By: Phillip Ang
Minister Tan Chuan Jin’s FB post has attempted to throw lots of smoke and miss the elephant in the room.
Tan could have clarified in a calm manner befitting a minister and this would have won him some respect. Instead, he chose to lash out at WP MP Png’s earlier FB post.
According to Tan, “ICA facilitated the clearance for me and my security officers…as well as the residents and volunteers …on the bus”. In short, a busload of ordinarycitizens were given preferential treatment by ICA.
Tan can continue to “clarify” until the cows come home but it doesn’t invalidate the above fact.
Tan sidetracked the issue by speculating that Png’s FB post was “aimed at stirring hate and anger”. Why did the minister need to divert the issue instead of clarifying with facts? Because what Tan Chuan Jin did – facilitating the immigration clearance of ordinary citizens – was wrong.
After beating around a very big bush, Tan claimed that MP Png “knows the standard procedure”, ie ministers around the world get facilitated through immigration. However, Tan conveniently left out the fact that ordinary citizens were also facilitated through immigration because of his presence. Is this standard procedure in every country?
I have no inside information and don’t know whether this is true or not, but it’s possible. Unfortunately, other Causeway users became collateral damage because ordinary citizens in Tan’s entourage were given preferential treatment
Tan also claimed that Png was politicising the issue but wasn’t Tan also politicising with his “cheong hei” speculative FB post? Hmm .. still dare to throw stones while living in a glass house.
In an earlier clarification, ICA had stated it was “Normal practice for ministers to get expedited clearance at checkpoints”. But ICA did not mention it was normal practice to get expedited clearance for grassroots members and volunteers.
Tan should stop telling us grandmother stories and come clean on the issue. Expedited immigration clearance for his entourage of residents and volunteers was a mistake.
Through Tan’s mistake, Png has pointed out a flaw in our immigration system which needs to be addressed.
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Republished from the blog ‘likedatosocanmeh‘.