17 Aug 2011
By: LI XUEYING & ANDREA ONG
THE birds chirping on the tree near his flat are too noisy. Chop down the tree – and do it now, demands a resident in Bukit Panjang.
Town council officers call residents to pay their outstanding service and conservancy charges (S&CC). Some respond defiantly: “I can’t pay, you cannot chase me, go and do other things.”
An HDB flat-owner turns up at the HDB Hub in Toa Payoh every 10 days over a period of more than 15 months, to demand that he gets a rental flat. “You must bend the rule,” he threatens the staff. “If you don’t, I will complain to the minister.” In e-mail messages to officers on the ground, others write insolently: “You are useless.”
Such cases of “harsh and uncompromising” Singaporeans towards front-line officers have increased, with some community organisations and government agencies pointing to the May 7 General Election as a catalyst.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong highlighted the growing trend in his National Day Rally speech on Sunday, noting that the number of such instances has risen in the last few months, although the majority of people attended to are civil.
“But some people press hard, and some can be demanding,” he said as he called for “courtesy and mutual respect”.
A check with about 15 government agencies and community organisations found there has been a slight but discernible uptick in such cases since May.
Mr Teo Ser Luck, Mayor of North East District, said: “During the GE, we emphasised that we want to engage – but some interpret ‘engage’ as meeting all their needs, and to ‘listen to me and give me what I want, no matter what’.”
Mr Lim Biow Chuan, chairman of the Marine Parade Town Council, added: “Our officers have been scolded many times but the scoldings got worse after GE.” His town council used to handle fewer than 3,000 complaints a month but the number has risen by 10 per cent.
Government agencies, too, report an increase of cases.
The Housing Board has seen a rise in the past three months but does not keep count of demanding customers.
But it said: “There are anecdotal evidence of cases where customers turn abusive or make unreasonable demands.
Generally these customers may raise their voices, make vulgar or threatening remarks or even threaten physical assault.
“Such behaviour is typically triggered when they are informed that their requests cannot be acceded to,” it added.
The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (Iras), which handles inquiries from 170,000 taxpayers each month, said “a very small minority may have become more demanding in recent times”.
Their demands to Iras include: waive their taxes, grant them tax reliefs they are not eligible for, or waive their penalties.
The Land Transport Authority also confirms that the number of what it calls “feedback” has increased in recent years.
It attributes the rise to ongoing work under the Land Transport Master Plan and “the fact that land transport issues are top-of-mind for many who use the public transport system daily”.
Singapore General Hospital also reports a growing trend of patients or next-of-kin abusing health-care workers, from 18 cases in 2008 to 43 last year.
One front-line officer facing more of these nasty outbursts is Ms Rosalind Chiew, 50, a customer service officer of 21 years at Holland-Bukit Panjang Town Council.
Since the GE, she has seen about five cases a month of “more demanding” residents, including those who hurl abuse. “In the past, they were not that unreasonable. Now, they say, do this, do that. They call up and say, I want you to come and see what’s wrong, but they don’t give the location. They say I pay conservancy charges, so why should I tell you?”
But for some, it is business as usual, like the National Library Board which imposes fines for the late return of books.
Those interviewed said many who are rude tend to be well-educated people who know how to work the system like using social media to voice complaints.
Said Dr Teo Ho Pin, chairman of Holland-Bukit Panjang Town Council, which handles 100 cases a day: “The more well-educated have higher expectations – and they know how to make demands.”
While it can be dispiriting for the front-line staff, many have girded themselves for such situations.
Said Ms Chiew: “We have a buddy system where we look out for each other.”
At HDB, Mr Fong Long Wah’s team members, who handle rental housing requests, “huddle together every morning”.
On their approach in addressing demanding cases, he said: “We listen to their problems. Let them shout first and then slowly we share our stance and explain. Everyone has issues to settle.”
Email: xueying@sph.com.sg & andreao@sph.com.sg
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