Thursday 19 February 2009

AG Walter Woon: AG's Chambers not a “complaints bureau”

Well-known for his sincerity in dealing with the media, Attorney-General Professor Walter Woon said that he’ll comment on anything as long as this does not hurt the parties involved.

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AG Walter Woon: AGýs Chambers not a “complaints bureau”

Han Bao Zhen, Lianhe Zaobao
8 February 2009

Well-known for his sincerity in dealing with the media, Attorney-General Professor Walter Woon said that he’ll comment on anything as long as this does not hurt the parties involved.

Walter Woon expressed his desire to build a positive relationship with the media in this interview with Lianhe Zaobao.

He said: “I do not believe that we should necessarily have a relationship that is confrontational in nature. Therefore we should try our best to work with one another even though there are limits as to what we can say because we do not want to influence the court or embarrass other people.”

He pointed out that the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AG’s Chambers) will comment on anything as long as it is allowed to do so. The reason the AG’s Chambers is putting information on the internet is that it hopes this will help to lessen the workload of journalists and ensure the accuracy of reporting. In addition, this can also help to correct erroneous ideas and information.

Walter Woon said: “You know that if you do not correct erroneous ideas, they will ultimately spread into Wikipedia and be taken as fact. If you do not stop them while they are just starting to spread, then it will be very difficult to explain later that they are wrong.”

“I believe that this is necessary in order to protect the morale of our people. Why should they be criticised repeatedly based on information that is wrong? They are working hard to do their jobs properly and it is unfair for people who are oblivious to the facts to criticise them.”

Walter Woon places a high level of importance on releasing information to the media; the recently established Corporate Communications Unit was his idea.

In the past, the Deputy Public Prosecutors were in charge of contacting the media and responding to questions for the AG’s Chambers but the establishment of the Corporate Communications Unit means that there will be specific professionals handling this in the future.

Walter Woon said: “We need people to oversee this. Our prosecutors are too valuable and we cannot burden them with public relations work all the time even though they have been helping all along.”

The prosecutors have been handling public relations matters in addition to their own jobs, but this is not an efficient way to utilise professionals. “Their professional knowledge and understanding of cases are very useful but you need to find a more effective way to integrate these.”

He stressed that the AG’s Chambers is not a “complaints bureau” and the main functions of the Corporate Communications Unit are issuing press releases and responding to questions from the media; it is not tasked to handle public complaints.

“AG’s Chambers is not complaints bureau!”

Professor Walter Woon has been receiving five complaint emails on average each day since he became AG. He said during the interview: “The AG’s Chambers is not a complaints bureau!”

Walter Woon revealed that most of the junk mail he received were complaints about a specific individual or government or political leaders.

“Sometimes we also received letters cursing us or making reference to certain actions that we had taken.”

Walter Woon pointed out that people who want to file complaints should address their letters to the relevant authorities rather than venting to the AG’s Chambers.

“Some wanted their neighbours or someone else to be charged. Others expressed their dissatisfaction with their MPs or their spouses. They see us as a complaints bureau.”

For non-junk mails, the AG’s Chambers will give a reply that it will give the suggestions due consideration. Even though the AG’s Chambers had followed-up in the past on requests for retrials of certain cases, none had succeeded so far.

Responded to questions in an open manner during interview

Walter Woon occasionally appears in court to represent the AG’s Chambers. He said: “I tend to put more emphasis on technique while in court. I think that if I do not set a good example, it will be very hard for me to tell people to ‘go to court’.”

He pointed out that some cases require the presence of the AG, such as the contempt of court case involving the Wall Street Journal Asia (WSJA), a publication of Dow Jones. “I was required to be personally involved in handling this case. That was the first such case for me.”

In addition, Walter Woon has not only given public speeches after taking office but has also tackled questions from participants and members of the public at such events. His open approach has set him apart from his predecessors.

However, he said that his approach in giving public speeches is no different from what previous AGs did and the only difference is that he took questions from the audience.

As for questions concerning specific charges, Walter Woon said that the AG’s Chambers will not answer every question or explain the reasons behind every decision.

Answering questions from the public is sometimes based on the public interest as it helps resolve their concerns. It is sometimes a necessity, so as to let people know that they should follow certain guidelines to avoid crossing the line.

“We do not respond to all questions. We definitely will not answer the majority of questions.” He pointed out that part of the reason for answering questions is to help in educating the public. He said, “The more people understand what we do, the more we can cut down on hostility and misunderstandings.”

