Can younger Singaporeans cut it?
Channel News Asia
==================================================On a day the Prime Minister shared how his Government would tackle the pressing issue of an ageing population, several Members of Parliament were most concerned about Singapore youth.
Do younger Singaporeans have the mettle to handle the demands of today's world, lingered the question in Parliament before Mr Lee Hsien Loong gave his speech.
The initial prognosis was not good, and the MPs issued their prescriptions.
Mr Ong Seh Hong (Marine Parade Group Representation Constituency) lamented that many of the youth are brought up on "remote MM", or "mother and maid", on whom they are so dependent that some "don't know how to cut an apple".
He questioned if the youth are "physically and mentally prepared to face challenges" compared to generations who grew up in a third-world Singapore.
"We need to adjust the mentality at home, so they can take suffering," he said.
Mr Hri Kumar (Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC), who also wondered how successful the post-1965 (P65) generation might be, felt it was better to turn to the schools to shape the "legacy" of this group of Singaporeans.
The schools, he argued, were best positioned to offer a solution to his biggest fear: That the P65 and succeeding generations will become "indifferent to Singapore's future", a situation he likened to "a cancer that will slowly eat away at a nation's soul".
"You can't feel truly connected to something unless you understand it … (and Singapore) will not be fully appreciated unless we understand our past, what we are today and where we stand in relation to our neighbours and the world," he said.
"The best place to teach these important lessons is the classroom."
Mr Wee Siew Kim (Ang Mo Kio GRC) also wanted lessons dished out, specifically to children who do not look after their parents and who make "lone rangers" of old folk.
He cited examples of "displaced parents" who seek help at his Meet-the-People-Sessions and called on "social agencies to be able to turn on a dime" to help abandoned parents first, before turning on "incorrigible children" with the "full force of the law", including getting them to pay in full the cost of the care provided.
Mr Wee, who spoke only on this topic, said upholding the responsibilities in a parent-child relationship were crucial to maintaining Singapore's value of self-reliance.
To Ms Ho Geok Choo (West Coast GRC), young Singaporeans need more than just values such as team spirit and ruggedness to be nurtured in them, although she welcomes these.
"They need a set of life and human relations skills that prepares them for working life," she said. "This kind of training is long overdue." She asked for a "mindset training programme for the whole nation".==============================================================
Some random thoughts:
(1) Yes, Maids and Mother, for those children whose family are rich enough to hire maids. You know, not every family in Singapore is able to afford that.... there are some people living well below the poverty line. I am definitely sure that they don't rely on maids and mother. First, they won't have a maid, and second their mother is probably working 10 hours a day to make ends meet.
(2) I have always found it fanscinating that people from the older generation (those who grew up in "Third World Singapore") will always tell us, those who grew up in a much better Singapore, that we do not have what it takes to make it in the "rough" world. I have always thought this was an unfair comparison. I think American comedian Jon Stewart said it best in one of his speech for a commencement in his alma mater: "And the last thing I want to address is the idea that somehow this new generation is not as prepared for the sacrifice and the tenacity that will be needed in the difficult times ahead. I have not found this generation to be cynical or apathetic or selfish. They are as strong and as decent as any people that I have met......when you talk to the young kids......, you don’t have the worry about the future that you hear from so many that are not a part of this generation but judging it from above."
(Link to Jon Stewart's Speech)
Often we hear about how people from our generation cannot make it because we have never been toughen up.... or we have never went through hardship... But I don't believe this to be the case. Every generation has their own problems. And furthermore, those attributes that saw us transit from third world to first world might not help us in maintaining our first world status....
(3) And if you want us to care about Singapore's future, you should make Singaporeans feel priviledged and proud rather than like a child. If you want Singaporeans to care about Singapore's future, you should let them speak their minds like adults. Don't expect future generations of Singaporeans to care about our future when you keep telling us what is appropriate and what is not appropriate to be said in public. If you are going to treat the whole country as if they were children, don't be surprised if some of us act like kids.
(4) Really? The classrooms? You mean kids really listen to their teachers at all? I knew I didn't and never taken my teacher's words seriously. Come on! It is not just knowing how we got here and Singapore's relationship to other countries in the past etc etc etc... If I don't feel connected to Singapore, it will just be like listening to another fairy tale! Refer to point 3.
(5) "Mr Wee Siew Kim (Ang Mo Kio GRC) also wanted lessons dished out, specifically to children who do not look after their parents and who make "lone rangers" of old folk." & "Mr Wee, who spoke only on this topic, said upholding the responsibilities in a parent-child relationship were crucial to maintaining Singapore's value of self-reliance." --- I nearly died laughing when I saw this. Really? You mean it? Wow, talk about irony. I guess it is not okay to make "lone rangers" of old folks, but it is definitely okay to make "lone rangers" out of unelite citizens... hang on, I am being incoherent here... Anyway, I am sure your daughter will never abandon you, as long as you are an elite... (Okay, bad joke)....
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