Andrew Loh observes some senior Singaporeans at work.
He smiled at me as he lifted the lid from the bin. Dressed in his green-coloured cleaner’s uniform, he would be in his 60s, I surmised. His head of white hair another sign of his seniority. He looks into the bin, replaces it and goes back to his workman’s trolley for a rag. He returns to clean up the cigarette ash on the tray on top of the bin.
As I watch him at that little corner of Terminal 3 (T3) at Changi Airport, I recall that he’s the same uncle who would be in the washroom each time I visited it. Perhaps today he’s been given another job to do – to clean and empty the bins around T3.
As he finishes his task at the bin and pushes his cart to the next bin, he stops to mop up a puddle of water on the floor.
When he is stationed at the washroom, his eyes would be glued to every person who entered it – until they leave. When I used the basin to wash my hands, he would be almost next to me, invariably. I do not know why he would ‘inspect’ me thus. That was what I felt and I have to admit that it made me uncomfortable at first. Later, however, I realized that perhaps he was only making sure the washroom, which undoubtedly he was in charge of, would be spick and span for everyone who uses it. Indeed, that washroom is just about the cleanest one I have visited in Singapore. Each toilet roll is in its place, the floor is dry and even shiny, and the washbasins are virtually sparkling.
The elderly gentleman should be proud of this – and we should be grateful that someone like him would take so much care of and spend so much time in that little men’s room.
He is not the only senior Singaporean working at the airport, of course. Down in Basement 2, you can find them at the foodcourt as well. I was having a meal one day and this elderly lady was doing her rounds cleaning tables and removing the used plates and utensils. I watched her silently as I ate my dinner. Slightly bent and with hands lined and wrinkled with age, she goes about carrying out her chores quietly, hardly looking up at the people around her. No one, as far as I can observe, says “thank you” to her for clearing their tables. When she came to my table, and I had already finished my meal, she took the tray with the bowl and chopsticks and stashed them away on her trolley. Out came a rag and in a moment the table was cleaned. “Thank you, auntie,” I said to her. She managed a little smile and said, in Mandarin, “Bu pi xie” (“No need to thank”).
Over at the newly revamped Tekka hawker centre at Little India, there are many of them, along with some women from China, cleaning tables. Each time I said ‘thank you’ to them, especially the local elderly ones, their faces would light up. I guess in a long day of cleaning tables, a small sign of appreciation from patrons goes a long way in making their jobs more enjoyable, perhaps.
It is an observable fact in Singapore that more and more of our elderly folks are working low-paying, manual jobs as cleaners and washers. While we may lament this fact, maybe what we should also focus on is how we as individuals can make these folks happy, even if it’s momentary.
Two words from us are all it takes – and it doesn’t take much to utter those two words.
The next time an elderly person comes and cleans your table, or tidies up the public washroom you used, do manage a “thank you”. After all, we all enjoy a clean table or a tidy washroom.
Saying “thank you” is not only basic courtesy but it is, truly, the very least we can do.
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Picture from http://vitamin-eng.blogspot.com
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KopitiamApek,
I am with you Andrew (24), What “hate trap”? I still do not like the PAP govt although I do not dislike all PAP MPs.
49) HBK
Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering…
http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=yoda+anger+leads+to&www_google_domain=www.google.com&hl=en&emb=0&aq=0&oq=yoda+anger#
52) Heavenknow
Perfectly ok with me that you are with Andrew.
You will know it when you the time is ripe for you to know.
Like they say ” When the student is ready, the teacher appears”
[i]Like they say ” When the student is ready, the teacher appears” [/i]
indeed well spoken
when the sars/birdflus is over
leekuanyew comes home from abroad together with our prince the prime minister
want to rebutt on this issue or you are gonna give me a minus score again?
46) gemami
/// the number of overhead pedestrian bridges we are seeing all over the island. To pretend to care for the old folks and their safety, they build railings to prevent crossing instead of more zebra or traffic light crossings/////
I like to look at it from a different perspective. If I may share that perspective with you.
Really the pedestrain overhead bridges (POB) issues is a challenging one.
The root cause is having too many cars.
If we do not put up railing to deter crossing, the old folks are gonna get hurt or killed trying to cross the roads. Statistcally, the kill rate of old folks is disturbing. There is no pretending to care here. Hence the POBs. But how are they gonna climb that thing. Put lifts maybe, cost come into the picture.
They have come up with a solution along Jalan Bt Merah, whereby more street level crossings are planted along the main road. This will inevitably slow down traffic, reduce road capacity, more complaints from motorists. Nevertheless I favour such a move. We will see more and more of such in the years ahead as the population ages.
