DPM Wong, in an interview on the Community Engagement Programme and the challenges

The Straits Times - 15 years of keeping law & order

16 January 2009

Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng speaks to Insight about how the law and order situation has evolved and whether he is worried that the Mas Selamat Kastari escape incident will dominate his legacy

By Li Xueying

'SHALL I quote them Wordsworth? Or Shakespeare?' asked Mr Wong Kan Seng.

Perhaps citing the Romantic poet and the bard alongside denunciations of criminals and drug addicts may soften his public image among Singaporeans, he muses.

The minister jests, of course.

Of his stern reputation, Mr Wong said simply: 'I do not let this bother me because those who know me would know what I am.'

'Talk to my residents,' added the man who attends his Meet-the-People Sessions in Bishan every week without fail.

Or perhaps his former students.

After all, for three years before he entered the civil service and, later, politics in 1984, Mr Wong was a teacher - of as 'soft' a subject as English Literature, no less. Hence his references to Wordsworth and Shakespeare.

His former profession, the flashes of humour, the goodwill his residents have for their MP - all these are sometimes disconcertingly at odds with the 62-year-old's public image.

It is one shaped by his steely, oftentimes hard-hitting, pronouncements on criminals, drug addicts - and yes, opposition politicians and political activists who engage in civil disobedience.

As the face of the ministry in charge of public order laws such as those banning assemblies, he may have few fans among those who feel that Singapore should open up its political space - and at a quicker pace.

And certainly, the escape of terrorist Mas Selamat Kastari almost a year ago had given critics much to chatter about.

Mr Wong explained his approach thus: 'As the Home Affairs Ministry, what do we do? We keep law and order. We deal with difficult people. We deal with crime, drugs, etc. So necessarily, the message to those people who commit or want to commit such crimes cannot be a soft one.'

Does he think he should 'soften' his image?

'Maybe,' he said. But he then added firmly: 'I am what I am.'

Progress made

IT HAS been a quarter of a century since a young, bespectacled Mr Wong joined politics - his batch includes Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong - leaving his job as a personnel manager at Hewlett-Packard.

Today, as a Deputy Prime Minister, he is one of the most experienced ministers in the Cabinet, having also helmed the Community Development and Foreign Affairs ministries. He also chairs a number of ministerial committees, such as on crisis management and population.

But what Mr Wong is most known for is his work on law and order issues over the past 15 years at the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

In 1994, when he took over the portfolio from Professor S. Jayakumar, there were two outstanding problems - illegal immigration and drugs, he recalled.

He did not shy away from doing what he felt was necessary.

For instance, to drive home the message that drug-taking is not an encouraged social norm, he decided to publish data on the addicts.

This, even though it was 'quite sensitive in that, at the time, about 55 per cent of the addicts were Malays'.

'It will shock the community but we need to prepare them,' was his reasoning. Before releasing the data, he met Malay-Muslim leaders to listen to them. And the Government managed to get these community leaders on board and take 'ownership of the problem'.

Another prong was in 'going behind' the addicts and finding the syndicate leaders. So Mr Wong doubled the number of officers and ramped up surveillance and intelligence operations.

Today, the numbers speak for themselves: 1,855 addicts were arrested last year, down from 6,165 in 1994.

Similar progress has been made in other areas. The crime rate fell from 1,193 cases per 100,000 people, to 670. The police's major crime solving rate improved from 25 per cent to 52 per cent.

This leaves terrorism as the 'most serious threat' to Singapore.

Said Mr Wong: 'We can never absolutely eliminate it so long as extremism can find new minds to brainwash.'

So the greatest challenge, he said, underlining a point he made in 2004, is 'in the realm of the mind and the heart'.

To tackle this, the community engagement programme (CEP) was set up in 2006. Under it, the government works with grassroots leaders to nurture trust between religious and ethnic groups, so that tensions are kept in check in the event of a terror attack.

But given that it's an ongoing, never-ending effort, are there concerns that fatigue may set in?

Mr Wong acknowledged this danger.

'The first time, you would be shocked by it, when you get a Jemaah Islamiah incident. After a while, they say, 'Well, yes. One, two, three', they've heard it before. So they put it at the back of the mind.'

Thus, incidents such as the Mumbai attacks 'become a teaching moment to remind our people that, look, it can happen to us'.

Another challenge is in reaching out to all groups.

A study released last year by sociologist and Pentecostal church pastor Mathew Mathews found nearly half the Christian clergymen surveyed were apprehensive about inter-faith efforts, as they worry their religious convictions would be compromised.

