Over 46,000 Singaporeans Sign Petition To Opt Out Of Receiving Funpacks
On Wednesday (20 May), it was announced that every Singaporean or Permanent Resident household will receive a Funpack to commemorate National Day 2020.
Funpacks are definitely a highly-anticipated highlight of the annual National Day Parade (NDP), bringing those watching it fun, excitement and refreshments as they participate with their temporary tattoos and clappers.
Funpack from NDP 2019
Source
This year, however, it seems like a large number of Singaporeans were less than happy about 1.2 million households receiving funpacks.
At the time of writing, 43,000 have signed a petition to opt out of receiving them, as they feel that the resources used to produce them can be better used elsewhere.
Opt out of Funpacks to direct resources elsewhere
The petition was apparently started to give Singaporeans the option to opt out of receiving the funpacks.
Kaushik Ilango, the man who started the petition, wrote that he felt the resources used to pack and distribute the Funpacks could be better used elsewhere, especially given our current difficult economic period.
46,000 signatures in a day
Just 1 day since the petition was created, it garnered 46,000 signatures.
Multiple signatories shared their reasons for supporting the petition in the comments, with most of them agreeing that the resources could simply be better used elsewhere.
Others pointed out that most of the Funpacks’ contents aren’t the most environmentally friendly, and wished to opt out to do their part for the environment.
Reached out to Minister of Defence
Apparently, many of the signatories had left comments asking for more details about the Funpack distribution, such as whether production had begun or about the funds spent on it.
In an update on 22 May, Mr Kaushik wrote that he had reached out to Minister of Defence, Mr Ng Eng Hen, about the concerns raised, and would keep updating the petition.
He also clarified that the petition was not raising funds, and instead directed Singaporeans to donate to causes at Giving.sg instead.
Will reach 50,000 signatures soon
The petition was only created yesterday (21 May), and is fast reaching 50,000 signatures, so we’ll have to wait and see how things turn out for funpacks, this National Day.
NDP this year will be different, and few of us will get to participate in it. Funpacks are a huge part of it, and providing every household with one would definitely add to the festive spirit.
It would be interesting to see how MINDEF responds to this petition, if ever. What do you think of NDP with or without Funpacks? Let us know in the comments below.
Featured image adapted from Facebook.
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