Practice key to coping with chaos

SINGAPORE - It is not possible to eliminate emergencies such as MRT train breakdowns or home fires, Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean said yesterday.

"No matter how careful we are, there will always be instances when things go awry, and we must be prepared for that," he said in response to media queries about what must be done to prepare Singaporeans for emergencies.

Mr Teo, who is the Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs, said "prevention is better than cure".

He added that it is important for organisations to be prepared and have their own procedures thoroughly worked out.

Singaporeans also need to know what to do during a crisis and to remain calm, as it "reduces chaos, reduces panic", allowing work to "proceed in a more orderly manner", he said.

Public-transport operator SMRT was hit last week by three MRT disruptions in four days, with the most recent occurring last Saturday morning on the North-South Line, affecting about 94,000 commuters.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has ordered the formation of a Committee of Inquiry to look into the incidents.

Mr Teo was speaking yesterday on the sidelines of an Emergency Preparedness Exercise at Apex Harmony Lodge, a Pasir Ris nursing home for dementia patients.

During the drill, the home's staff, the Singapore Civil Defence Force, police officers and volunteers demonstrated evacuation procedures for a fire accident.

Referring to Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew's comment last week that terrorism exercises can be very "scripted", Mr Teo said "if you could have anticipated (the incident), then it would not have occurred".

It is in the nature of emergency situations to have "some unusual aspect" to them, which may result in some messiness and chaos, he said.

"That is why it is important that we practise and try to cover all those things that we can." Last Saturday, the Workers' Party expressed concern about the scale of the MRT disruptions and asked whether they were caused by insufficient investment in maintenance and upgrades.

Mr Teo said the Committee of Inquiry will look into these concerns. "Criticism is one thing, but what you do about it is another matter," he said.

joyfang@sph.com.sg

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