By Yasmeen Banu
Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) recently posted an update on their Facebook page informing the public that they are looking into the matter of the Singaporean blogger who boasted about getting enlisted for only a month.
Posted on June 13th, the post on the “SAF Confessions” Facebook page went on in details about how a National Service (NS) man started going to the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) a year before enlistment “to build up a case to get a down PES” in order to focus on his business and his career.
Confessions made to the facebook page is not traceable as submissions are made via Google forms to ensure anonymity.
SAF stated, in their Facebook page, that it is “regrettable that a Singaporean blogger has boasted about how he managed to dishonestly and blatantly get himself discharged from National Service” and that the young man’s dishonesty undermines the system within SAF in terms of managing servicemen who genuinely suffer from mental illness.
By describing how he could away with not shaving his head, getting multiple MC’s throughout his two years, and talking about how he was enlisted for a total of one month and two weeks, the post quickly attracted responses by people criticizing the detailed confession, telling him that there really is “nothing to be proud of”.
…Why am I not allowed to rest when on MC? Need I be awake just for their stupid house visits? I then threatened to go see my MP and talk to the press about them harassing me when I was trying to rest and this young punk officer immediately backed off.
The post has since gathered hundreds of likes, and around the same amount of Facebook shares.
Quite coincidentally, sometime last year, a status update on Facebook by a man who goes by the name “Sky Vaden Lim” gathered just as much attention as it made its rounds around the Internet.
With similar details about being disinterested in being in camp, Mr. Lim updated his Facebook status right after getting his enlistment letter saying how by getting PES E9, he would be able to commit to his business and book out of camp everyday.
He goes on to say,
In life, sometimes it’s okay that people don’t believe in you. All you got to do is to believe firmly in yourself and continue to stay focused in doing what you are doing! Now I am going to show how I am going to make things happen and make my words come true.
The SAF is currently looking into the confession made on the “SAF Confessions” page.
