TOC Op-Ed
Choo Zheng Xi / Editor in Chief
Mr Ng Ser Miang, Singapore’s only representative on the International Olympic Committee, highlighted the arrogance of Member of Parliament (Nee Soon South, Ang Mo Kio GRC) Ms Lee Bee Wah’s decision to fire Singapore table-tennis team manager Antony Lee succinctly: “I’m quite puzzled as to how a decision like that can be made by the Singapore Table Tennis Association (STTA) president, who has been in office for just over a month.”
That Ms Lee, who took over as STTA president only last month, feels that she has personal ownership over the table-tennis team is undoubted. Using the personal pronoun in her interview with the Straits Times, she said: “I have a new team and will have a new CEO and technical director”.
Ms Lee’s transposition of the authoritarian instincts of the People’s Action Party (PAP) into the sporting arena highlights the ugliest characteristics of the party. She has in one fell swoop turned the mood over Singapore’s first Olympic silver sour, putting personal pique over national interest, running roughshod over people far more qualified than herself to impose a unilateral decision that very obviously lacks the support of those with a deep stake in Singapore’s sporting success.
Ms Lee was right to ask for accountability in the fiasco that left Singapore’s top men’s player Gao Ning on courtside alone, without a coach, during his match with unfancied Croatian Tan Ruiwu. Gao lost the match 0-4. It is unfortunate that Ms Lee has chosen to overreact and create a larger fiasco by making a public example of Antony Lee without consulting table tennis officials.
Integrity, accountability
More damningly, this incident speaks poorly of her integrity. She did not have the courage to admit that the Gao Ning fiasco was the reason she fired Mr Lee. Asked by the Straits Times if this was the reason she fired Mr Lee, she said it was not and added that “she just wanted to ‘let the matter rest’.”
If we take Ms Lee for her word, she has to explain to the country why she fired the Singaporean manager of our only team to win an Olympic silver – and this after a 48-year drought. The only other conclusion to draw is that she is cravenly trying to damage control the fallout of her rash action.
Mr Ng’s criticisms of Ms Lee’s rash actions carry great weight. Unlike Ms Lee, Mr Ng has devoted much of his life to the development of Singaporean sport. He was a former national sailor, and is currently the patron of the Singapore Sailing Federation. As the vice-president of the Singapore National Olympic Council, he was a key player in securing Singapore’s bid to host the inaugural Youth Olympic Games in 2010.
Highhandedness
Having been the president of the STTA for only a month, Ms Lee can have minimal understanding of the team’s dynamic at best. More realistically, she is completely ignorant of the efforts put in by Mr Lee, and the rapport he has built with the team. To add insult to injury, she chose to fire Mr Lee without telling him to his face. Mr Lee had to find out about his dismissal from a “third party”, as he himself described it. “I’m surprised she did not tell me directly. That would be the courteous thing to do. I have to hear this from third parties. After doing so much for Singapore,” Mr Lee told the Straits Times, “I deserve a little respect.”
Ms Lee, however, said that “Antony is welcome to apply for the position when we ask for applications”. (Straits Times). It is ironic that in her “bold” public act, what has been foregrounded is her personal cowardice and highhandedness.
Perhaps Ms Lee did not want to follow the example of how her PAP colleague, Minister for Home Affairs Mr Wong Kan Seng, bungled the Mas Selamat fallout with a half-baked apology.
It is sad that she did not perceive the real lesson behind the public’s low estimation of Mr Wong’s insincerity. Mr Wong chose to exonerate the head of the Internal Security Department (ISD) without subjecting him to a disciplinary inquiry. Ms Lee has fallen on the other extreme of the same fundamental problem. By not subjecting the team manager’s oversight to a disciplinary inquiry of sporting officials with a clearer understanding of the sporting arena, she has shown a similar disdain for due process.
The lesson for our political leaders is this: due process in ascertaining guilt or exoneration matters more than well-publicised fist thumping. In Ms Lee’s case, that fist thumping is all the more galling for her inexperience and arrogance.
