 |
| No board member was harmed in the production of the Singtel fire |
The three independent members of Singtel's board comprising the committee of inquiry looking into the October fire at an Internet-exchange room concluded that the cause was human error, and not systemic failure. Maybe board member Bobby Chin could explain why the present system allows for hot-work in a enclosed space with no provision for automatic fire suppression. Blame the small fry, not the board, that has to be the system. The lead seal had to be melted to change out the cables at Bukit Panjang cable chamber, a company wide standard practice probably still being carried out at other Singtel Internet-exchanges across the island. The telco will switch its blameless error-free system only by the end of next year.
The Media Development Authority (MDA) is playing similar games when it is demanding to know who exactly will own and run the different iterations of a socio-political website. The Breakfast thingy had already pulled down its shutters, rather than submit to ridiculously onerous registration undertakings "meant to guard against foreign funding". You can almost anticipate MDA's arguments against operating on Facebook or Twitter. In the case of former, Mark Zuckerberg could be construed as funding the alternate iteration of the website. Unless, of course, Facebook starts to charge users for operating their accounts. The madness won't end here.
Notice the lady being hounded has a personal blog with a name resembling a local newspaper. Even when MDA finishes with the sledge hammer - or borrow the blow torch from the Singtel fire-starter veteran of 30 years - on the Facebook or Twitter presence, you can bet lawyers' letters of demand will be flying through slow mail to allege copyright infringement of the Berita Harian banner.