SM Teo: Govt should not come down 'like a tonne of bricks' on public officers involved

While the civil servants involved in the NRIC unmasking saga have caused public anxiety and need to be held accountable for their actions, the Government should not come down on them "like a tonne of bricks", said Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean.

- Lee Li Ying

"Don't go in with a big bazooka and flatten everybody," he said in Parliament, adding that accountability has to be done in a fair and balanced way to the individuals.

SM Teo was responding to clarifications raised by 12 MPs on March 6 after he gave a ministerial statement on a review panel that looked into the lapses in communication between the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (Acra) and the Ministry of Digital Development and Information (MDDI) that led to the incident in December 2024.

A misunderstanding of an internal government circular and lack of coordination between staff had led to the disclosure of full NRIC numbers on a new business portal called Bizfile.

The review flagged six shortcomings that led to the mass disclosure — including insufficient information sharing within Acra, lack of clarity in its policy communications by MDDI, and poor communication with the public.

MPs like Ms Jessica Tan (East Coast GRC) and Ms Tin Pei Ling (MacPherson) raised concerns about how the penalties might cause public servants to be overly cautious and avoid taking risks, which can stymie innovation.

The officers and senior management involved in the missteps could face consequences such as counselling, retraining and reductions in their performance grade and performance-based payments.