We should not be in such a hurry that we got to mow down the old folks to get to our destination. We will all be old one day. We all have a final destination. Don’t rush it.
how very, very true.
sometimes, i feel exceptionally bad to have them clear the tables when clearly, i am able-bodied; more able-bodied, in fact, than these folks.
yet what can we do? these social etiquette are open to a myriad of interpretations: singaporeans like having people clear up after them, even at a fast-food chain like MacDonald, or a coffee house like Starbucks… in fact, singaporeans almost expect to be served in such a manner.
you cannot blame the government for the social stigma, it is not their fault.
however, what you can blame the government for is the fact that they have allowed the elderly to work. i don’t see how an utopia functions like this, or how the promised ‘swiss standard of living’ entails an unpardonable crime like having old people clearing up garbage when clearly they should be enjoying their retirement.
but i digress.
there is no substitute for the simple ‘thank you’. there is no excuse for not being appreciative, regardless of social status.
surely, it takes but a breath to utter an appreciative?
46) gemami
////Second on the list is infrastructure. As examples, take a look at our MRT trains and buses these days. Seats are being taken off in place of standing room to increase capacity.
Where are the old folks going to find seats? I often wonder why there are so many handicap-friendly buses. Is there something the government know that it is not telling? We should be making more space for old folks to move around conveniently. If the anticipation is a drastic increase in handicapped old folks – then something is not right, and we should be afraid.//////
I was delighted and hearterned to see the sudden appearance of old folks – in wheel chairs at the playground, people I have never seen before. It then dawn on me that the reason was the newly fitted lifts that land on every floor. The poor old folks were prisoners in their own home until of late, fortunately for them not too late.
Of late I seen more people in wheel chair in shopping malls, public places, and that could only be possible with the retrofitting of the train stations to make it friendly for their use. The new buses are going in the same way, a good way.
I do not think there is any hidden agenda, or that some terrible thing hidden by govt is gonna happen.
The real thing that is gonna happen is the aging popualtion, and all these preparation of barrier free acess, be it be lifts, trains , buses, etc can only be good for all of us.
The reduction of seats in new buses does not reduce the number of seats for those who need them, so there is no shortage of seats for the old and frail, what we have to worry is if there is a shortage of compassion for them.
Yes,the GOLDEN PERIOD has certainly arrived for those in their golden years
Or is it the SWISS STANDARD of living for our silver -haired generation.
The RUBBISH party has certainly delivered.
36) lauleetherubbisheater
you missed my sarcasm by a mile : )
never mind…….
HI KopitiamApek,
I respect your point of view but I must make it clear that I do not support your reasoning. For example; you cited the increasing number of cars on the road as the root cause for building more overhead pedestrian bridges. If this is the case, then some serious soul searching on the part of policy makers is needed. They have to question themselves whether they want to accommodate the cars or the aging population. This was one area I took issue with LTA earlier this year and I asked them the same question I am asking here, that is: when they think up policies, whose interest do they have in mind, the motorists or the pedestrians? They gave no answer to this.
You mentioned Jalan Bukit Merah. It’s funny coz I recently paid a visit to Bukit Merah CC and I was captivated by the whole stretch of road in front of it. It had an entire road-railing divider stretching from one end of the road to the other, and if my estimation is accurate, I would say that’s a good 400m stretch. I was wondering out loud with the missus how the residents there would have to walk to either end to cross the road; or; to forcibly take the pedestrian bridge in front of KFC. Surely, there can be a traffic light pedestrian crossing somewhere along this stretch if the concern is toward the pedestrian more than the motorist.
You also mentioned that you are seeing more people in wheelchairs in the malls but you failed to provide proof that these were able to do so because of the friendly means of public transport. I have yet to see a wheel-chair bound person taking the bus. I have asked around in my office and guess what? Out of almost 80 colleagues, only one had seen it only once.
My point is this. These new fleet of buses does no good for the aged who are not wheelchair bound. In fact, it does no good for female passengers even. We all know that ladies have a peculiar habit of sitting in the front portion of buses. This portion is now retrofitted to cater solely to the wheelchair passenger, forcing the ladies to share the dreaded back portion. Also, take a look at the height difference between the front and the back. I have seen so many women preferring to stand rather than take the empty seats there – especially when they are wearing skirts. You get what I mean.
Even the aged passenger has trouble moving back and up the steps to get to a seat at the back. Ah, the step. Many have been tripped by it. It’s position has caused so many passengers from tripping over when wanting to alight. The less said the better.
So what could be the reason for overdoing it with being handicap-friendly? I would think the better option is to provide on-demand transportation for wheelchair bound passengers than to buy an entire fleet of buses that ply the whole island in the hope that such a passenger would take a ride from time to time. It makes no sense to me to cater to one small group at the expense of the travelling public who use the transport system for their daily routine like going to work, to school and to run errands. It simply makes no sense.
i wonder how many Singaporeans willing to say these two words………
Dear gemami & kopitiamapek,
The article is not about the number of cars on the road, or about road railings.
Please keep to the issues brought up in the article.
Thanks.
