Our First Malay BG – What was Said and Not Said
Well, the SAF is trying its best to be progressive and move Malays laterally and upwards in the SAF. The SAF since independence, for deep rooted geopolitical reasons, has been cautious about Malays in the military. They finally have a BG, the Malay community finally has a BG and Mindef can puff out its chest and say that they are opening up quite well in redefining the infamously frank machine-gun dilemma (partly borne out of worry that one day Malaysia might carry out its former PM Tunku Abdul Rahman’s threat to cut water supply and bring Singapore to its knees),
“If, for instance, you put in a Malay officer who’s very religious and who has family ties in Malaysia in charge of a machine gun unit, that’s a very tricky business. We’ve got to know his background.” Lee Kuan Yew
All good that the SAF has made a Malay and fellow Singaporean no less, a BG. But to be the Devils Advocate, besides looking at what was said, we also have to think about what was not said. What is this BG’s portfolio? Is the answer something that will perpetuate the impression that Malays are welcome and yet not welcomed in the SAF?
SAF’s first Malay general
TO HEAR Colonel Ishak Ismail, 46, tell it, his decision to become a regular officer in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) was greeted with some incredulity.
He recalled yesterday that someone asked him pointedly: ‘This is your name – you sure you want to sign on?’
He has replied in the affirmative many times in the last 28 years.
Yesterday, his time in the military was capped in historic fashion – he has become the first Malay general in the SAF.
His promotion marks a milestone in Malays’ efforts to be fully accepted in the military, a controversial issue ever since it was disclosed in 1987 that the SAF adopted a cautious approach in placing them in key positions.
Col Ishak was one of five who headed the SAF’s annual promotion list and attained the rank of Brigadier-General or Rear-Admiral (One Star).
The other four were: Colonel (Dr) Benjamin Seet and Colonel Lee Shiang Long from the Army; the Republic of Singapore Navy’s Colonel Tan Wee Beng; and Colonel Kwek Kok Kwong of the Republic of Singapore Air Force.
The five were among 464 from all three arms – both regulars and operationally-ready National Servicemen – presented with their certificates of promotion at a ceremony at Bukit Gombak Camp yesterday.
The promotions will take effect from July 1, which is SAF Day.
For Col Ishak, moving to the rank of Brigadier-General is reward for what he calls a consuming passion: Developing people to their potential.
Calling himself a ’servant leader’, he said: ‘What gets me up in the morning and gives me the passion every day is the same reason I became a regular officer: Being able to influence people to something that they may not see themselves accomplishing.’
Off with the Heads!
Heads rolling at the operations level? GIC’s loss of $50 billion has resulted in some face-saving staff shuffling, just like how Temasek’s Ho Ching was shown the door a few months ago.
When Citigroup was tottering at the start of this year and probably with the threat of nationalisation if GIC did not play ball with the US government, GIC was forced to convert its preferred shares (bought at $26.35) which pays out interest at 7% per annum, to common stock (priced at $3.25). From what I know, as Citigroup shares then were worth $1 plus but GIC was given a higher $3.25 for each share, this confusing conversion ended up in GIC owning 11% of Citigroup instead of 4%. With the nationalisation of Citigroup nowhere in sight now, GIC looks like it can slump down in relief temporarily. However, the past months since GIC bit into Citigroup and UBS have been risky ones with no real returns in sight. The GIC board has not forgotten and likely think that this is a good time as any to change those at GIC’s operations helm.
Singapore’s GIC names new president, mgt reshuffle
SINGAPORE, June 18 (Reuters) – The Government of Singapore Investment Corp (GIC), which manages an estimated $200 billion-plus in assets, on Thursday named Lim Siong Guan as its group president from July 1.
Lim, a former head of Singapore’s civil service, will also be chairman of GIC Asset Management, the largest of its three operating units and responsible for investments in equities, fixed income, foreign currencies and natural resources. The unit is also responsible for the fund’s absolute returns strategies.
Lim, 62, will take charge of organisational development at GIC Asset Management as well as sister units GIC Real Estate, which handles property, and GIC Special Investments, which takes care of private equity and infrastructure investments.
“The management changes will enable GIC to operate more effectively on an integrated basis,” GIC Deputy Chairman and Executive Director Tony Tan said in a statement.
GIC, which manages Singapore’s foreign currency reserves, has ploughed billions into Citigroup (C.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and UBS and has said it will stick with its investments despite smaller sovereign wealth fund Temasek’s recent move to offload shares in Bank of America and Barclays.
Singapore’s two funds have suffered from the global market turmoil, with GIC’s portfolio falling 25 percent from a peak estimated at $300 billion, while Temasek’s assets declined by 31 percent during March-November last year.
Lee Ek Tieng, 75, another former civil service head, will retire as chairman of GIC Asset Management, while former finance minister Richard Hu, 82, will step down as chairman of GIC Real Estate.
Tan will replace Hu as chairman of GIC Real Estate.
Reform not Repeal the ISA
Reform the Internal Security Act in The Online Citizen is a good read. The argument on the need to have exceptional laws in exceptional circumstances is a balanced one. Very often we come across very extreme views on the ISA where there is the rabid anti-ISA mob on one hand, and the deranged ISA apologists on the other, both citing boring shallow arguments.
Donaldson’s thesis that the ISA is good only when it is not abused brings activists, lawmakers and the state to the table. Post-911, while most people buy the idea of the ISA used on the Jemaah Islamiah militants, the ghost of the 1987 Marxist Conspiracy still haunts Singapore. From the comments in his article, most people are rightfully cynical and fearful of the powers of detention the Singapore government has and they are unconvinced that the ISA would not be abused.
ISA detainees already have legal representation e.g. prominent criminal lawyer Subhas Anandan defended one Jemaah Islamiah militant. Despite the freely used criticism of “detention without trial”, the ISA hearing is actually already a closed-door trial presided over by a Supreme Court judge. Hence, even though those detained under the ISA have rights and subject to due process, people choose to see it as a kangaroo court maybe because they want to see it as a kangaroo court. The relevance of the ISA as an exceptional law therefore hinges on whether people perceive the ISA to be justly used. Any law can be abused but yet we don’t call for the repeal of every law simply because they can be abused. Instead, the parts where the law can be abused should be reviewed and amended while the spirit of that law to protect people and property is intact.
The selling breakthrough idea brought up along the way in Donaldson’s article is that the ISA should be for an arbitrary maximum of 6 months for locals and 2 years for foreigners, and in that time, the government has to build up a case for a court trial. The different time frame is to deter foreigners from conducting activities threatening Singapore. Furthermore, if no evidence is gathered and witnesses still not persuaded to take the stand, then those detained under the ISA have to be released. This debate over detention and trial technicalities sounds like a good starting point for the pro and anti-ISA stakeholders to retain but reform the ISA.
