Andrew Loh / Deborah Choo
Mr Wong Tai Phong was a secret society member in his younger days. “I was one of the Bugis Street terrors”, he tells us in his home. I can see why. He is burly, and speaks in a rather brusque manner. As a gang member, he involved himself in gang fights, rioting, selling illegal goods on the black market and worked in gambling dens. His activities landed him in jail once and he was put on probation for three years. He was only about 18.
Having had enough of life in the gangs, he packed up his bags and became a seaman. “It’s an easy life,” he says in English. “I was a marine engineer.” He would be at sea for a few months at a time and found that it suited him. It paid him anything between $350 to $1,200, depending on the length of his voyages.
Mr Wong, who is 64, is finding life a little tougher now. He retired in 1996, and is living alone in a two-room flat in Aljunied Crescent. Since 2001, he spends a few hours each day collecting used clothings to sell to make ends meet.
“I only go out after midnight to collect clothes,” he explains in a softer tone. It brings him a measley $2 or $3 a week, he says. This is because Mr Wong has various ailments and cannot afford to exert himself more. He broke his arm some time ago when his kneecap gave way and he fell, he suffers from a corn infection, has diabetes and consults his doctor for his irregular heartbeats. In November last year, as he was getting up from his chair to fetch a drink, he toppled over and broke his right leg. He was also hospitalized in the Intensive Care Unit in 2007 for five days because of a stomach ulcer. “They had to give me six packets of blood,” he told TOC. “I thought I was gone case already”.
He seeks medical treatment from the polyclinic and Tan Tock Seng Hospital for his ailments. He used to visit the National University Hospital for his irregular heartbeat condition but has, since 2007, cancelled all his appointments. When asked why, he said it is because he can’t pay for the treatments. “Each visit cost $28.50 and I have to go four times a month,” he explains. “How to pay?”
To get by, he moonlights as a security guard once in a while – on the sly. He has a friend who works as one and Mr Wong would stand-in for him whenever his friend couldn’t be on duty. But such instances are not many.
Mr Wong is the eldest among seven siblings. One of his younger sisters died from diabetes in 2006. “It was the fourth day of Chinese New Year,” he says. He has lived alone for 20 years in his Aljunied Crescent flat. His younger brother used to help him with his medical, utilities and phone bill but has since stopped. When TOC visited him, a nephew of his had just brought him a packet of rice.
Bureaucratic wall
Running out of options and barely able to survive on his own, he turned to the Community Development Council (CDC) for help. The front desk officer there asked for records of his income, bank account and bank book. When he told them he had no income and no money, they took down his particulars and told him they would get back to him. Hearing nothing from the CDC for weeks, he paid them a second visit shortly before Chinese New Year this year. Again, they asked him for the same records. Upset with the situation, he left the office.
He chanced upon an event in his constituency and approached the Mayor, Mr Matthias Yao Chi, who is also the MP for MacPherson, the area where Mr Wong lives. He was referred to a clerk who registered his particulars. He has yet to hear from them.
He visits the polyclinic and receives his medication once every three months. His ECG test, which he used to undergo at NUH, is now free at the polyclinic. His Medisave deposits have all been used up and he has exhausted his CPF savings paying for his house.
I mentioned that the HDB now has a new scheme called the Lease Buy-back Scheme (LBS) which is targeted at the elderly who are not able to fend for themselves financially. “LBS is a special scheme that provides an additional option for low-income elderly Singaporeans in 3-room and smaller flats to cash out part of the money locked up in their HDB flats, for their old age,” the HDB website says. It allows elderly home owners to sell the remaining lease on their flats to the HDB. The owner of the flat can continue living in his flat while receiving “a lifelong stream of payout to supplement their retirement income.”
Mr Wong replies that he is aware of such a scheme and that he would gladly sell his lease to the HDB for some monthly income – if only he could. But he too faces some problems here.
The two-room flat he lives in was jointly-owned by Mr Wong and his uncle. However, his uncle had returned to China when he discovered he had liver cancer. His uncle died in China. The problem Mr Wong faces presently is that the Chinese authorities did not issue a death certificate for his uncle.
