TR EMERITUS

The advent of the Covid-19 pandemic has made even more obvious the problems faced by our elderly and retirees and, by extension, the financial burden placed on the younger working generations. Poverty among the elderly in Singapore is significant. Much of this is the consequence of the PAP depriving our retirees of their CPF savings. The CPF, originally intended as a pension savings scheme, have been allowed to be used, among other things, to service housing loans and to pay for Medisave. This has resulted in insufficient funds for retirement. In addition, the funds have been withheld when a member turns 55, a breach of the original promise under the CPF Act. It is clear that poverty among retirees is the result not so much through profligate spending or the negligence in financial planning but rather through the state siphoning off these funds. As a result, children and relatives of the elderly have to provide financial support. The 2019 Household Expenditure Survey found that the working children of retiree households contribute nearly $500 per month towards their income. This contrasts with the average CPF payout of only $280 a month. Such a situation places extra burden on the retirees' children who are already under great financial pressure to take care of their own families. SDP's proposal: Retirement Income Scheme for the Elderly (RISE) Under the SDP's plan, Singapore citizens 65 and older who are in the bottom 80 percent of wage earners, will be guaranteed a basic income of $500 a month. This sum will replace the amount that workers contribute to their retired parents' monthly income. Researchers have noted that a Singaporean retiree needs $1,379 a month to meet basic living standards. RISE will help to partially meet his/her needs. There are three main advantages of RISE: One, it is enacted through legislation which means that income of Singaporean retirees is guaranteed and stable. This will give our elderly peace of mind. At the moment, financial packages like the Pioneer and Merdeka Generation Packages ad hoc and do not allow for planning for the duration of one's retirement years. Two, it is paid to all poorer retirees unlike the PG and MG packages which are given only to certain cohorts of Singaporeans. Also, RISE is paid in ready cash whereas MG and PG packages come in the form of mainly Medisave top-ups. Three, RISE will relieve working Singaporeans of the pressure from having to financially support their elderly parents. In the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic, it is important that our elderly continue to live in security, not poverty. And as mentioned, working adults, the sandwiched generation, should not be further burdened by having to take care of their children as well as retired parents. RISE is part of the 4Y1N campaign: Four 'YES' to suspension of GST, retrenchment benefits, retirement income, putting people first and one 'NO' to a 10 million population. This is the SDP's campaign message in the coming GE. To reach out more effectively to the electorate, the SDP has prepared a series of videos on the subject in the four official languages and three dialects (Hokkien, Teochew and Cantonese) which will be posted on our social media platforms shortly.   Singapore Democrats      Read More →

Ms Low Yen Ling I have read that Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Education and Manpower Low Yen Ling (LYL) is down with dengue fever. I don't know her but I wish her well and a speedy recovery. I feel that this incident holds some valuable lessons for those sucker Singaporeans who fear that if the pap government were voted out of office in the General Election, Singapore will collapse. I disagree. Let me explain. Absolutely nobody throughout human history has been indespensible and all of history's great men and women had become ashes and the world marches on. Whether LYL has reported for work or not at MOE or MOM, both ministries carry on and life goes on. Neither one closed down because SPS LYL is down with dengue fever and unable to turn up for work. In the absence of great leaders such as George Washington, Mao ZeDong, Deng Xiao Ping or Lee Kuan Yew, the USA, China and Singapore carry on and life continues. Likewise, if the pap is eventually booted out of office, life in Singapore will also continue except that the ability and quality of the men and women who replace them will determine if Singapore and her citizens will scale greater heights or regress going forward. Given the state of a weak and deteriorating pap leadership and government, the opportunity cost isn't too scary. Worldwise Warren Buffett has taught the world that should you find yourself in a chronically leaking boat, energy devoted to changing boats is more productive than energy devoted to patching leaks. We are now in a chronically sinking pap boat. Singaporeans should be wise enough to recognise that the time for us to change boat has descend upon us. Please be brave and do the right thing for yourself and your children's future. Think.   Simon Lim      Read More →

