Rewarding litterbug-spotters will only create a mercenary nation

The suggestion of offering monetary rewards to people who report offenders for littering raises a moral question, besides being distasteful (“Reward people to catch litterbugs: Nee Soon MP”; Oct 12).

It should be every citizen’s duty to blow the whistle when someone breaches the law. That most people are not public-spirited enough to stick their neck out is nothing to be proud of.

If we encourage citizens to perform their duties by giving money, we would end up with a mercenary nation. Already, our Government and people are often criticised for being materialistic. Let us not enhance the impression.

We tend to go for instant results. An instant tree does not have deep roots. There is a Chinese saying that it takes 10 years to grow a tree, but 100 years to cultivate a man.

We should aim to nurture good behaviour that comes from second nature and not from fear of punishment. The way to do that is to start with our schoolchildren.

We should learn from the Japanese how they instil environmental cleanliness in their children.

Even the thousand-year-old Chinese text San Zi Jing (the Three-Character Classic) is not obsolete.

Its opening remarks can be translated as follows: Men are born good and similar in nature. They become different by influence of nurture. Men’s nature goes wayward with neglect of teaching. Full attention is needed for proper upbringing.