Friday, November 10, 2006
ST (10-11-06)
Thanks to Vegancat for sending this in. I'm very glad to see this is finally being acknowledged!
Our authorities ARE very efficient - the problem is that as with a parent who bows to a child's every whim and fancy, you end up with a very spoilt child who cannot do anything for himself or herself except cry when things don't go his or her way.
This doesn't mean of course that we don't want the government to help people who are truly in need - but it DOES mean not pandering to every single complaint, no matter what it is. There needs to be a sense of ownership and responsibility. Responding to every single complaint and bending over backwards so that people don't complain does NOT foster this sense of responsibility.
If a resident comes to you with a stupid complaint, or something they can easily do something about, the TC or government agency should just tell them to go handle it themselves! That will make people more self-reliant, give the agencies less work, and actually promote a greater sense of community.
SITNews: Stop whining and whingeing, be gracious, MPs urge
by Lim Wei Chean
SINGAPORE is becoming a nation of complainers who do not take ownership of their problems and who are wanting in humility, thoughtfulness and graciousness to boot.
Dr Mohd Maliki Osman (Sembawang GRC) said the Government's famed efficiency in taking on and solving problems had become a double-edged sword.
It has become such that when lift landings are dirty, people call their town council. When they have a problem with their neighbours, they go to the Housing Board.
He asked: 'Are we turning Singapore into a nation of people whose problem-solving skills solely rest on the mechanism of asking someone else to solve their problems?'
And by making their complaints - 'giving feedback' - to government agencies, many adults are bad role models to their children, he said.
He urged Singaporeans to take greater ownership of their problems rather than expect the Government to solve them - be 'problem solvers' instead of just 'problem identifiers' or 'problem referrers'.
Their children will learn by example and grow up more resilient, he added.
Mr Lim Biow Chuan (Marine Parade GRC) also urged Singaporeans to be more considerate, humbler and kinder. Ten years ago, then prime minister Goh Chok Tong called for a more gracious society.
But this has failed to materialise, said Mr Lim, citing examples of his countrymen's boorish behaviour.
Calling for more tolerance and civility, he noted that people are quick to complain, demand their rights and condemn others for not showing care, but are slow to extend a helping hand to those who fall.
He said: 'What makes a country great is not just the laws of the country, not just the efficiency of the system, not just the meritocracy or beautiful buildings. What makes Singapore great is the people of Singapore and the values of its citizens.'
posted by Dawn @ 9:46 AM 
Of course, what is not mentioned here is that the town councils are very happy to act on some of such complaints, and at the same time protect the identities of the complainants.
Which perpetuates the whole mentality. We covered this in our suggestions to the Government Parliamentary Committee on TCs which we sent in a while ago. We also recently re-submitted it to REACH as we did not hear from the GPC.
I think someone "higher up" must set a uniform standard for TC officers to act consistently and without fear of a bad appraisal as some HOD's assessment may be based on how fast complaints are being addressed without looking into how they are being addressed. TC officers must be empowered with to courage to say...Hi, if you don't reveal your identity, we will not entertain you. (without cowering to aggressive complainants.) and also to set standard rules likes.. cars in public carparks are subjected to risks..including cats lying on them and there is no ground for complaint as there is such a thing as a car cover..so use it or shut up.
Exactly.
Now that the MPs have acknowledged that people like to complain and have others solve their problems, perhaps they can now look into how their respective TCs are contributing to the problem.