I was going to take a 3 week blog-hiatus, for me to get back to work and find some peace. But I am breaking it as I find that this is an important matter for me to share.
please refer to the following Link if you are unaware of the current situation
For those who do not know and cannot be bothered to read up local news, here is the event in a nutshell.The Son of the Singapore Prime Minister (PM), is currently an officer in the Singapore Armed Forces.
At camp, one of his collegues, a fellow regular officer, went AWOL and was absent from place of duty despite being the designated duty commander over 2 days. ( precise details can be found in the link)The Son, 2nd Lieutenant Li HongYi, was aware of the situation and highlighted it to his immediate superiors.
They, however, failed to enforce any actions. As such, he took matters into his own hands and sent an email to the Defence Minister (cc-ed to a few other senior officers and... many many many others in the force) regarding the matter.
He did not follow the normal protocol of sending the letter through his superiors. Instead, he sent the letter directly to the ministers.
Sadly, his letter got leaked out and is now formally charged for not following military protocols. Furthermore, this supposedly military incident was blatantly published in the Newspaper.
Of course, a few , if not many, of my collegues and friends have sounded off a sigh of satisfaction as justice has been dealt upon to the elitist, the patricians of our society. Especially since this prudent brat is the "whitest of white horses".
I beg to differ and I know that I am not just another angsty anarchist (ironical as the majority seems to be the one doing the uproar). For your information, Li HongYi and I have trained together and were platoon mates for almost 3 months. I believe that I am in much more of a credible position to comment upon this matter than many others, because for one, we have seen each others' true colours in dire circumstances.
Even before we pass our judgement on the justice of the situation, we should actually know the full story.
So ... (insert army lingo).A duty commander is an appointed officer/ warrant officer who is held accountable for the daily running of a military facility for 24 hours. For example, he needs to account for all the firearms, entry and exits to the military facility and of course, ensure proper procedures are taken in the even of any emergencies (ie attack, training accidents, deaths). As such, it is a must for the duty commander to be physically present at the base for the entire duration of his duty.
AWOL is 'absence without official leave'. It is deemed as one of the most common yet severe military offences. Normally, it is frequently commited by enlisted servicemen who are unable to commit to SAF. Usually enlistees ( corporals, lance corporals and privates ) are those who commit these. Commanders commiting such petty offences is almost unheard of as it is indigniying and utterly irresponsible.
DB. Detention Barracks. The jail of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF).
2LT= 2nd Lieutenant (aka Ensign, the most junior officer post)
LTA= (full) Lieutenant (a higher rank than 2LT)
OC = Officer commanding (not a rank, but a post of a slightly more senior officer)
So... this is what happened.
2LT.Li is the duty commander (DC) for his camp on Saturday.His collegue(LTA. X) is the DC for both Friday and sunday.So they swapped duties and 2LT. Li ended up doing Sunday.However, LTA.X did not turn up for his friday duty as he was not free in the morning and requested that 2LT.Li take over for the morning.
At 1600, LTA.X called Li to tell him to leave as he is on the way and was given clearance by the OC.However, 2LT.Li later investigated and found out that LTA.X never came. He only came in the evening of Saturday on the excuse that he was involved in an activity of another camp. However, upon confrontation, this excuse was proven false.
He then tried to bribe 2LT.Li with doing his share of duties. Li declined and reported the matter to his OC ( who never gave any clearance in the first place).
TO make matters worst, he commited the same offence again, the following saturday when he was the DC again when his car was spotted leaving the proximity. He even denied the allegation and claimed that he lent his car to his friend... which was proven false too.
By right, such conduct by an officer would immediately result in court marshall, leading a jail sentence in DB. Since he is an officer, he should then be respectively decommissioned and stripped of his rank and occupation. But all he got a verbal reprimand and supposed 10 extra duties (to which was never confirmed or announced).
2LT. Li, therefore wrote an email to the Big Chief and cc-ed (carbon copied) to various senior officers in the armed forces as well as many other "normal people" to notify them of this matter. What do I think?
I think he acted in an extreme way. But nevertheless, there was a reason why he chose to use email rather than a private letter.
His goal ( i believe), isn't to bring down an officer, or destroy a regular's career. If he wanted it done, he could have used his father's name and his father's channel. Instead, he chose the use the OA (operation account) email to send it. He used the carbon copy function for a reason to.
To notify and perhaps allow possible circulation of this incident. Its like forcing out a reply from the upper brass.
People spread emails around, its natural.
Of course, I do not overlook his lack of respect for following protocols. What he did, bypassing the whole chain of command is a serious offence. However, its not as near severe as a regular officer going AWOL.
Li HongYi is not a retard. Common sense would have rendered possible thoughts of getting charged. It is not a matter of abusing parental ties, it never was. If he did, this news would not have been out in the first place.
Of course, there is always the " his ideal was right" but "his method was wrong". So... let me ask you... what could have done? If he submitted this letter through the chain of command, what are the bloody chances that it would get through? Especially since his OC and his OC's superiors would get implicated. Furthermore, he is disrupting, tossing his letter into the shredder is too perfect of an option. As we can see, integrity is no longer an assumption we can make in such a situation.
And ... to the smart person who commented that he commited a blatant abuse of family ties: Perhaps we should think.... in what way is this an abuse? To report on officers who are escaping duties and shedding rightful responsibilites... how would this even be considered as an abuse? How would this even benefit him in any manner? I mean... he is already disrupting. It is quite evident that it was the sense of rigtheousness and public-spiritedness that fuelled this radical move.
Nevertheless, HongYi got fried. Such a radical action deserves it. In fact... the moment the CC-ed function was turned on, he was asking for it. When he allowed the possibility for circulation, he was already placing his head up on the chopping board. What he might not have foreseen was perhaps the overwhelming publicity and uproar caused. But really, what choice did SAF have? I mean with a brat forcing an reply and openly committing a break in the chain of command... charging him was imminent.
Two wrongs do not make a right. I do not , in any way try to discredit my organisation's decision to punish my ex-platoon mate. I do not claim to be his bossom buddy either, we are not. However, I merely try to let my hot-headed/ misinformed friends see the rationale behind why HongYi did what he did before more angsty political rambling is instigated.
If you ask me what the main observation from this incident of the PM's son getting charged.
Li HongYi does not have the power to change things. But he certainly has the guts to.
