هل جنود سنغافورة مستعدون للقتال؟ هذا السؤال هو واحد من عدة أسئلة يطرحها المدونون رداً على صورة لجندي شاب تحمل له أغراضه فتاة قد تكون أحد العاملين بخدمة المنزل.
تم تحميل الصورة لأول مرة على فيسبوك وسرعان ما حصلت على انتباه الإعلام. عبر الجندي حينها عن ندمه حول هذا السلوك ويخضع الآن للاستشارة النفسية.
(The picture) sums up what the SAF’s detractors have long argued and what local authorities have taken pains to correct – that Singapore’s national servicemen are soft city boys. Spoilt softies, pampered by mummy and daddy, fussed over by a domestic helper, unfit for battle, potential liabilities in combat clearly not up to the mark for the rigours of warfare. You don’t need a picture caption to figure this out, do you?
The root of the problem in part lies in the poor school discipline prevailing in our schools. A soft approach to discipline in our schools is breeding generations of spoilt and ill-disciplined students seconded by their parents.
Our dearest Wussy darling,
You are famous!
Your picture is everywhere!
And our entire nation is waiting with bated breath for you to turn around and show your face but son, daddy and mummy suggest that you press on and proceed without flinching.
Keep those losers guessing son, and don’t you ever dare carry your own backpack!
For your future is bright, dear Wussy, and daddy and mummy, for your own sake, cannot bear to see you get hurt or injured by such trivial, menial tasks as carrying your own backpack, loaded full with fortifying goodness like ginseng, bak kwa, chicken essence and several cans of abalone for your midnight snack. (The can opener is in the side pocket on the left, darling son.)
I think we should not be too harsh on the boy. He is, after all, doing what Singapore likes to do: getting foreigners to do work that we don't want to do ourselves.
Yes, the boy is in the wrong in asking the maid to hold his field pack, but the blame lies squarely on the shoulders of the parents.
The argument is that since 18 year olds are already taught to hold a rifle (18 is the age where Singaporean males are conscripted), why can’t they have a say in Singapore’s politics? I hold firm to this argument. But pictures like those above doesn’t help people like me in our quest for the voting the age to be reduced.
أما سنجابور كوبي توك فيؤمن بتشويه صورة الجندي لصورة الجيش بوجه عام:
This soldier has done the SAF a disservice. It may be only one case, but it has damaged the reputation of the service, and all others who don the uniform with pride.
To all serving SAF national servicemen. Carry your own field pack and polish your own boots; a soldier’s pride demands no less.
He is probably one of the thousands of boys and girls who had grown up having their maids carry their school bags. I had written in my blog here before, of a boy in my neighbourhood whose maid had to carry his school bag from his house to the school bus waiting at the gate, barely 10m away. (Shake my head as I recall.
My boys are due for enlistment next year. I showed them the news and they were adamant that we are making a mountain out of a molehill. What’s wrong with that? Adults like to complaint about every little things we do.