Defamation suits, Thought Policing and the Question of Merit-based Employee Selection
February 27th 2012 19:51
Of late, politicians in Singapore have taken to sending legal memos to bloggers whenever a defamatory comment or article appears on their websites.
First, Law and Foreign Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam, a partner with Allen and Gledhill, sent a letter to Alex Au, webmaster of Yawning Bread after a user allegedly hinted at Shanmugam having an extramarital affair. The user, who goes by the name Scroobal, had commented on a blog entry regarding Hougang Member of Parliament Yaw Shin Leong’s relationship with a married female member of the same party. Yaw, who won the Hougang seat for the Workers’ Party in May 2011, had slept with Angela Oon and supposedly knocked her up. This was initially reported by prominent dissident website the Temasek Review Emeritus. Mainstream media outlets soon picked up this juicy piece of news and this subsequently led to Yaw’s expulsion from the Workers’ Party. The seat of Hougang thus fell vacant under the Constitution. Scroobal commented that Yaw was given undue attention by various media outlets, while Shanmugam, a member of the ruling People’s Action Party, received little notice despite being intimate with fellow member of parliament Foo Mee Har of West Coast GRC. This comment led to Au being served a memo by lawyers from Allen and Gledhill. He was told to remove Scroobal’s comment and duly complied.
This action was followed by Senior Counsel Davinder Singh of Drew and Napier, himself a former PAP MP, sending Temasek Review Emeritus editor Richard Wan a similar memo for an article that claimed that Ho Ching, the wife of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, secured the job of Chief Executive of sovereign fund Temasek Holdings because her husband pulled strings for her. Wan pulled the article offline and issued an apology. Meanwhile, Temasek Holdings’ chairman S. Dhanabalan and PM Lee came out to say that Ho’s appointment was based purely on merit. Still, this has not managed to convince the sceptical public who have seen Temasek Holdings make one bad judgement call after another, losing huge sums of money as a result. The company’s reluctance to open their books does not help make things any better.
In the first case, it can be argued that Shanmugam’s alleged affair with Foo can be proven by physical means. As for the second, the idea of appointing Ho based on merit and not due to nepotism is highly subjective. Both Shanmugam and Foo are married. We can say Shamnugam and Foo are guilty of adultery with one another if there are photographs of them behaving in an intimate manner or if a steamy video of them is uploaded. However, since nothing of that sort has been discovered as yet, we cannot make any judgement on that issue. Scroobal’s comment is at best one that has no basis and therefore defamatory. The fact that it was even published would imply a certain level of negligence on the part of Alex Au. He should learn from this experience and screen users’ comments more thoroughly so that no libellous material gets uploaded.
With regards to Ho Ching being the CEO of Temasek Holdings, her appointment is seen to be highly controversial. Many netizens have mentioned that she used to be the head of a Singapore Technologies unit that went belly-up, which means she may not be suitable as a business person. Yet she was appointed to be in charge of an organisation that invests the taxpayers’ money. Several decisions, including the purchase of Thai telecommunications firm Shin Corp – former owned by disgraced Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s family – have proven to be disastrous. For PM Lee to silence those who even dare to question the rationale behind Ho’s appointment, it shows that he may be trying to control the way people think. Shanmugam’s marital infidelity can be verified by fact, but not the reasons for Ho Ching’s appointment as Temasek CEO. The allegations of nepotism will remain popular opinion and nothing more. Still, it is impossible to stop anyone from holding such opinions due to the circumstances that Ho was given the job. What PM Lee is doing is tantamount to thought policing. He is trying to change the way people think by using force, which is unworkable. After all, we cannot interfere with others’ free will.
The question of merit itself is highly questionable. Many human resource managers send out rejection letters saying that after due consideration, they have awarded the job to the best candidate based on merit. The question is what defines merit? Two things come to mind. One is paper qualifications, another is working experience. Paper qualifications represent the theoretical side of things, while working experience would signify practical knowledge. In recent years, employers have shied away from paper qualifications in favour of working experience when hiring. The candidate’s character is also important, as someone of bad character could drag down the organisation.
