US ambassador 'developed poor relationships' with Singapore ministries, threatened embassy staff

ChannelNewsAsia ^ | Mar 02, 2024 | ChannelNewsAsia

[khoree]

SINGAPORE: A report by the US State Department's internal watchdog has revealed several shortcomings by the US ambassador to Singapore, including unauthorised spending and ineffective dealings with the Singapore government.

The audit by the Office of Inspector General found the Ambassador Jonathan Kaplan did not "model integrity, plan strategically, collaborate, or communicate" and recommended a review of his conduct and performance. Advertisement

The report, dated February 2024 and released on Friday (Mar 1), also uncovered morale issues at the US embassy in Singapore, many of which the report directly attributed to Mr Kaplan.

Embassy staff cited by the report described fear and direct threats of reprisal from Mr Kaplan. Employees described his mannerisms as "belittling and intimidating" and also accused him of speaking "disparagingly about US government employees and the (State) Department".

On foreign policy, Mr Kaplan was said to have "developed poor relationships" with some Singapore government ministries to the extent that, in some cases, his actions "hurt progress" on State Department goals and objectives.

"Specifically, it was described that the Ambassador often was unprepared on issues and made statements that were counterproductive to a section’s work," said the report.

It described staff noting that Mr Kaplan ought to have held more meetings at Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to which the ambassador told the Office of Inspector General that such meetings were "unproductive with only an exchange of talking points and no real discussions".

[khoree]

Do send a more competent guy, please. Hey, Singapore just bought 8 more F-35's.

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/f35-fighter-jet-order-mindef-rsaf-defence-4155986

[linMcHlp]

U.S. Ambassador to Singapore, Jonathan Kaplan, reviewed:

• unauthorised spending
• ineffective dealings with the Singapore government
• does not model integrity
• does not plan strategically
• does not collaborate
• does not communicate
• threatens reprisals
• belittles employees
• intimidates employees
• disparages employees
• developed poor relationships with some Singapore government ministries
• hurt progress
• unprepared on issues
• makes statements that are counterproductive to a section’s work

[Liz]

Biden's appointee.

Jonathan Kaplan, Ambassador U.S. Embassy Singapore, December 2021 – Present

Ambassador Kaplan is a prominent executive, entrepreneur, and philanthropist whose career has spanned numerous industries. He was the co-founder and Chairperson of EducationSuperHighway, a nonprofit organization that brought high-speed internet to more than 49 million children in K-12 classrooms nationwide. Professionally, Ambassador Kaplan is best known for founding Pure Digital Technologies and inventing its revolutionary Flip video camera. In 2009, Cisco bought Pure Digital Technologies and he became Senior Vice President and General Manager of its Consumer Products Division.

Ambassador Kaplan was also the founding CEO of The Melt, a chain of fast-casual restaurants. Previously he was President and CEO of Sega.com and he was the founder and CEO of FamilyWonder, an entertainment and technology company.

Ambassador Kaplan was named Northern California 2010 Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young and was named by Business Week among the Most Influential People on the Web in 2008. He earned a B.S. from Carnegie Mellon University.

[Chad C. Mulligan]

Could this be professional deep staters attacking the guy over policy differences?

This is how they’d do it, if that were the case.

[Chad C. Mulligan]

Or maybe he’s not gay?

[SteveH]

the report could be true, *or* kaplan could be an unwelcome outsider to the diplomat community.

[marktwain]

Could this be professional deep staters attacking the guy over policy differences?

This is how they’d do it, if that were the case.

Hard to know. The Ambassador sounds like a pretty smart guy.

Being smart does not necessarily make a person a good ambassador.

[Bonemaker]

No one actually expects the tool bag Biden to appoint anyone halfway competent do they?

[Wallace T.]

Kaplan is most likely a big dollar contributor to the Democratic Party. The ambassadorship is probably his reward. Both parties give out ambassadorships to wealthy supporters and have done so for a very long time.

[MtnClimber]

A communist in an economic center.

[Chainmail]

Interesting that Mr. Kaplan didn’t bother to shave before his official photograph.

[Chainmail]

Interesting that Mr. Kaplan didn’t bother to shave before his official photograph.

[bert]

Competent?

Competent is trumped by corrupt in the Biden Administration. The Ambassador donated/raised money for the campaign. That’s all that matters

[Liz]

Guessing the pic was taken when being clean-shaven was a social taboo.

[Flint]

Doesn’t look like a cross dresser so that may be the issue with the Biden Administration. Just doesn’t fit the usual model.

[Chainmail]

I guess - but I have never found any other photo of a high government official unshaven.

It's not a good look.

[Liz]

I think the clean-shaven look is back in style.