Civil Servant spluring on cooking holiday...

I read this from ChennelNewsAsia...

A senior Singaporean civil servant has been reprimanded for publicising his family’s vacation at a top French cooking school when his country is suffering from a recession, a minister said Monday.
"It struck a discordant note during the current difficult economic circumstances when it is especially important to show solidarity and empathy for Singaporeans who are facing uncertainties and hardship," Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean said in parliament.
The civil servant, Tan Yong Soon, wrote early this month in a local newspaper about his family’s experience learning to cook at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris.
He said he attended with his wife and son. Tan, permanent secretary at the ministry of environment and water resources, showed "a lack of sensitivity" and poor judgement, the minister said.
The online community did not pull any punches describing Mr Tan Yong Soon’s article on his family vacation as insensitive. Some even labelled him arrogant.
Mr Tan is believed to have spent at least S$45,000 on his holiday in Paris where his family attended a cooking course.

So many people in Singapore are blogging about this issue.. some were saying he should not have publish about his splurging S$45,000 cooking holiday.. Some were saying his S$45,000 could be put in a better use during this recession period... A minister said it was insensitive for him to wrote such article during this period.. wrong timing...

Well my point of view is that... The money is his hard earn.. civil servant are humans too and they too need a break from work to rejuvenate and be with their family.. He spend his own money from his own pocket.. NOT from the the public.. Even Presidents and Prime Ministers around the world deserved a break once in a while... Why people would want to comment about his holiday?..

The article he wrote in the newspaper was just an holiday ideas for family.. I believe he is not trying to brat about how much he is spending on his holiday, but his intention is to tell public that cooking holiday is also another way for family bonding.. There are so many holiday destinations offering cooking lesson.. for example the "Boat House" in Phuket, Kimchi making lesson in Korea.. etc... Some people even go for wine tasting in Australia and France..

Let give them a break and stop criticising about civil servant's holiday.. Must civil servant always be on a pilgrimage trip or volunteer overseas community trip? Can't civil servant indulge in their favourite interests and activities during their holidays??