On this, Mr Wong said: 'I think we need time to convince them that there is no compromise of religious beliefs of anyone. So, say we invite them to come for the CEP. They say they are not free. All right, this time you are not free, next time we invite you again. Then we invite you again, we come and visit you and talk to you.'

With no attacks thus far, there is no 'real test' of Singapore's social fabric. But Mr Wong is sanguine when asked to assess how it would hold up.

Judging from the 'well-balanced' reactions of the various communities when terror attacks occur overseas, he concludes: 'The level of trust and confidence among the different racial and religious groups is very good.'

A changing society, an evolving Home Team

LAST year, however, was a tumultuous one for the Home Team, with a series of lapses starting from Mas Selamat's escape in February.

In June, two robbery suspects made a bid to escape from police custody at the Subordinate Courts. That same month, a retiree got past immigration control at Changi Airport using his son's passport.

Mr Wong fully acknowledged these: 'In hindsight, looking at 2008, it was a very bad year for the Home Team with one incident after another.'

But he also called for 'a sense of proportion' in the public's reaction.

Many of his officers, he said, were 'demoralised and discouraged by the incessant public criticisms'.

They accepted that serious errors were made, said Mr Wong.

'What was disturbing was the unrealistic and unreasonable expectation dominating the public discussion that there cannot be any lapses whatsoever, without distinctions being made between clear negligence, and errors that arose as a result of a confluence of events - some of which were outside the officers' control.'

So the misclearance of a passport, for instance, cannot be viewed in the same way as Mas Selamat's escape, he said.

'We have to take it in perspective: that Mas Selamat's escape is different from the escape of two unconvicted prisoners - two unconvicted persons actually just awaiting bail.

'If somebody offered bail, the two guys would have walked out of the court cell. But they decided to run away early.

'And that incident is certainly also very different from a man who took his son's passport and the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority officer, by profiling, let him through. Then the son called the press and said this is what happened - my father took my passport, ICA let him through!'

This led Mr Wong to his next point. He is perturbed by a 'troubling trend' - the reflex action of Singaporeans today to 'defy or even threaten the Home Team officer with bad press or a hostile Net opinion if the officer takes action against them'.

He tells the story of a police officer who stopped his vehicle behind a car to book the driver who parked on a double yellow line.

The driver's defiant response to the officer: 'You're also parked against the double yellow line!'

But isn't the reporting of such incidents in the media or on the Internet a sign that a healthy system of checks and balances is in place?

Mr Wong responded: 'I'm not saying that people should not criticise the police. When police officers do wrong, by all means do it. Criticise them. And if they offended the law, well, I would be the first to say that we don't need black sheep in the force.

'But if they do nothing wrong and people just simply want to put them up and ridicule them and lampoon them, I think over time the image of the officer, of law enforcement, will go down.'

The repercussions are serious: Public trust will diminish, morale among officers will decline, recruitment will get more difficult and a culture of avoiding risks will grow.

Said Mr Wong: 'The last thing we want to do to ourselves is to have the public lose its trust in the police. When that happens, then it is a vicious circle.

'You do not want to join an organisation that is always hammered, criticised, scolded, even though you are doing your work right. We must guard against that tendency.

'Of course, we also know that when people make use of the media or the Internet to publicise certain things, that they think that the police did not do them justice. (They) also have to make sure that their side of the story bears up to scrutiny.'

These trends arise from two changes in Singapore society - a more questioning populace and the Internet.

When he entered politics in 1984, the public 'generally were quite accepting of what the police does', recalled Mr Wong. 'Now they say, 'Why do you do this?''

So going forward, the Home Team has to manage expectations, so that the public better understands the complexity of its work, and the stresses that officers face on the ground, he says.

'This will require open and candid dialogue, and more sharing of information with the public.'

At the same time, internally, the Home Team must guard against complacency and what Mr Wong called 'a leadership culture of risk aversion'.

This happens when commanders take the 'safe option by being focused on being correct rather than right in their operational judgments on the ground'.

So, looking ahead, there will be greater emphasis during training to help officers learn to make their judgments on the ground, instead of merely following the rule book blindly, he said.

His legacy

DURING the press conference in 1984 when he was unveiled by the People's Action Party, the rookie politician said this: 'Politics is a good way for a person to contribute to the development of a country...and get involved in debating, deliberating and thrashing out policies before the Government implements them.'

Now, 25 years on, how would he rate himself according to this benchmark?

'I think I've made some small contribution in that area in various other appointments apart from this one that I've held. I would rather let people judge it for themselves as to what I've done. I think that's better.'

