Thursday, June 24, 2010

Filial piety

Here are some letters from readers about the TV ad created by the Government agency to promote filial piety in Singapore.

Lesson on tolerance
http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/Story/STIStory_544831.html

Ad does not convey correct values
http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/OnlineStory/STIStory_544665.html

TV ad on filial piety was effective
http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/OnlineStory/STIStory_544664.html

Favour elderly parents whom we owe so much
http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/Story/STIStory_544833.html

Filial piety not a simple matter
http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/Story/STIStory_544832.html

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

In caring for the helpless (babies, children, old folks, sickly), the focus should be on supporting the care-givers - not the needy.

When the care-givers fail, the needy will become social problems.

It's just like insurance. You always insure the breadwinner first (source of family income). Not the children.

Adult care-givers need supportive and flexible employers. Given the cheaper, better, faster environment fostered by a certain deaf frog, it's really tough on the care-givers.

Garrett said...

What's with all the filial piety hype these days? Did someone upstairs calculate that they cannot fulfill their liabilities to our seniors and so need to taichi some or all of the financial burden to their children?

C H Yak said...

Campaign is one thing, when it comes to implementation, it is another for SG Govt especially if it concerns MONEY.

I still could not understand why IRAS only allows one child to claim for parent relief when the official policy is to encourage more babies and now filial piety...double standards when the Govt needs more money.

Don't tell me they are encouraging filial piety so that the GOVT could escape responsibility for taking care of the old.

Certainly, the policies are out of alignment.

Anonymous said...

Anon 10:46AM

Exactly! The overall message in the video from MCYS and PAP govt is this: YOU DIE YOUR BUSINESS.

MCYS and to a lesser extent MOH budgets have been hit hard in 2009 when more old folks were abandoned or had to beg for more help when their adult children were themselves hit with the financial crisis, recession, retrenchment, foreigners competing for all levels of jobs from road sweepers to CEOs.

PAP message to you is that YOU are responsible for your old folks, and OLD FOLKS -- YOU can only depend on your own family members no matter how jiak lat they may be; DON'T depend on govt.

Rest assured that PAP will strengthen & expand the Parents Maintenance Act soon, to allow govt to take independent action against not just children, but also siblings, cousins, nieces and nephews and related in-laws to provide for elderly relatives, by garnisheeing your monthly income before you can even smell your paycheck in your bank account.

Anonymous said...

When you are young, the government happily collected money from you in the form of taxes.

Now that you are old and useless, it's time to abandon you. What better way than to remind your children that they should be filial.

Children have to be grateful to their parents in their old age.

But government no need to be grateful to their elderly citizens in their old age.

See what you happens when you pay $1 million dollar salary to gifted people. They justify their high pay by cutting services to the elderly.

If you think this is fair, than vote the usual way.

Anonymous said...

Why spend $1.6m on this ad. Are they trying to vie for MediCorp AWARDS again like what they have won this year? How much can be done with $1.6m. Very sad...

Anonymous said...

Why is it now there is emphasis on filial piety? All the government wants to do is to pass on the burden to the children of taking care of the elderlies.That is the hidden agenda.

J said...

This filial piety thing is a politics of distraction. This is explained here in this election rally by James Gomez:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=batjk61tjOY

Here is a partial list of problems of things that have happened in the last 4-5 years that have grown to be major issues:

- immigration (Jobs going to foreigners, more than half of some casino jobs going to foreigners, NS for Singaporeans, housing effect ...)
- housing (expensive housing, dorms for foreigners, rules favouring PRs ...)
- Loss of life savings in toxic financial products
- Loss in sovereign wealth funds (Temasek and GIC)
- the security of the MRT system
- flooding
- The case where ST reported that an SAF regular was injured, but ignored the injury to the NSF
- The report on human trafficking
- High salaries of ministers
- CPF withdrawals
- High GST and levies...
- Poor quality of debate in parliament, and the ineffectiveness of these debates to result in change, since 66% of parliament is PAP
- Cooling day
- More NCMPs in parliament
- Lim Hock Siew's speech on ISA
- casino, and recent murders, and crime rates
- Town council rankings (LKY and LHL's TC's were the best! The gods weren't too happy about that, and hence the flooding)
- Human transplant (There was this case of a convicted murderer who was hanged, and his organs immediately harvested for transplant)
- Various gaffes (daft, spurs in hinds, elite girl, fix opposition, do not want to be platoon commander, deaf frog, old and lazy workers...)

As long as the topic is anything but these, you have been successfully distracted.

As a further example of the politics of distraction, there was a recent election in the US where one election candidate made some remark about chickens, and this chicken reference was played up to distract voters from the other candidate's unpopularity.

It would be good if an online avenue educates the public on what this filial piety thing is: It is just meant to distract the public from its (the PAP's) recent failures.

C H Yak said...

To Anon 5.49 PM

There must be official ways of transferring money from the Govt to GLC ... if not how could organisations like SPH going to speculate in private property.

Anonymous said...

I do not watch TV so do not understand what is the fuss about. However, the care-giver must be able to hold down a job that provides sufficient income so he/she can take care of the elderly. What is happening now is that there are a lot of unemployed mature & young workers alike. How to support elderly parents like that?

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