Mr Ng Ya Ken’s letter “Ideas needed to reset the Republic’s vision” (March 20) has many good suggestions for Singapore in the next 50 years. For instance, we must “maintain a certain level of dignity for our seniors”.
The report “Active, healthy seniors an engine for S’pore’s growth: Gan” (March 20) also highlighted Minister-In-Charge of Ageing Issues Gan Kim Yong’s vision of a more mature population.
Singapore’s ageing population is a phenomenon obvious to politicians, planners and all Singaporeans.
Budget 2015 steers towards Mr Ng’s and Mr Gan’s vision by “trying to adapt policies to our changing demographics and the changing times”, as Mr Ee Teck Siew termed in his letter “‘Robin Hood’ inappropriate description of Budget 2015” (March 20).
But to achieve whatever vision, we need not only solutions but collective agreement and commitment to change mindsets and social behaviours. We need the young, the soon-to-be-old and the seniors respecting one another for their respective characters and strength.
For example, it is difficult for elderly people to actively age and feel young when everyone addresses them as “uncle” or “auntie”. I felt less old when I was addressed as “big brother” (in Cantonese) in Hong Kong.
Somehow, being called “uncle” makes me feel passe and no longer independent. If we believe that years of experience gather wisdom, then we should use our collective wisdom to chart the course for the next 50 years.
Over the past half-century, I have observed a change in our population. The emphasis on academic excellence in our early nationhood has enshrined scholars in our governing echelon.
While this is not a problem in itself, to exclude non-academic talents, and lose the diversity that represents the full spectrum of the population, is a problem.
Our efficient Civil Service has been tuned to execute policies coming from our precious limited pool of scholars. This has served Singapore well and we have gained worldwide respect for being highly efficient. This has built up pride for Singapore.
The fall of almost every dynasty in history, though, has been because of pride. With an opportunity now for Singapore to take a step back to reset its vision, the Government and Civil Service should take the lead to harness collective wisdom.
Mr Gan mentioned the need for employers to change their mindset. This would include the biggest employer in Singapore, the Public Service. But what about employees and retirees? Would not seniors know the ageing phenomenon best? I would go as far as to suggest that certain job categories in the Civil Service, such as counsellors, trustees and advisers, to name a few, should be for seniors.
The report “Active, healthy seniors an engine for S’pore’s growth: Gan” (March 20) also highlighted Minister-In-Charge of Ageing Issues Gan Kim Yong’s vision of a more mature population.
Singapore’s ageing population is a phenomenon obvious to politicians, planners and all Singaporeans.
Budget 2015 steers towards Mr Ng’s and Mr Gan’s vision by “trying to adapt policies to our changing demographics and the changing times”, as Mr Ee Teck Siew termed in his letter “‘Robin Hood’ inappropriate description of Budget 2015” (March 20).
But to achieve whatever vision, we need not only solutions but collective agreement and commitment to change mindsets and social behaviours. We need the young, the soon-to-be-old and the seniors respecting one another for their respective characters and strength.
For example, it is difficult for elderly people to actively age and feel young when everyone addresses them as “uncle” or “auntie”. I felt less old when I was addressed as “big brother” (in Cantonese) in Hong Kong.
Somehow, being called “uncle” makes me feel passe and no longer independent. If we believe that years of experience gather wisdom, then we should use our collective wisdom to chart the course for the next 50 years.
Over the past half-century, I have observed a change in our population. The emphasis on academic excellence in our early nationhood has enshrined scholars in our governing echelon.
While this is not a problem in itself, to exclude non-academic talents, and lose the diversity that represents the full spectrum of the population, is a problem.
Our efficient Civil Service has been tuned to execute policies coming from our precious limited pool of scholars. This has served Singapore well and we have gained worldwide respect for being highly efficient. This has built up pride for Singapore.
The fall of almost every dynasty in history, though, has been because of pride. With an opportunity now for Singapore to take a step back to reset its vision, the Government and Civil Service should take the lead to harness collective wisdom.
Mr Gan mentioned the need for employers to change their mindset. This would include the biggest employer in Singapore, the Public Service. But what about employees and retirees? Would not seniors know the ageing phenomenon best? I would go as far as to suggest that certain job categories in the Civil Service, such as counsellors, trustees and advisers, to name a few, should be for seniors.
