Lim Boon Heng “arrows” VWOs to do more for Singapore elderly
October 25th, 2009 | 
Author: From our Correspondent
The Minister in charge of aging, Mr Lim Boon Heng, has urged voluntary welfare organizations in Singapore to “do more” to take care of the aging population.
“In the coming years, the number of people living alone will only rise….There will be a lot more singles in future, so the work you have to do can only increase,” said Mr Lim, who was speaking to about 700 volunteers at the Lions Befrienders Appreciation and Awards Presentation 2009 last night.
Mr Lim, however did not outline the government’s plans to help the elderly and appears to shift the responsibility to financially strapped VWOs.
Unlike other developed countries, Singapore has no social safety net for the elderly who are expected to work for as long as possible to support themselves.
The VWOs, which are heavily dependent on public donations have limited resources to do the work on behalf of the government especially since the NKF and Ren Ci fiasco.
The scenes of Singapore elderly picking used cardboards in the streets, cleaning the toilets or sleeping in the streets have become ubiquitous throughout Singapore.
An AFP video about the life of a 76 year old street scavenger Madam Zheng stirred a furore in cyberspace lately.
Madam Zheng depleted her savings to foot the medical bills of her late husband and is now reducing to scavenge for used cardboards, cans and papers in the streets to earn a living. (watch video here)
In a rebuttal to the use of Madam Zheng by bloggers to criticize the government for not doing enough to help the elderly, Minister for Information and Communications Lui Tuck Yew claimed that Madam Zheng lives in a 3-room flat and has 3 children.
However, Lui failed to explain why Madam Zheng still needs to work despite owning a flat.
There lies an irony in Singapore’s high home ownership rates: many Singaporeans are asset-rich, but cash poor.
Though the elderly may have a roof over their heads, they have little or no savings left in their CPFs to support themselves through their golden years, thereby mandating them to continue working.
At the same time, their children may not be earning enough to support both their own families and their parents.
The cause of the problem lies with government policies and not in the VWOs not doing enough to help the aging population.
The government has the means and resources to implement a comprehensive multi-tier social support system for Singapore’s elderly.
After all, Singapore’s two sovereign wealth funds, Temasek and GIC, have just lost billions of dollars in overseas investments in less than 2 years. The government can afford to do much more for our nation-builders.
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20 Responses to “Lim Boon Heng “arrows” VWOs to do more for Singapore elderly”
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the way they take care of needy ppl here in singapore is really a joke.
There should be a 34.5% tax on all minister’s salary to go towards the VWOs.
Ask VWO to do more for Singapore elderly? Mr. LBH ask yourself first – what have you done for the elderly since you took over the post of minister i/c of aging population.
The very basic thing called ‘busfare’ for the elderly, you
can’t even solve, let alone other more complex issues.Do you not know that our neighbour grant even elderly Singaporeans concession rates on their rail & air fares?
Here in Singapore the elderly are treated like used toilet paper – to be dumped into a old-age hole in JB when they are no longer useful.Please for goodness sake, tackle this basic issue by giving all senior citizens concession rates on MRT & bus rides at all time of the day & night.Not just
half-baked concession we are given now! Mr.LBH if you can’t
tackle this simple issue,please don’t open your big mouth
and also please ask yourself whether you are worth that much
for doing what you are doing now!
I strongly urge VWO to form a party and stand against PAP in the coming election. In fact VWOs have already done more than what PAP is supposed to do. By shifting the responsibility of caring for the aging population clearly show how useless PAP can be.
The Minister in charge of ageing has done really very very little for the elderly despite holding this portfolio for a number of years and earning big fat salary.
It’s really a crying shame, especially when we know that some countries around us and the developed countries ensure that the elderly are taken of.
Dear Singaporean,
Who can contribute the most to our poor? Naturally it is the rich.
The pay structure of our ministers has being reviewed constantly in TR. Do you think they should do more for charity?
Regards,
citizenofSG
LIm Boon heng can talk n push responsibility only. As a former unionist, he talk only..then give him a minister post without portfolio n he talk a lot too but doesn’t help at all. Now let him in charge of aging…walau eh…try to skive and push your responsility to the VWO is it?..sigh…might as well give his high salary to the VWO to help the aged. He himself an aged got help from the govt wat…high pay n once a while open his mouth to push blme la…sigh…
LBH “urged VWO to do more to take of elderly Singaporean.”
LBH, may I remind you that you are the minister, responsible for taking care of the aging, elderly folks.
Paid $$$$millions, but no actions, just talk…talk….
cheap talk..!!
I would like to suggest that you set an example, by taking a
pay cut of 80%, for the next two months, to help take care
of the needy elderly, hungry Singaporen!
Are you compensanate enough to do that?
oops!!
Should read as compassionate and not compensanate.
i felt really pissed off watching the clip; because an old lady should never have to resort to this form of manual labor and be reduced to sleeping on the streets with her cardboards. This is a woman who has seen the growth of Singapore and this is how she is repaid.
Woe to you sons and daughters of this poor woman. How shameful you must feel to see your own mother stripped of all dignity.
Believe me, i totally understand the concept of poverty. But its utterly ridiculous to “arrow” VWOs.
Believe me also when i say, i might be one of the few singaporeans who actually buy the high salary no corruption idea preached. But even a King who’s peasants’ fields are plagued with drought would part with his riches to help his people.
What the use of gripping about an Aging Population. And trying to battle it through temporal incentives when the actual problems are left unsolved?
