SINGAPORE - Former People's Action Party Member of Parliament and presidential candidate Dr Tan Cheng Bock was invited and then uninvited to a Chinese New Year garden party because the People's Association mistakenly used an old invitation list instead of an updated one.
Read the explanation posted by Mr Lim Swee Say, the deputy chairman of the PA and labour chief, on his Facebook:
"Many people serve and contribute to the community. We review and refresh the list periodically to enable a wider base of invitees to attend the reception.
"The most recent review was conducted a few months ago. Instead of inviting all ex-advisers to grassroots organization repeatedly for 20, 30 years or even longer, we decided to limit the list to only ex-advisers who stood down in the immediate past general election.
"It is most unfortunate that PA made the mistake of using the old list instead of the updated list.
"We are sorry for the error and this is why I phoned Mr Tan and the other affected invitees personally to explain the mistake and followed up with personal emails to apologize again.
"I was heartened that Mr Tan very graciously accepted my explanation over the phone. So I am surprised that he now brings this up publicly as an issue.""
This is MOST UNFORTUNATE.
Lessons for me are:
1. there is a need to understand HOW the mix-up happened. If the 'old' list was reviewed a few months ago, how did Dr Tan Cheng Bock (TCB) got invited on 27 December 2013 and ONLY got a personal call, follow up with an email, from Minister Lim that it was a mistaken and he has to 'uninvite' Dr TCB?
Do we have an ISSUE with the process here? Could similar mistake or tardiness be the reasons for the recent unexplained or yet-to-be-explained ISSUES of Riot in Little India and the Mentally Sicked Malaysian lady driver giving the border check-point the slip?;
2. while it is right for Minister Lim to express 'surprise' that Dr TCB seemed to have 'graciously accepted' the explanation for the uninvite but now posted it on his Facebook page, I wonder IF Minister Lim will accept Dr TCB's explanation that he had taken to his Facebook page as many of his old friends from the PAP MP's days were asking IF he will be there?
I read Dr TCB's post and there was NO bitterness except regrets that he will not be seeing many of his old friends whom he felt warmly welcome each time he (and his wife) were present. Yes?
3. MOST importantly is HOW Singaporeans perceive this episode? Do they see it as: It is 'ungracious' to 'uninvite' Dr TCB and the many 'unqualified', I presumed, ex-activists for PAP (and this begged the question: are Opposition MPs invited or this is JUST for PAP activists? i.e. is this Istana CNY Party a National event or a PAP event? If it is PAP, the budget should be from the PAP fund. Yes?) UNLESS there is REALLY NO place or no budget to accommodate them.
For Singaporeans who want the government to do the right thing, this one does not come out as 'the right thing to do'. Agree?
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