Lesson 1: People desire precise real time information.
There is a great amount of confusion over the different indicators that NEA has provided over the past week. There is the 3 hourly average PSI reading, 24 hour average PSI reading, and the PM2.5 reading, along with all their associated health advisories. In a bid to obtain hourly readings, many people have resorted to constructing their own excel sheets and graphs (such as this), second guessing what exactly are the hourly inputs that NEA uses.
The ministers themselves did not help their own cause when Min(MEWR) Vivian Balakrishnan (VVB) held a press conference and said something to the effect of “we should not be fixated on the numbers”, and when Grace Fu said that the 24 hour PSI reading is a better gauge of the haze’s health impact. Bloggers like TheHeartTruths also disputed VVB’s message, saying that other countries published hourly readings. This prompted a clarification by MEWR.
The problem is that all this is unnecessary and confusing. While NEA and MEWR were concerned about getting the correct readings to gauge the impact on people’s health, many people were primarily concerned about getting the best precise real time reading to decide on their course of action for themselves and for their families. Should I still honor that appointment in the next one hour? Should I bring my mask? Should I go swimming? Is it OK to go to the neighbourhood wet market to shop in the morning? The government and the people were basically not talking to each other. One yelled “I want hourly readings to know what to do!” while another just stuck with “24hour readings are best measures of health impact.”
Lesson 2: Political leaders need to be leaders.
In times of crisis, groups look up to their leaders for precise “big” priorities and swift “big” action. Min(MEWR) VVB’s first press conference on Wednesday night at 2330hrs missed that opportunity. He said that “we will have to make adjustments to our daily routines.” You don’t really have to tell us that you know. In that press conference, NEA and MEWR also provided detailed health advisories. But health advisories are very crude announcements at best. What are the consequences if an individual doesn’t follow the “advice”? What about companies? What about outdoor workers?
The next day, PM Lee Hsien Loong (LHL) held a press conference in the afternoon. Although he mentioned that “My priority is to protect the health and safety of Singaporeans, especially vulnerable groups.” which is great, he further confused his message when he went on to say that “we must carry on with our daily lives” and that any response to stop work must be flexible and “calibrated”. This is confusing because it appears that the principles of “flexibility” and “carry on with our daily lives” over-rode the paramount priority of “health and safety of Singaporeans” (and not forgetting the foreign workers too).
So if protecting “the health and safety of Singaporeans” was his priority, what action did he implement? He set up a committee. >_<||| Leaders don’t set up committees in times of crisis. Leaders give direction and orders. Setting up committees signals that you are delegating and shifting responsibility. OK, so they also announced that a whole range of Singaporeans can see their general practitioners and pay only $10 if they have haze-related health problems. That is awesome but is reactive rather than proactive. You want to get people to get masks to prevent themselves from falling sick, rather than let people fall sick and then subsidize their medical costs. How much productivity would have been wasted by then?
Lesson 3: Distribution matters more than supply.
On Thursday, after PM Lee held his press conference and when MOH first reassured the public that there were 9 million N95 masks in stock, it appeared that things were really problematic. I decided to head to Tampines Central to buy N95 masks on Friday morning. All the Guardian, Watsons, Unity outlets had no N95 masks. I ended up buying those flimsy surgical masks instead. I asked my mother, who works very near SGH if the SGH pharmacy had N95 masks, she said that they also had no stock. On Saturday morning, when I went to Khoo Teck Puat hospital pharmacy to buy N95 masks, they also had no stock. It was only until Sunday that most people who wanted N95 masks could get one, and when the low income households were distributed N95 masks by the army and grassroots volunteers. 3 days. In a crisis, (and for a supposedly decisive and effective government), not good enough.
Not only was the response slow, retailers also took the opportunity to raise prices on Thursday and Friday. A box of 20 N95 masks was retailing at around $75 at Watsons. Only on Sunday did Min(MEWR) VVB come out to “urge” retailers not to profit from selling masks. CASE also released a statement. Do you think these statements will work? Will retailers suddenly find their conscience after reading a statement? How much money was “lost” to these retailers? Leaders don’t “urge” in times of crisis. Leaders dictate swift action to fulfill priorities. None of that was forthcoming.
Conclusion
Leaders don’t stand on boxes with a loud hailer.
