TR EMERITUS

作者：星洲日報 2009.10.24 新加坡資政李光耀強調，如果他獨斷專制，就不可能帶領新加坡人擺脫貧窮，並把這個小國發展成現代化國家。 即將訪美的李光耀接受美國公共電視網（PBS）“查理．羅斯秀” (Charlie Rose show) 主持人專訪時，被問到“難道他從不覺得新加坡太過專制了嗎？”的問題時，作出回應說：“我的職務是發展新加坡，讓每個人有不錯的生活和受良好教育。而新加坡是東亞地區擁有受過最好教育國民的國家，我們有3所大學，第4所大學也要完成了。” 主持人接著問：“所以，只要結果是好的，不管用甚麼手段都沒關係了？” 李光耀說：“我們所取得的成果是值得讚賞的，每個人都想要這樣的成果，每個人都要有好的教育和好的醫療保健。這意味著我獲得新加坡人民的認可與支持。如果他們反對我、不跟我合作，就不可能有所建樹。” 此外，李光耀表示，新加坡必須對世界有價值才能繼續生存。 “我們必須不斷改變，你不可能故步自封，而能繼續對他人有用。世界已在改變，世界地緣政治和經濟重心都在轉移，你必須密切觀察、隨勢發展。我們一直和美國、日本和歐洲保持聯繫，他們使我們發展到今日的水平。” 想問奧巴馬兩問題 另外，被問到如果他見到美國總統奧巴馬，會問甚麼問題時，李光耀說想問兩個問題，一是21世紀太平洋會否出現強權爭奪戰？因為這個地區是增長的來源與全球經濟重心所在。二是美國如何處理龐大財政赤字及讓美元回穩。因為只有解決這些棘手問題，美國才有力量主導太平洋。 他認為一旦美國赤字和美元的情況惡化，並被全球金融業者、銀行家與對衝基金等視為無法解決的話，他們將開始把資產從美國轉移到其他地方，到時會出現災難。 “你不可能累積龐大的赤字而無計可施，人們會說，這已經無藥可救了。” 他表示，控制赤字及穩定美元，將影響美國的世界領導地位。白宮週五（10月23日）說，奧巴馬下週將在白宮會見李光耀。 談到他對奧巴馬的印象時，李光耀認為奧巴馬能言善道、很有說服力，“而他也非常能幹，委任很多 人才進入政府擔任要職。最令我印象深刻的是，他委任了不同想法的專才擔任要職。比方說，在他的經濟班子裡面，就有（國家經濟委員會主任）薩默斯和（白宮經 濟復甦顧問委員會主席）沃爾克，這兩位都具有堅定的觀點和想法。” 中國需至少100年才能達美國科技水平 李光耀認為，儘管中國今後幾十年都會持續增長、也要趕超美國，但要達到美國的生活與科技的水平，需要至少100年。 “現在這一代中國人明白，他們無法同西方特別是美國較量，舉凡科技尤其是軍事科技，更是如此。” 況且，美國是個全面對外來移民和專才開放的大國，中國現階段還不是，儘管他們也在招攬海外中國專才回國。因此李光耀估計21世紀前50年依然會是美國在多極化的世界格局中主導大局，但後50年就必須與中國和印度共同主導。 他說，中國很高興保持現有的發展模式，不喜歡別人教他們怎麼做。這是因為，歷史悠久的中國有5000年的文明、有強烈的民族自豪感，他們已經透過去年舉辦奧林匹克運動會和今年慶祝60週年國慶，對外展示會以自己的方式發展起來。 来源：http://www.sinchew.com.my  Read More →