Besides appreciating the work that they are doing and respect for elders, there is one other reason why we always have to say “thanks you” to these wonderful folks. Without their hard work, Singapore will not be what it is today. We fail to remember that everyone in their own capacity has contributed to our success. Yes, the politician played his part and he, his cronies and families are enjoying multi million dollar salaries and have unethically claimed all the credit. Till today every failure is attributed to us. We are complacent, ungrateful, too demanding, not producing enough babies etc etc. Sadly the aunties and uncles who did their part have been abondoned in old age. Lets not forget that the same faith awaits most of us. Unless of course you are invited to tea. So please smile and greet the forgotten nation builders
well, looks like I’ve missed on out many comments due to non-online commitments the last week.
Wish I could read all of HBK’s comments.
My previous submission just got held up for vetting (i think).
It was just a comment that I would have liked to see HBK’s comments to understand Gemami’s replys better.
Is this article now closed for comments?
Hi Online Shmonline,
It’s a shame most of you did not get to read HBK’s comments. Guess they must have been taken off because they fell outside the context of the article.
Anyway, he had some very wonderful ideas up that head of his – simply wonderful.
Coming back to the article, it is true that we must make a concious effort to appreciate our elderly workers. In most countries, rich or poor, no children would want their parents and grandparents to be still working when they are all grown up. It is only in Singapore that the old folks have to remain useful – not, not for themselves – but useful toward the economy. How sad this is.
We do not even know how to appreciate the reason for slogging our whole life. If the government wants to compel us to work till the day we die, then it must put in place some incentives for us to do so, like a minimum wage for the elderly, specific job targets that the elderly can perform that must not be replaced by the cheap foreign labour etc. Perhaps then, our elderly will behave more pleasantly when they see they are being treated with respect. This will make their lifelong slogging a useful one.
Dear all,
HBK’s comment was disallowed as it was more than 1,000-words long and virtually half of this was written in capital letters.
HBK, please keep your comment to within 500 words and refrain from using caps.
Thank you.
Hi Gemami, Thanks a lot once again for your support.
You need to understand the root cause of all the problems???
While Millions are being spent for Integrating New Citizens with the existing ones..Why cant we spend Millions on supporting the Elderly???
Why can’t we Open a FREE Hospital & give FREE Treatment & Medicines to Elderly???
Why can’t we give out a Monthly Support Allowances????
Why can’t they be given Free Housing????
It is Really Sad that all people are being treated as Race Horses……Once the Race Horse become Old or Becomes Handicapped ….Its Shot Dead…No one cares to see how much of fortune & fame one has made out of them…..
Here the case is race horse is being dumped in JB…..Pathetic
Its the people who are the real assets & not the Great Gigantic Towers, Building, Hotels & Resorts…
Hi Gemami,
I know that you people must be thinking that i am crazy for giving these suggestions but i am really serious.
All the Great Corporates have Lot & Lot of $$$$$$. You can make a policy to raise money required…You can give Big Time Tax Benefits for companies contributing to these funds…
You can ask all the PR’s to server the elderly for at Few Days in a month in the free old age homes. This is because you are not asking them to go and serve NS…but this is a way they are actively contributing to the society..
This policy will ensure that Millions of PR’s are available to Server the Free Dispensary, Hospital, Old Age Houses that i have proposed.
Please don’t think that i am Crazy by citing the examples from India….But these are real and i have been there personally
1) There are thousands of temples which are offering 3 times free food & Free Clothing to all visitors irrespective of race & religion.
2) There are lot of hospitals were you can undergo High Quality Surgery’s Including By Pass Surgery for FREE 100% i am not joking…
3) There are lot of hospitals where you can get admitted for free & seek free medicines & treatment as an inpatient including 3 times food for free.100% free
Now from where all these money comes is All The People Generously Donate Money….When it can be done in India….Why not here????
We have 5 million population….Each of us give $10 in a month to the Fund…Is 50 Million…Dont you think this is sufficient to support our elderly folks.
When a normal person can throw 10$ off his pocket imagine about people who are financially strong….they can contribute $100 a month, $500 a month
Think about it..I really mean it…Everything is Possible….You need to have a Heart
God Bless You
HBK
When we can donate millions of Dollars to other countries as a Humanitarian Aid….Do you remember for Earthquake Fund’s & Other Funds
Millions of $$$$$ were raised and given to other countries governments…..
Why not raise again the same Millions of $$$$$$ for our needy & elderly to support them
Think about it.
HBK
If All Of Us Come Together & Join Hands….
We don’t have to beg or ask anyone….
I am willing to donate out one Bowl Rice & Vegetable Dish for one elderly Everyday…
If 50,000 people like me come together & Join Hands …
We have 50,000 Bowls of rice & Vegetables for our elderly….
Trust me 50,000 Elderly people can eat everyday and rest peacefully.
Only we can protect our people….It should be each of our citizens responsibility to support one another….Rather than expecting someone else to come to our rescue…
HBK
70) HBK
Your analogy of races horses is so apt.
BTW, the dead horses are lunch for the zoo animals.
My apologies TOC
Please remove my post #74.
I will discuss it again with Gemani at an opportune time when the right topic appears.
Thanks