When there isn't time to whistleblow

Two young men lost their lives recently.

Both were serving National Service Full-time (NSF). Dave Lee, 19, a Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) Guardsman showed signs of heat injury after a fast march at 8.35am on April 18. He died in hospital on 30 April. And more recently, Kok Yuen Chin, 22, a Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) NSF was found at the bottom of a pump well in a Fire Station on May 13.

Safety is important to both the SAF and SCDF. The SAF has safety anchored on three components: leadership, processes and culture. The SCDF has a whistleblowing programme that goes to the top and beyond. Servicemen deaths are rare as compared with workplace fatalities: there were 11 so far in 2018. What the SAF and SCDF are experiencing this year is not the usual. Considering that servicemen are conducting activities that involve live rounds and at height everyday, there would be more casualties if safety has not been a priority.

All it takes is one individual and one moment of weakness to create an avoidable tragedy.

Safety culture is a beast. It is one of the most important assets in ensuring safety but it is not a constant and has its limitations. Safety culture is also a subset of the organisational culture. How does safety culture balance its act in the shadow of the warrior culture or informal culture? All it takes is one individual and one moment of weakness to create an avoidable tragedy.

As much as one may fall and cause a domino effect, another one may stand in the way of a tragedy. When everything may fail and whistleblowing may be too late, we can count on one. You and I. You and I must have the courage to speak up before tragedy overtakes us. We may be the (intended) victim. We may be his buddy. We may be someone in the know. We need to act on that little voice before it is too late. Minutes and seconds may be all we have.

Say it.

• "I can't do this."
• "I need help."
• "This is an offence."
• "We need to stop now."
• "He needs help now."
• "He may drown."

Our career may suffer. We may be a laughing stock. But we will sleep better at night.

Be heard. Before someone gets hurt.

Stay safe!