I'm completely bewildered by the number and frequency of issues in Singapore recently (recently being defined as the past few years). Many critics are quick to point at the government as the root cause, and while I agree that that is partially the case, I honestly doubt that they are the predominant element in the complex of underlying factors. Let me run you through.
First, to briefly describe this "spate of failures":
1. MRT breakdowns
It used to be that the MRT infrastructure was rock-solid and extremely reliable. In the past (say, 10 years ago), breakdowns were virtually unheard of. When I was a kid, we learned in school that Singapore's public transport was robust and efficient, and you'd be hard pressed to find a detractor.
Starting from around 2011 (ballpark figure, because I couldn't find a comprehensive list of breakdowns), the squeaky-clean, pristine reputation of Singapore's public train system was sullied increasingly as breakdowns came, one after another. I found a Wikipedia page devoted to 2011 breakdowns here. Compare that to this post on a local forum depicting a compiled list of 2013 breakdowns.
Remember when the first major breakdown in 2011 (if my memory doesn't fail me) occurred and everyone was so electrified? There was a lot of talk about it at that time, because it was one of the few big things that disrupted Singapore's sterile, efficient and uneventful operation. But just 3 years into the future, in 2014, breakdowns are so frequent that nobody even bothers to discuss them. The novelty of a breakdown has worn off. Honestly, I'm surprised that I haven't been caught in one. The term "signal fault" has been thrown around so often that its meaning has degenerated from a technical jargon into an all-encompassing explanation for the breakdown that nobody bothers to question anymore.
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2. Border breaches
DPM Teo Chee Hean aptly put the border breach at Woodlands checkpoint in January in perspective by describing it as "1 in 75 million". Barely a month after, a man driving a golden Mercedes-Benz bulldozed his way through the barrier into Singapore - and was caught hours later.
In all honesty, I don't understand how an ordinary vehicle without any reinforcements or modifications is able to ram through a barrier specifically designed to stop vehicles. Also, there is no shortage of personnel around, plus the fact that the car was immobilized for at least 10 seconds, and yet nobody did anything except to stand around. The car could well be laden with weapons, drugs, explosives, or worse. Aren't barriers supposed to do something like this?
3. 2013 Anonymous cyberattacks
Singapore's cyber-security came under fire when anonymous hacker(s) infiltrated and defaced many government websites in 2013. It caused quite a protracted buzz, possibly because it was unprecedented and we'd always subconsciously associated such audacity with the wild West. (In the U.S., Anonymous attacks on high-profile websites are common and even code-named, military-style.)
4. And more...
I won't list every single failure and fiasco here, because that's not the point of this article.
If you carefully consider each and every incident listed above, you may realize that pinning the blame on the Government does not make sense, simply because of their circumstances. For example, observe the MRT breakdowns - it is extremely unlikely that the degree of maintenance conducted will fall over the years. Or that the standards of personnel training and equipment used for border security has degraded with time. More likely, they have stagnated. So why are these incidents clustered about these few years only?
Likewise, cyber-security (both software and heartware) should have increased, with increasing awareness of its importance in today's cyber-age. In this case, however, the recentness can be at least partly ascribed to an increasingly digitized population. But I'm not too sure if this phenomenon can account wholly for the hacking attacks.
As such, I'm of the opinion that incompetency isn't the main cause of this string of ignominious fiascoes. Yes, it is definitely not absolved of all blame. But to take the bulk of it? I'm unconvinced. Following this line of thought, if the burden of blame is shifted off the "defense" spectral extreme, it would fall accordingly onto the "offense" side. Yet that is illogical and improbable, considering the sheer diversity of these incidents: from technical breakdowns to political motivations. There doesn't seem to be any common ground between the nature of these incidents and their perpetrators (where applicable). Or is it simply sheer bad luck for Singapore to be increasingly afflicted with such unfortunate episodes?
Truth be told, I have no idea. I'm throwing this question out to anyone who has an idea, or theory, or any plausible explanation, for discussion.
Sudo Nyme
*The author blog at http://literallykidding.blogspot.sg