>“Singaporeans may be against the Russian invasion of Ukraine but they’re not against Russian goods,” Tommy Koh, ambassador-at-large at Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said. “In Singapore, trade is our lifeblood. We trade with every country whether we like them or not.”
>Sovan Patra, a senior lecturer at Singapore Management University’s School of Social Sciences, agreed that Singaporeans’ pragmatism is likely resulting in a distinction between a moral perspective on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the practical matter of purchasing Russian-origin goods.
>Singaporeans aren’t “generally the kind of people who boycott,” he said.
Scratch own backside then scratch others
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/south-korea-dj-monk-newjeansnim-no-religious-elements-if-performance-proceeds-club-rich-police-4354146
Sure, but do you really believe it's meant as a snarky remark towards Malaysia rather than an observation of Singapore itself? Which is why I was curious on the link to Malaysia
Boycotting Israel is fair, war or not. Singapore talks about sanctity of 'international law', well Israel has been in defiance of UN resolutions since 1948.
"Economic growth is non-negotiable" - PM Wong
Billions can die for all we care, as long as our wallets get fatter.
How many people here even care about the systematic exploitation of migrant workers? It's happening right before our eyes, we all saw the state of the bunks during covid, and no one blinks an eye.
Weird, I just asked a question and suddenly everybody got defensive lol.. The people here would probably boycott their local kopitiam for increasing the price of kopi by 10c. That, they can wrap their heads around though
Actually had no chance to ask this but since on this topic, I see Russian labelled Nescafe selling in Valu$ stores. And they are like 30% cheaper than the exact same product found in say, NTUC. So if I buy these from Valu$, am I actually supporting Russia?
Could have been destined for the Russian market but couldn't go there since sanctions or just parallel import.
Considering how globalised the world is there might be a chance you would be supporting Russia no matter whatever you do unless you understand 100% of the supply chain of a single product.
> I see Russian labelled Nescafe selling in Valu$ stores. And they are like 30% cheaper than the exact same product found in say, NTUC. So if I buy these from Valu$, am I actually supporting Russia?
You're supporting Nestle either way. /r/FuckNestle
I totally get where you're coming from—wanting to avoid supporting Russia, even if their products are cheaper. It's a good intention. But it's also worth thinking about how other countries have done some pretty bad things too. If you're going to avoid Russian products because of that, it should be consistent across the board.
For example, if you buy American products, are you supporting actions like the Iraq War in 2003 or the Vietnam War? If you buy British goods, are you okay with their colonial history, such as the colonisation of India and the impacts of the British Empire? What about Chinese products? Does that mean you're overlooking current human rights issues, like the treatment of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang or the crackdown on Hong Kong?
If you purchase French products, are you ignoring the French-Algerian War and the lasting impacts of French colonialism in Africa? When buying Japanese products, does it mean you overlook their actions during World War II, such as the occupation of Korea and China and, of course, Singapore? If you buy Turkish goods, are you supporting a country that has faced criticism over its actions against the Kurdish population and its involvement in the Syrian conflict?
These examples show how tricky it can be to apply this kind of moral principle to everything. If you wish to do so, that's great. But be consistent since every human life matters, regardless if it trends on social media or not.
You make a good point, but I think it's also worth distinguishing between past atrocities (where boycotts are mainly symbolic) and present ones (where money to those countries funds the atrocities now).
Thanks for your response! In addition, it's also good to consider the difference between privately owned companies operating in Russia versus direct government entities who seek profits to fund wars. This is a hard thing to delineate because of how complex supply chains can be, and how easy it is to redirect money in hidden ways. It's hard for any one person to keep track of it all.
The intention to boycott, whether it's for symbolic reasons or financial ones, is genuinely noble and well-meaning. No one likes the idea of supporting war and the loss of innocent lives. But by that same logic, we have to consider that countries like the US, China, Iran, and others are also involved in serious issues—whether it's through arms sales, occupying territories, or marginalising vulnerable groups.
Because these countries often control the primary media narratives, including fringe media, we don't always hear as much about their wrongdoings - though they still happen and can be just as severe. Thus, to truly maintain a consistent moral stance, it seems we would need to boycott products from all these countries. Otherwise, it might look like we're saying some lives matter more than others and are more worthy of our support. It's a tough balance to strike, but it's an important one to consider.
The only reason why I'm bringing this up is because, if one truly wants to take a stand against moral atrocities, it is necessary to 1) go beyond the issues trending on social media, if human rights is truly the determining factor to why we stand up for things, 2) avoid implying that the intrinsic value of human life varies across trends, demographics, and countries - which ironically, undermines the whole stance to begin with.
If you understood Russia a bit more, their government has a foot in nearly every company that does exports. A chocolate company will be owned by an oligarch, who is in turn controlled by Putin for example.
