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2/27/2011
Tragedy of ignorance, irresponsibility or plain stupidity?
Lily Neo related this story of a 45 year old jobless woman. She has ‘five children aged 9 to 20 and a grandson living in a two room rental flat. She remarried recently, but her husband is also unemployed. The sole breadwinner is the 20 year old son, who has primary school education and earns $650 a month doing odd jobs. Her two daughters aged 9 and 12 are not doing well in school. Her 13 year old son has dropped out. And her 18 year old daughter has a 5 year old son.’
In the 1950s or earlier, in a rural environment, life will go on just like the border towns of Thailand/Myanmar/Kampuchea or in some parts of third world countries. The people live off the land, build a hut with some leaves and called it home. They will survive without education, with little food and little needs.
In the 21st Century, in the heart of a big city, you cannot live life that way. Everything costs money, rentals, food and all the basic needs. Why is such a thing still happening in our society? Who is at fault? How much can the govt do to help these people?
Are such tragedies avoidable? Just ponder. These people have the right to live, make love and procreate. Can anyone say they need to have a COE for doing such basic things? Can any govt take tough measures against the right to live, to make love, and to procreate?
Is there a solution? Is there a problem in the first place? If we cannot recognise the problem, then there is no problem and no need for a solution. If we do not know that there is a problem, better still, no problem.
Where is the ostrich?
In any case they are providing many slaves for the benefit of the economy. That is what matters.
ReplyDeleteLife is hard -- on many levels and the only way to "lessen" the mathematical probability of encountering "bad luck" or uncertainty which is not in your favour is to prepare for the future -- the best you can. You can still lose BTW, there are no guarantees.
ReplyDeleteHuman economic struggle has been with us from the beginning of civilization, and no one likes being broke.
However, in a place like S'pore, there is no excuse: opportunity to improve your economic circumstance abounds. Education and training, international connectivity...everything you can possibly imagine for you to take responsibility and improve yourself is available.
> How much can the govt do to help these people? <
Hopefully get out of the way and allow people to improve themselves according to their own objectives.
> Is there a solution? <
All solutions to individual problems are individual solutions. As long as people think that they can have a family without the means to support one, and as long as people believe that "the govt will help me" or that "the world owes me a living", then you are going to get economic cases like the one mentioned.
If the individuals concerned are not willing to pull themselves up by their own boot straps, then not even the govt gods can help them.
imho, get the man to sign up for WSQ course immediately; even if it means filling up the paperwork for him.
ReplyDeletesince we always go on a "case by case" basis, if what you wrote/lily neo said is true, then the man and his family must be given full subsidy to continue upgrading his skills and to continue studying where possible.
utmost effort must be made to persuade them to take this path; at the end of the day, it's still their choice though... but for the kids, i don't think they really know what is going on?
mr. chua,
ReplyDeleteanywhere to subscribe to your blog via email? i'm not a big fan of using readers...
Hi OKL, Welcome to the blog.
ReplyDeleteI have not tried to do this. But if you look at the bottom of each article you can see a few options like email and link. I think they should work.
The ideal of relocating our aged can be modified to relocate some of the really down and out to a cheaper place to live off the land? The other alternative is to feed and house them at public cost.
ReplyDeleteThe danger of the latter is that it will become a system that will encourage people not to do help themselves, live recklessly and let the govt pick up the trash and the bill.
Relocating our aged to live in a cheaper place to live off the land?
ReplyDeleteWise idea. But the issue is where can we find a cheaper place. The Government always argue that land is expensive in Singapore. So, forget about cheap places here.
But the irony is that they rather keep the land for more foreigners to arrive and build houses to sell to them, not to build homes for the aged and downtrodden.
Buy an island from the Indonesians? Nah, they never like us one bit. They rather leave the thousands of islands barren than sell even one to us. By the way, they would not even want to sell their plentiful sand to us.
I never ceased to envy the Malaysians for having such vast land areas. In such places you can really live off the land, so to speak. by growing what you need and survive any catastrophic event.
try www.feedburner.com
ReplyDeleteThe Malaysian, Indonesian, Thai and almost all other S E Asians are endowed by nature with abundance.
ReplyDeleteSingapore is endowed to act as a trading port for its' neighbours abundance, but the role is diminishing. Not only so, Singapore has to import food, raw material and almost everything from others. If the importations are cut off, inhabitants in the tiny dot could literally starve to death.
You forgot to add that Singapore is endowed with an abundance of talents excluding a few stragglers. Unfortunately our talent pool is too small and not enough. So we import more talents and also stragglers along as well.
ReplyDeleteDoesn't matter who comes over -- if they adapt and prevail in their new cuntry, power to them.
ReplyDeleteThat is the wonder of human consciousness -- you can change your thinking at anytime to "improve" yourself and your chances for "winning".