Asked what he thought was his proudest achievement, he demurred, saying: 'I provide the policy guidance and set the direction. But one person alone is never enough. You need a whole team of officers, all the way down to the ground.'

Is he concerned his legacy will be dominated by the Mas Selamat incident, and not by the successes he wrought on other fronts?

Without any hesitation, he said: 'No, I don't worry about that at all. No, not at all. For me, personally, it's not about one event or 25 years of service.

'As far as I'm concerned, if I believe I have made some contribution to Singapore and I'm satisfied with that, my conscience is clear. And that I've a good team of officers who work with me, and they are highly supportive of the work that we do together. I think that's good enough for me.'

Ten, 20 years from now, he adds with a wry smile, 'people may have forgotten what I've done. That doesn't matter'.

After all, he observed, how many Singaporeans in their 20s today remember the contributions of pioneer leaders Dr Goh Keng Swee or Mr S. Rajaratnam?

'So it's immaterial whether people remember what I do or not, or remember me for Mas Selamat or not.

'I think what's important is that Singapore is what it is today because of the contributions of many - including ordinary Singaporeans. And they belong to it, they feel they belong to it, and they want to do something about it.'

Was he ever affected by the recriminations - including some harsh personal attacks - in the aftermath of the escape?

'You've got to take it in your stride...' he responded.

As for whether the thought of resigning ever crossed his mind, he said: 'I don't have to think about it because I have a job to do; an urgent situation to resolve. The last thing you want is to run away from a problem situation; leave your men in a crisis.'

THE NEED TO BE TOUGH

'As the Home Affairs Ministry, what do we do? We keep law and order. We deal with difficult people. We deal with crime, drugs, etc. So necessarily, the message to those people who commit or want to commit such crimes cannot be a soft one.'

UNREALISTIC EXPECTATIONS

'What was disturbing was the unrealistic and unreasonable expectation dominating the public discussion that there cannot be any lapses whatsoever, without distinctions being made between clear negligence and errors that arose as a result of a confluence of events - some of which were outside the officers? control.'

xueying@sph.com.sg

(With thanks to SPH - StraitsTimes.com)

Note : No reproduction or downloading of this Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) article is allowed in any medium. Permission has to be obtained from SPH.

The Straits Times - Home Team gears up for more crime in bad times

16 January 2009

Key events, such as Apec summit, and IRs also pose challenges, says minister

By Li Xueying

SINGAPORE could see more law and order problems such as illegal immigration, smuggling and petty crime this year, as recession bites deeper and people become desperate.

Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng said the Home Team is preparing for such an eventuality by beefing up its numbers and stepping up vigilance.

While tackling such problems on the ground, the ministry will also have its hands full on two other fronts: the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit in November, and the integrated resorts (IRs) which are due to open in stages from this year.

Mr Wong, who is also Deputy Prime Minister, spoke to The Straits Times in a wide-ranging interview this week. This year marks his 15th at the helm of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

Noting that 2009 will be a tough economic year, Mr Wong said this could translate into more crimes, especially petty crimes such as theft, vice by foreign visitors, and loan-sharking activities.

Illegal immigration, especially from neighbouring countries, could increase, as these countries would also be in economic difficulties.

'They too have a lot of foreigners who want to work in their country. They may have gone there illegally, or overstayed and cannot get jobs. Therefore they will find somewhere else to go,' he said.

Many will make their way to Singapore: 'Already, even with tight security measures, we detect them coming from across (the Causeway) and swimming in the waters (around Singapore). Thus we have to be more watchful.'

In 2008, MHA caught 2,387 illegal immigrants and 3,616 overstayers.

There is often a correlation between crime and economic conditions. During the 1998 Asian financial crisis, the number of crime cases rose 8 per cent over the previous year. During the 2003 Sars-induced recession, it rose by 5 per cent.

Economic growth for 2009 is officially forecast to range between -2 and 1 per cent. Retrenchments are expected to accelerate, potentially surpassing the 30,000 in 1998.

Mr Wong said that one way to deal with the potential increase in criminal activity this year is to increase manpower through recruitment.

A ministry job fair last month drew about 2,000 people for 1,050 vacancies.

'We are now processing all that. Some offers have been made. The number is not very large because interviews take time. But the recruitment process is definitely on,' he said.

The Home Team's manpower shortage had led to officers feeling 'over-stretched, strained and stressed', Second Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam noted last year.

The upcoming Apec summit in November will be another big strain on Home Team resources.

Among the VIPs expected here will be the new United States President Barack Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao.

One challenge for MHA is to ensure that the 'security of the event and its delegates is not breached by public order disruptions', said Mr Wong.

