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Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong takes on questions after making his ministerial speech this afternoon in Parliament.
PM Lee answers a question from MP Inderjit Singh. Here are excerpts of the session:
The civil service has a reward system that matches the private sector. But what kind of punishment will be meted out to civil servants who make mistakes?
"I don't think there is any doubt that civil servants know that when you make a mistake, you will have to face the music. Whether it is a big mistake or a small mistake, if you're responsible, then you'll have to answer for it.
"I would remind Members, however, that we must not get into a witch-hunt mode, that you must make sure when a mistake happens, you must get to the bottom of the matter before you decide to punish people. Because if you generate a culture where nobody wants to make mistakes and you are afraid to do something for fear of making
mistakes. That, as Dr Goh Keng Swee would say, is the biggest mistake of all. Not of the officers, but of us setting the rules and the culture which leads to that happening. You may be angry about it, but you have to stand back... assess objectively, fairly, and then decide who deserves what. ...
"The point is well-taken that there is no iron rice-bowl in the civil service. I think every civil servant is very conscious of that."
For fuller details, watch the video.
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