Saturday 12 November 2022

WP's very successful political game in AHTC


WP's very successful political game.

In the beginning, Singaporeans did not know that FMSS was owned by close affiliates of WP.
Only WP and MND knew these facts.
But MND left them alone because, as then National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan said, they allowed some latitude with regard to party affiliation because TCs are political by nature. So MND did not interfere with the award of contracts to FMSS.
Then one day, the WP decided to play politics in Parliament during the debate on AIM.
They wanted to whip up a furore over AIM being a company set up by PAP members.
Not knowing that MND knew the fact of FMSS being owned by close affiliates of WP, Pritam Singh boldly declared in Parliament that transactions with political party-owned companies should be banned by the TC Act.
That's when Mr Khaw Boon Wan rebutted the WP and told them to look in the mirror.
And so folks, that was how the whole of Singapore came to know that FMSS was owned by close party affiliates who acted as assenter and proposer to the WP's Ang Mo Kio GRC team in the 2006 General Election.
There's nothing wrong with WP appointing FMSS as their managing agent. This was why MND left them alone in the first place and did not interfere.
This is also why we are not surprised by the Court of Appeal saying that WP appointed FMSS in 'good faith'.
So WHAT IS THE ISSUE?
The issue was that they allowed their friends to set up a flawed payment system involving conflict of interest, and then being fully aware of this conflict of interest, did nothing to correct it and allowed it to persist until MND decided to step in and put things right.
And THAT is the issue today.
The issue is not that they appointed friends (in good faith).
They issue is that they allowed their friends to set up a flawed payment process (in bad faith).
The Court of Appeal found them to be woefully negligent, and acting in bad faith, and allowing this to persist for 3 years before MND stepped in and put an end to this payment process

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