Because ownership of the house remains in both their names, Mr Wong is unable to sell his lease back to the HDB. He will need to obtain his uncle’s death certificate in order to do so. He is thus caught in a catch-22 – the Chinese authorities did not issue a death cert, and without it he cannot encash his flat.
This also presents problems for him in other areas.
Inflexible officers
Mr Wong’s brother had been helping him pay for the service and conservancy charges previously. His brother over-paid on one occasion and the town council sent Mr Wong a cheque for $40 for the excess. However, because the house was jointly-owned by Mr Wong and his uncle, the cheque was in both their names. It means he is not able to cash it. He informed the town council that his uncle has since passed away. They too asked for his uncle’s death certificate. Mr Wong told them that he does not have it as the authorities in China did not issue a death cert for his uncle’s death. In that case, they told him, they could not issue him a cheque in just his name and asked him to get the cert from the Chinese authorities.
“How do you expect me to do that?” he asked them. “Fly to China and get the cert and fly back here? If I can do that, I wouldn’t need the CDC’s help already,” he said. The cheque for $40 remains un-cashed. It may be a small amount, but to Mr Wong, it represents several daily meals.
“Did you apply for public assistance?” I asked. “What for?” came Mr Wong’s reply. “The more you bother them, the more trouble you get into.” He related how the grassroots people now shun him, treating him with apparent disdain.
Mr Wong now spends his time at home. “My place is here,” he tells me as he points to his sofa set. He spends most of his time reading, a far cry from his street gang adventures of his younger days. He reads anything he can get his hands on, from detective stories by James Patterson to educational booklets he gets from garang gunis.
“Sorry but I have an appointment,” he says apologetically. “Where are you going?” I ask. “I have to go see the doctor.” “You should eat the food first,” I urge, referring to the hamburger and drinks Deborah and I had bought him.
“It is ok. I will eat later,” he says as he picks up his bag of documents.
At the void deck, he bids us goodbye, as he carefully maneuvers himself down a slippery slope dampened by the rain.
—-
Opinion:
In a Straits Times report on 28 Feb 2008, on the Lease Buyback Scheme, it said:
First announced by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong during last year’s National Day Rally, the scheme aims to help low-income, elderly households monetise their HDB flats to meet their retirement needs.
The LBS scheme will benefit such households that live in smaller flats need help, as they are unable to take advantage of existing schemes to monetise their HDB flats, such as downgrading to a smaller flat, buying a Studio Apartment or subletting a room.
Under the LBS, HDB will purchase the tail end of the flat lease from the elderly household.
On top of the housing equity unlocked, HDB will provide an additional $10,000 subsidy.
Out of the total amount, $5,000 will be given to the household as an upfront lump sum, while the remainder will be used to purchase a CPF LIFE Plan to provide the owner with a monthly stream of income for life.
The household continues to stay in their flat, which will be left with a 30-year lease.
Perhaps what is needed in the scheme is also a flexible policy and some common sense – as in the case of Mr Wong. Sticking resolutely to the letter of the policy means the elderly, who are in various and different situations, may not benefit from the scheme.
HDB – and for that matter, the CDC as well – should inform its officers to be more sensible and allow them some flexibility in decision-making.
TOC would like to thank the reader who alerted us to Mr Wong’s plight.
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Me too sometime find that our civil servants are too rigid in their approach. They should have be more flexible when they are dealing with public especially elderly like Mr Wong who need help more than the other. To make things worse, some of these civil servants are rude. I was scold by an ICA officer in woodlands checkpoints for parking my car too far from the security clearance counter. I asked for the office’s name and wrote a complaints letter to ICA and demanded an official reply, which ICA completely ignored it without even acknowledged that they have received my letter.
To sum up what LHL and Vivian Bala meant by “NO ONE IS LEFT BEHIND”. It means HDB, CDC, the MP & his clerk and the grassroot people are all taking sincere trouble to avoid (not help) Mr Wong? “NO ONE WILL BE LEFT HUNGRY” seem so fictitious to me when in reality this is not the case. I wonder what other superficial words or lip services pappy have already put in place to keep us nausea during the next election.
“He will need to obtain his uncle’s death certificate in order to do so. He is thus caught in a catch-22 – the Chinese authorities did not issue a death cert, and without it he cannot encash his flat. ”
This isn’t a catch-22, but he’s certainly in a bind!
