Singapore — Netizens are questioning if the government should be spending so much on the upcoming National Day Parade when the money could be used to help out businesses and the needy instead.
A Facebook group named “Wake up, Singapore” uploaded a post discussing the issue of the upcoming celebration.
The caption of the post asked if there was a need to allocate such a large budget towards the National Day Parade, especially during a global pandemic that doomed many businesses and firms.
It also urges people to think about how helpful and useful the funds would be if they were used to alleviate poverty instead, and were distributed to those who needed them more.
At the end of the post, it expresses that we should consider if such expensive parades are really needed.
Wake Up, Singapore also included a graphic by Seedly, a personal finance community in Singapore.
Admittedly, the spendings for the National Day Parade during 2020 was the lowest in the last decade. It is likely that the spendings for this year would be around the same range as well. However, even 10 million dollars could be immensely helpful for businesses out there that are struggling.
Many netizens shared their thoughts and views regarding the upcoming celebration in the comments section.
A few netizens thought that there could be a better use of the money, such as donating it to the less fortunate or to smaller shops and hawker stalls that are experiencing a large decline in business.
A few other netizens remarked that the National Day Parade does not serve much purpose and is rather wasteful in terms of money and other resources.
Meanwhile, another netizen was more worried about how the festivities might actually cause the virus to further spread since it could be difficult to exercise the measures in place.
You Zi Xuan is an intern at The Independent SG. /TISG