Restoration of East-West MRT Line services a combined effort by foreign workers, contractors and volunteers

East-West Line disruption from 25 to 30 Sep 2024

By Esther Loi, The Straits Times, 6 Oct 2024

It was a race against time for Indian national Dhandapani Vignesh and his rail welding crew to finish joining new rail segments in about three days to fix a section of damaged tracks between Jurong and Clementi stations.

Originally contracted to work on depot renewal projects under the Land Transport Authority (LTA), the 36-year-old construction manager, together with 20 other foreign workers from his team, were alerted at 7pm on Sept 26 that they were being roped in to repair the damaged tracks.

The day before, a train had caused extensive track and trackside damage along a stretch of the East-West Line (EWL), halting rail services between Jurong East and Buona Vista.

The team immediately got down to work, putting in nine- to 10-hour shifts from Sept 27 to 30 to finish welding – or connecting – the new rail segments to existing ones along the westbound track so that trains could run smoothly again. The new rails replaced the ones damaged by the faulty train.

The disruption, which lasted six days till Sept 30 and affected about 2.6 million passengers, was one of the most severe rail disruptions in the 37-year history of Singapore’s MRT system. Train services resumed on Oct 1.

Despite the pressure of the task at hand, Mr Vignesh mused that he literally “did not feel the heat much” as rail welding, which involves heating rail segments placed between ceramic moulds to join them, was done in the shade in tents.

The main challenge, he added, was having only a limited working timeframe – from around 2.30pm to midnight daily. Welding was not possible at other times of the day since the rails would expand in the daytime heat and eat into the 30mm gaps required to insert welding materials.

Mr Vignesh and his team were also heartened by the steady stream of cold drinking water almost every hour and fast-food meals provided by LTA, rail operator SMRT and even members of the public.

They were among the more than 800 workers responsible for getting the EWL train services up and running again.

Former transport minister S. Iswaran’s 12-month prison term underlines intrinsic value of public trust

The integrity of our public institutions is paramount and serves as the lynchpin for our faith in governance.

By Eugene K B Tan, Published The Straits Times, 5 Oct 2024

Integrity underpins good governance. It’s a non-negotiable. When public trust erodes, the country risks descending into dysfunction, as accountability falters, and public institutions lose legitimacy.

For many in Singapore – and around the world – the high-profile case of former minister S Iswaran was seen as an anomaly here, and yet at the same time a litmus test of the integrity of our system and governance.

Last week, Iswaran pleaded guilty to four Penal Code Section 165 charges, which make it an offence for a public servant to ask for or accept gifts as a public servant from someone with whom he has an official business relationship, and one charge for the obstruction of justice. Thirty other charges under Section 165 were taken into consideration in sentencing.

On Oct 3, Justice Vincent Hoong sentenced Iswaran to 12 months’ jail – twice the six to seven months the public prosecutor had argued for and about six times what the defence had put forward.

In his view, anything else would be a “manifestly inadequate sentence”.

The message was clear.

The paramount importance of trust and confidence in public institutions was writ large and robustly reiterated in the High Court’s 94-page ruling.

Perceptions and public institutions

At one level, the sentence underscores the court’s strong stance against any offence that undermines trust and confidence in public institutions.

Even perceptions of influence peddling by gift givers or abuse of office are highly detrimental as they have an insidious effect on public trust and confidence.

Perceptions often operate as reality. In other words, the harm caused can be significant even from perceptions. This is a reasonably compelling position to take.

The public interest in the integrity and trustworthiness of public institutions, which is necessarily hard-earned, is undermined and easily dissipated by perceptions that individuals could enjoy the patronage of public servants, or that public servants are susceptible to influence by pecuniary benefits. As such, perceptions of unethical conduct or unlawful actions must be vigorously avoided.

Is this too high an expectation and standard of public servants and public institutions?

Not at all. The public sector is such a vital part of our lives and its impact significant in all that we do. Should it fall into disrepute, governance can only become awry.

Notably, the judge recognised that distrust in the public sector can arise not just from outright corruption but also where public institutions become the target of influence peddling, the lack of impartiality in decision-making, and being prone to dispensing patronage.

Justice Hoong put it well: “The swift denunciation of such offences is necessary to deter the acquisition or cultivation of the patronage, loyalty or goodwill of public servants by valuables for the perceived benefits of persons with dealings connected to the official capacities of public servants”.

Zero tolerance

But this was also a case that demonstrated the various public institutions and the rule of law at its best even though the matter was hugely embarrassing for the Government and ruling party.

The judge found that Iswaran had abused his high office.

The mitigating factors he put forth, including his public service and contributions to Singapore, the voluntary disgorgement of benefits received, and a guilty plea at the start of the trial, did not sway the sentencing in his favour.

The judge made it clear that persons in high office with the “associated power and status” should generally be regarded as having acted with more culpability in abusing their position to obtain valuable gifts.

The investigation, prosecution and outcome of this case align with the longstanding position of zero tolerance of corruption.

Any doubt that there has been a wavering of the commitment on incorruptibility across the whole of government or that preferential treatment was accorded to Iswaran should now be banished.