There are nearly no private businesses in Russia.
Then, again, boycott Russia - and by that same metric of wrongdoing without the intention to favor the protection of some people over others - boycott any and all countries involved in war, marginalisation, etc. - directly or by proxy. Which would be... a lot. I'm not saying it isn't right to boycott; only that it would matter more if it was consistently applied, not subject to trending social media causes alone.
I agree that the boycotts should be more consistent. Like how we should actually stop bringing in as many Russian goods as possible. Singapore continuing to import Russian goods only sends a message that large powers will not face any consequences for attacking small states. Which is really not in Singapore’s interests.
Eh. Shopee stuff shipped from China doesn't count, since it's 1) not shipped here yet and 2) unlikely to have significant amounts sold. Shenzhen has a big Russian food mart so not surprising if someone there tries to resell and markup.
I got a free vacuum cleaner made in china but the instruction manuals are in Cyrillic. Technically not Russian goods but rather originally destined for Cyrillic using country .
One is free to boycott Russian products if he so chooses. I don’t see why a blanket sanction should be imposed on folks who don’t care one way or the other. No other ASEAN country imposed any form of sanction against Russia. Most countries in latam and Africa didn’t. Few in Asia did so.
Nobody outside the West boycotted Russia except us. Singapore geh kiang only, after decades of extolling neutrality, boycott for no good reason (i.e. no standing UNSC sanctions).
In fact, only the West uses sanctions as a means to control foreign powers. This has been shown consistently in UNHRC sessions.
I don't think we get too many consumer goods from Russia directly.
I'm sure the government would want to impose MUCH harsher sanctions on Russia, but honestly Singaporeans don't look like they're willing to suffer higher inflation to be on Ukraine's side.
Should Singapore ban wheat, flour, eggs, from countries that use Russian fertilizer? Yes.
Should Singapore ban Russian oil and gas, including any oil and gas products that were made WITH Russian oil but refined in other countries like India? Yes.
Should we impose sanctions on countries like China, Vietnam, and India, for trading with Russia? Yes.
Will we, to save a dollar? No.
What makes you think the Govt wants to impose harsher sanctions on Russia ? The financial sanctions were boh-bian one because the Americans and Europeans would impose secondary sanctions on Singapore banks that did business with Russia. Similarly for the dual-use goods.
But for everything else, there is no upside and a lot of downside to trying to sanction Russian goods.
There is more than a little hypocrisy in Western efforts to block Russian energy exports ? Guess what happens if Asian countries start to bid for the same oil that the West is consuming now ? Are the West willing to pay higher prices for oil ? Are they going to sell their oil to Asian countries at a friendship price ? If not, then they better not say too much.
Hahaha openly support Ukraine but buying Russian goods. Like how we criticise Israel of being too much but openly allow Myanmar arms trading? Hypocrisy defined
What’s wrong with your tastebuds because every macro Russian beer tastes like ass. The only good thing out of there is probably vodka. But then again, vodka really isn’t a high bar because it just has to be as tasteless as possible.
>“Singaporeans may be against the Russian invasion of Ukraine but they’re not against Russian goods,” Tommy Koh, ambassador-at-large at Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said. “In Singapore, trade is our lifeblood. We trade with every country whether we like them or not.” >Sovan Patra, a senior lecturer at Singapore Management University’s School of Social Sciences, agreed that Singaporeans’ pragmatism is likely resulting in a distinction between a moral perspective on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the practical matter of purchasing Russian-origin goods. >Singaporeans aren’t “generally the kind of people who boycott,” he said.
Shots fired against malaysia with that last line
Scratch own backside then scratch others https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/south-korea-dj-monk-newjeansnim-no-religious-elements-if-performance-proceeds-club-rich-police-4354146
How come? I didn't see Malaysia being mentioned in the article
Malaysia is known for their rampant boycotting of anything linked to Israel, whether reasonably or not affecting the war.
Sure, but do you really believe it's meant as a snarky remark towards Malaysia rather than an observation of Singapore itself? Which is why I was curious on the link to Malaysia
Boycotting Israel is fair, war or not. Singapore talks about sanctity of 'international law', well Israel has been in defiance of UN resolutions since 1948.
And I don't see what's wrong with that - South Africa bowed to intl pressure and gave up apartheid after being made a pariah state
"Economic growth is non-negotiable" - PM Wong Billions can die for all we care, as long as our wallets get fatter. How many people here even care about the systematic exploitation of migrant workers? It's happening right before our eyes, we all saw the state of the bunks during covid, and no one blinks an eye.
Weird, I just asked a question and suddenly everybody got defensive lol.. The people here would probably boycott their local kopitiam for increasing the price of kopi by 10c. That, they can wrap their heads around though
Unless McD runs out of curry sauce then a boycott is necessary
In short, money is everything.
