Gan Kim Yong learning well from Japan

Gan Kim Yong and his teams of officials from the Health and Housing ministries have returned from their fact finding and learning mission in Japan on ageing problems. He has learnt well, many times better than Boon Heng. In yesterday’s ST he has already came out with a list of innovative initiatives learnt from Japan for implementation. He is also setting up a committee to look deeper into the ageing population problems.
 
Among the things that the team has learnt for implementations are:
 
1. A need for support services during working hours when the young are at work. Also in cases of oldies living alone, night services are also needed.
2. Medical practitioners and polyclinics should be located near the ageing population.
3. Employ the elderly, and retirement age should be raised to 67. Only the Japanese could come up with such a clever idea. Didn’t we been employing people up to 90 and onwards?
4. Need for home care and more nursing homes as our population ages. Dunno if these facilities are provided free.
5. More support to caregivers, probably salary increases.
 
The govt should send more such study trips to learn from other countries to make life better for Singaporeans. They have forgotten to send Chuan Jin and the NTUC officials to study how other countries are handling their foreign workers and immigrant problems and if foreigners were discriminating their citizens how to deal with such problems. Maybe after such an enlightening trip the MOM could introduce more effective measures or at least get enlightened.
 
Money well spent for sure, every cent of it.