Jan Lokpal Bill : An Effective Way Of Eradicating Corruption. Yes, Its True.

Jan Lokpal Bill : an effective way of eradicating corruption. Yes, its true.

Hello friends, we are not against Jan Lokpal Bill, we are against creating hoax and spreading lies. Often we see AAP supporters spreading a message about Singapore JanLokpal Bill. We did some background check, but facts are entirely different then claimed by AAPian.

Jan Lokpal Bill : an effective way of eradicating corruption. Yes, its true.

This post of mine is not about criticizing Lokpal Bill. I am in favor of it but we should reveal the truth before we actually start believing in it and start spreading messages on social communities and mailboxes. The information I am trying to provide below, is at least not misleading as I have tried taking most of it from the Government Sites and some well known wiki sites. Please read through if you really want to eradicate corruption in India.

This is a very famous message which is spreading like anything since Team Anna has started to implement Lokpal Bill in India. The message says

In 1982, in Singapore, bill similar to Jan Lokpal was implemented and 142 Corrupt Ministers & officers were arrested in one single day. Today, Singapore has only 1% poor people & no taxes are paid by the people to the government, 92% literacy rate, better medical facilities, cheaper prices, 90% money is white & only 1% unemployment exists.. Re post if you want to live in a corruption free country.

To understand it better and to know the truth behind it, I tried googl-ing around. I found that, yes, corruption in Singapore is very less. Far lesser than in India. But let us find out the truths behind above message.

Dissecting the Message

Claim 1: In 1982, bill similar to Lokpal was implemented in Singapore. This is not a truth. As far as I got it correctly, Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB), Singapore, is is the agency responsible for combating corruption in Singapore and it was formed in 1952 by British Colonial Government and when Singapore got self-government in 1959, it was moved to PMOs office, not in 1982 as claimed by the message. – Check this out (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corrupt_Practices_Investigation_Bureau). I don’t see anything related to Jan Lokpal Bill being passed in 1982 :(

Claim 2: Next, it says that so called Lokpal Bill (I would say CPIB), is as same as Jan Lokpal Bill is ridiculuous. CPIB is not a self appointed civil society without accountability and without representation of common people as Anna and his team is. CPIB works directly under the supervision of Prime Minister’s Office, Singapore but Jan Lokpal Committee as proposed by Anna and the Team will be independent body with the power of making rules and regulations. I think CPIB is as same as CBI today in India. Why CPIB was a success? CPIB worked well because it was given powers and they tried emphasising over making people aware of their rights. The fact CBI couldn’t make an impact was just so opposite, there was no emphasis over making people aware of their rights. On top of that, we know Jan Lokpal Bill doesn’t cover private business, NGOs, media etc.

Claim 3: Arrest of 142 corrupt ministers in one day. I am sure it would have been a big historical day for the world. But, alas, its also not a truth. Instead, the only information I have for corruption is that of the arrest of 3 ministers in 1966, 1975 and 1986.

Claim 4: Another absurd fact in the floated message is that there is no tax in Singapore. hehe. That may bring down the economy of a country dude. Check this out (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Income_tax_in_Singapore). Singapore has a taxation slab of 0% to 20%.

Claim 5: One more claim in the message makes people believe that the prices are cheaper in Singapore. At least in the year 2011, a survey reveals that Singapore is the 8th costliest city in this world. Check this out (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-worlds-10-most-expensive-cities-2011-07-12).

Claim 6: Wow! At least we found a truth. Infact not a true statement but supports the message. It says that there is 92% Literacy rate in Singapore. It is actually 96% with males comes up at 98.1% and females with 94.1%. Check this page (http://www.singstat.gov.sg/stats/keyind.html).

Claim 7: The message also claims that there is 1% Unemployment exists. That’s not true. It is 2.1%. Check this out (http://www.mom.gov.sg/newsroom/Pages/PressReleasesDetail.aspx?listid=435).

Source:- http://www.creatingideasblogs.com/2012/06/19/reality-of-1982-singapore-lokpal-bill-truths-and-myths-or-just-pass-the-message-game/