http://civicadvocator.net/ex-director-isd
It is no wonder that Mr Yoong was so upset when he discovered that the book “Men in White” gave him unflattering mention. In his blog, he described it as “underbelly attack on his reputation from not entirely unexpected quarter.” To recap, the authors had alleged in page 441 that Mr Yoong was asked to quit CPIB in 1971 after he was “suspected” of using his personal influence to assist his friend Mr Francis Seow, then the ex-Solicitor General of Singapore in a case. Mr Yoong rebuked the allegations as baseless.
Mr Yoong wasn’t asked to resign and had in fact gone on to be Director of the ISD. He later offered himself as a hostage to save the lives of the Laju crew (and probably earned himself a National Day Award that same year). Understandably, Mr Yoong saw it as an “underbelly attack”. The man had served the government and its leaders so impeccably well so how could they character-assassinate him? His sacrifice is no small feat. I mean, how many others have actually been so selfless in the face of grave physical danger? Definitely not the Lees, or any of our multi-millionaire Ministers for the matter.
Who is the main accuser, the one whom Mr Yoong saw as “not entirely unexpected”? According to Mr Richard Lim, one of the authors for “Men in White”, the material for the disparaging statement was taken from a speech made by the then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew at the Select Committee Hearing of the Legal Profession (Amendment) Bill which was published in the Straits Times on 10 October 1986. So why did Lee Kuan Yew forsake his faithful soldier and servant then?
I gather that there is more to it than meets the eye. I am sure it wasn’t a case where Lee Kuan Yew’s staff writer made a factual error in his boss’ script in 1986. Did Mr Yoong offend the Lees during his career as Director ISD or as Deputy Commissioner of Hong Kong? Or perhaps Lee Kuan Yew never did forgive Mr Yoong over the latter’s cordial relation with Mr Francis Seow.
Whatever it is, the warning is clear — once you serve the Lees to do their dirty work (especially detaining people without trial), you can forget about receiving any honourable favours in return. During Mr Yoong’s time at the helm, there were detainees from Operation Coldstore and of course Mr Chia Thye Poh. Could Mr Yoong have done anything in his power to right the wrongs? Only he would know.
It is no wonder that Mr Yoong was so upset when he discovered that the book “Men in White” gave him unflattering mention. In his blog, he described it as “underbelly attack on his reputation from not entirely unexpected quarter.” To recap, the authors had alleged in page 441 that Mr Yoong was asked to quit CPIB in 1971 after he was “suspected” of using his personal influence to assist his friend Mr Francis Seow, then the ex-Solicitor General of Singapore in a case. Mr Yoong rebuked the allegations as baseless.
Mr Yoong wasn’t asked to resign and had in fact gone on to be Director of the ISD. He later offered himself as a hostage to save the lives of the Laju crew (and probably earned himself a National Day Award that same year). Understandably, Mr Yoong saw it as an “underbelly attack”. The man had served the government and its leaders so impeccably well so how could they character-assassinate him? His sacrifice is no small feat. I mean, how many others have actually been so selfless in the face of grave physical danger? Definitely not the Lees, or any of our multi-millionaire Ministers for the matter.
Who is the main accuser, the one whom Mr Yoong saw as “not entirely unexpected”? According to Mr Richard Lim, one of the authors for “Men in White”, the material for the disparaging statement was taken from a speech made by the then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew at the Select Committee Hearing of the Legal Profession (Amendment) Bill which was published in the Straits Times on 10 October 1986. So why did Lee Kuan Yew forsake his faithful soldier and servant then?
I gather that there is more to it than meets the eye. I am sure it wasn’t a case where Lee Kuan Yew’s staff writer made a factual error in his boss’ script in 1986. Did Mr Yoong offend the Lees during his career as Director ISD or as Deputy Commissioner of Hong Kong? Or perhaps Lee Kuan Yew never did forgive Mr Yoong over the latter’s cordial relation with Mr Francis Seow.
Whatever it is, the warning is clear — once you serve the Lees to do their dirty work (especially detaining people without trial), you can forget about receiving any honourable favours in return. During Mr Yoong’s time at the helm, there were detainees from Operation Coldstore and of course Mr Chia Thye Poh. Could Mr Yoong have done anything in his power to right the wrongs? Only he would know.
