Tan Kin Lian's Blog: A voice from the generation of the 40s/50s

Thursday, January 29, 2009

A voice from the generation of the 40s/50s

Dear Kin Lian,

I am inspired by your exemplary mission to help redress injustice and rectify wrong public policies that are detrimental to nation building and also oppressive to the poor and average Singaporeans.

I appeal to you to raise awareness of the pride of aged Singaporeans who have toiled thick and thin with the PAP to build Singapore over the last 50 years. Now these senior citizens are left with little welfare from the state which they had sacrificed so much to help build Singapore to a first world economy. Instead they were told to work as long as they can, not because they like to, but because they have to bring in extra income to support a decent "golden" lifestyle. They are so afraid to fall sick because hospitalization and wipe out their hard earned savings and put extra burden on their struggling children.

I am living in Australia and I am a retiree at 62. I observe how seniors are being looked after by the government here. They enjoyed adequate basic welfare and excellent aged care support, especially for those who are disabled and sick.

Citizens who served in the Australian military received special treatment when they retired. They enjoyed pension, medical care and recreational facilities.

The argument that we are not a welfare state is an excuse. This is NOT about lavish welfare spending to make people laid back. This is about a nation and a society that values GRATITUDE, paying back to the senior citizens and NS personnel who have sacrificed so much to help build the nation so that Ministers can afford to be paid million dollar salaries.

What do NS personnel receive when they grow old after giving their best 20-25 years after enlistment? Struggling to raise a humble family, they have to worry when they grow old and if they are unfortunate to be struck down by illness. Where is the motivation for National Service when the State does not look after them when they become old, sick and frail?

I hope you can devote a little of your time to raise awareness of the political elite to come to term with the type of society we really want to nurture. Where would our younger generation learn the value of GRATITUDE when the government's role model is just meritocracy, survival for the fittest and the ruthless pursuit of economic success. Can we not be 1st in everything and be first in a gracious and caring society?

TS (Teck Suan) Low
NSW
Australia

6 comments:

C H Yak said...: I tend to agree with the writer that those borned in the 50s and early 60s (baby-bloomers) are often made the scapegoats and guinea pigs of our past and future public policies.

This group is often neglected.

Our demographic trend would suggest that this "large" group is approaching age of 50 and above.

As can be noted from the previous downturn, this was the group of workers "above 40" which NTUC even taken and termed as "unproductive".

As this group peaked in demographic trend, they are often made the scapegoat of policies. A simple illustration, when Singapore was poorer, and this group was serving national service, the choice of night snack was really between green or red bean soup, or bread with kaya left over from breakdfast. Today, our NSmen have many options. We had to pass fitness tests without rewards or faced extra PT & punishment. Now NSmen are given monetary rewards and even shorter service stink.

CPF & HDB housing policies were highly restrictive. But with the CPF saving, there was a cheap source of fund for Singapore's development.

Certainly this group would deserve their fair share of attention for their past sacrifices with slightly more benefits and support, and not to be taken for granted again for more blunt government policies.

We need radical "CHANGE" to cater for the inetrest of this group as they had sacrificed much in the past due to slow incremental approach adopted by the Government to put forth and test-run policies due to limited budgetary resources and national reserves.

The Government has milked the cash cows, and should consider the "pay-back" method to help this group more.; January 29, 2009 5:12 PM
Anonymous said...: Jerry said,
I envy TS Low welfare compared to mine although we are of the same age. Age 62 is considered over the hills here, when and unable to enjoy my golden yrs. we have to fend for ourself except to rely on whatever savings that will sure run dry one day! Imagine the old people featured in the newpaper selling tissue papers to pay for their medical cost etc...Live is great for retirees in a continent of compared to an island state.....living like Robin Crusoe....taking one day at a time!; January 29, 2009 10:19 PM
Anonymous said...: The worst is yet to come.

The details of Singapore's national reserves are not published. However given the global financial meltdown, the losses probably range from by 25 to 50%.

The recent budget announcement suggests a sale of some of these assets to pay for the goodies.

This in turn suggest an impending fall in the value of the Singapore dollar.

From a policy perspective, this makes sense since it will make Singapore more cost competitive. Given the collapse of oil and commodity prices, inflation is obviously not a policy issue at the moment.

The LOSERS of course will be those with significant Sing dollar assets. If you are lucky enough to escape Singapore, you might want to consider diversifying across a basket of foreign currency deposits to preserve the international purchasing power of your hard earned savings.; January 30, 2009 8:10 AM
Concerned said...: Quote "when the government's role model is just meritocracy, survival for the fittest and the ruthless pursuit of economic success. Can we not be 1st in everything and be first in a gracious and caring society"
Yes, what profits a man if you has gain the whole world, but loses his soul.; January 30, 2009 12:10 PM
Anonymous said...: Hi,
I am in my late 30s and the funny part is I still have reservist training. On top of that I still have to go for remedial training if I fail my IPPT. I have to go for twenty sessions of night training for two months after my work. If I happen to take MC the next day, my boss and colleagues won't appreciate my commitment to NS. What to do?!; January 30, 2009 1:04 PM
Concerned said...: The best is to be a Permanent Resident in Singapore. You got the best of both worlds, like the Chinese saying, "two legs stepping on two boats" - "liang cheow tar liang zhi chuan"; February 08, 2009 7:47 PM