As to whether it is personal choice or necessity that drove him to adopt his open attitude, Walter Woon said that he is a believer in the freedom of speech. Furthermore, there are highly educated people in Singapore.

He said: “We cannot just say ‘Trust me, I know more than you do’. Nobody will buy this. I did not buy this when I was overseas in the past. How can I think that other people would?”

He will give an answer if he is able to give an answer but he will not give an answer for every case. If someone asks why he decided to file charges in one case but not another, no comment will be given in most cases.

He explained that this is due to the need to protect the reputation of both the witnesses and the defendants as well as information sources.

Before joining the AG’s Chambers, Walter Woon served as Singapore’s ambassador to Belgium, Germany, the Vatican and the Netherlands for a total of nine years.

Will he resort to “diplomacy” in dealing with the various issues? Walter Woon said that even as a diplomat, he would still correct the wrong impressions of others if necessary. While serving as ambassador, he had written pieces in foreign newspapers to refute erroneous ideas about Singapore held by others.

Will also look at non-academic performance when recruiting

Law students with less satisfactory academic results can also apply for a job at the AG’s Chambers because Walter Woon will not be convinced by academic results alone.

On the other hand, he is also worried that law firms will dazzle the students with multi-million-dollar pay offers.

Talking about recruiting targets, Walter Woon said: “We have also recruited some whose academic results are not very good to give them a chance to prove themselves.”

There are many top talents in the Legal Service who graduated with First Class Honours from different universities. Walter Woon said: “We do not look solely at the academic performance. I will not be convinced by academic results alone. It is good if an applicant has good academic scores but we will also accept those without.”

Of course, the applicant must convince Walter Woon and the group in charge of interviews that he or she has the ability to live up to the job.

Walter Woon has been interviewing applicants recently. Professional competency, the desire to serve the public as well as the ability to make consistent arguments in court are the qualities Walter Woon looks for.

How many prosecutors does the AG’s Chambers intend to recruit in this recent round of interviews? Walter Woon said: “As many as we can, we are always short (of prosecutors).”

He pointed out that following the amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code, prosecutors will need to do more work before the case starts and this will add to their workload. Walter Woon hopes to “support” them in this regard.

AG’s Chambers is not a dead end road

Walter Woon accepts invitations to give public talks where he answers questions raised by participants. He said that he likes to communicate with students, including those from law schools and junior colleges. This serves two purposes: it promotes education and helps in the recruitment of new blood. He found that some students have a mistaken belief that jobs with the private sector are desirable but not jobs with the public sector.

Walter Woon said: “Someone needs to tell them (students) that they can still do other things even if they have a law degree.

“Some young people are not studying law because of money. They have some ideals but do not know what the AG’s Chambers is doing. We must correct their mistaken impressions about the Legal Service. This is not a dead end job.”

Two government lawyers have been appointed Senior Counsel since the Senior Counsel scheme started 12 years ago. They are Deputy Solicitor-General Jeffrey Chan and Principal Senior State Counsel David Chong.

The AG’s Chambers now has four Senior Counsel including AG Walter Woon and Solicitor-General Koh Juat Jong.

Walter Woon said: “We will have more (government lawyers) in the future. The Senior Counsel appointments provide an opportunity for promotion for those interested in advocacy. It also shows the importance placed on advocacy skills by the AG’s Chambers.”

Appointment as AG means loss of anonymity

Professor Walter Woon said that his life has not changed a lot despite the greater pressure that accompanies his appointment.

When asked if his life has changed since his appointment in April last year, he smiled and said: “The pressure on me has increased significantly. People, who apparently know who I am, would occasionally smile at me or greet me. My life has not changed a lot, I just feel that I have lost my sense of ‘anonymity’.”

Walter Woon, who once served as a Nominated MP, qualifies as a well-known figure. However, he said that people have already forgotten about him after he finished serving his nine years as Singapore’s ambassador to several European nations.

Even though he continues to lead a normal life, he revealed that police would sometimes patrol outside his house to ensure that everything is all right.

Has he met with any unpleasant experiences with people since he became AG? Walter Woon said: “No. Actually, I have not met anyone who has not been nice to me.”

People would smile at him and greet him with a “Hello, good morning” when he takes his walks. “I don’t know whether they are just friendly or they know who I am. Or perhaps Singaporeans have become more gracious. It’s best to just return the smile and greeting.”