Bureaucracy Kills a Child

Bureaucracy Kills a Child

The rule in a certain Medical Centre states that children without evidence of legal guardianship will not be admitted.

That's how a 2-year victim of child abuse died when a child-care centre failed to admit her cos of bureaucratic rules. The medical centre refused to admit the child.

The Health Minister said to the staff, "Please use your common sense". You can't blame the staff. They are merely following rules otherwise they will be scolded or get the sack. He should give the lecture to the CEO and management instead.

Say What Should be Said
A top local surgeon wrote his biography to mark his 70th birthday. He has very strong views. I'm sure many share his sentiments.

"Doctors are taught a lot of things that are irrelevant to their practice", he said. Probably a lot of things we learn in schools are outdated because they are based on old syllabus that no longer relevant to the current scenario. An entrenched bureacractic system may not provide the flexibility to adapt to changes.

"Our service and rental costs are higher. We will lose out eventually". Not just in the medical field. Food business is pretty bad in my neighbourhood. One coffee shop wants to upgrade their environment and turn it into aircon foodcourt. Business boom while the other food stall is deserted. It's hard to get a decent bowl of noodle for less than $3.

"There is resistance to new people and new ideas. Call it arrogance," he said. Changes are seldom made bottom up cos somewhere along the transition, the suggestion get shredded and vanished into oblivion. But when directives comes from the top down, it's harder to shred it.

He is worred about the future of a national that lacks a vibrant public space for discussion. He said that the Speakers' Corner was designed to fail. "It's been structured such that no serious person would want to make a speech there".

"If people aren't prepared to say what they should say, then the country is finished. It is the fear of annoying the authorities. People want to ask more questions but would you dare? Singaporeans felt stifled, but they have no guts..If you want to disagree with establishment, you have to be prepared to be punished directly or indirectly", he said.

Strong words indeed.

"Our leaders are good overall, but I think the relationship has been more of fear than love."

He asked, "Why are young people leaving the country? Why are they not reproducing? Is there too much control? Is building a casino an answer?"

The issue of migration was serious enough for the Prime Minister to mention it in his Labour Day Speech. What does he think about them? Migrate and you are a quitter. At the coffee shop, some old men whispered that they are stayers cos they can't afford to quit. Those who quit are probably those who are young, the professional, and those who have the means.