~ By: Dr Wong Wee Nam ~

Two recent incidents that made some headlines in the media sadden me. The first is the objection by some residents to the proposed elder day-care centre to be built in Woodlands. Following closely is the furore over the proposal to build studio apartments and elder-friendly facilities in the affluent Toh Yi area.

The reasons given were morally ridiculous. These people complained that the facilities would cause the value of their properties to drop and many people will be dying in the area. Such objections only show the selfishness and a lack of humanity on the part of these people and let us pray the majority of Singaporeans are not like that.
 
Such display of community spirit or rather, the lack of it, may not be limited to only the residents of these two areas. Years of selfish competition in school, the blind pursuit of wealth, chasing after all the Cs society together with elitism, political apathy and the disparity in income gap have made us a selfish society lacking in compassion. The reactions to the elderly are symptoms of a greater malaise. The rot of materialism has set in and if we allow it to fester, we will end up with a fragmented society and a loss of community.
 
We often hear people complaining about government not taking care of its people. Why then are these people reacting angrily when something is being done for a group that had contributed to Singapore’s economic growth and its prosperity? They forget that though such problems of aging may not concern them now, they themselves will inevitably be part of the problem in future. So it is best we learn to deal with this problem now so that we can adjust ourselves along the way and learn to live with the growing number of elderly in our country.
 
It is really short-sightedness to try and shrug off the problem instead of facing it like a good community should. If we do not accept and address the reality of this problem now, the day will come when the people who are complaining at the moment will found themselves living in a country where the frail, sick and elderly will habitually be abandoned and consigned to some remote corner and maybe across the Straits of Johor.
 
In the past, when Singapore had a young population, we built a lot of crèche and childcare centres for our children. Some of these protestors or their children could have been the beneficiaries of such facilities. What then is it so wrong to provide for a
graying population as an obligation of the same societal duties?
 
It is sensible to provide facilities that are suitable to old folks in their twilight years so that they can continue to live their lives as part of the community. All these facilities are customized with safety features so that the elderly can be independent without the danger of injuring themselves. With such places, the elderly can then be parked there to give car-givers a respite from their arduous duties or when their children go to work.
 
What is a community? It is this subconscious compulsion to protect and improve each other’s life in society. How can we see ourselves as fellow travelers in our life’s journey if we isolate the elderly and run away from the dying?
 
If we can no longer tolerate having people who need our compassion and understanding most near us, then the caring ethos in inherent in any civilized society must disappear. These values that are the glue that binds a community must slowly be dissolved.
 
One of the basic humanitarian functions of a civilized society is the help the poor, the sick, the suffering and the elderly and not to abandon them as other people’s problem, or worse, to protest and deny them a right to a physical, psychological and social space. To do the latter is to dehumanize society even more than the blind pursuit of money would.
 
If the financially well-off and the better-educated start rejecting those who can no longer contribute economically to society and treat them as hideous beings, then the humane values of society must be undermined.
 
There is a price to be paid when the community rejects members of its community who are terminally-ill or aging. Lives will then become a commodity to be disposed of when they become too much of an economic or psychological burden to maintain or bear. For those who are protesting now, just remember that everyone, without exception, will become old and terminally ill one day.
 
In future, when the families become small and the proportion of elderly becomes greater, the care within the community will help the families concerned to cope. This is a problem that will affect everyone and every family. Similarly, everyone and every family will benefit by any solution we put in place now.
 
Thus, we must learn to accept the aged, the sick and the dying in our society because such acceptance teaches us the virtues of humility, courage and patience. This may not enhance the value of properties but it will certainly enrich the soul.
Subscribe
Notify of
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
You May Also Like

