(In the light of rising numbers of unscrupulous individuals…)
The cheat, the corrupt, the evil…they are manifestations of the DARK side of human nature. It is not easy to be ‘good’ when the good ends up being victim; the vulnerable also needs protection against unscrupulous people. Justice is ‘blind’ and seems under threat by these dark forces….
Just when it seems the good in human nature is being destroyed, along comes the WHISTLE BLOWER to the rescue! The wrong doer is punished! There is HOPE for mankind!
The long arm of justice depends greatly on whistle- blowers. I hope our country enact whistle-blower protection laws soon. Meanwhile while waiting, we can learn to blow the recorder, the harmonica, the flute… and of course the TRUMPET! :)
jumbo trumpeting!
Update on whistle blowing
It is important to have whistle blowers,
In any organizations where top dogs rule,
‘Cause it is near impossible to expose the abuses –
of the very powerful.
And Powerful will get rid of the whistle blower,
And make him pay for his audacious audacity.
Poon blew the whistle and was forced to publish in the papers –
a $30000 apology!
For ten years, Poon suffered till reckoning day,
When Powerful was found guilty of criminal breach of trust.
Blind Justice vindicated the aggrieved whistle blower –
at a very long last!
Will Poon get his $30000 back? That is a lot of money to lose.
Whistle blowers should not suffer any personal loss,
For the crucial role* they play in exposing the wrongdoings –
of the big boss!
*ST Thursday Oct 20
[image=whistleblower3.jpg]
Dear Jassmine – Apa Abenomics? Must lim kopi with you at Nec someday.
cheers
Hi Freda
Abenomics is not easy to understand. Lol! Seriously, we should do away with exams from P1 – P3. Exam can start from P4 to prepare the pupils for the PSLE. And do away with streaming at P4. Also, bring back the Chinese school to prepare the young for job opportunities in China.
Hi DC
As long as the whistle blower brings a wrong doer to justice, it doesn’t matter about his motivation. In the Bo Xilai case, the whistleblower was as corrupt as his ‘boss’, yet if he had not spilled the beans, the boss and wife would have got away with murder!
Hi Gabriella,
The whistle-blower protection laws will have to include anonymity as the whistle –blower may be whistle blowing more than once. I personally think the whistle-blower should also be rewarded for helping to nap ‘invisible’ perpetrators of unscrupulous/immoral activities that erode the moral values of life.
Hi Leon
Not surprising that the whistle blower turns out to be a close relative. Only people close to the source will know about its dirty linen.
Hi Robert
The intention of the whistle-blower may be self- serving. The whistle blower himself may be conniving … Snowden leaked CLASSIFIED information. As an employee with access to sensitive information, should he have done that? He is a ‘whistle-blower’ in a different category from the whistle blowers that help stop unscrupulous people from getting away.
[image=whistle blowing.jpg]
Hi Jasmine,
I hope to see our country tweak our education policy – I understand that “the Japanese students from 1st to 6th primary year learn ethics in dealing with people. There is no examination from the 1st to 3rd primary level because the goal of education is to instill concepts and character building”………maybe they know something we don’t?
Hi Robert,
” The best people possess a feeling for beauty, the courage to take risks, the discipline to tell the Truth, the capacity for sacrifice. Ironically, their virtues make them vulnerable; they are often wounded, sometimes destroyed.” Ernest Hemingway.
Allow me to play the devil’s advocate again, as I see things from another perspective.
FOR every genuine whistle blower who is doing a kind act for the good of all, there must be another who raises a loud alarm to appease or vindicate him/herself.
Cheaters and evil doers are no doubt public enemies and ought to be exposed to protect the naïve and vulnerable. But amidst the struggle for survival in our concrete jungle, many “dirty linens” that unceremoniously find its way to the mass media are personal baggage to start with. A disgruntled employee, a jilted lover, an aggrieved business partner or an unhappy friend – once a compromising comrade – may suddenly turn “righteous” and chooses to play by the rule of law.
In an ugly dispute, “blowing the whistle” is certainly a legitimate way for the aggrieved party to get even. It is easy for third-party observers to pass a moral judgement, based on traditional norms or legal principles. Dwelling deeper into the individuals concerned, we must acknowledge the fact that hatred sees no boundary and vengeance sees no mercy. Human beings are complex, even cruel.
Whistle blowers certainly must have a place in society if the society at large, and not the blower alone, benefits as a result.
DC
[image=whistle blower.jpg]
Hi Jassmine
How many people are prepared to jeopardise themselves to do the act of whistle blowing. If they blow the trumpet too loudly, it will attract too much unwanted attention.
Take for example, Edward Snowden, a US computer analyst who has access to a lot of classified documents. He has become one of the most publicised whistle blowers in our lifetime. He risks his life and career and has seek asylum in a country where he is safe from being extradited to USA.
His latest acts were leaking secret documents about US surveillance on phone
and internet communications.
In a survey by IRAS, a high percentage of whistles blower for those who did not declared their tax fully are from relatives or employees. Those people closest to
you , you think you can trust.
Regards.
Hi Jassmine
A beautiful piece of writing – enjoyed reading your ‘masterpiece’. V well written.
It’s too dangerous to be a WHISTLE BLOWER? Unless, there’s a law that all whistle-blowers’ identity be kept under wraps. :-)
Regards.