SINGAPORE - Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said it was “uncalled for” to suggest that the Government has withheld information in putting together the Covid-19 White Paper, as he rebutted the opposition’s call for the original report to be released.
Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh had called on Monday (March 20) for the original after-action review (AAR) led by the former head of civil service, Mr Peter Ho, to be placed before the House.
Mr Singh, the Workers’ Party chief, said the White Paper was a “secondary document” which had drawn its findings and conclusions from this AAR.
He noted that while the White Paper acknowledged some shortcomings in the government response, Singaporeans did not know what had been excluded from the original reports. If there was sensitive information that affected national security, this could be redacted, said Mr Singh.
Responding on Tuesday, Mr Wong, who is also Finance Minister, noted Mr Singh’s “qualified support” for the White Paper.
“I am not sure why there is a need for such qualification because, after all, Mr Singh himself did highlight the need for us to put aside politics, to close ranks and to uphold unity of purpose in a crisis,” he said.
“So, I would urge Mr Singh and the Workers’ Party to give us their full and unreserved support, so that we can truly demonstrate unity of purpose in dealing with and learning from this pandemic.”
He said that the Government had asked Mr Ho to conduct a review of Singapore’s Covid-19 experience from the start of the pandemic until August 2021.
At the time, the Government envisaged an interim or mid-term review because it was unclear when Singapore would be able to fully transition to Covid-19 being endemic, he said. But government agencies had also separately begun a review of their policy and operational decisions within their respective domains.
“There was therefore a need to pull together the findings from Mr Ho’s interim report and the agencies’ AARs, as well as the lessons from our more recent experiences, into a consolidated report that would fully reflect all that had transpired over the last three years and provide a fuller synthesis of all our learnings,” said Mr Wong.
“That is why PMO, the Prime Minister’s Office, was tasked to put together this consolidated report, which the Government decided to release as a White Paper.”
On releasing a redacted version of the original report, Mr Wong said this is precisely what the Government has done.
“Whatever is relevant and fit for release, we have incorporated into this White Paper. And the White Paper is, in fact, more comprehensive than what Mr Ho’s review had set out to cover because it includes information from the agencies’ AARs, as well as learnings from our experience after August 2021,” he added.
Mr Singh responded by saying that “we don’t know what we don’t know”.
He added: “We do not know what is stated in Mr Ho’s report and the AARs from the respective ministries, and it would be important, in my view, for Singaporeans to consider the details and the breadth of perspectives secured from all who participated in the various AARs.
“But this difference of opinion does not overshadow the Workers’ Party’s support for the motion.”
Mr Wong said that Mr Ho’s report contained information on the inner workings of the Government that cannot be published for reasons of national security as well as commercial sensitivities, such as how Singapore leveraged different partners to get essential supplies and manage its supply chains.
“By all means, there can be debate on the lessons, on the recommendations. By all means, disagree with the lessons and the recommendations. Have your own view.
“We are happy to hear the differences in views and to be better prepared, but I think it is quite uncalled for to suggest that there has there been any withholding of information by the Government in putting together this report.
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“I hope that Mr Singh and the Workers’ Party will live up to the ideals that they called for, in upholding national unity when we deal with and learn from this pandemic,” he added.
He said that the White Paper would not be the final word on Singapore’s Covid-19 response.
Academics and experts will continue to undertake detailed studies which may come to different conclusions and views, he said, adding that the Government welcomes diverse perspectives.
“That is perfectly okay. In fact, we welcome the diverse perspectives because this will help us challenge our own assumptions, and learn and improve.”
This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.
