PM Wong extends condolences to families of victims of Optus network failure that disrupted emergency calls

During an Oct. 2 interview with Australian broadcaster, ABC, PM Lawrence Wong extended his condolences to the families and loved ones of those who lost their lives after failing to reach emergency services during Optus' Sep. 18 service outage.

He added that while Singapore is involved in Optus' owner, Singtel, through Temasek, the Singapore government operates on a "clear cardinal principle" that it does not get involved in commercial operations.

Asked what actions he will "personally" take

During the interview, ABC's global affairs editor, Laura Tingle, raised the question on Optus' recent service outages to PM Wong.

Tingle suggested to PM Wong that he would not tolerate it if a similar service outage to emergency calls happened in Singapore.

She then asked PM Wong what actions he was "personally taking" to ensure there would be no repeat of what happened, since "Optus is under Singtel".

In reply, PM Wong said: "I understand the anger, frustration and outrage by what happened. And I would like to extend my condolences to everyone who has been impacted by the outage, especially the families and loved ones of those who lost their lives."

However, he explained the Singapore government does not get involved in commercial matters.

"As far as Singapore is concerned, while we may be (a) shareholder through Temasek, we have always operated on a very clear cardinal principle that we do not get involved in commercial operations. We do not direct commercial matters," he said.

Temasek is the majority shareholder of Singtel, who, in turn, owns Optus, the second-largest Australian telecommunication provider.

PM Wong further explained that when Singapore companies expand overseas, the government expects them and their subsidiaries to "comply with domestic laws where they operate and to be responsible corporate citizens."

"So, in this instance, I believe the Singtel CEO was in Australia recently. They will, I am sure, cooperate fully with the authorities, with the regulator, and work closely with Optus and whichever independent parties that have been appointed to conduct a full investigation into what happened," PM Wong said.

He also expressed hopes that the parties involved will "get to the bottom of it as soon as possible, identify the root causes, rectify the issue and restore confidence and trust as soon as possible."

Optus' questions came towards end of interview

The question on Optus was raised towards the end of the 34-minute interview with ABC.

Prior to it, Tingle and PM Wong touched on various topics, including the impact of Trump's tariffs, Singapore's bilateral and defence relationship with Australia, Asean and China-Taiwan relations.

On Sep. 18, emergency call services on the Optus network went down for 13 hours across South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory.

At least three individuals died during this time, with their deaths linked to an inability to contact the emergency services.

Singtel CEO Yuen Kuan Moon was in Australia on Sep. 30 to address the mounting scrutiny over the Optus outage.

He was summoned by the Australian communications minister.

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