7/14/2007

My home - the toilet

58 year old mother and 14 month daughter in tow, Madam Hong's home is a public toilet in the Park. Her husband, an odd job cleaner, earns $600/$700 and sleeps in his work place. They have no where to go after losing their 4 room flat for failing to keep up with the mortgage payments. Squatting in relatives' place only last a while before patient runs out. We also have people who cannot pay their dialysis treatment and owing NKF thousands of dollars. To these people, the treatment is a matter of life and death. Some people may say that these are useless people that deserve to be where they are and it is their own problem. They fail to make it in this island of opportunities and it is their fault. That is a pragmatic point of view, and also a realistic one. It is forgiveable as a private individual view. But when we are talking about a nation, its govt and people, we are talking about a people like a family. No one shall be left behind cannot be an advertising slogan and not to mean anything. We are not living in the animal kingdom where the lion king lives supreme with his harem and there is no room for the feeble, old and sick. The weak shall perish or be eaten. Even the lion king will be driven away when he loses his teeth and has to wander in the wilderness, alone till his solitary death. Human society needs to spend some resources to keep the weak and helpless going. The other option is to terminate them and their misery. Every society will have the burdensome and the irresponsible. Every case has to be looked at differently and for the irresponsible, the country still cannot terminate them but to help them to be on their feet again. But make sure that they are willing to pick themselves up and the help is something like co payment. Help as much as he is willing to help himself. Otherwise $290 is also too much. The $290 is only for those who no longer can help themselves. The desperate cases of old and unable to work anymore.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Money, money, money.
Must be funny,
In the rich man's world

Money, money, money.
Always sunny,
In the rich man's world

Anonymous said...

We need to set up a new MINSTRY OF NEEDS and appoint one of these people to be in charge. That way we will have the people who knows about the problems to provide the solutions.

Khiat Han Hwee Adrian said...

There are some NKF patients who purposely refuse to pay their bills after the Durai saga even though they may have the money.

They feel that its government job to treat their illness.

If bills of these people are waived, its unfair to the charity too. They should help those really in needs.

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

every case must be looked at by its own merit. there are those who just would not want to pay even if they could.

nkf is set up by public money. people give willingly to help and are not asking for anything in return. though the management should manage the fund carefully, they must not treat it as another bureaucratic machinery. they should err on the side of generosity. the people give freely and the money should be given freely without all the administrative red tapes and ended with people not getting the help they need.

what i disagree is the hoarding of millions for another rainy day. that is not what the charity money is for. it is another kind of god's money. when it runs down, the kindness of people will pour out.

the sickening thing about all these charities is that it has been commercialised so badly that people are getting sick of them.

Anonymous said...

Charity begins at home, from the taxpayers' pockets directly. And since we have given our dues to the govt, I believe it is therefore their sole DUTY to look after the needs of the poor and the sick instead, like no man is to be left behind you know what I mean.

It is an irony to me that hundreds of billions and in future trillions sit in the govt's coffer, while sick and old people are not admitted to the hospitals due to personal financial difficulties.. and that their hope is for poor people like redbean to fork out their stacks of pennies to support them?

So I think it is the duty of the state to care for their own people instead.

Anonymous said...

There are many, many people in the world who will fall on their knees in gratitude if they had a toilet to live in.

Don't complain lah. Make the best of your situation and get your fucking act together lah.

If you can't make it in Singapore, where the fuck do you think you can go to make it?

If the govt were to attempt to fulfill everyones "needs" the entitlement mentality will reign supreme, and MATILAH SINGAPURA may occur much sooner.

Bring it on lah! I wanna see this god-forsaken cuntry collapse! bwaaahahaaaa...

Anonymous said...

I really think the govt should build more designer toilets near open fields, camp sites and the beaches so that singaporeans can assess them throughout the year when their homes are taken over by the foreigners. You may think this is a joke only becos you earn millions!

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

will singaporeans ended up as sub tenants and renting rooms in HDB flats from PRs?

Anonymous said...

No, those that has made it can go join the likes of golden hair retirement schemes in malaysia, philippines, thailand maybe china next time. I hope Korea will open up with their own schemes.

Those that didnt make it can pitch their tents outside public parks, beaches and open spaces and make use of public toilets to pamper themselves.