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Government Did Not Say It Doesn't Have A Role In SMRT's Security

Heng-Cheong Leong, MyAppleMenu

I think a lot of bloggers are jumping into the wrong conclusions regarding what Mr Shanmugam was saying over the weekend.

This is what he said: "The most effective way to organise our security framework is to identify key installations that needs the government to provide security, and to recommend a framework on how security should be provided for the rest of the buildings in Singapore... Hence the key for us, is to make sure, that organisations which are profits driven, pay enough attention to the security aspects of their businesses."

To me, for this particular case involving SMRT, I read it as: SMRT will have to, at its own cost, ensure it is secure enough to the government's satisfaction. It is a typical regulator-private company relationship, and the role of the government is not to say that security is entirely SMRT's problem and the government doesn't care. The role of the government is to set the minimum level of security requirements, and SMRT, by hook or by crook, have to satisfy the government's requirement.

Of course, you may argue that the Singapore government is not doing a good job in its role as the regulator. And you may be right. But that's a different argument altogether.