The fact is the Aged are here to stay. You would never imagine the amount of dedication some Singaporeans have. Please don’t let them be jaded. You would also never imagine the amount of love some Singaporeans have for our country. Please don’t let our cries fall on deaf ears. We are starting to lose hope.
Remove his post.
The $$ saved from his salary, pension, bonuses, allowances and what nots will easily benefit the elderly.
Short and simple. Instead of him wasting precious taxpayers money thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking.
The simple solution to our problems is to vote in the opposition and vote out the MIW.
Enough said.
Everyone of us should help people who are in more need than
ourselves…that’s basic human nature, at least for “old timers”!
But how can the young learn how to be compassionate when “smart KIds” are banded together at a young age and sold on rather meritocratic ideas?
Most older singaporeans learnt to SHARE in schools even most had no money! They shared by helping each other;the stronger students helping the weaker.The ones who have a wee bit more pocket money share their plate of “mee-siam” with another…
All over the world ,young peoples are becoming less and less “sharing and caring”.It must somehting to do with their
MODERN(GLOBALISED) EDUCATION:COMPETE! COMPETE! or you perish?
In ageing population nations,it will only get tougher and tougher for NGOs to render help to the elderly as NGOs’ members
and supporters would themselves be made of older and older people.NGOs DEPEND ON CHARITY and charity depend on “spare money” and “spare energy”.At the rate and manner COL will probably be trending-up- it is hard to imagine constant flow of donations from individuals…some even cannot afford the fees for a GP,not to mention SPECIALISTS,if we like medical costs rise with emphasis on medical tourism.
Good governance require GOVERNMANTS to reduce the “risk exposure” of ageing populations by putting in place CHECKS AND BALANCES as in healthcare costs for instance and reasonable and accessible MEDICAL INSURANCE.
The wolrd has been traumatises by the recent Wallstreet financail crisis;it doesn’t need a healthcare costs tsunami!
We
LBH is just another useless minister who have done anything good for Singaporeans despite being many years in cabinet!!!
LBH is just another useless minister who have not done anything good for Singaporeans despite being many years in cabinet!!!
Mr Lim has done the right thing again. Well done. I hope the government continue with the hands off approach.
Afterall, why must they do anything? Each time they do something, it cost more to taxpayers. Please continue status quo and do nothing.
Thumbs up.
It is NOT in the interest of the PaPies to make Sinkaporeans comfortable.
The trick is to maintain Sinkaporeans at a level where they are ALWAYS worrying about making ends meet and putting 3 meals on the table so that they will have no time to question the policies, query the money and join the opposition parties.
First, anyone here knows who LBH is related to? Like LHK i/c of Trade & Industry is also in PMO and a Hakka.
First, LBH was NTUC Secretary-General and generated a lot of BullS**t… History always speak for itself… Like…
1. He said Older Singaporeans are CHOOSEY about jobs. Don’t want like rough, shift work jobs and it’s NOT that there aren’t jobs available for Us…
2. It’s thus like they the gahMENt had no choice when companies gave thm jobs to foreigners!!!…
3. Then some 3 years down the road and also like some S$10M wealthy said, “NO, NOT OLD, MORE EXperience”. (NOTE: The “EX” is a PUN on his BullS**T!)…
4. Then some 3 years late… he went to Japan which is famous for their “Welfare-Schemes” for the old and aged poor and sick…
5. Returned from Japan and after… how many years again??? … NOW then say… “Let The VWOs DO MORE” for the OLD and AGED!!!… BUT More IMPORTANLY…
6. And so likely… yet another like S$10M wealthier again… What DOES HE NOW tell us all after his belated INVESTIGATIVE TRIP to Japan???…
7. AND… has HE PERSONALLY CHECKED on THE QUALITY OF CARE Related to Fees Charged in those Privately Owned OLD FOLKS cum Nursing Homes?
8. As like Mr. MBT… who suggested sincerely about going to Johore’s Retirement “Retreats” for the Old and Aged and got lumbasted… he and some other ASTRONOMICALLY HIGH paid Minister’s in the PMO… SIMPLY SPILL… LOTS OF HOT AIR… So that ‘thier’ gahMENt can most ‘light’ and effectively fLOAT Up And AWAY into the Stratosphere for COOL-COMFORTS in “sPACE-SuitS” of the 3rd & 4th KINDs!!!…
9. So PAP came with the LIGHTING FLASH Symbol… To light UP OUR SKIES… For US to see them GOING UP and AWAY in LightNess …
10. OR NOT TO Light UP OUR lives… but also like Lighting-Strike ones… STRIKE The Weaker Ones among us WITH a MILLION VOLTS Of ELECTRICAL CHARGE… to be BURNT INTO CHARCOAL… And then there after… as carbon… STILL BE… Uuseful FOR them gahMENt to for futher lighting up fires “On COLD-NIGHTS” to warm themselves too!!!
WHY HAS Singaporeans WAITED SO LONG… to see and learn THESE THINGS???… Well… Better late THEN never… With the help of the internet and oOF COURSE TR. Thanks Admin AND BRAVO TO YOU!!!
Cost of raising welfare by $30 for 2,700 needy Singaporeans. ($972,000)
Cost of a Singapore Minister in charge of aging. ($2,700,000)
Cost of man hours spent debating in Parliament. (unknown)
Cost of bonuses, pensions, perks given. (classified)
Why spend millions to justify spending $972,000?
Why spend millions hiring elites to lose billions?
The future of our aged looks bleak. Its frightening.