Vigilance Fail: Malaysian woman in red Perodua slips past Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs guard post in broad daylight

If you calculate the success rate of Singapore's security forces at the Woodlands Customs, Immigration and Quarantine Checkpoint, a lapse of one vehicle per 50 million or so vehicles per year is an infinitesimally small figure.

But in the eyes of Singapore's security watchers, every lapse is one lapse too many.

From the look of things, the book is going to be thrown at Home Team officers after a vigilance failure by our border guards allegedly resulted in a Malaysian woman ending up in the Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) compound on Monday in broad daylight.

This was no sneak attack by commandos with blackened faces done under a moonless night. The unnamed woman had allegedly entered MFA by tailgating an authorised vehicle in a red (couldn't choose a brighter colour) Malaysian registered (sigh...) Perodua (sighs again...) hatchback that had been on the watchlist of the Singapore Police Force since last Friday.

While it is highly unlikely Peroduas will be the infiltration vehicle of choice by Malaysia's crack Grup Gerak Khas, this lapse will affect the careers of Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) and Singapore Police Force officers down the chain of command.

Combating vigilance fatigue
Shattering rice bowls to send a message to rank-and-file will not exorcise the ghost of vigilance fatigue.

Indeed, the buzz out there that the lowest ranking individuals will (once again) be hardest hit is likely to damage Home Team morale at  a time when we need everybody to be in high spirits and in top form.

It is a tall order when one has to do one's duty in an organisation that operates 24/365, at a time when the rapid increase in Singapore's resident population is likely to have resulted in a spike in workload.

To be sure, Home Team discipline must be enforced.

At the same time, there can be no better trigger than the MFA intrusion for a top to bottom look at Home Team morale and workload as the discipline process alone - however severe the penalties - will not nix the problem. Even if morale at our border checkpoints is satisfactory, flagging engagement levels are a lead indicator of issues that will crop up sometime downstream, perhaps with grave consequences to Singapore's security and wellbeing than just red faces at certain Singov ministries.

Key questions that are worth mulling over include:
* How is the staff estab level at border checkpoints? In other words, are current staffing levels for ICA and SPF officers sufficient to deal with the surge in travellers during peak seasons?

* How much has the workload increased in the past 10 years? A 10-year analysis would factor in the rapid jump in Singapore residents after the turn of the century when new citizens were introduced in substantial numbers. Our transport system was apparently caught offguard as such infrastructure is a long lead-time item - you cannot build a new rail line overnight. And there are worrying signs our healthcare providers are now bearing the brunt of the population spike, as seen through the shortage of hospital beds.

Workload of frontline officers
So even if estab levels at passport checking booths are fully filled, a higher workload as seen through the footfall and vehicles processed at Tuas and Woodlands would indicate that the assumptions that justified the staffing levels of yesteryear are no longer valid.

If such is the case, would it surprise you that the system is feeling the strain?

To be fair, one swallow does not a summer make. And one lapse at a high-value installation like the MFA should not be indicative of systemic failure. It made newspaper headlines precisely because it is a rare, once in a blue moon event - thanks to the vigilance of the Home Team. [As an aside, the subbing desk at the Today newspaper needs to tighten up its editorial processes. First, it was the howler that the SAF has "369 divisions". Today's report on the MFA incident carries the line "about 68 million vehicles passed through the checkpoints every day". Goodness, this  is major gridlock. Shouldn't it read "every year"?]

It is beyond doubt that Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs, Teo Chee Hean, is miffed.

"I have expressed my deep dissatisfaction to the Commissioner of ICA and the Commissioner of Police over the breach at Woodlands Checkpoint and the subsequent response actions. This case should have been prevented and dealt with more urgently and decisively as it could have resulted in more serious consequences than what occurred. I have directed the Commissioners to report to me the corrective actions they are taking, and recommend appropriate action to be taken against officers who have not discharged their duties properly," said DPM Teo.

If the Home Team needs a wake-up call, this would be it.

Heartware matters
But guarding against future lapses will demand more than meting out disciplinary penalties because the corrosive effects such penalties may have on the wider Home Team community should not be underestimated.

Morale needs to be attended to, cared for and treasured. And so must the confidence every Home Team officer has in the system that it will look after their interests and wellbeing as workloads vary.

For example, how much has the salary of the average frontline ICA and SPF officer risen in relation to the workload at our border checkpoints? If their salaries have marched in step with NWC guidelines without due consideration for their workload, then perhaps it is time to relook their salary formula. Perhaps the throughput of our checkpoints could be used to calculate a Performance Bonus of sorts, which would reward the team collectively should Singapore enjoy a spike in travellers.

These are soft, heartware issues that can be sidestepped by issuing an imperial edict for rank-and-file to pull up their socks, suck it up and get the job done.

But one must remember that there are certain jobs that cannot be parcelled out to foreign talent and the safety and security of our border checkpoints is a prime example.

If the team is understaffed, overworked and their career trajectory could be compromised by that one in 50 million arse luck incident that occurs during their watch, then Home Team officers mulling their future at a time of the year when bonuses are paid will likely look elsewhere for options.

In short, they can resign. This would be an unfortunate and unintended by-product of the housekeeping in the wake of the MFA incident.

Our security safeguards are only as strong as the weakest link. If weak links have been exposed through unfortunate incidents, be thankful no blood was shed. Be grateful for the opportunity to remedy the situation and help the weak links level up and do better in future.

Never take the morale, confidence and dedication of our frontline officers for granted. They will run the extra mile for you. But when the chips are down, will you do the same for them?