Good grief, even Yahoo News Singapore is interested in this?

My goodness me, have you all seen this? http://sg.news.yahoo.com/blogs/what-is-buzzing/singapore-blogger-calls-ns-slavery-draws-passionate-response-094212412.html Like I said in my previous piece, I have a special relationship with my regular readers - you know who you are, I adore you and am grateful for the fact that we have this special interaction via my blog. But when a story like that goes viral and makes it into the mainstream news, people start talking all kinds of shit about me and Alvin Lim (aka Alvinology) and I'm like - woah. Please don't assume that I automatically agree with everything Alvin Lim says - I do on some points, I don't on others.

Sure I have plenty of respect for him as a blogger- crikey, he has an amazing blog. I know how hard blogging is and respect him as a blogger. Plenty of food porn - I love his restaurant reviews. I did however, have a slight issue with his post because I felt he focused a bit too much on the issue of IPPT rather than looked at the bigger picture. I didn't want to criticize him for that because everyone can choose to look at the NS issue from any angle - be it covering the big picture or focusing on just one aspect of the whole experience.

It's his choice what angle he wishes to take - however, things went somewhat wrong for Alvin Lim when people picked up on just one thing he said in his article: "modern day slavery" and if you're going to make such a strong claim, then surely one would focus on more pertinent issues, such as the disruption to one's working life or the way it makes many employers prefer to employ foreigners instead of local males because of their reservist liabilities. It just seems like an odd choice to focus that much on the issue of IPPT when I thought it would have been a minor inconvenience at best (and I did say in my previous piece that anything that forces older men in their 30s and 40s to keep fit can only be a good thing when we are facing an obesity epidemic.)

This upsets me. Sorry, but I am upset because I felt that I did use the BBC interview to make a valid point about how the system in Singapore discriminates against male Singaporeans "because of the compulsory national service and many years of reservist obligations afterwards." Alvin Lim then drew so much attention to himself over the issue (dragging me into the foray in the process) and he wants to talk about IPPT (a point which him and I clearly disagree on) instead of focusing on the more pertinent issues? And as for the checks of hair length - again, please, let's not get distracted by the minor issues. It seems almost petty to kick up a fuss over these issues.

What did you get out of your NS experience? 

I'm afraid Alvin weakens his own argument by focusing on these far more minor points rather than talking about the following issues that have been far more problematic:

1. The length of NS is too long and needs to be shortened.

2. The NSF pay is way too low and desperately needs to be increased.

3. Very few NSF actually take any useful skills away from their NS days - the SAF needs to give them real skills and training that can be used in the working world.

4. The reservist liabilities are highly disruptive to working Singaporean males and puts them at a disadvantage, employers will prefer to employ females or foreigners.

5. New citizens are often exempt from any kind of NS and the consequent reservist liabilities even if they are still fit and in their 20s or 30s when they obtain their Singaporean nationality.

Now those five factors are far more compelling reasons why the issue NS has to be dealt with and addressed - why is Alvin Lim even talking about IPPT and hair cuts?! I am wondering if it was merely a bad editorial decision or if those issues really mean thaaaaat much to him? It's so easy for someone to tell him to pull his socks up and be a man about the issue of IPPT (one of my readers has already done so, as did many of his readers who have left many comments on his blog piece), but which Singaporean would want to disagree on the point about the disadvantages NS imposes on male Singaporeans in the job market, when we're competing with females and foreigners with no reservist liabilities? Let's use arguments that unite people, rather than those that divide people.

Anyway, as much as I love a spike in traffic to my blog, I still feel uncomfortable when I have so many people talking about the stories on social media. I'm quite used to commenting on topical stories, it is easy to talk about someone else, but to have the spotlight turned on me as this story goes viral... By all means, talk about the issue and what I have presented on the topic here on my blog as well as on my BBC interview, but it's when people start saying crap based on stuff that other people have said about me - that's when it gets ludicrous. For example, I never said that NS was "modern day slavery" - those were Alvin Lim's words, not mine; yet some people have asserted that it was me who said that.That's just people who start misquoting and misrepresenting the facts without knowing the whole story and that just pisses me off, big time. Like WTF is wrong with some of these people, for crying out aloud...

Who said what to whom...

Am I trying to distance myself from Alvin Lim's article? Not exactly, I am glad that people like Alvin Lim are getting people talking about the issue and that is a good thing. However, as much as I respect Alvin's right to an opinion, him and I clearly do not agree on some of the issues (particularly that on IPPT - sorry Alvin, but I really disagree with you on that issue) - but that's fine. We can each have our say on the issue, I just hate it when people confuse me with him. Come on people. I'm Alex, he's Alvin, I'm in the UK, he's in Singapore, we're both bloggers - it's not rocket science.

As usual, if you have anything you wish to say on the issue, please leave a comment, thanks for reading.

Yup, that's me... Outside Zouk on my last visit to Singapore in August 2013.