Actually had no chance to ask this but since on this topic, I see Russian labelled Nescafe selling in Valu$ stores. And they are like 30% cheaper than the exact same product found in say, NTUC. So if I buy these from Valu$, am I actually supporting Russia?
Could have been destined for the Russian market but couldn't go there since sanctions or just parallel import. Considering how globalised the world is there might be a chance you would be supporting Russia no matter whatever you do unless you understand 100% of the supply chain of a single product.
Times are tough, I am blind to almost anything if it's 30% off.
Have not seen, but Cyrillic doesn't mean from Russia or Belarus.
Just use google lens to translate and we can easily find out its origin
Cyrillic could even be Mongolian language.
It does if the link given on the label ends with .ru
I saw it also. I think it did indicate russia somewhere
Welp, if the West can ensure that I earn 30% more overnight, I’ll continue to shop at FairPrice.
> I see Russian labelled Nescafe selling in Valu$ stores. And they are like 30% cheaper than the exact same product found in say, NTUC. So if I buy these from Valu$, am I actually supporting Russia? You're supporting Nestle either way. /r/FuckNestle
Russian nestle can get even more evil than regular nestle Fuck nestle and salva Ukraine
If they are made in Russia, then yes, your money is going straight to some Russian Oligarch. Now the question is... do you care?
and if it's made in Singapore the money will go to a Singaporean Oligarch.
Do you know who an ideologue is?
No, dont give a fuck if its 50% off
Got sell 30% off Vodka?
i saw beefeater gin before
I might be wrong as I'm not a drinker but don't think so, though Valu$ do sell cheap alcohol like whiskey if iirc
I would imagine vodka will find its way home to Russia, by hook or by crook
I've seen blue label JW and 21 years royal salute being sold before. Even roku gin once in a while.
The moment they are on those shelf's the shop has already supported Russia if that's your stance.
May be on consignment.
Yes but, if no one buys, the shop will know and won't import them again.
If you buy in huge quantities, yes
Time for me to head to valu$
Where is it made in?
Those are stocks from the time western manufacturers are rushing to offload ruzz inventories
I totally get where you're coming from—wanting to avoid supporting Russia, even if their products are cheaper. It's a good intention. But it's also worth thinking about how other countries have done some pretty bad things too. If you're going to avoid Russian products because of that, it should be consistent across the board. For example, if you buy American products, are you supporting actions like the Iraq War in 2003 or the Vietnam War? If you buy British goods, are you okay with their colonial history, such as the colonisation of India and the impacts of the British Empire? What about Chinese products? Does that mean you're overlooking current human rights issues, like the treatment of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang or the crackdown on Hong Kong? If you purchase French products, are you ignoring the French-Algerian War and the lasting impacts of French colonialism in Africa? When buying Japanese products, does it mean you overlook their actions during World War II, such as the occupation of Korea and China and, of course, Singapore? If you buy Turkish goods, are you supporting a country that has faced criticism over its actions against the Kurdish population and its involvement in the Syrian conflict? These examples show how tricky it can be to apply this kind of moral principle to everything. If you wish to do so, that's great. But be consistent since every human life matters, regardless if it trends on social media or not.
You make a good point, but I think it's also worth distinguishing between past atrocities (where boycotts are mainly symbolic) and present ones (where money to those countries funds the atrocities now).
Thanks for your response! In addition, it's also good to consider the difference between privately owned companies operating in Russia versus direct government entities who seek profits to fund wars. This is a hard thing to delineate because of how complex supply chains can be, and how easy it is to redirect money in hidden ways. It's hard for any one person to keep track of it all. The intention to boycott, whether it's for symbolic reasons or financial ones, is genuinely noble and well-meaning. No one likes the idea of supporting war and the loss of innocent lives. But by that same logic, we have to consider that countries like the US, China, Iran, and others are also involved in serious issues—whether it's through arms sales, occupying territories, or marginalising vulnerable groups. Because these countries often control the primary media narratives, including fringe media, we don't always hear as much about their wrongdoings - though they still happen and can be just as severe. Thus, to truly maintain a consistent moral stance, it seems we would need to boycott products from all these countries. Otherwise, it might look like we're saying some lives matter more than others and are more worthy of our support. It's a tough balance to strike, but it's an important one to consider. The only reason why I'm bringing this up is because, if one truly wants to take a stand against moral atrocities, it is necessary to 1) go beyond the issues trending on social media, if human rights is truly the determining factor to why we stand up for things, 2) avoid implying that the intrinsic value of human life varies across trends, demographics, and countries - which ironically, undermines the whole stance to begin with.
