Nothing much happening email-wise over the weekend. Which is unusual but not that uncommon. Had a lot of errands to run since it is the transition for the new month. have to set up my budget for December.
Picked up the newspaper this morning and read about Melvyn Tan, the pianist from our shores who escaped NS to continue his career in music in the UK and caused a big ruckus over here. He has announced that he will cancel his performance at the Esplanade due the publicity ruckus over his failture to serve NS and being fined only $5000. My first reaction was that he shouldn't have cancelled. Second reaction, he could have been emotionally affected and would not be able to give a top-rate performance anyway, so his audience would have to sit through a sub-standard performance, so he was right in cancelling it, rather than give his critics more ammo in pummeling him.
His decision is understandable, but still I think he should have gone on with the performance. It's his chance to prove his critics wrong by displaying his talents, and his decision only shows that he is easily swayed by public opinion.
National service comes in many forms. It does not strictly mean one has to don green and fight as a soldier, or serve in the military for a fixed number of years. Why are some sent to the army, where we have to wade through mud and gore, and why are some sent to the air force, navy, or the police, where life is so much easier? And within the army itself, why are some appointed clerks and paper-pushers while others have to go through the dirty side of combat? Why are some assigned to the MDC while others have to trudge over hill after hill?
I have always thought that people with special talents are often exempted from the uglier side of soldiering, being able to contribute in their own speical ways, while ordinary joes like me, with no outstanding talents to boast of, have only our physical strength to offer, and so can only be drafted into the military as a frontline rifleman, an ordinary footsoldier, placed in the line of fire. I have nothing to distinguish myself from "the masses", basically. And so I think it was right that Melvyn Tan stayed abroad to further his talents, and emerge as he is today, an accomplished pianist. And to call him our own would be every Singaporean's pride and joy, as he was indeed born and bred here.
However, having achieved what he did, he should have served Singapore by promoting the arts and culture here, and spreading the Singapore name overseas. That would be his national service to Singapore. And the former was his original intention, as stated in the newspaper report. He came back to help promote the arts scene here. So by pulling out of his scheduled performance, he is in fact missing out on an opportunity to do his part for Singapore.
Perhaps the biggest mistake is the bureaucratic manner his case was being handled by the courts. He was slapped with a fine, but nowhere was it stated that he was told that he should fulfill his national service by other means, even if he had not already realised his obligations. He was treated as just another defaulter, without regard to his achievements. A word or two by the judge, even a postscript on the verdict, something recorded, would have skewed the public debate in another direction, and reminded him of his public obligation to serve the arts in Singapore.
But something once cancelled can never be reinstated. He cannot call his performance back on again, or he'll be seen as inconsistent. What he can do now is probably look forward to another opportunity to display his talent before the Singapore public, and benefit it hence.