Don’t waste your breath on talking to the civil servants. Go straight to the MP, and pester him until you get an answer. The mayor is the wrong person as he’s just another appointed civil servant.
Actually the easiest solution is to forge the uncle’s death certificate, it’s China after all.
The writer said: HDB – and for that matter, the CDC as well – should inform its officers to be more sensible and allow them some flexibility in decision-making.
The officers from CDCs and HDB are only administrative staff, they are not equipped to do an individualised assessment. Perhaps the government should place social workers in some of these agencies to deal with special cases. Much like the Medical Social Workers in hospitals and polyclinics.
i wonder after posting this piece of news, whether your kind self has done anything in return, i.e helping Mr Wong in his needs.
I find it disdainful that TOC has become a site where its all talk, i.e highlighting the plight of others in a hope that someone ELSE would do something.
As a Singaporean, what i hope can be done after such plights are highlighted is to offer alternative action. A task force to help those in such dire straits. Whether migrant workers, or those economically challenged at the moment.
Andrew, which area is he living in ? Let’s help him if he is in need
I think the best thing we can do is to bring this case up with CDC or even the ministry, like all good newspaper do. What is their response to this particular case? They HAVE to respond, if not it’ll just make the CDC look bad.
Is anyone in touch with him? I’m sure a couple of us wouldn’t mind forking out money to buy him necessities to keep him going and helping him out. Kindly post info if possible.
Nowadays, companies including, TLC, GLC and the civil service take ages to reply to letters or emails. Sometimes, they don’t even have the courtesy to reply. Many seems to think or assume that the auto reply generated by the system is good enough. The service standards of the civil service have dropped to low standard as compared to a few years back. But their pay keep on increasing. It is about time they improve their service standards.
Most of you are kind, but its strange that the CDC and Mayor was not responding….and helping him acquire the death cert of his uncle. Which can solve almost all his problems instantly.
This can be done, it just take a little time and effort…via the Chinese Embassy.
It is sad our system is really rotten….and rotting further, our so called leaders don’t have a comprehensive knowledge in running a country….it is sad ….it will get worst…
I have a cousin whoes parents passed away when he was 4 years old. His dad was a Singaporean and mum was on S-Pass. He grew up with us all this while and was pretty bad..going in and out of boys home and prison….recently I tried to help him get a PR from my MP Hawazi….they wrote a letter to ICA and the reply was pretty blunt…nope….
I tried to enlist him in the Army and nope..the Army said he is having an S-pass and can’t take him in…
This country is becoming a joke….things will get worst before it gets better….
Hi Andrew and Deborah,
Thanks for highlighting such cases that slip through your safety nets.
With such publicity, some agency somewhere should take note and help these elderly poor.
Bureacracy is something everpresent and needs to be overcome.
Do follow up on Mr. Wong and let us know if he has been helped.
Just for discussion sake, I have online bank account and my joint accounts and solo accounts are all linked and I transfer to and fro with no problem.
Can anything similar be arranged for Mr. Wong?
Do let us know if any progress?
The foreign dormitories saga also had good outcome.
I attribute that to actvists like yourselves altho MSM did not credit you guys at all!
aiyoyo
not sure if the statement is true or not in this country
‘cant beat them, join them’
maybe because of this many elites join them?
aiyoyo
aiyoyo,
one of the things that my old classmate in NTU says when LKY came stuck my raw nerve… I will like to impress him so that i have a chance to become a MP in the future…
and his reason for becoming a MP is not to help the people…
Time to be compassionate, practical and flexible as can be!
Honesty is the best policy…………..and TRUST is the key to Red Tapes!
On one hand we talk about a “Caring Society” and on the other hand “Red Tapes”……………so the 2 hands contradict each other and cannot “clap” and no wonder Singaporeans are pessimistic these days!
The gahmen won’t care much about these people. They will just let them rot. As long as they do not end up begging on the streets in large numbers which is not so nice.
As long as they also do not impact on PAP 66% mandate.
It is sad to heard such case. Nowsadays, it seems that more of such issues are being surfaced up. I believe there are more such case hidden from the public eye.
This is the price Singaporeans pay for the so called ‘First World Sucess’.
