Desmond Kuek vs Floods: A long running feud

Maybe he angered Poseidon, God of the Seas.

Sulaiman Daud | October 17, 2017, 04:08 PM

SMRT President and Group CEO Desmond Kuek has a long and impressive resume. A career soldier before he joined the civil service, he served as the Chief of Army and the Chief of Defence Force.

But maybe it's a good thing he stuck to soldiering on land and never joined the Navy, because he seems to have had terrible luck when it comes to water.

An inauspicious start

Kuek left the Singapore Armed Forces and was appointed Permanent Secretary of the Ministry for Environment and Water Resources, with effect from 1st July 2010.

On the exact same day he took up his new post, heavy rains caused a flash flood at MacPherson Road and Tai Seng Drive.

This would not be the last time that Kuek would battle floods in his new role. A few days later on 17 July 2010, a torrential downpour triggered flash floods in various parts of Singapore.

Among the areas affected were Braddell Road, Changi Road, and Bukit Timah, where the floodwaters even submerged cars parked in condominium basements.

Photo from My Queenstown.

The rising tide

Until Kuek relinquished his permanent secretary post on 30 September 2012, there were a long list of major flooding incidents that bedevilled Singapore. We'll just hit the highlights.

  • January 2011 -- Flash floods in the East, affecting Tampines and Changi Village.
  • June 2011 -- Torrential downpour resulting in floods in Potong Pasir, Toa Payoh, Bukit Timah and Orchard Road. Tanglin Mall was almost under water.

Photo from amylamsg.

  • October 2011 -- Heavy rains flooded several roads, including the Upper Serangoon area.
  • December 2011 -- This was the infamous flood at Orchard Road which led to the PUB issuing a statement that there was no flooding, just ponding.
  • April 2012 -- Flash floods at Toh Tuck Road, Tampines and Bishan.
  • September 2012 -- As a kind of farewell present, just days before Kuek left his post at MEWR, a thunderstorm caused floods at Kim Tian Road, Tanjong Pagar Road and Marina South underpass.

SMRT

Even though Kuek subsequently became President of SMRT on 1 October 2012, and enjoyed a trouble-free five year respite from his watery troubles, his bad fortune eventually caught up with him.

On Oct. 7, the anti-flooding system at Bishan MRT station failed and led to a disruption of services on the North-South Line, leaving one train stranded. It took the combined efforts of SMRT, SCDF and PUB to get things moving again.

Picture from SCDF Facebook.

 

Kuek said that new measures will be implemented to prevent a repeat incident. For the sake of Singapore's commuters, let's hope he gets it right.

Related story:

Savage responses greet apologies by Khaw Boon Wan & Desmond Kuek

SMRT apologises: Couldn’t someone have spoken in the past 9 days?

SMRT CEO Desmond Kuek breaks silence, addresses public

Top image by Sulaiman Daud and Collectible506.

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