Polish blogger Michael Petraeus You have to hand it to the Singapore system for creating its defenders from the most unlikely of places. The system has turned children of dissidents into its spokespeople (think of Janil Puthucheary, son of Dominic) and it has foreigners from the advanced countries lecturing the locals about how good they have it (I think of the number of times I’ve been told by Europeans to be grateful for what I have in Singapore). Generally speaking, I don’t disagree with those who sing our praises. The facilities in Singapore are pretty darn good and as I’ll never tire of saying, as a father of a young girl, I’m thankful for the safety of this little Red Dot. We are in so many ways what a society should be – rich, clean and green. Having said all of that, we are by no means a perfect society and as citizens or even residents, we have an obligation to point out the flaws of the society that we live in. Call it a process of giving feedback to the people that we pay to keep the show going. As Singapore’s government is inclined to see its self as a business, the analogy of the unhappy customers being the greatest source of learning is the most apt analogy that should be used when it comes to the government’s critics. It’s bad enough when the government which prides itself in being like a business behaves in an arrogant fashion towards its intelligent critics, it is even worse when you get foreigners justifying what is a fault. The Fawning Follower who calls himself a Critical Spectator, has struck again. This time, he’s taken issue with Kirsten Han, a freelance journalist, who has had some articles published by the Washington Post, criticizing the government’s handling of Covid-19 outbreaks in the dormitories that house workers. The Fawning Follower has gone as far as to describe “Betrayal” as theme of Ms. Han’s career. The Fawning Follower’s Facebook posting can be found at: [LINK] As a matter of full disclosure, Ms. Han and I are related. She’s a second cousin once removed. However, this is a distant relationship and I wasn’t aware of it until my mother pointed it out to me. Ms. Han and I have met once and we don’t interact on Facebook or any social media. Having disclosed that, I believe that the Fawning Follower is barking up the wrong tree when he calls Ms. Han is traitor to her country, ideals and the poor and underprivileged she claims to support. If you read through his post, you’ll find that his main beef with Ms. Han is the fact that her operation “New Naratiff” is based in Malaysia. The Fawning Follower takes issue with the fact that while Ms. Han has published articles that have been critical of Singapore’s handling of migrant labourers but not doing the same with Malaysia. As he did in his previous post on the “Workers Dormitories being a Sign of Success,” the Fawning Follower fails to get the point. Just because everyone else behaves in a certain manner or in a worse manner, it does not make a certain action right. Then there’s the issue of where the focal point is. Sure, Malaysia’s treatment of migrant labour may be worse than Singapore. Migrant labourers in the Arabian Gulf are known to be treated badly as was voiced many times in Qatar’s efforts to hosts the World Cup. However, just because Malaysia and Qatar (and the rest of Arabia) may treat their migrant workers worse that we do, it does not justify how we treat ours. Then there’s the point that the place where covid-19 is blooming is in Singapore and the focus on how migrant workers are treated is thus far on Singapore and as anyone who has dealt with migrant workers, you’d know that they’re not exactly getting the best deal. Sure, Singapore’s government has been generous in its support for the migrant workers. However, when you consider the amount of money that the government makes in terms of the levy, the government has a moral obligation to ensure the basic well being of the workers. The Fawning Follower clearly does not understand the basics of how a society functions and by extension he does Singapore, particularly the government no favours. Instead of rushing the bash the “critics” he should consider being a “Critical Spectator” and watching out for the government he claims to admire.   Tang Li *Although I’ve been based mainly in Singapore for nearly two decades, I’ve had the privilege of being able meet people who have crossed borders and cultures. I’ve befriended ministers and ambassadors and worked on projects involving a former head of state. Yet, at the same time, I’ve had the privilege of befriending migrant labourers and former convicts. All of them have a story to tell. All of them add to the fabric of life. I hope to express the stories that inspire us to create life as it should be.        Read More →