Thanks for highlighting my friend’s story, I am sure there are hundreds if not thousands of them whose stories are way too familiar. The one, male or female, bent double with age, pushing a home made rickety cart along our streets looking for cardboard, empty cans etc to make a few bucks for their daily meals.
Some of them do not have a home to call their own, sleeping on the pavement, benches and void decks.
To our ruling party, according to a popular Singapore blog, bonus is not a dirty word but welfare is.
Wong asked me, the day before your visit, to call the hdb person who attended to him that he was going to ‘jump’. He gave me her name and a telephone number. But I told him that if he did so, the department concerned would then be rid of persistent problem. That would be an easy way out for them, not for Wong. At last he consented to speak to you.
Thank you.
Hi guys,
We’re looking into ways to help him – in our personal capacity. If any of you would like to help out with donations, please email me at theonlinecitizen@gmail.com .
I’ll be visiting Mr Wong again.
Irgen, thanks should be to you for bringing his situation to our attention. We hope to help him in whatever ways we can. I might bring it up to Mr Matthias Yao Chi’s attention too.
Thanks.
Andrew Loh
iliveinuk,
Please email me if you’d like to help out – theonlinecitizen@gmail.com .
Andrew Loh
Government policies are crafted by those who are deemed to be the Best Brains in this island.. the scholars..
This is perhaps another case where systemic structural failure causes misery that is escalated over time. Perhaps, there is an urgent need to review policies that penalise the marginalised, the socially isolated, those born into poverty for crimes commited. This is especially for death sentences. How could the so called most efficient government not take responsibility for allowing any member from a very small population be socially excluded such that out of desperation, take the ‘illegal’ route of survival.
it starts all the way from the school system. It is unimaginable that principals, teachers get big fat paychecks and bonuses when year after year the students who don’t make the grade are neglected and shoved to a school life that leads to meaningless jobs or none at all… why is it that when a child succeed in school, the teachers, principals, school, community, ministry gets the credit but when the child fails, the child gets hopeless treatment and family gets blamed? The truth is that pedagogical science since John Dewey, Erik Erikson, Mortimer Adler has revealed that children are not production operators and has different learning styles. Yet, the pedagogical approach has not changed when comparing that in the 80s and this millenium… the only differences are the whiteboard replaced the blackboard, the powerpoint replaced the transparency and the big paycheck as motivator replaced the desire to teach.
Our students have yet to learn the value of humanity, the value of democracy, the value of citizenship, the value of a small small world that we share.
Why blame those who were failed by the school system, the ministry, the state when they were young should they be left with little choice but to survive and find means to presenve any self worth left?
Can you post the address and photo of this Mr wong?
I know this concern privacy but some people will have doubts whether is this true or not.
My main point is be flexible, can the gov be flexible?
And why can’t the singapore officals tell the china embassy to get the death cert? Very hard??
flexible… those sitting in these bureaucracies are a result of the education system, rigid, one tracked and mechanical… these people cannot feel the human aura in front of them as they are like borgs programmed to last letter
Now you readers know why and how our government had accumulated so much reserves over the past 50 years of PAP’s rule. We are the richest people on earth as we have the highest reserves per capita in the whole world.
Our rich, prosperous First World country has the stingiest government in the world. According to my barber, the people of Singapore are most fearful of the government among democratic countries. Readers should refer to today’s ST where Siew K H revealed that many Singaporeans are afraid to speak up in public.
what to do?
wait for election?
or what?
Post 22) and 25) , can’t agree more with you. The phrase “leave no one behind” I knew from the start it could not be kept true to their word. That is why I have utterly no respect and disgust for our over paid leaders. Who cause all these “marginalised” people, it is their system and type of government over the years. I am truly ashamed. For a small country and population like ours we can’t take care of these folks left behind. Is welfare a bad word , maybe but letting the gap widen as such dire times, it leaves little to think of our leaders.
Dr Huang, thank you. I will visit Mr Wong again and see if he still has a bank account. Maybe we can donate some money to him that way. I will keep you posted.
justdoit (#6), Let me speak to Mr Wong again and get back to you.
abc (#23), I don’t think it’s a good idea to post his address or photo here. We asked him if we could take a picture of him and he declined. So we didn’t take any. For those who may think that this story is fake, it is ok. We will do what’s in our hearts and in our conscience.
