Maid Seen Carrying Fieldpack for NSF

He’s in the army, but she’s the one carrying the backpack.

A series of photographs making its rounds on the Internet has generated much debate about whether Gen Y soldiers in Singapore are too “soft” and “spoilt”.

The photos – which were taken off Facebook and posted on The Straits Times’ online portal Stomp —features a young man, fully decked out in army fatigues, with his maid trailing behind him carrying his large backpack.

The full pack the maid was carrying looks to be the newer type, which is bigger and has more compartments compared to older variations.

The contributor claimed that the photos had been taken in the area around Tanah Merah MRT.

Disgusted netizens began sharing the photos on social networking site Facebook and on online forums like hardwarezone.com.sg, triggering debate on whether the youth these days are too pampered.

Most were critical of the soldier, calling him “lazy” and “spoilt”. Some even said he “tarnished the image of Singapore”.

Others we more willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, saying he could have been injured and needed help with his heavy backpack.

A Ministry of Defence spokesman told the paper, “The SAF takes a serious view of the conduct of its servicemen in public.”

She added that the SAF is looking into the matter and will take appropriate action.

Ex-NS men and NSFs who spoke to Yahoo! Singapore held differing views on the matter.

25-year-old Kelvin Wong, who completed his army stint in 2006, said, “This photo is just ridiculous. It’s hard to believe that a grown man who is supposed to be serving the nation is making his female domestic help carry his backpack.”

“He’s a disgrace to the army and makes Singaporean men look bad,” he added.

23-year-old Karl Mak, who finished his stint in 2008, said, “He’s probably a spoilt kid who had his bag carried by his maid since he was a child. I guess stuff like that is cultivated from a young age.”

A former army officer who only wanted to be known as Jonathan, was more amused than disgusted.

The 28-year-old said, “When I first saw the photo, I thought it was  funny. I’ve never come across such a scenario before and I don’t think it’s at all representative of our generation. In the army, we trained recruits to take responsibility for themselves.”

“Anyway, it’s possible he had a shoulder injury and needed help with his bag. It’s not a big deal and we shouldn’t generalise this to the mentality of youths these days.”

[Main Article: FTPB]

The Singapore Armed Forces says it will investigate the case of a national serviceman who had apparently made his maid carry his backpack, and take the appropriate action.

The response came after a photo was posted in STOMP, showing a young man dressed in army fatigues walking in front of a woman carrying what seemed to be his backpack.

The story was later picked up by The Straits Times.

A Ministry of Defence spokesman said in response to the report in The Straits Times that “the SAF takes a serious view of the conduct of its servicemen in public” and that it will investigate and take the appropriate action.

The story had sparked a debate among STOMPers, on whether Gen Y soldiers are too ‘soft’, ‘spoilt’ and ‘pampered’.

There are some, however, who wondered if a shoulder injury had prompted the ‘maid’ to carry the backpack for the serviceman.

[Source: STOMP]

I just wish I could stop seeing reports like this. It makes me upset as I wonder what is becoming of our society.

I have seen maids carry the bags of kids and I felt fed up and ashamed. I sure am glad I grew up in an era when we had no domestic help. Even then I don’t recall my parents every carrying my school bags. That would have been so embarrassing for both me and them. I should think that carrying loads like this should be beyond the job description of domestic helpers. Where do we draw the line people? I found this image disturbing when I saw it today at Yahoo Singapore and the Straits Times. It’s deplorable how she is made to lug the bag and trail behind him as he obviously plays with his cell phone.

NSF With Maid Carrying Backpack

Some comments from the articles:

25-year-old Kelvin Wong, who completed his army stint in 2006, said, “This photo is just ridiculous. It’s hard to believe that a grown man who is supposed to be serving the nation is making his female domestic help carry his backpack.”

“He’s a disgrace to the army and makes Singaporean men look bad,” he added.

23-year-old Karl Mak, who finished his stint in 2008, said, “He’s probably a spoilt kid who had his bag carried by his maid since he was a child. I guess stuff like that is cultivated from a young age.”

There were several comments on Facebook as well like this one and I too believe that parents should be more discerning. I just feel it’s not fair to the domestic helper:

Loke Yu Ming: Perhaps parents ought to be more discerning about what they expect their maids or themselves to do for their kids. Seemingly innocuous deeds like carrying school kids’ bags, which is common here, might cause them to develop undesirable behaviours unknowingly.

This young man was unfortunately caught red handed and singled out, but I wouldn’t be at all surprised if there are similar cases out there. I guess it’s not just about this one incident, but a reflection of how society is changing for the worse when employers take advantage of domestic helpers.

[Source: SGActually]

Update:

THE soldier who got his maid to carry his field pack has stepped forward and admitted his mistake to his superior.

In a letter to The Straits Times Forum Page, the Ministry of Defence said the Singapore Armed Forces has completed its investigation into the case. They added that the serviceman was a recruit going through his Physical Training Preparatory phase prior to Basic Military Training.

[Source: Straits Times Online]

Right now, there are several image spoofs circulating the internet, some of the nicer ones reposted here:

SAF 7th Core Value: "Care For Soldiers"

Next contingent entering the parade is the newly formed 1FT (1st Foreign Talent) Battalion, the Maids!

I’m looking forward to this year’s church camp from 8-12 June as I missed the last two ones due to school. My family will be returning on the 8th early morning before I leave for the camp.

The last few weeks was quite relaxed in camp, nothing much to do except sit in the office and do whatever I want as there were no trainings.

Preparations for the overseas trip is almost done. Most of the stuff have been ‘sent’ in on Monday, leaving personal items to be brought in a hand-carry bag on the plane. The flight is early in the morning, so as to avoid public contact? I didn’t change much of the destination country currency, compared to my section mates. I will be home on the 2nd October.