S'pore is a hotel which offers such opportunity. The locals can't see it and are constantly complaing that the world owes them a living, but the "hungry" and "harder driving" foreigners have no problem seizing the day and making the best they can.
I was once an immigrant in a new land. I beat all the slack, lazy-assed locals who complained about "foreigners taking over". So fuck all you slack-arsed, lazy, dumb-fuck bucolic hicks :-)
Get with the fucking program man, You are living in a MERITOCRACY, so get in the game or fuck off to Malaysia.
Singaporeans must not be sold to the idea that Singapore is just a hotel or a whore house for the comfort of paying the guests. Our parents were migrants. Yes, but they paid a heavy price to build this place to what it is today.
ReplyDeleteLet no one tell you that this is not a country but a cheap whore house and everyone can come and go. Singaporeans must stake their claims to this little rock for this is all they got.
If Singaporeans are silly enough to let people turn this into a prostitute den, and one day when they become homeless or be driven out by the very foreigners they welcomed indiscriminately with open arms, they only have themselves to blame.
Correcting redbean's fallacies:
ReplyDelete1. Singapore ain't no "cheap whore house" (have you checked prices of stuff lately or are yo asleep?)
2. Modern s'pore and the s'pore of your parents -- completely different. Parent's had no option but to do whatever was necessary to live and look after their families. Instead of whining like a bitch, perhaps a more pro-active approach -- to make the parents proud -- would serve better?
Our parents would have given their vital organs to have a modern S'pore (with all it's faults) like what it is today. Count your motherfucking blessings lah.
3. To be able to come and go as you please, and to choose your loyalties and associations are signs of definite progress -- i.e. more freedom comes from more wealth, more security.
Sri Lanka gained independence same time as S'pore. And they're fucked -- Turd Wurld Cuntry, a festering bolus of religious and political hatred and division, poverty, violence, hopelessness.
Gimme a fucking modern hotel/ classy bordello like s'pore where I can come and go as I please, use the fantastic business services, enjoy the nightlife and travel freely to wherever...safe, rich, secure and modern...and fuck Sri Lanka up Theravada Buddha's enlightened arse!
> one day when they become homeless <
If you are stupid enough not to work and save for a place to live -- your own damn fault. To be "homeless" you have to NOT have a home. Getting a home in s'pore is one of the easiest things to do -- much better than other places. OWNING the home (with full title) is another matter, but to have a place to live: no problem. (just pay).
4 > Singaporeans must stake their claims <
The only universally LEGAL WAY to "stake your claim" is to put money down to secure whatever it is you claim as your property -- or have someone give it to you as a gift.
There is no such thing as "birth right" -- i.e. you born here, therefore you have a "claim" here. claim from who, BTW? Who are you claiming this "property" from?
Gimme a fucking break lah. Just because your parents fucked in Singapore and you popped out your mother's cheebai somehow gives you a 'right' to piece of rock?
Get real!
you crude shit. you CCB. I am a citizen and I agree with Redbean. Singapore for Singaporeans. This is my right. You no Singaporean, a guest only of course you want to come and go. You want to con Singaporeans got no right? You silly cunt.
ReplyDeleteanon 453 is proof positive why there needs to be more "harder drivin' and strivin'" foreigners in S'pore. Also the arguments are weak, unsubstantiated and emotional -- proof positive again that the so-called "education" has failed...and therefore more foreigners are required to "take up the slack".
ReplyDeleteHe claims:
Singapore for Singaporeans. This is my right.
Huh? Where? show me the law or statute? Suka suka make a claim ah?
> You no Singaporean, a guest only of course you want to come and go <
Well fuck you and the rotting cunt you came from ;-)
Again you have no proof suka suka say "I'm no Singaporean".
Funny, but I'll have you know...I have a pink NRIC, red passport, an SAF discharge doc and IRAS and CPF documents to make a liar out of you ;-)
> you crude shit. you CCB....You silly cunt. <
Wah, stunning argument old chap! Educated in Singapore were you? I must drop MoE a line and congratulate them for implementing such wonderful world-class education.
Wah, anonymous 453 tuah lampar some more... use "Anonymous" identity to attack me...brudder, lu ada style lah.
Tell me, internet genius anon 453, are there many other S'poreans like you?
whahahahahha....
Hi anon 453, just ignore him when Matilah is speaking his mother tongue. His parents also spoke like that, so don't blame him.
ReplyDeleteLucky the MOE limited mother tongue to just 4 official languages. You can imagine the words his pa and ma were using when they were making him.
He is born like that, with a mother tongue like that. This is something he is very proud of. His trade mark: )
No, I never think it is anything but an inferior way to converse. Maybe he has a complex.
Fuck you too redbean ;-)
ReplyDelete