教育部否认 阻跨性别学生进行荷尔蒙补充疗法

新加坡教育部否认,阻止一名18岁跨性别学生的荷尔蒙补充疗法(HRT),称不能干涉任何治疗。 日前,一名18岁跨性别大学生,在Reddit上控诉教育部阻止她进行荷尔蒙补充疗法。该名学生指出,她认为自己是“由男性转为女性”的跨性别女性,此前曾被心理卫生学院诊断出患上“性别焦虑症”(gender dysphoria)。 性别焦虑症,是指持续感到自己的生理性别与心理性别(即性别认同,如男性、女性、混合、中性或其他)不符,不仅会引发当事人困扰,更可能严重影响社会功能。 她也向《海峡时报星期刊》透露,自己于2019年经诊断患有性别焦虑症,并于2020年3月,将诊断证明交给校方。 对于她的决定,身边的朋友和师长均愿意支持,家人也同意让她进行荷尔蒙补充疗法(HRT),并与医生达成共识,在18岁后开始进行治疗。 然而,她却在去年8月刚满18岁时,医生却告诉她,经过教育部与他开会后,要求医生停止开诊断证明给学校,也不能在尚未通知教育部的情况下,推荐患者进行治疗,也因此导致她无法再从中获得诊断证明。 对此,教育部则回应,“我们无权干预任何治疗,这都是由相关家庭决定的事情。” “所有学校均有照顾学生之责,并配合家长和医疗人员密切合作。” 教育部也吁请学生和校方澄清,讨论学校应如何提供更多帮助,并鼓励若遇到不友善行为的学生应寻求学校或教师的帮助。 MOE is…

无法复工企业可获豁免外劳税 发放抵消租金补贴

无法复工的企业,也能获得豁免外国劳工税和提供外劳税回扣。 外劳税豁免期和回扣将延长达两个月。受惠领域将包括建筑业、海事和安岸外作业、加工业等。 此外,王瑞杰称政府将拨款20亿元,为本地中小企业提供现今补贴以抵消租金。 政府将通过产业主,发放用于抵消租金的现金补贴给中小企业租户。加上产业税回扣,预计符合资格的商业租户,能免付约两个月租金。政府将在下月底发放有关补贴。 此外,律政部下周将提呈新法,要求产业主为疫情下深受影响的租户,提供租金减免、暂时取消部分合约条款等。 对于国内许多重要的基设项目如地铁线和公共住房等,仍需继续兴建,为此当局仍会为建筑业者提供协助。政府将和企业共同承担恢复建筑项目的额外开销,包括落实额外安全措施等。

网友发现小狗栓屋外疑遭虐 兽医协会:误会一场

网民发现有小狗被栓在屋外,且放置饮用水的小碗也很肮脏,因此怀疑有人虐待小家伙,但是经过当局调查后表示,小狗并没有长期被拴在屋外,当时只是因为狗狗出现腹泻情况,所以才被主人拴在外头一会儿。 署名Pauline Teo的网友于周三(4日)在脸书上帖文,表示在荷兰村一公寓处发现一只小狗狗,被短绳拴在屋外,且旁边还有盛着水的肮脏小碗。 她表示,她发现小狗似乎被拴在屋外有两个小时了,而在下午4时许,就有一名女佣来将小狗待会单位内。“我相信她只是带回去一下,因为她发现我在看着。” 她当时就怀疑,狗主将该小狗长期栓在屋外。而根据帖文中的照片,小狗狗似乎有脱毛的现象。 她也表示,发现该屋内中还有一只“体型更小、更可爱且毛茸茸”的白色狗狗。 有关贴文立刻引起网民注意,大部分网民都很可怜小狗狗,要求网友向当局举报,严格禁止动物虐待。但是,也有网民认为要查清楚状况后,才能下定论。 而在当天晚上,Pauline再次更新其贴文,表示已经获得动物与兽医协会(AVS)的答复,该小狗并没有受到虐待。 该协会指出,已经派人到相关单位调查,发现单位屋内有两只小狗,都自由走动,而且看起来精神良好。 当局表示已经和狗主沟通,确定狗狗并没有被长时间栓在屋外。 而爱狗组织Chained Dog…

23年前已列住宅保留地 金文泰森林去留后代决定

国家发展部长李智陞,透过书面答复议员提问,透露金文泰森林(Clementi Forest)一带,早在23年前就列为“住宅用地(视乎详细规划)(Residential (Subject to Detailed Planning))”,并受到保护。不过目前暂未有立即发展该处的必要。 工人党后港议员陈立峰,以及裕廊集选区议员陈有明医生,不约而同向国家发展部质询,政府是否将检讨金文泰森林的未来发展,以及是否对该林地进行环境评估等。 对此,李智陞在声明中指出,自1998年总规划图(Master Plan),金文泰森林一带就被保留作为住宅用地。不过,当局仍会继续保留该地,若将来需求增长,后代可选择是否将之发展作为住宅地区或其他用途。 他指出,在人口密集但土地稀缺的新加坡,政府仍需在发展需求和保育上取得平衡,作为长远规划的一部分,政府也提前预留土地以满足后代的需要。 不过,他也举出一些案例,政府经过检视后将他们保留为绿色空间,例如万礼红树林和滩涂(Mandai Mangrove…