Covid-19 crisis Elderly woman insist on eating at the hawker center
Someone shared a video about an elderly woman who insisted on eating at the table in the hawker center. The enforcement officer asked her to eat at home, but she refused. She shouted "You can fine me. I don't care".

Most people think that the woman was acting in an irresponsible manner. She refused to comply with the law and with the request of the enforcement officer. 

I share a different perspective. 

As part of my daily exercise, I walked one hour to the hawker center. I saw the hawkers who were waiting for customers. They had very bad business, and saw a drop of more than 50%. They were grateful to me for patronizing their stalls. 

I bought a packet of chendol. It would take me half hour to return home by bus. The ice would have melted. I wanted to eat at the stall, but it is not allowed. So, I behaved "socially responsible" and had melted chendol when I reached home.

What about the woman? She might have walked half an hour or more to come to the hawker center. It might be inconvenient for her to take the food home to eat. She might have difficulty in walking. I recalled that she talked about it in the video. I understand her situation. I empathize with her. 

What about the enforcement officer? He should have allowed her to finish her meal. After all, the woman was the only person eating at the food center. She did not pose any problem to "social distancing". It would be different if the food center was crowded. 

I am rather sad that the enforcement officer did not use the initiative in this matter. By being rigid and sticking to the rules, he was not understanding of the difficulty that the elderly woman faced. 

There is a cultural fear of exercising initiative, and being flexible when the situation warrants. This is a bad aspect of our culture that needs to be changed. 

I know that there is a fear that if the enforcement officer allows the woman to eat at the table, it might encourage other people to do the same. I do not think so.

Most people, like me, can take the packets home to eat.  Indeed, many people drive cars to buy food from the food centers, so they have no problem to bring the food back. However, the elderly poor people do not have this luxury.

I like the enforcement officer to be flexible. However, if the situation gets out of hand and the enforcement officer needs to be strict, I would understand. 

But be flexible first, OK?

Tan Kin Lian



 

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