Straits Times Forum
Online Story
Apr 21, 2010
Kindness a matter of heart
I AGREE with the views expressed by Singapore Kindness Movement general manager Teh Thien Yew ('Being gracious must come from the heart') on Monday.
Two cases come to mind. Last Saturday's Forum page carried a letter by a man who complained about the care his elderly father was given at a local hospital ('Poor care for bedridden dad at hospital'). Throughout his letter, he kept referring to his helper as his 'maid', instead of 'caregiver', which she definitely was.
The second situation is related to an ongoing issue between the management and residents of Pebble Bay condo in Tanjong Rhu. The management set cat traps after one resident complained that he saw two cats playing in the carpark and he dislikes cats.
I happen to know that the cats at Pebble Bay have been sterilised and are cared for on a full-time basis by volunteers from the Cat Welfare Society (CWS). Furthermore, the head of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) wrote to the management of the condo explaining that the killing of the cats creates a void and, within a matter of weeks, new, unsterilised and possibly ill cats will move in to fill this void.
The head of CWS also appealed to the management to reconsider its harsh actions. The systems that are in place - and supported by CWS and the SPCA, and their thousands of members - have been proven to work.
However, at present, the traps are still set. This just does not gel with the core values of 'being gracious'.
Sandra Johnson (Ms)
