By Zen — Earlier this month, Sun Xueling posted a picture of a bowl of Hokkien Mee on her Facebook account. After a netter reacted by saying that her meal was free, she had to clarify that she paid for her meal. Yet, is there a point ministers making such posts at all?
She is not the only one.
Ministers have been taking to their social media profiles to post about how “normal” their lives are. Yet, instead of actually sounding relatable, the posts only do the opposite. It makes it obvious that they don’t live the lives of average Singaporeans.
Their lives are abnormal to a point wherein they have to make a post about the times when they are “normal” because it is apparently something for them to boast about.
To witness this kind of behavior is quite disappointing.
Singaporeans know about your million dollar salaries, your posts make you sound tone-deaf. Basically it comes across as “yes we earn a lot of money but we eat Hokkien Mee too!” It does not make you relatable.
In fact, we are paying you your million dollar salaries to work. While we had no say in how much you are paid, we expect to see some merits from paying you such high salaries. The “we are paid highly so we are not corrupted” argument can only last for so long. Your social life, including a bowl of noodles, is unimportant to us.
As a public servant, be a public servant.
As the phrase suggests, you are supposed to serve the public. We anticipate you to behave as a true servant of the people. We don’t really care if you take the bus or go to the gym for workouts.
Tell us how you plan to make our lives better – don’t just tell us what, tell us how. For example, you can’t always tell us that you will “make sure housing is affordable” without telling us what are the active steps you plan to take. Publishing information about your plans to adopt regulations and make improvements in Singapore is what we hope to see.
If you don’t get it, take a look at Leong Mun Wai’s Facebook. He may not have won a position in the general election, but he embodies the true nature of a public servant. As a member of NCMP, he takes advantage of the chance to continue helping Singaporeans, deal with their problems, and stay in touch with them even on social media.
Most importantly, don’t appear butt-hurt if people are looking for accountability from you.
Every part of your salary comes from public funds. These public funds are made from Singaporeans’ blood and sweat. Of course we will be upset if we work so hard to pay you just to see your incompetence.
