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SINGAPORE should not encourage a culture where officials and ministers resign whenever something goes wrong on their watch, regardless of whether or not they are actually to blame, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in Parliament on Tuesday.
'That would be the easy way out. It may temporarily appease an angry public, but it will not fundamentally solve the problem,' he said in his statement, which addressed the Government's overall approach, its responsibility and accountability over fugitive terrorist Mas Selamat Kastari's escape from the Whitley Road Detention Centre on Feb 27.
In the aftermath of the escape, some Singaporeans have criticised the Government, the minister and senior officials in charge for the major lapses that enabled the Jemaah Islamiah militant to flee and some have called on them to take responsibility for the incident or resign.
Responding to these, PM Lee on Tuesday urged the people not to 'over-react to one bad incident.'
'If we go overboard in trying to solve one problem, the chances are we will inadvertently commit other mistakes which we will regret later,' he said.
'For example, encumbering an organisation with unwieldy rules and processes may look good on paper, but in practice will simply generate a false sense of security, while hindering the organisation from functioning efficiently and achieve its goals.'
PM Lee said when something goes wrong, the first priority is to respond to the immediate crisis and then identify shortcomings and put them right.
Besides corrective measures to ensure that the problem does not recur, he said the Government will give as full a public accounting as possible, especially if it is a major lapse.
'Singaporeans need to know what went wrong, and what the Government will do to fix things,' he said.
While the minister is ultimately accountable for the policies and operations of his ministry, PM Lee cautioned: 'But this does not mean that if a lapse occurs down the line, every level in the chain of command, up to and including the Minister should automatically be punished or removed.'
'Based on the facts, we have to decide who fell short in performing his duties, and what is the appropriate disciplinary action for each officer involved. We also have to follow due process, giving officers the chance to defend themselves. Otherwise we will demoralise the organisation and discourage officers from taking initiatives or responsibility, for fear of being punished for making mistakes.'
'This same principle of responsibility and accountability also applies to Ministers.'
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