From Siew Kum Hong’s blog:

First and foremost, I walked away from the EGM proud to be Singaporean. I saw the result as an affirmation of the values that we hold dear (openness, transparency, inclusiveness, diversity and secularism) and a rejection of those that, well, we should not (dishonesty, non-transparency, exclusiveness, intolerance, divisiveness and oppression/bullying).

While I do not see the EGM as a watershed or a pivotal moment signalling any sort of significant change in Singapore politics (as at least one journalist has tried to posit to me), it does stand as a milestone marking some sort of progress towards a more active and passionate civil society. The willingness of all these people to stand up and be counted, to invest all that time and effort for a cause that they believed in, gave me hope that Singaporeans are not as passive or apathetic as we are often said to be, and that it really takes the right cause to spark us into action.

Read the full write-up here.

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社论:85岁明仁天皇将退位 新加坡仍有年长者无法退休

在昨日的新年献词中,日本明仁天皇表达世界和平的祈愿,这位85岁的天皇也定于今年4月30日正是退休。他的儿子,今年59岁的皇太子德仁将于5月1日继位。 他在2016年,就曾向民众表达自己由于体力衰弱,年事已高而希望提前退位。他曾动过两次手术,由于年龄增长其健康水平也开始下降,他表示虽然高龄80,所幸身体仍健康,但也开始思考皇室如何继续履行对国家职责。 他向民众寻求支持以提早退休,而日本国会在去年表决通过了一份特别法案,允许天皇在特殊情况下退位。 加速老龄化的日本社会 当然,日本天皇不用担心退休后收入停止,因为皇室是受国家津贴的。但不仅是天皇,在越发老龄化的日本社会,该国政府仍重视年长者福利。 为了确保年长者有较舒适的晚年生活,日本政府十分注重乐龄群体福利。2000年,日本通过了强制长期护理保险,让年长者可以负担在居家、日股中心和社区护理中心的费用。这意味着日本乐龄人士无须为三餐和医疗费苦恼,而被迫继续工作。 当地年长者也可选择在公寓、有生活辅助的设施、收费私宅、年长者护理中心、老少看护中心或养老院等地接受看护。 当地的商场和餐厅也注重为乐龄人士服务的设施,例如方便年长者的走道、乐龄用品商店、康复中心和储蓄投资银行等。商场还提供免费的瑜伽、健身操和太极拳课程。 然而,在我国仍有许多年长者,随着年岁增长和身体衰老,恐怕没有日本天皇和日本子民们的福气。 在我国,仍有年长者无法退休 有别于其他先进国,我国政府不落实养老金制度。许多年龄60-70岁的乐龄人士即使年老体衰,还要在各大职场继续工作,这种现象就连外国游客都感到震惊。 虽然有公共组屋屋契回购计划,但对一些年长国人来说,应对生活负担仍杯水车薪。举例来说年届65岁的夫妇,如果他们拥有一座市值45万元、屋契还剩65年的四方式组屋,他们若参与屋契回购,他们每人从公积金中每月提取大约400多元。…

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