Pointing to the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India, last November, he said there was a lesson to be learnt from the episode, namely not to show footage of security operations on television.

Showing such footage 'sabotages the operations, putting the lives of officers at risk by alerting the terrorists', he noted.

On another front, the Home Team is also gearing up to tackle crime related to gambling and casinos when the Integrated Resorts open.

A police centre will be set up in the Marina Bay area. The police's Criminal Investigation Department will also start a Casino Investigation Branch to deal with crimes specific to the IRs.

'Just as there will be people looking for a flutter at the tables, we also know that there will be others who want to make money there too, in other ways, not at the gaming table,' he said.

This may range from vice workers to unlicensed moneylenders: 'So the police will need to keep a watchful eye on such categories of people.'

xueying@sph.com.sg

(With thanks to SPH - StraitsTimes.com)

Note : No reproduction or downloading of this Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) article is allowed in any medium. Permission has to be obtained from SPH.

The Straits Times - Why Home Team can't tell too much

16 January 2009

• INSIGHT: You spoke of the higher expectations the public has of the Home Team. Is there anything that can be done to adjust this? You mentioned the need for open and candid dialogue, and more sharing of information with the public. How will you be implementing this?

DPM WONG KAN SENG: I think people have some hazy idea of how the police or even the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority go about doing their work.

So how can we put it across and in a vivid way without compromising any investigation?

I think some appreciation of the complexity of the police or the Home Team office work is useful. If you can appreciate how diverse the officers' work is, how complex it is and the kind of challenges and the stress that they have to face, then perhaps you will think: Should I call the police because somebody is playing basketball in the basketball court next to my flat, because the police may have something else more important to do?

• Will this mean the ministry and, of course, the police will become more open in sharing information with the public?

We will tell them as much as we can, yes.

The process - how detailed, how painstaking it is to go and find somebody who has caused harm to another person. It's not something many people can appreciate. So when they see a murder case and two days later, the suspect is arrested - quick, so fast, just like that. But honestly, not every police force works like that.

We will tell as much without compromising the way investigations are done.

Don't forget that the more we tell, the more criminals will learn. If you talk about what clue you find and what sort of test you go through, then the criminals will say, 'Next time I commit a crime, I will avoid leaving all these.'

But we will find a way to see how we can help people understand what the life of an officer is like. Every day is different.

• In the aftermath of Mas Selamat Kastari's escape, there was some criticism that the Ministry of Home Affairs was not fast enough in coming out with information.

Yes, I agree. We accept that, we accept that shortcoming. In fact, it is not an easy decision to make. At the same time, when we give out information, it ought to be as accurate as possible so that there won't be a subsequent change to, say, 'No, it is not green but yellow', for example.

You know, it does come to that kind of position because when Mas Selamat escaped, there were questions about what (clothes) he wore inside. And in order to go and search and count etc, you need a certain time to even determine that.

So one consideration why the part of the clothing (he wore) did not come out quick enough was because, really, you don't want the public to get the wrong impression that you look for a person who fits that. Once you do that, you may miss the real Mas Selamat.

• You said officers need to make a professional judgment rather than follow the rule book blindly. What is being done to inculcate this? Do officers feel sufficiently empowered to make decisions that deviate from protocol?

Yes. I think that comes from experience. The ones who are less experienced...they want to think, 'What should I do about this?' And (they) take a while to think about it. And sometimes, they do make mistakes in their judgment.

The more experienced ones know. And most of the time, they come up with the right answer and deal with the problem correctly. But what we don't want is a police officer who says, 'Okay, I'm just doing this because my standard operating procedure says this. And...anything beyond that, I don't know what to do.'

Then that's no good. So we want to educate and teach, train our officers such that the rules are there to guide them. Of course, the rule says we cannot shoot anybody just like that. But when there's a situation that demands (that) you take out your weapon and fire, you'll have to do that. And that is a real judgment call on the ground because a situation can turn so fast that if you don't decide fast enough, somebody else will get hurt.

• In your 24 years in politics, how has governance changed in a more complex world? Does it have to be more nuanced?

I think 24 years ago, the public generally were quite accepting of what the police did. Now they say, 'Why do you do this?' They want to ask.

Nothing wrong in asking a question if the question is genuine. (But) sometimes the question could just be a provocative one: 'Why do you do this to me?'

For example, 'Why are you booking me (for being) just over 5kmh? 10kmh? 15kmh? I'm rushing. Why don't you let me through?'

Or drink driving: 'I'm just 35 or 38, why you book me?' Things like that.

So people do question. I think the police will have to look at each and every one of them and say, 'Okay, do we apply a judgment and say, 'Yes indeed this time round I can give you a warning'?'

