Elvin Ong, Guest Contributor - 21 Feb, For those who are unfamiliar with the stories, here is a summary:. In December , the Singapore police busted an online prostitution ring. One of them was reportedly the principal of a very popular primary school. He is in his late 30s, married, and had a child. He abruptly quit in the same month, much to the surprise of his staff and parents of students in the school.
Their sexual affairs might have compromised the integrity of the procurement of some IT computer systems, because the woman worked for the company which was awarded the IT contract. How should Singaporeans, and maybe the rest of mainland Southeast Asia, see these sex scandals?
The common response might be outrage, followed by puzzlement. What happened to the much-vaunted morals, integrity and non-corruption of our civil service? To be sure, there is definitely some basis for feeling some outrage and puzzlement as described above. Put simply, observing that there is no corruption does not mean that there is no corruption.
Corruption can be defined differently in different contexts, and can be hidden. If there is an agreement between two parties over the terms and conditions of a contract, is it still corruption? Furthermore, is there anything innate about the moral fibre of Singaporeans or Singaporean civil servants to render them invincible when faced with sexual temptation?
The streets and karaoke bars of Geylang, Bras Basah and Selegie, just to name a few areas, are filled with Singaporean uncles and young men looking for temporary sexual trysts with women from mainland Southeast Asia. That the average Singaporean chooses to ignore them does not mean that they do not exist. In the meantime the people of Hougang are left without any democratic representation. Would hardly get a mention now. Personally, this is the sort of rational and disarming commentary and view that would expose the soft underbelly of the govt.