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The comments here seems to have gone wild with mud-slinging, vulgarities and discriminatory remarks about PRC and Malaysians. These remarks would lead us nowhere but to trouble. The remarks should be civil and objective. Could the moderator do something.
She should show be civil enough to meet coach Liu after bad mouthing
him to the public. That is the least expected of her. Or she believe you can
run and hide. Is this the standard we expect of our MP. The GRC with
her is going to loose lots of votes including mine in the coming election.
frankie speaking… can Wee hav someone who’s m0re zai in AMK GeeRc u noe?? ZAI as in garang la u noe?? AHHH means power la.. boleh understand?
walaowei.. or else i think this grc Buaykan liao.. must hav someone good like
mr vivan bala xXxx (paiseh i dunch noe how to spell nia) or mr Thamade as the leading man la.. =))
my 10cents worth of idea hor.. =))
ONCE AGAIN Everybody!!!
PAP WAN SHUI!!!
lol
LAI!!!!
This “Concerned-dude” is indeed a hypocrite.
What was your concerns about ? What vulgarities were you refering to? if you fantasized LBW’s in your midst-too bad, if your taste was spoilt. You really got poor or cheap taste. Besides, I hope you’ll support S’pore chicken or ducks than PRCs dod!
Life is real babe! nothing to hide or pretend as if all is well. Why do you read if you don’t like what you read ? isn’t your complains instead of concerns, had proven your absolute stupidities. Are you a S’porean or just another bump? living on the well being of our pure S’porean.
You are simpily naived to the core of an idiot. Aren’t those lame Northern-neighbors parked in Singapore are just a bunch of loafers? If not, why don’t return to your country and creates big-waves there? Can’t blamed you if you are really one of those.
Anyway, can you and your sweety LBW do something good for S’pore ? by being quiet or else just go back to Sodomy-country-lah.
Take no offence babe ,cuz you have to be rounded outside and not a square within a square. Life is not as rosy as you imaged to be and its also senseless to behave intellectually while realities mauled you without any answers. Be good and off you are.
LBW probably was told to “SHUT UP & SIT DOWN”, Govt have enuff to handle with all their appointed clowns shooting unncessary comment the past month. LCL probably put a mouth guard on her prevent what’s bad enuff.
He probably was told to “SHUT UP & SIT DOWN”, Govt have enuff to handle with all their appointed clowns shooting unncessary comment the past month. LCL probably put a mouth guard on her prevent what’s bad enuff.
Dear Kopi O King, – referring to your comment number 406.
When I referred to vulgarities, I did not have any particular person in mind. However, after reviewing comments posted from ‘LBW incident 2′ , I noticed that Kopi O King spout many of them especially referring to SODOMY(defined as ANAL INTERCOURSE) in comments no. 392 and 402.
Your argument “why do you read if you don’t like what you read” does not make sense at all.
You are calling people from Malaysia and China derogatory names. Those words are not diplomatic and cause enmity between us and our foreign neighbours.
I am not Pro-LBW but I am Pro-Singapore. LBW has brought shame to us for behaving so lowly twice. We should calmly and objectively air our displeasure to the authorities who can then ‘graciously’ remove her. Shouting, cursing and swearing relegates us to the status of mobster and can then be easily dismissed as such, making us lose our breath and getting no results.
Now I hope you understand Mr K.O.K. She had dug a deep hole on 2 occasions, don’t force her to jump in but let someone graciously lead her into it. Then the surface would be calm once again for us to aim for more Olympic medals.
Hi Concerned,
I am amazed with your ability to distort the entire text which in obvious, I
am entitled to my opinions regardless to how it was written.
If my statement, though un-intended for can aroused you to such filty-wetty
state of mind, I am appalled!
Sodomy is a word that can be used in either ways and not unneccesary to be
vulgars then descriptives unless you are far more guilty
youself with your life-time. The political scenerio from our northern
neighbours had often spiced herself with such topics and I supposed
any heartland Ah-Soh would knew the mastermind MAHATEARSSS!!
Certainly I hope you are not one of those pretending to be democratic,
harvesting a commis mindset and doing things discreetly and full
of hidden secrecies.