From our Correspondent The Minister in charge of aging, Mr Lim Boon Heng, has urged voluntary welfare organizations in Singapore to "do more" to take care of the aging population. "In the coming years, the number of people living alone will only rise....There will be a lot more singles in future, so the work you have to do can only increase," said Mr Lim, who was speaking to about 700 volunteers at the Lions Befrienders Appreciation and Awards Presentation 2009 last night. Mr Lim, however did not outline the government's plans to help the elderly and appears to shift the responsibility to financially strapped VWOs. Unlike other developed countries, Singapore has no social safety net for the elderly who are expected to work for as long as possible to support themselves. The VWOs, which are heavily dependent on public donations have limited resources to do the work on behalf of the government especially since the NKF and Ren Ci fiasco. The scenes of Singapore elderly picking used cardboards in the streets, cleaning the toilets or sleeping in the streets have become ubiquitous throughout Singapore. An AFP video about the life of a 76 year old street scavenger Madam Zheng stirred a furore in cyberspace lately. Madam Zheng depleted her savings to foot the medical bills of her late husband and is now reducing to scavenge for used cardboards, cans and papers in the streets to earn a living. (watch video here) In a rebuttal to the use of Madam Zheng by bloggers to criticize the government for not doing enough to help the elderly, Minister for Information and Communications Lui Tuck Yew claimed that Madam Zheng lives in a 3-room flat and has 3 children. However, Lui failed to explain why Madam Zheng still needs to work despite owning a flat. There lies an irony in Singapore's high home ownership rates: many Singaporeans are asset-rich, but cash poor. Though the elderly may have a roof over their heads, they have little or no savings left in their CPFs to support themselves through their golden years, thereby mandating them to continue working. At the same time, their children may not be earning enough to support both their own families and their parents. The cause of the problem lies with government policies and not in the VWOs not doing enough to help the aging population. The government has the means and resources to implement a comprehensive multi-tier social support system for Singapore's elderly. After all, Singapore's two sovereign wealth funds, Temasek and GIC, have just lost billions of dollars in overseas investments in less than 2 years. The government can afford to do much more for our nation-builders.  Read More →

From our correspondent Singapore's Manpower Minister Mr Gan Kim Yong has rejected calls to restore the CPF for older workers after the age of 50 "in order not to disadvantage these workers in the competition for jobs." "If we were to raise the CPF now or restore the CPF for older workers, it may adversely affect the competitiveness of the workers and the competitiveness of companies," Mr Gan said. Currently, Singaporeans above the age of 50 have their employers' CPF contributions cut from 14.5 per cent to 10.5 per cent. A disgruntled Singaporean by the name of Kumar wrote in to the ST Forum lately expressing dismay at the cut: “The cut is steep – from 14.5 per cent to 10.5 per cent – and affects older Singaporeans like me drastically. Not only must I still pay off my debt to the Housing Board for my mortgaged flat on diminished income, but the price hikes are also eating into the rest of my salary,” he wrote. Mr Kumar’s plight is shared by many Singaporeans in his age group. Many are struggling to pay off their housing mortages and support their families at the same time, leaving them with little savings in their CPF for retirement. Unfortunately, the plight of these elderly workers are oblivious to multi-millionaire ministers like Mr Gan who continues to stress that adjusting CPF rates would be "counterproductive" as it would create more "rigidity". His views were echoed by Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew who dismissed Singapore's worsening income gap between the rich and the poor. Mr Lee claimed that it is more important to create jobs for Singaporeans with labor policies which will encourage companies to hire. Though Singapore's unemployment rates remain low, many workers, especially those from the lower income group, are struggling to get by with their meager wages in the face of rising costs of living. This leads to some "abandoning" their parents as they cannot even earn enough to support their own families to which the government has implemented a law to criminalize those who do not support their parents financially, never mind if they have the means to do so. There is also a dearth of social welfare benefits for elderly Singaporeans whose bulk of their savings are used up in paying the mortage loans of over-priced public housing. As such, many have no choice but to continue working beyond their retirement ages. Some of them end up scavenging for cardboards in the street or as toilet attendants in order to feed themselves. Singapore has a public assistance scheme which gives a $330 monthly allowance to the destitute, but one has to have no living kin and medically certified to be permanently unfit to work in order to qualify for the scheme. While elderly workers are subjected to CPF cuts after the age of 50, Singapore ministers will get a pension on top of their monthly salaries which remain unadjusted when they reach 55 years of age. Singapore workers are at the losing end at the mercy of big businesses and the government because there are no independent trade unions to represent their interests and they are robbed of their political rights by a series of draconian laws put in place by the ruling party. The biggest trade union in Singapore - NTUC, is a quasi-government organization headed by a minister. Unlike Hong Kong where workers can gather and protest against their maltreatment easily, a solo protest anywhere in Singapore (except Hong Lim Park) is now considered illegal under a new law passed this year. With no opposition in parliament to check on the ruling party, Singaporeans will have little choice but to look up to ministers like Gan Kim Yong for "salvation".  Read More →