consequences of his actions, why did the driver crash through the barrier?
It appears there are no protocols to handle emergency situations or perhaps the ICA has never anticipated such a situation would occur. If the security barrier had been properly maintained, why did it fail?
Incompetence must be removed at source and ICA’s protocols must be reviewed. Don’t simply punish the rank and file and create another massive jam at the checkpoint to show the government’s seriousness.
DPM Teo must get to the root of the rot in our system.
Phillip Ang
*The writer blogs at http://likedatosocanmeh.wordpress.com/
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