STAR BLOGGERS

“I would appeal to corporate good sense: give future investors and employees a clearer picture of what’s going on!”

They tell so little and Singaporeans seem to care even less. Our Sovereign Wealth Fund, with a portfolio under management of around SGD $185 billion, is definitely a public concern. It is owned by our government, staffed by a veritable who’s who of former public servants, and until recently, had the Prime Minister’s wife at its helm. With great power comes great responsibility, with great public ownership comes a corresponding duty of great public accountability.

The revelation that Chip Goodyear, headhunted a few months ago to make a momentous personnel change at the top of Temasek, is not going to take up his position, has left many bamboozled.

At the end of the debacle (for to call it less would be pussyfooting) that was Ho Ching’s non-resignation, all Singaporeans were left with was a bland press statement that said absolutely nothing. What are these “differences regarding certain strategic issues”? Surely we, the public, deserve to know? If this level of altruism does not strike a chord, then I would appeal to corporate good sense: give future investors and employees a clearer picture of what’s going on!

The public and international press have started questioning what went wrong. Did Chip Goodyear leave because he was unhappy with the state of Temasek’s finances? Or did he leave because he was too ambitious in reshuffling personnel? In the latter case, one could say that this new broom threatened to sweep too clean.

Singaporeans are great fans of conspiracy theories: remember how many abounded re Mas Selamat’s escape? Conjecture about Mr Goodyear’s departure and Mdm Ho Ching’s future plans will now be rife.

Whatever the kopitiam or online talk, the most disturbing thing about this issue is this: that Temasek, the Ministry of Finance, and Government, are less than forthcoming about what actually happened. And there seems to be a quiet resignation surrounding the speculation that whatever the real heart of the matter, there is little in the dramatis personnae’s behaviour that will change. Singaporeans will complain, speculate, and then true to the government’s modus operandi, we will be asked to move on. The great tragedy of our country is that Singaporeans will be more than happy to oblige.

-Zheng Xi

26 year-old Choo Zheng Xi is the Editor-in-Chief of TheOnlineCitizen.com, a blogsite that aims to tell stories about Singapore and Singaporeans that weren’t being told in the mainstream press. It is a platform which welcomes contributions from the man in the street, the average citizen who is concerned about issues facing our country.<p>

He does not pretend to be right all the time in what he says. He is open to criticisms. He hopes that through the honest and civil exchange of views, all of us will benefit and perhaps take public discourse, especially on controversial issues, to a higher and mature level.

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