Enjoy this picture and contribute your caption:
- http://ayummysliceoflife.wordpress.com/2013/06/24/3-preliminary-lessons-from-the-great-haze-of-2013/
There is a great amount of confusion over the different indicators that NEA has provided over the past week. There is the 3 hourly average PSI reading, 24 hour average PSI reading, and the PM2.5 reading, along with all their associated health advisories. In a bid to obtain hourly readings, many people have resorted to constructing their own excel sheets and graphs (such as this), second guessing what exactly are the hourly inputs that NEA uses.
The ministers themselves did not help their own cause when Min(MEWR) Vivian Balakrishnan (VVB) held a press conference and said something to the effect of “we should not be fixated on the numbers”, and when Grace Fu said that the 24 hour PSI reading is a better gauge of the haze’s health impact. Bloggers like TheHeartTruths also disputed VVB’s message, saying that other countries published hourly readings. This prompted a clarification by MEWR.
The problem is that all this is unnecessary and confusing. While NEA and MEWR were concerned about getting the correct readings to gauge the impact on people’s health, many people were primarily concerned about getting the best precise real time reading to decide on their course of action for themselves and for their families. Should I still honor that appointment in the next one hour? Should I bring my mask? Should I go swimming? Is it OK to go to the neighbourhood wet market to shop in the morning? The government and the people were basically not talking to each other. One yelled “I want hourly readings to know what to do!” while another just stuck with “24hour readings are best measures of health impact.”
Lesson 2: Political leaders need to be leaders.
In times of crisis, groups look up to their leaders for precise “big” priorities and swift “big” action. Min(MEWR) VVB’s first press conference on Wednesday night at 2330hrs missed that opportunity. He said that “we will have to make adjustments to our daily routines.” You don’t really have to tell us that you know. In that press conference, NEA and MEWR also provided detailed health advisories. But health advisories are very crude announcements at best. What are the consequences if an individual doesn’t follow the “advice”? What about companies? What about outdoor workers?
The next day, PM Lee Hsien Loong (LHL) held a press conference in the afternoon. Although he mentioned that “My priority is to protect the health and safety of Singaporeans, especially vulnerable groups.” which is great, he further confused his message when he went on to say that “we must carry on with our daily lives” and that any response to stop work must be flexible and “calibrated”. This is confusing because it appears that the principles of “flexibility” and “carry on with our daily lives” over-rode the paramount priority of “health and safety of Singaporeans” (and not forgetting the foreign workers too).
So if protecting “the health and safety of Singaporeans” was his priority, what action did he implement? He set up a committee. >_<||| Leaders don’t set up committees in times of crisis. Leaders give direction and orders. Setting up committees signals that you are delegating and shifting responsibility. OK, so they also announced that a whole range of Singaporeans can see their general practitioners and pay only $10 if they have haze-related health problems. That is awesome but is reactive rather than proactive. You want to get people to get masks to prevent themselves from falling sick, rather than let people fall sick and then subsidize their medical costs. How much productivity would have been wasted by then?
Lesson 3: Distribution matters more than supply.
On Thursday, after PM Lee held his press conference and when MOH first reassured the public that there were 9 million N95 masks in stock, it appeared that things were really problematic. I decided to head to Tampines Central to buy N95 masks on Friday morning. All the Guardian, Watsons, Unity outlets had no N95 masks. I ended up buying those flimsy surgical masks instead. I asked my mother, who works very near SGH if the SGH pharmacy had N95 masks, she said that they also had no stock. On Saturday morning, when I went to Khoo Teck Puat hospital pharmacy to buy N95 masks, they also had no stock. It was only until Sunday that most people who wanted N95 masks could get one, and when the low income households were distributed N95 masks by the army and grassroots volunteers. 3 days. In a crisis, (and for a supposedly decisive and effective government), not good enough.
Not only was the response slow, retailers also took the opportunity to raise prices on Thursday and Friday. A box of 20 N95 masks was retailing at around $75 at Watsons. Only on Sunday did Min(MEWR) VVB come out to “urge” retailers not to profit from selling masks. CASE also released a statement. Do you think these statements will work? Will retailers suddenly find their conscience after reading a statement? How much money was “lost” to these retailers? Leaders don’t “urge” in times of crisis. Leaders dictate swift action to fulfill priorities. None of that was forthcoming.
Conclusion
Leaders don’t stand on boxes with a loud hailer.
Enjoy this picture and contribute your caption:
- http://ayummysliceoflife.wordpress.com/2013/06/24/3-preliminary-lessons-from-the-great-haze-of-2013/
I doubt they have one in place because a 2IC could easily be put in charge of implementing such a plan if there was a disaster plan, if the MPs were away.
