I AM pleased that Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng left no stone unturned when he presented to Parliament on Monday the Committee of Inquiry (COI) findings on Mas Selamat Kastari's escape.

The morning after the escape, DPM Wong said he would give a full account of the escape.

He has kept his word indeed.

The COI's extensive work, including examining more than 70 officers, is commendable.

I had thought that the escape was puzzling, given our excellent security standing. The findings undoubtedly show how the inconceivable had happened.

How Mas Selamat managed to escape is now clear. Though unforeseen, it was not implausible, let alone puzzling.

Looking at the extensive facts, one cannot but conclude that the human element was very significant indeed.

The officers whose duty was to watch over Mas Selamat had either made errors of judgement or lowered their guards.

Our government leaders did not mince their words in their comments of the event.

Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew called it a severe lesson in complacency. DPM Wong said it was a costly and painful wake-up call. Many will, no doubt, concur.

This said, I think we should not forget the unpleasant fact that such human errors and misjudgements do occur. The real world we live in is not perfect.

Sometimes, mistakes lead to near misses; at other times, the very same mistakes cause more adverse consequences.

Still, I am hopeful that the episode will be a blessing in disguise.

Why do I say so?

Let us not forget that Singapore is still one of the safest countries in the world to live in today. In Britain, the authorities recently warned that the security agencies were monitoring about 30 active terrorist cells. I am sure Singapore is nowhere close to that situation.

In finding the underlying cause of things, including conducting such thorough investigations, the COI threw up blind spots - mistakes that could lead to even more serious consequences.

It is reassuring to note that prompt action was taken to replace the officers responsible for Mas Selamat's escape. This is a critical first step to breaking the culture of complacency that had crept into the Whitley Road Detention Centre.

In addition, I have no doubt that the Internal Security Department (ISD) will diligently put in place measures that will go beyond just the recommendations by the COI.

Foreign investors have not wavered in their confidence for Singapore, knowing that we will learn from this experience.

I have full confidence that the ISD will pick up the pieces.

And the reason for the continued vote of confidence?

First, it is the admirable transparency as demonstrated by DPM Wong when he shared extensively with the country the findings of the COI's investigations.

The second reason, which is equally admirable, is the Government's attitude of not ducking problems and, in the words of DPM Wong, 'to get to the bottom of problems, to find the cause of it, to solve it and then to take actions to ensure that similar problems to not recur'.

Peng Jiarong

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