Consider the following scenario. In Perth, there is a famous hospitality chain founded by Scandinavians. They need to fill the vacancy of restaurant manager at one of their branches really urgently. The HR department has received the resume of two very prominent individuals. One is a metrosexual auntie-killer in his late 30s who has a flair for public relations and was last employed by renown publicity firm Hill and Knowlton as an agency manager. The other is a 20-year-old woman who has worked in fast-food and related businesses for the last 6 years, most recently helping her husband operate an insanely-busy five-star Indian restaurant. The former speaks in a gentle, charming manner that is atypical for a male. He has a sweet disposition and cheerful smile that endears him to all his subordinates and Hill and Knowlton. In short, he is something of an emotional magnet that oozes charismatic authority. The latter is known for her extreme work ethic. She takes complete ownership of all tasks assigned to her. All employees who have served under her are required to meet sky-high expectations from the first day. The workplace under her charge is nothing more than a cheerless environment where everyone works just to fill their stomachs.
Both candidates have stellar results under their belts. After all, they are managers and their job is to motivate subordinates to do better than they are naturally born to do. One knows how to play nice; the other uses brute force. One portrays a humble and down-to-earth appearance; the other comes across as too big for her boots. One seems willing to share credit; the other monopolises it. Choosing the right candidate is enough to give any selector a major headache. It is like watching a Cup final between Manchester City and Manchester United. There can only be one winner, but both teams are equally tough. When there are two strong candidates and only one position up for grabs, the selectors would need to apply great discretion to select the right person based on the highly-debatable issue of merit. Someone who believes that work should be enjoyed would go for the former, as he is able to create a fun and happy environment where everyone puts in their best effort because they feel passionate about carrying out their duties, thus boosting productivity. However, if the recruiter happens to be very forward-looking, she might go for the latter on account of her youthfulness and flawless track record of professional competence in a pressure-cooker environment, never mind her lack of humour. After all, she is able to meet sky-high expectations the moment she commences full-time work and produce results for the company quickly. Whatever methods that are deployed, questionable or otherwise, mean nothing.
Now put yourself into the shoes of the recruiter. Choosing the right person for the job is a dilemma of ethical proportions. The right person could mean higher profits, improved staff morale and better customer satisfaction. The wrong person could mean poor corporate leadership, low staff morale and decreased sales. What would you do? Would you have made the same mistake that Temasek Holdings made or would you be able to do better?
First, Law and Foreign Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam, a partner with Allen and Gledhill, sent a letter to Alex Au, webmaster of Yawning Bread after a user allegedly hinted at Shanmugam having an extramarital affair. The user, who goes by the name Scroobal, had commented on a blog entry regarding Hougang Member of Parliament Yaw Shin Leong’s relationship with a married female member of the same party. Yaw, who won the Hougang seat for the Workers’ Party in May 2011, had slept with Angela Oon and supposedly knocked her up. This was initially reported by prominent dissident website the Temasek Review Emeritus. Mainstream media outlets soon picked up this juicy piece of news and this subsequently led to Yaw’s expulsion from the Workers’ Party. The seat of Hougang thus fell vacant under the Constitution. Scroobal commented that Yaw was given undue attention by various media outlets, while Shanmugam, a member of the ruling People’s Action Party, received little notice despite being intimate with fellow member of parliament Foo Mee Har of West Coast GRC. This comment led to Au being served a memo by lawyers from Allen and Gledhill. He was told to remove Scroobal’s comment and duly complied.
This action was followed by Senior Counsel Davinder Singh of Drew and Napier, himself a former PAP MP, sending Temasek Review Emeritus editor Richard Wan a similar memo for an article that claimed that Ho Ching, the wife of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, secured the job of Chief Executive of sovereign fund Temasek Holdings because her husband pulled strings for her. Wan pulled the article offline and issued an apology. Meanwhile, Temasek Holdings’ chairman S. Dhanabalan and PM Lee came out to say that Ho’s appointment was based purely on merit. Still, this has not managed to convince the sceptical public who have seen Temasek Holdings make one bad judgement call after another, losing huge sums of money as a result. The company’s reluctance to open their books does not help make things any better.
In the first case, it can be argued that Shanmugam’s alleged affair with Foo can be proven by physical means. As for the second, the idea of appointing Ho based on merit and not due to nepotism is highly subjective. Both Shanmugam and Foo are married. We can say Shamnugam and Foo are guilty of adultery with one another if there are photographs of them behaving in an intimate manner or if a steamy video of them is uploaded. However, since nothing of that sort has been discovered as yet, we cannot make any judgement on that issue. Scroobal’s comment is at best one that has no basis and therefore defamatory. The fact that it was even published would imply a certain level of negligence on the part of Alex Au. He should learn from this experience and screen users’ comments more thoroughly so that no libellous material gets uploaded.
