Name and shame.
Don’t lie, all of you have engaged in this behaviour at some point in your lives.
While this may be a thing of your primary school days for some, this is still an ongoing practice for 47-year-old Mr Calvin Cheng.
Mr Cheng is a former Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP), serving slightly less than two-and-a-half years beginning in 2009. NMPs are not affiliated to any political party and are not constituency representatives.
Known for expressing controversial socio-political views on Facebook, Mr Cheng has struck again, this time about the use of cash.
Calvin Cheng Blasts Hawkers for Not Offering Cashless Mode of Payment
Just yesterday, Mr Cheng lambasted a “foodcourt in the CBD” that only accepted cash as a mode of payment. He attached two images of notices and signs expressing the stall’s preference of only accepting cash to the post.
He ended his post with “Name and Shame”, though his post did not explicitly call out the stall names.
Mr Cheng continues his rant about the non-cashless mode of payment in the post’s comments section, calling it “shameful” that the drinks shop discontinued the use of Paynow.
He went even further in his anger, calling for a “boycott” of businesses that do not offer alternatives to cash.
At this point in time, we wonder what cash did to wrong Mr Cheng. Did he want to buy a drink at the cash-only drinks stall, only to find out that he did not bring his wallet?
Mr Cheng also took netizens head on in the comments section, calling the defenders of the use of cash “Luddites”.
Image: Facebook (Calvin Cheng)After his battle with netizens, Mr Cheng concluded that it was “unbelievable and embarrassing” for people to defend the “use of cash only”.
He Also Praises (and Scolds) Those Who Offer Cashless Modes of Payment
Although Mr Cheng had harsh words for those hawkers who did not offer cashless services, he dished out praises for those who did.
To drive home the point about how crucial it is to Mr Cheng for cashless methods of payment to be offered, he followed up his previous post with not one, not two, but three further posts praising the use of cashless methods of payment.
He sure drove home the point about his support for cashless modes of payment.
But do you think you can escape unscathed as long as you don’t dictate a “cash-only” environment?
No, you can’t.
It appears that even if your establishment accepts credit cards, you may still not satisfy Mr Cheng’s exacting standards.
On 1 February this year, Mr Cheng grumbled on Facebook that it is “super backwards” for restaurants for not using a “mobile credit card machine”.
He also laments that this “backward developed [country]” still requires you to hand the staff your card for them to take to the counter and wait for them to bring back the relevant documentation for your signature.
Mr Cheng is definitely one tough cookie to satisfy.
While there may be some truth behind security concerns of handing a stranger your credit card which is taken out of your sight, we’re not sure how many people share the same strong sentiments as Mr Cheng.
One thing’s for sure though, given the annual long queues to redeem new notes for the ang baos (red packets) and the snaking lines to deposit money on Li Chun (some people believe this helps to bring wealth luck), cash is here to stay.
Featured Image: Facebook (Calvin Cheng)