Next, till you are eaten off a bit at a time like elephant, tell that to
Sam, what’s diplomaties all about ? As I already enlighten you on
such potent threats of this invasions is already here for real. For sure we
should be proud of the facts that we are South East Asian
Fellows and of the diluted types unlike from mainland that spoke with
twitching-tongues.
What enmity are you moaning about ? Singapore economic predictions was on
average of 4 ~5 % for the pasts 10-years while mainland
had a robust-growth of 11 ~ 13%. Did those mainlanders gave you or our
nations 5% shares of their economics ? If your answer is no!
I suggests you rethink cuz’ they don’t give and yet they invades for more.
Evidently and even our business-wise government got conned in
Suzhou. Last of, doesn’t mean we are chinese suggested we’ve have those
special priveleges form mainland – that’s a pure misconceptions
which doesn’t re-inforced a fact just because one man said so in ” kwang-si
!” Real world babe…., there’s no such things ! even liu was
battling that with your sweety lbw.
I admired your immense pretenses and hypocrisies but you can Do yourself a
good favors, don’t re-educate me with those squiqi cell-study.
I don’t need your antidotes much more than your sweety LBW needed
desperately. I don’t force her but but neither could I stop our great
and beloved anti-lbw’s supporters ultimately voiced that she should be
ship-out as soon as possible.
What else can you do, being a one-man crusades? Perhaps you too can join
the revival of the long-march with gongs and drums and scream
your yourself hard to your beloved prc’s idols. Off-course they will
rewards You 1% of their GDP instead of waiting for your TOTO to burst
…, go-on boy!
I have no idea how this came to anal sex? (didn’t bother to read anyway :P)
I’m not sure that the imported team winning a “Silver” is even a national joy by the way…
Josh,
I couldn’t agree more to that over-jubilant swing just for a mere piece of silver and with those over exaggerated adverts placed in every pay-channels to have them immortalize.
The price of one-piece of silver couldn’t be expensive compared to the amount taken-out from tax-payer’s money, with an extend to who cares ? by the associations and organizers.
Such insinuations definitely hurts our true breed S’porean team having being side-lined despite their roars or meow, on all out to win like 300-spartan does.
Our home-grown un-principled medias with those usual stereo-type mindsets anxiously acted proudly as traitor against our true breed S’pore teams while wagging its tail happily to one-man views on kwang-si instead with the true on “fung-pee! ” (farting).
The SILVER COATED MEDAL or even a pure silver medal is worth nothing if it is not won by our local born Singaporean.
And to add;
if our political leaders are not local born, they are worth only as much as THE SILVER MEDAL WON BY THE IMPORTED FOREIGN TALENTS !
410) Kopi O King on May 30th, 2009 9.42 am
Very good rebut. Keep it up.
Some people think that a piece of silver easily bought with $$$ (which is actually a closed contest among some super species in a game where a small rounded celluloid barely 4cm in diameter is being hit around) in this money world is a sign to some golden era to come.
Hi Ah Soh,
You are doing great and I am impressed with your quick evaluations.
You certainly earned my vast support to parliament to oust those foreign cockroaches out of our shores and those happy-tailed wagging s’porean
like Concerned and those single-minded politicians and their cohorts to
Alcatraz island or Guantanamo-bay.
Dear Mdm LBW, with all due respect and thanks to the way you handled this entire matter, i’ll surely vote wisely with an informed at the next election.
Yours,
a resident @ AMK
oh no i live in Ang Mo Kio!!
Another priceless nugget of wisdom from Madam Jamban Pangsai.
Also, I really detest politicians meddling with sports to score political points. Provide the funding and facilities, and leave the sportspeople and coaches to try their best and do their jobs.
It’s become so business-like, you must deliver X number of medals at Event ABC. There’s a quota and return on investment, and outsourcing is highly encouraged.
she is the witch friding the bloom stick flying around with her loose mouth opens wide
the whole thread, ah soh’s comments got my salute
que massa otimo upload
Someone please write to remind Nee Soon Residents the arrogance of LBW!