Everyone, thank you for your comments. We will try and help Mr Wong get his uncle’s death cert, if we can, or to help him settle this problem.
I will keep everyone updated on this.
Andrew Loh
The motto ‘To Serve The People’ is not in their vocabulary. So sad.
Help me out here. I wanna send food and money directly to the person in need. After the NKF and Ren Ci saga, I want to see with my eyes that the needy really get tangible help. Sorry, no offence intended.
As for the government, let’s put them aside. Let God deal with them or let them deal with God (whichever they are more comfortable with).
Who say the govt is not helpful. NTUC Fairprice is donating S$300,000 to help the foreign workers have a better lives. They can do this by not being the cheapest nowadays. A can of Tulip hotdog costs $6.60 at NTUC Fairprice while only $5.75 at Giant. Spare ribs are consistently sold at $15.30 per kilogramme at NTUC while it is being sold at $4.80 per kilo at Giant for the past three days. NTUC is now shifting its radar to help foreigners in line with our govt’s vision. Someone has got to pay for it. And it is going to be us locals.
You can see these unfortunate old folks most days, scavenging at the void deck dustbins, picking up carton paper, sleeping on the benches. Just keep a lookout for these needy people the next time you are out and hand them a bit of cash. It doesn’t have to be much, a couple of dollars will be great. If enough people do it, it will make an impact immediately.
SZ thanks for info.
no wonder many commoners feedback no one look into their livelihood..
maybe we need to become our own MPs then
aiyoyo
You are welcome aiyoyo, so that just shows what type of people that aims to be MP nowadays…it is not those that wants to contribute their effort to help the people…
Acacia
“For a small country and population like ours we can’t take care of these folks left behind.”
Imagine if our extraordinary leaders try to take care of a much bigger country, the result will be worse in a different magnitude
Most civil servants & even some in the private sector in Singapore has the “just follow law” mentality as portrayed in the local movie & are extremely inflexible to an extent that they seem to lack common sense & logic.
They fear that they’d get punished for doing what they feel is right, but is not in the book. Singaporean males have especially been forced to adopt this mentality in the conscription (NS) period.
Singapore having a kind soul & helping foreigners? This is unbelievable. We have to make sure our own people are being helped before we can worry about others. They probably wanna show foreigners that we are kind to them to attract them over here to work & contribute to our economy & have children here who will grow up & contribute to economy.
Two things need to be done immiediately, I feel.
1) The TOC or any concerned citizen could write to the Singapore Embassy in Beijing with the details of Mr Wong’s uncle last known address in China. The embassy should have the resources to help Mr Wong get his uncle’s death cert. Or maybe, Singaporeans in China (there are thousands of them working and living there) will take up TOC’s appeal and help expedite the securing of that death cert.
2). There are some of us who want to help with cash or kind. Will the TOC tell us how to send or bring this help to Mr Wong. He needs urgent help — he will be grateful for our help.
TOC, keep up the good works……GOD BE WITH YOU.
Gabriel,
I will be visiting Mr Wong at 1pm today, Thursday, 9 April. I will see how we can help him.
Anyone who wants to help can email us at theonlinecitizen@gmail.com .
Andrew
This is sad. Damn sad. And Andrew and Deborah thanks for bringing this up for all to see. And this is another case of how some of the CDC and MPs deal with people.
Take down particulars => Get back to you => Wait 8-10 months => Nothing happen.
Maybe they select cases like lottery? If lucky lucky get grant, if not lucky wait till you’re done.
Dear Andrew
Keep up the good work.
This is Singapore. Get used to it.
Count yourself lucky you are not in either ther north or south of us. If this is bad, it’s worse there!