With regards to Ho Ching being the CEO of Temasek Holdings, her appointment is seen to be highly controversial. Many netizens have mentioned that she used to be the head of a Singapore Technologies unit that went belly-up, which means she may not be suitable as a business person. Yet she was appointed to be in charge of an organisation that invests the taxpayers’ money. Several decisions, including the purchase of Thai telecommunications firm Shin Corp – former owned by disgraced Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s family – have proven to be disastrous. For PM Lee to silence those who even dare to question the rationale behind Ho’s appointment, it shows that he may be trying to control the way people think. Shanmugam’s marital infidelity can be verified by fact, but not the reasons for Ho Ching’s appointment as Temasek CEO. The allegations of nepotism will remain popular opinion and nothing more. Still, it is impossible to stop anyone from holding such opinions due to the circumstances that Ho was given the job. What PM Lee is doing is tantamount to thought policing. He is trying to change the way people think by using force, which is unworkable. After all, we cannot interfere with others’ free will.
The question of merit itself is highly questionable. Many human resource managers send out rejection letters saying that after due consideration, they have awarded the job to the best candidate based on merit. The question is what defines merit? Two things come to mind. One is paper qualifications, another is working experience. Paper qualifications represent the theoretical side of things, while working experience would signify practical knowledge. In recent years, employers have shied away from paper qualifications in favour of working experience when hiring. The candidate’s character is also important, as someone of bad character could drag down the organisation.
Consider the following scenario. In Perth, there is a famous hospitality chain founded by Scandinavians. They need to fill the vacancy of restaurant manager at one of their branches really urgently. The HR department has received the resume of two very prominent individuals. One is a metrosexual auntie-killer in his late 30s who has a flair for public relations and was last employed by renown publicity firm Hill and Knowlton as an agency manager. The other is a 20-year-old woman who has worked in fast-food and related businesses for the last 6 years, most recently helping her husband operate an insanely-busy five-star Indian restaurant. The former speaks in a gentle, charming manner that is atypical for a male. He has a sweet disposition and cheerful smile that endears him to all his subordinates and Hill and Knowlton. In short, he is something of an emotional magnet that oozes charismatic authority. The latter is known for her extreme work ethic. She takes complete ownership of all tasks assigned to her. All employees who have served under her are required to meet sky-high expectations from the first day. The workplace under her charge is nothing more than a cheerless environment where everyone works just to fill their stomachs.
Both candidates have stellar results under their belts. After all, they are managers and their job is to motivate subordinates to do better than they are naturally born to do. One knows how to play nice; the other uses brute force. One portrays a humble and down-to-earth appearance; the other comes across as too big for her boots. One seems willing to share credit; the other monopolises it. Choosing the right candidate is enough to give any selector a major headache. It is like watching a Cup final between Manchester City and Manchester United. There can only be one winner, but both teams are equally tough. When there are two strong candidates and only one position up for grabs, the selectors would need to apply great discretion to select the right person based on the highly-debatable issue of merit. Someone who believes that work should be enjoyed would go for the former, as he is able to create a fun and happy environment where everyone puts in their best effort because they feel passionate about carrying out their duties, thus boosting productivity. However, if the recruiter happens to be very forward-looking, she might go for the latter on account of her youthfulness and flawless track record of professional competence in a pressure-cooker environment, never mind her lack of humour. After all, she is able to meet sky-high expectations the moment she commences full-time work and produce results for the company quickly. Whatever methods that are deployed, questionable or otherwise, mean nothing.
Now put yourself into the shoes of the recruiter. Choosing the right person for the job is a dilemma of ethical proportions. The right person could mean higher profits, improved staff morale and better customer satisfaction. The wrong person could mean poor corporate leadership, low staff morale and decreased sales. What would you do? Would you have made the same mistake that Temasek Holdings made or would you be able to do better?
| 9 |
| Vote |

Add Comments
Read More
Comments (2)
Comment by Andrew Situ
on Elder Ward's death and its implications to the wider Australian community
A commoner's take on the crazy life
The Rise of Evil
As for "handing Australia back", it is high time to elect our own President who could preferably be of Nyungar descent. It no longer makes any sense to celebrate the Queen's birthday.