Rilek1Corner

Tag: forced

  • NSmen Forced To Sign “Consent Form”

    NSmen Forced To Sign “Consent Form”

    i’m writing in to unfold an standard protocol required by SAF for our annual FFI clearance, which is mandatory for NSmen upon reaching the age of 35 years old. I’m like all 35 years old, was scheduled for this liability, days after turning 35. So here goes with the standard procedures: blood test, eye test, ECG test, weight and height measurement and not forgotting, a declaration form on your wellbeing and personal details. And the final stage of the test, seeing the in-camp Medical Officer (MO).

    I’m an avid runner and swimmer, who exercises regularly at least 5 to 6 days per week, but however I do have some bad habits in smoking and drinking (occasionally), therefore, as per the MO, standard protocol requires me to take the treadmill test, scheduled a few days later at the National Heart Centre.

    So well, IPPT and NS is a man’s responsibility, therefore I do not even have the slightest complaint, and not to mention, I do not have any problem in clearing my IPPT. I only have problem getting GOLD! Silver to me is like a piece of cake.

    A few days later and here I am, in the National Heart Centre, waiting for my turn to take the test. As the nurse was implanting all the “sockets” on my body, and explaining briefly to me about this test, a remark suddenly caught my full attention.

    “Sir I need you to know that there’s a possibility of 1 in 10,000 of heart attack for this test and we need you to sign a consent form.”

    Straight away, the answer in my mind was NO! For tons of reasons which I explained to the doctor when the nurse could not handle my queries.

    Why should we be liable for something we did not ask for? If SAF needs us to do such test, it proves there’re some health risks after the age of 35, and why are they still implementing this and most importantly, how can they wash their hands off matters which they are forcing the citizens to do? Least they can do is to be liable in case NSmen suffer heart attack during the test.

    I saw the MO again, he had no explanations for my concerns and quoted me an example:

    “There’s risk to everything you do, like you chose to park your car there, there is risk of break-in.”

    Any answer to him is simple, “I chose to park the car there and willing to take the risk. I did not choose to serve NS or IPPT, therefore I shouldn’t be liable for the risk.”

    MO’s reply: This is standard protocol and nothing he can do about it. If I do not comply, I will get charged.

    I ended the conversation immediately, and in any case, what can a Captain do to oppose such non-logical protocol?

    It might sound like a small issue and I know many of you will tell me I am over reacting but I feel insulted that we are forced to sign a “consent form” or be charged. Like that, it’s not really consent since I have no choice.

    The Truth

    * Submitted by TRE reader.

     

    Source: www.tremeritus.com

  • Forced Into Hijab (Part 1)

    Forced Into Hijab (Part 1)

    Ramadhan has always been a special time for me because it’s the time when I sit down and reflect about my religion more seriously. I don’t mean for this to look like a biography, but I thought that it’d be easier to write things chronologically.

    And with that I shall properly begin.

    See, for as long as I can remember, the Hijab has always been an obligation enforced upon me and my sister.

    As a young Muslim, you don’t really question these things but you just do it because your parents tell you to. When I was younger I don’t remember if I had true conviction for wearing it, but I wore it anyway. I just assumed it was the norm since my mother wears it, and because it was compulsory to wear it when you went to religious classes. So I did.

    It was only in my pubescent teen years when this strong sense of dislike towards the Hijab sat at the back of my mind. The pubescent years was when how you looked started to matter, and for me, a person who has always struggled with low self-esteem, it aggravated the problem. I recall this incident that happened some time during my Secondary School years. My friends and I were out for a “Jalan Raya” outing. I was the only girl wearing the Hijab. I resented it the moment I put it on as it made me feel uglier than I already was. Seeing how pretty the other girls looked in something other than their Secondary School uniforms was enough to implant this small seed of jealousy within me. What worsened it however, was when the boys snickered, labelling me “alim” or pious because I wore the tudung. I remembered them laughing about it when I shortly excused myself to pray. It was something that damaged my self-esteem even more. At that moment I hated my parents for forcing such a thing upon me, and I hated the Malay community for endlessly criticising – it is a problem in their eyes to both wear it and not wear it. Most importantly, I hated that company; and that was when I swore to myself never to attend a “Jalan Raya” with anyone other than family.

    This dislike for the Hijab continued into my JC years, although in a smaller scale. The JC years introduced me to new perspectives on the Hijab, both good and bad. For one, my Chinese friends were more accepting and encouraging of the Hijab than my Malay friends. They told me things like “You look good with the Hijab, it frames your face nicely”, “You’re pretty”, “I like the way you dress” which really made me feel better about myself. Never once did they question me for my decision to wear it. The Malays in my JC, were nicer than the ones I met in Secondary School. Not only were they non-judgmental, they never once snickered at me for wearing the Hijab. Furthermore, the girls were undergoing a transition like myself. We were all at the age where we wanted to take our lives more seriously, and the Malay girls I knew were all making the decision to wear the Hijab because of varying reasons. I was really happy that they were making the decision to do so, and listening to their stories made me feel more optimistic about the Hijab. However, along with it came a deep sense of jealousy. You see, my friends were the sort who were never forced to wear the Hijab by their parents. When they wanted to wear it, it was a decision they made on their own accord, and I truly respected them for that. It was something that was never in my capacity to do. How I wished I were them, loving and embracing the Hijab for all that it is. I couldn’t however, as my deep sense of repulsion for it was still there. You see, the more you are forced to do something, the more you shy away from it.

    The present is when I’ve been starting to really rethink the whole idea of the Hijab. I am in uni now and it seems that in uni, at any given point of time, people see you in the Hijab and only the Hijab. I remember in year one I didn’t even bother to adopt a defensive attitude towards the Hijab. My friends asked me why I wore it, and I just answered “Because my parents forced me to”. I remember in JC I would tell my friends lies like “Because it allows me to be more modest” or something of the like, which, looking back, must have sounded really baseless and presumptuous. In uni I find myself being able to articulate my thoughts about the Hijab more clearly.

     

    Source: beyondhijabsg.wordpress.com