Dr Patrick Tan vs wifey vs the Lee family

Before I took this photo of the front gate of my daughter's school, I had driven past the school next door. Their gates were wide open.

We need to make sure that she is assigned a proper place to sit for her O levels today. I am quite confident the school would get it right this time, but for something as important as this, we better be completely sure. So wifey accompanied her in to make sure that all the necessary arrangements were made. As she pased the guard post, the guard tried to get her to sign in but she refused. Security guards are used to such behavior. It was even more common at the girls' primary school. However parents of kids in their primary school e.g., Lee Hsien Yang and Lee Suet Fern would dutifully report to the general office to sign themselves in. I had seen them do it many times. As a parent volunteer then, I didn't had to suffer that chore. That's the burden of being part of the Lee family.

A long introduction to just make one point: the NS deferment of Dr. Patrick Tan. You must not just not had enjoyed preferred treatment but must be seen beyond the shadow of a doubt to be so. That's the problem with Defence Minister Dr. Ng testimony in Parliament on this case. We do not know the only other boy who had gotten the closest treatment like Patrick Tan had was a white horse too.

Well all these are waters under the bridge. We have chosen our president. Going forward anyone deferring their NS will be listed for the public to scrutinize. We can allege and bring evidence of any unfair treatment we want. So, let's close the chapter on Patrick Tan and move on. If there were mistakes and a cover up, it doesn't appear that it was prevaricated. I shall wish and it will forever be just that, the case of Patrick Tan's deferment was less ambiguous. Well, I can live with that. I think many people can too.