• In terms of how policies are crafted and implemented, how will you have to take these two fundamental changes - a more questioning populace and the Internet - into account?

I think there has to be a balance because we need to enforce the law to make sure the law is obeyed. Because the moment we don't, then I think there will be havoc. I believe that if people believe that there's a culture of disobedience of (the) law and that nobody takes care of it, nobody bothers about enforcing it, then I think this place will be quite difficult.

So long as they know that: Yes, indeed the police, the whole Home Team is doing its work...No doubt there are new ways, there could be better ideas and there could be views by others.

And the Home Team is open enough to accept these and say, 'Okay, how do we apply these to situations and/or these ideas, can we actually use these new ideas?' and therefore set a new direction. I think I welcome this.

• You have a very stern image among Singaporeans. Do you sometimes feel a need to maybe soften your image more?

Maybe. I am what I am.

If you talk to my old staff, I don't think they see me coming across as stern. My Hewlett-Packard staff, for example. Everybody is called by his first name. Till today, if I meet a production operator, he will call me 'Kan Seng'. So they have no concerns about me being stern and because I'm the manager and they are just operators.

But as the Home Affairs Ministry, what do we do? We keep law and order. We deal with difficult people. We deal with crime, drugs, etc. So, necessarily, the message to those people who commit or want to commit such crimes cannot be a soft one.

• Do you think that in every single administration, there's always a need for one minister, one leader with such a tough image?

I think it happens that in our team, we've people who play different roles, ministers who speak differently and who communicate differently to people.

If not, we're all of the same mould. It's not that we purposely carve ourselves our separate roles. It just happens that when you've a group of people, they're all human beings, and each of them will have his own character.

(With thanks to SPH - StraitsTimes.com)

Note : No reproduction or downloading of this Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) article is allowed in any medium. Permission has to be obtained from SPH.

The Straits Times - More likely fugitive has fled

16 January 2009

ALMOST a year after he escaped from custody, where is terror fugitive Mas Selamat Kastari?

Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng narrowed it to either of two scenarios: one, he is in Singapore and hidden by sympathisers unknown to the authorities, or, two, he has fled the country.

Asked which was the more likely, Mr Wong told The Straits Times: 'It's very hard to say. Both scenarios are plausible. Maybe the second one is more plausible.'

He added: 'I can't say whether he's in Indonesia, the Philippines or whatever. The moment you leave Singapore, you can find a place to go.'

Meanwhile, the hunt continues, with officers deployed on the ground, including at checkpoints and around Singapore's borders, he said.

Officers from the Singapore Civil Defence Force and Central Narcotics Bureau have been seconded to the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) to help out.

The Internal Security Department also continued with its intelligence-gathering, surveillance and sharing of information with regional counterparts.

Speaking about the ministry's precautions against possible attacks by Mas Selamat, the minister said: 'We are always watching this.

'It's not just us alone, we have to work very closely with all our foreign counterparts. If there's any activity, if he plans something, hopefully the ones outside will pick it up and then share it with us.'

Detained Jemaah Islamiah terrorist Mas Selamat escaped from the Whitley Road Detention Centre on Feb 27 last year.

That day, the ICA set in motion 'Operation Tidal Gate', closing off all exit points and in effect locking down Singapore, Mr Wong said.

'But you cannot lock down Singapore without freezing economic activity...We know that despite the best efforts at the checkpoints, Singapore being so porous, things and people can slip through.'

Referring to the public outcry that ensued in the wake of Mas Selamat's escape, with many slamming the ministry for being slow to release information, the Home Affairs Minister noted that his ministry had learnt a valuable lesson: the need to be more open with information.

'We accept that. We accept that shortcoming,' said Mr Wong.

But determining how much information to give out was not an easy decision, as accuracy had to be ensured first.

Going ahead, he promised that his ministry would make efforts to be more open in sharing information - but without compromising investigations.

He said that there was a need for Singaporeans to appreciate the complexity of the Home Team's work.

It would also help the Home Team manage public expectations, he added.

Citing last year's incident in which Singaporeans criticised the ICA for allowing through a person carrying the wrong passport, he noted that there seemed to be 'unrealistic and unreasonable expectations dominating the public discussion, that there cannot be any lapses whatsoever'.

He asked for distinctions to be made between 'clear negligence' on the one hand, and errors that arose 'as a result of a confluence of events, some of which were outside the officers' control'.

LI XUEYING

(With thanks to SPH - StraitsTimes.com)

Note : No reproduction or downloading of this Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) article is allowed in any medium. Permission has to be obtained from SPH.