Deal fairly with public officers in NRIC unmasking saga; accountability of political office holders important, says SM Teo

LESSONS “MUST BE LEARNT AND INTERNALISED”

In his ministerial statement, Mr Teo recapped the incident and the actions taken by the government, as well as reiterated why the government saw the need to move away from the use of partial NRIC numbers.

Noting that he agreed with the review panel’s findings, he said the incident demonstrates that close coordination and careful attention to detail are needed when updating policies and practices.

“Sometimes it is a single issue, but at other times, it can be a confluence of factors that can lead to such incidents,” said Mr Teo.

Apart from the political office holders, Mr Teo reiterated that the permanent secretaries of the former Smart Nation and Digital Government Office (SNDGO) and MDDI, as well as the chief executive of ACRA are also responsible.

Mr Teo said the review was not a disciplinary process, and that any disciplinary action would be taken in accordance with applicable frameworks and processes in the respective public agencies.

He also said the cost of any financial penalties against ACRA would not be meaningful because they would “ultimately have to be borne by the public purse”. 

The Public Service Division, MDDI and ACRA have taken into account the review panel’s findings, and reviewed the roles, responsibilities and actions of the relevant officers involved.

The agencies have assessed that there were “inadequacies” in the officers’ judgement and actions, and “appropriate measures are being taken against them”, said the senior minister.

These measures range from counselling to retraining to reductions in performance grade, which will carry financial consequences such as a reduction in their performance-based payments.

Mr Teo said the lessons from the incident “must be learnt and internalised, not only by the officers involved or their agencies, but by the public service as a whole, so that they are not repeated”.

Noting the need to maintain trust in the public service, he added: “When things go wrong, we are upfront with Singaporeans on where we have fallen short.

“We conduct thorough reviews and make improvements to our systems and processes to serve Singaporeans better, while remaining fair to our officers.

“This recent incident, while regrettable, demonstrates the government’s commitment to continuous improvement, to uphold the trust that Singaporeans have placed in the government and the public service,” he said.