In Singapore, all males have to go through a compulsory national service for 2 - 2.5 years. In other words, we get drafted into the military to serve our coutry.

I never really understood why I get so little for my 2.5 years of service even though I’m just a administrative clerk. I wonder if the value clerks produce means anything to them? Well, we get paid less than a road sweeper. I’ve heard the usual "You’re serving you duty as Singapore citizen" and "You’re lucky to have $XXX today compared to 10 years ago" lectures. However, the amount of money I receive doesn’t make sense to me. It gives me the impression that we’re supposed to serve our duty for free and we don’t mean shit to them?

Here’s a summary of the "allowance" I receive from the army:

2002		2003		2004
July	SGD $350	January	SGD $350	January	SGD $420
August	SGD $350	February	SGD $350	February	SGD $420
September	SGD $350	March	SGD $350	March	SGD $420
October	SGD $350	April	SGD $350	April	SGD $420
November	SGD $350	May	SGD $390	May	SGD $420
December	SGD $350	June	SGD $390	June	SGD $420
		July	SGD $390	July	SGD $440
		August	SGD $390	August	SGD $440
		September	SGD $390	September	SGD $440
		October	SGD $420	October	SGD $440
		November	SGD $420	November	SGD $440
		December	SGD $420	December	SGD $440
Total for 2002: SGD $2100		Total for 2003: SGD $4610		Total for 2004: SGD $5160
Grand Total for 2.5 years of military service: SGD $11,870 (+- A couple of hundreds of dollars)

I believe everything happens for a reason. As much as this pisses me off, receiving peanuts every month just makes me want to make more money right now and after I have left the army. I’ve got so much fire in me, I can’t wait to release it!

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