Liverpool vs Blackburn Rovers, Sat 11 Apr 09, 7.45pm (local time)
hi #22,
i concur with you totally. at a recent parent meeting at my child’s school, the principal shows sigh of real democracy sense of being speaking out opening from the students. she finds that students are too soft and timid of speaking out cos of fearing of saying wrong things as teachers around are watching them.
our system is at fault as i see these problems all this years long before. if the governement is still turn to deaf ear and not listerning esp to the ground ppl, it going to remain at it is and it will be getting worse.
the behaviour and attitudes of singaporean esp the elites are moulded from the system policy all these while. thus, in a situation where gap are so wide far apart, the lesser mortal would have no choice but only to defend or survive on their own instinct, be it ganstering, begging, rebellious, cheating, lieing and the lists go on.
i am very sad to see all these situations in singapore and it worries me every now and then. next to my block is multi-storey car park, a man been sleeping along the staircase (top level) through the nite for the past week. you dont see him day time but comes to nite, he is there just like his bedtime.
goodness Lord! what is happening?
23) abc on April 8th, 2009 11.42 pm
Can you post the address and photo of this Mr wong?
I know this concern privacy but some people will have doubts whether is this true or not.
I am in a position to assess privileged information and I can vouch that this story is true even though I have not met Mr Wong. I cannot divulge anything more than this. Sorry.
The acid test for any system is how it is able to respond positively and ably to effectively deliver its service to those who need it when confronted with the exceptional and non-SOP situation. Going by the books is perhaps the profoundest stupidity of any service organisation.
#45) sinman on April 9th, 2009 12.35 pm
I like your points. Please see my comments within square brackets as I do not know how to use colours.
Dear fellow Singaporeans;
me will be candid here and am prepared to be flamed.
There are certain characteristics of Singapore that we are able to define conclusively. Amongst them are inflexibilities and no free play of initiatives due to high officialdom and bureaucracies. [Many do not use their initiatives because they are not empowered so sticking to rules is the safest course of action.] Some prescient folks can even read this as means to prevent abuses. [Many in high office use laws and rules to their advantage.] And Yes abuses had been proven to be true in NKF, Renci and elsewhere.
We are intuitively aware that SIN is the richest state in S E Asia as well as in the World. Our Leaders occupy the top 30 best (highest paid) politicians in the World. Unfortunately Singaporeans are also witnessing many of their elderly fellow citizens scavenging rubbish bins and left-overs at food centres for survivals. Many have to forgo medical treatments due to lack of money. Such extreme phenomenons cause many to wonder just what wrong and sin are happening here. To give it the simplest explanation, me could only think of poor management of people and lack of conscience from the Leadership, hope there are concurrence here. [Sad that our society is so divided and we have accepted this sorry state as a norm.]
On the other hand, the citizens themselves appear to me to have a propensity to do the works of the Rulers. They organized all kinds of self-help and volunteering works and replaced the duties of the Rulers onto themselves, please do ask yourselves; as You have and are doing their (Rulers’) duties so well, do they need to do theirs ? [IMHO, I believe that the Rulers have neglected this aspect of their duties and so the kind-hearted in our midst has no choice but to take up the tasks, seeing how the people are suffering.] Personally, i am of the view that over the years, the Rulers have managed to sublimally converted and brainwashed the people and delegated much of their duties as leaders onto the people (sheeple many called it). [My opinion is that the Rulers has done pretty well here bringing everybody in line with new laws, even some unjust ones.]
Somehow, i have the impression that the people have asked for it by voting in the same set of rulers term after term despite much grouses here and there. [With GRCs, there are many walkovers.] Secondly, the masses seem so easy to be ‘bought’ over, some peanuts thrown in from time to time will almost instantly make the people (citizens) behave like monkeys ever so grateful to the peanut throwers. There is a lack of self-esteem and respect, sorry, but i can’t help feeling so. [Yes, many look to the government for handouts at the drop of the hat. A real shame to be bought over so easily. Where is their dignity?]
Me wishes to implore Singaporeans here to be kind, but ‘do not spoil’ the market, please do not try to ‘outperform’ the people responsible by virtue of office, to do their (appointment/post) duties. Do not solve the works/responsibilities/problems of the Officers responsible for their jobs/duties. Feed the cat well and it will not catch rat/mouse and therefore whatever colour it is, it just does not behave like cat. [Agree with you totally.]
Me has been reading TOC for over two years and am very touched by the many warmth hearted and helpful fellow citizens. HOWEVER, i do sincerely wish that we could be more circumspect, sensible and less inclined to ‘take over’ the duties of those responsible. AND do remember, manipulations and exploitations have caused much of the woes in our society ! Yes, be true to ourselves.
patriot
I wonder whether the idiot who questioned whether TOC directly helped the poor chap also questioned the MSM whether they directly help whoever they report on.