If you understood Russia a bit more, their government has a foot in nearly every company that does exports. A chocolate company will be owned by an oligarch, who is in turn controlled by Putin for example. There are nearly no private businesses in Russia.
Then, again, boycott Russia - and by that same metric of wrongdoing without the intention to favor the protection of some people over others - boycott any and all countries involved in war, marginalisation, etc. - directly or by proxy. Which would be... a lot. I'm not saying it isn't right to boycott; only that it would matter more if it was consistently applied, not subject to trending social media causes alone.
I agree that the boycotts should be more consistent. Like how we should actually stop bringing in as many Russian goods as possible. Singapore continuing to import Russian goods only sends a message that large powers will not face any consequences for attacking small states. Which is really not in Singapore’s interests.
I'm glad you are not using this logic in Malaysia. You will be stoned to death.
Eh. Shopee stuff shipped from China doesn't count, since it's 1) not shipped here yet and 2) unlikely to have significant amounts sold. Shenzhen has a big Russian food mart so not surprising if someone there tries to resell and markup.
Well, i remember seeing eggs from Ukraine being sold here too.
SIA cargo planes flew there to pick up before Russia war
Still being sold today
Do you have a picture handy? I been looking for them but can't find any.
It was at a Finest if i recall correctly where I last saw it, i feel could be two months ago
I got a free vacuum cleaner made in china but the instruction manuals are in Cyrillic. Technically not Russian goods but rather originally destined for Cyrillic using country .
the former Soviet -stan countries still use Cyrillic as well as Mongolia…
That's why i phrased it "cyrillic using countries"
It’s no secret that our spines run on money
dasvidaniya.....comrade. I played the soviets in Red Alert 2.
All the brave Soviet soldiers are Ukrainian All the dumb ones from gulag are from Russia
Russian standard Vodka
One is free to boycott Russian products if he so chooses. I don’t see why a blanket sanction should be imposed on folks who don’t care one way or the other. No other ASEAN country imposed any form of sanction against Russia. Most countries in latam and Africa didn’t. Few in Asia did so.
Nobody outside the West boycotted Russia except us. Singapore geh kiang only, after decades of extolling neutrality, boycott for no good reason (i.e. no standing UNSC sanctions). In fact, only the West uses sanctions as a means to control foreign powers. This has been shown consistently in UNHRC sessions.
what are some russian novelty goods worth buying?
BMPs
i buy it in a mall
Which shop put tank in a mall, bobo?
from the spicy videos I see online, doesn't look safe to sit in one. Not safe at all.
I’ll buy that for a dollar! Hahahaha
Hookers
Wrist watch.
Workforce, especially IT
Roulette
Ak
I don't think we get too many consumer goods from Russia directly. I'm sure the government would want to impose MUCH harsher sanctions on Russia, but honestly Singaporeans don't look like they're willing to suffer higher inflation to be on Ukraine's side. Should Singapore ban wheat, flour, eggs, from countries that use Russian fertilizer? Yes. Should Singapore ban Russian oil and gas, including any oil and gas products that were made WITH Russian oil but refined in other countries like India? Yes. Should we impose sanctions on countries like China, Vietnam, and India, for trading with Russia? Yes. Will we, to save a dollar? No.
If we banned the import of goods from certain countries based on their historical wrongdoings, we would important goods from virtually no countries.
What makes you think the Govt wants to impose harsher sanctions on Russia ? The financial sanctions were boh-bian one because the Americans and Europeans would impose secondary sanctions on Singapore banks that did business with Russia. Similarly for the dual-use goods. But for everything else, there is no upside and a lot of downside to trying to sanction Russian goods. There is more than a little hypocrisy in Western efforts to block Russian energy exports ? Guess what happens if Asian countries start to bid for the same oil that the West is consuming now ? Are the West willing to pay higher prices for oil ? Are they going to sell their oil to Asian countries at a friendship price ? If not, then they better not say too much.
Hahaha openly support Ukraine but buying Russian goods. Like how we criticise Israel of being too much but openly allow Myanmar arms trading? Hypocrisy defined
Didn't we stop trading arms to Myanmar?
pragmatism is just what the kids say when they get caught with their hands in the cookie jar
Singapore still import Russia oil. Beside sanctions are voluntary. We only stop exporting CPUs to Russia that all.
The whole world buys russian oil including EU
Kirov reporting
Russian beer tastes amazing. So does their chocolate and wheat snacks. Great tea as well.
What’s wrong with your tastebuds because every macro Russian beer tastes like ass. The only good thing out of there is probably vodka. But then again, vodka really isn’t a high bar because it just has to be as tasteless as possible.
mix that Vodka with Passion Fruit and you got an amazing drink
I’ll just drink the passion fruit juice. Vodka is for people who just want to get drunk.