Charity organisations help, media reports and highlights problems. It’s not The Online Charity for goodness sake!
I hope we realise that the government can only do so much. There will always be people who fall through the ‘safety nets’. Bureaucracy can be a real obstacle, I definitely agree with that, but perhaps even a little bit of it is always inevitable in any organization.
Let’s focus more on individual initiative and civic responsibility. We have non-governmental, charity organizations set up by those who realise that it is our responsibility to lead in areas where the government cannot (and perhaps, at times, does not) want to reach. The success of these organizations depend significantly on our sense of compassion for others.
Maybe what is lacking is not governmental help. It’s us who either can’t be bothered to help, or don’t know how to. Let’s start being more concerned for the welfare of our neighbours and fellow citizens, shall we? And take action, bit by bit.
I agree with Dr.Huang – do follow up on Mr Wong and let us know how he’s doing.
One last thing: I’m really interested in finding out more about Singapore’s population demography, and possibly more in-depth accounts of how the non-middle/upper classes live. Which books/sites would you all recommend?
Having made the Comments in Post #45 and read responses to it, i like to say that it is indisputable that there will be unfortunate people who suffer and are not been and being assisted in many parts of the World.
HOWEVER, we must have known that we live in a very prosperous tiny country with the LARGEST CABINET(in relation to the size of the country) whose Members are receiving WORLD RECORD REMUNERATIONS. Despite the aforesaid, Singaporeans are constantly being reminded that Cabinet Members and Top Ranking Civil Servants MUST BE ADEQUATELY REWARDED to make them stay and to attract more ‘talents’ to join the GOVERNMENT. It appears that some Singaporeans believe our Government is short handed and has no time to look into the plights and problems of the people. The Primary Duty of any government is to first look after and manage its’ people with regard to their wellbeings and safeties.
The last two to three decades, Singaporeans face relentless increases in costs of livings, Essential Services Providers, most of which were ‘Privatised’ State-owned entities, were in strong competitions with private companies. As we can read in various blogs, even NTUC Fairprice, supposedly set up to benefit workers, are not selling their goods at low prices.
There were plenty of lip services from our leaders of how much they were, are concerned and care for us, the people. Evidently, much of their kind concerns remain just lip services and nothing more. Some say that there is only so much a(any) government can do, i am fully in agreement if a country is poor, large, politically unstable, faces external threats and suffers natural disasters. SIN is tiny, prosperous and run by the super effective, uncorrupted best local/foreign born talents.
There are many experienced(length of service) Senior/Deputy Prime Ministers in our bloated cabinet, to say that our government lacks the manpower, resources and time to take care of its’ citizens is to insinuate that they are either incapable or ineffective. This, i like to disagree, the SIN Government has prerogative to expand the Government/Civil Service as and when needs arise and also to remunerate them according to its’ discretion.
In view of the above, i believe Singaporeans should and can expect their leaders to be more caring and provide better welfares than they are doing now, they are definitely up to the expection, if they want to.
“In view of the above, i believe Singaporeans should and can expect their leaders to be more caring and provide better welfares than they are doing now, they are definitely up to the expection, if they want to.” #47.
Thanks; sinman, very well written, but I would like to comment on the last para.
Of course expectation of Singaporeans do not equate to our bloated well paid world class cabinet. Why?
Because to them “welfare” is a dirty word. That’s why we see elderly, destitute prefer to rough it out on the streets than to seek the cdc’s help. The bureaucratic red tape is so thick I don’t think any chainsaw can cut thru’.
Take the subject’s case (Wong). He’s educated, tri-lingual, speaks all dialects and well informed of the cdc existence. But he could not get a cent, which is bigger than the bullock’s cart wheel, from the cdc. How are those semi-literate n illiterate, uninformed elderlty going to get any help is beyond our wildest imagination. That’s why the budget allocated to the cds to help the poor is under-utilised, more than half still remained in the kitty and it is as fiecely guarded as if it’s our national treasure.
All because of one hard fisted, steel-claded heart octogenarian who prefer to invest billions in failed western banks.