The 9th Question - On Singaporean Students

9 Education: Bright students will be sought after internationally, chipping away at Singapore's talent pyramid at the top. Mr Goh considers this one of the most serious threats to Singapore's long-term survival and says it has to be solved now.

His questions for the Prime Minister, Education Minister, schools and families: How do we bond students going abroad to Singapore, physically if possible, and if not, at least emotionally? How do we ensure most will return home and contribute to Singapore? How do we ensure there will always be a core of honest, able and dedicated Singaporeans to look after the country and their fellow men?

"Stupid Goh," Lee Hsien Loong would reply. "Haven't you noticed? We can just replace all of them with talented foreigners."

Back to the theme of personalising the question. For the individual Singaporean, it's a very good thing to have the kind of skills, knowledge and experience that give you international mobility. You may or may not go - but at least you have that option.

Studying overseas is a good start. At least you get a taste of life in another country.

Happy National Day!

In line with the festive season, here's a poem from my book Two Baby Hands (see sidebar for more details about the book):

NATIONAL DAY PARADE

I had a small part in a
Big show of a great little nation.
My uniformed mates and I were
To march out, swing left,
Turn twice, and get off the grounds
In twenty seconds flat.
Meanwhile the music boomed,
The lasers splashed,
And the darkened crowds hit
A new high of pre-planned,
Programmed excitement.
Later at home, my mother replayed
The video tape five times
But couldn't tell her tiny toy-
Soldier son from any of the rest.
"That one is me," I said,
Pointing at the screen.
I couldn't be sure.
Still we laughed and clapped
Our hands like children,
Knowing that it was not
Supposed to matter.

The above poem was also previously published in an anthology entitled From Boys to Men, which contains poems and prose from 30 Singaporean writers on the theme of National Service. From Boys to Men was edited by Koh Buck Song and Umej Bhatia, and in their introduction to the book, they briefly commented on my poem as follows:

"At times, the solder becomes acutely aware that NS must involve public performances, where there is pride in achievement to be shared with loved ones. And yet the performer himself has come to realise, only too well, that success is sometimes best accomplished through teamwork. And this means not so much the extinguishing, as the irrelevance, of individual identity. Personal aspirations must fall in line, in the parade ground of the larger scheme of things. Gilbert Koh's poem National Day Parade puts this across subtly ...."

What they didn't say is that my poem is also about the artificial engineering of national identity, heheh.

The Second Question: Homes For Singaporeans

"How do you, as leaders, convince Singaporeans of that when they are already living in good-quality public and private housing?"

That question is not a problem for Singapore. Nor is it a problem for Singaporeans.

It is merely a politician's problem. Politicians always have to convince people of this or that. Are their claims actually true? That is a separate issue. The convincing is what the politician needs to achieve, irrespective of the truth of the matter. As I had said in my earlier post, PR and marketing are all part of the game of politics.

But should SM Goh have been so indiscreet? Should he have stated publicly, and in such an explicit manner, his agenda to convince the masses? Well, SM Goh does have his other reasons.

There's a property bubble out there right now, remember. SM Goh is trying to help suck a little air out of the bubble. In other words, he wants to send the message that "Hey, maybe you can stay put right where you are. Maybe you don't really need to move."

But of course, people will always aspire to live in better homes. It's human nature. And of course, there is "good-quality" housing in Singapore. There is even "great-quality" and "superb-quality" housing in Singapore. Whether you live in such housing is another question.

That takes us back to the theme of the personalised question. Most importantly, the individual has to make smart decisions about where to live and what to buy.

And when to buy it.

Incidentally, folks, in deciding whether you can afford a particular property, bear this in mind. The fact that a bank will not grant you a loan is a good indicator that you can't afford it. But the fact that a bank will grant you a loan is not a good indicator that you can afford it.

Remember - in doing its credit appraisal, the bank focuses on the risk that you will default (or be unable to meet your repayments). If the bank is happy to take that risk, then you get your loan. But the bank is not really interested in how hard you might have to save and scrimp and cut down on your other expenses, so that you can make your mortgage repayments.

In other words, the bank doesn't care about how much you might have to compromise your lifestyle, in order to afford your home. That's an assessment you'll have to make for yourself.

The First Question - Global Competition, Economic Growth and that Little Fellow on the MRT Train (You)

"High growth: Amid global competition, can you maintain Singapore's high economic growth and keep on improving our standard of living?"

The answer is - nope. Basically the world is too large and the economy is beyond any government's control. Over the past 15 years, the PAP itself has repeatedly told you so. Every time the economy runs into trouble, the PAP will unfailingly blame it on "external factors". The ailing US economy; the rising costs of oil; the ever-increasing competition from China and India, and so on. So it is quite clear that the economy is beyond its control.

(Of course, every time the economy is doing well, the PAP will claim credit and point to its own ingenious schemes and policies. But we all understand that. It's called politics - and PR and marketing are just part of the game).

To put it another way, a nation's economic growth and standard of living depend on a wide range of complex factors, and are way beyond the direct control of any single government, political party or human being (even if they occasionally like to pretend otherwise).

However, for the individual citizen, the first question can be rephrased into a more practical form - "Can you achieve and maintain a satisfactory income and standard of living, for yourself and your family?".

This rephrasing is important. It offers a more appropriate perspective. It allows us to move from feeling powerless, to feeling empowered. After all, it is not the individual's duty to compete with the world. It is not the individual's mission to defeat the planet.

The individual's main job is merely to learn how to look after himself and his loved ones. That is a much smaller and much more manageable task. It is also more sensible and more meaningful.

Remember that in the best of economic times, there are still poor people and there are still unhappy people. In the worst of times, there are still rich people and there are still happy people. In the most prosperous countries, there are still homeless folks. In the poorest countries, there are still millionaires (and billionaires).

Thus in the story of your own personal life, we may say that the state of the general economy is a sub-plot, but is most certainly not the main story. YOU are the lead actor in the story of your own life.

More later.

The Ever-Inquisitive Mr Goh Chok Tong

This man has so many questions. Considering how much he's paid, one would have thought that he should be supplying answers instead, LOL.

ST Aug 3, 2009
10 challenges for the next generation: SM

Success creates its own problems, said Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong yesterday when he spelt out the 10 challenges facing the next generation. He highlighted them by posing questions to Cabinet ministers, families and the young.

1 High growth: Amid global competition, can you maintain Singapore's high economic growth and keep on improving our standard of living?

In 1959, thousands of Singaporeans lived in slums and squalor. Today, more than 90 per cent own their homes.

2 Life will get better: How do you, as leaders, convince Singaporeans of that when they are already living in good-quality public and private housing?

3 Transport: How does the Transport Minister satisfy the demands for comfort, convenience, congestion-free travel and punctuality of services and expectation of affordable fares, ERP and parking charges?

4 Health care: Can the Health Minister stamp out diseases linked to an affluent lifestyle, such as diabetes and cancer? And keep health-care costs down and affordable?

If we live till 90, we would probably have to work till 75 to have enough savings for a cosy retirement of 15 years.

5 Worker training: Can the Manpower Minister and the labour chief design a new training programme, Workfare (a wage supplement for working low-income Singaporeans) and a Jobs Credit wage subsidy scheme for grandparents and maybe even great-grandparents?

6 More babies: What will get our young to marry and have children? Any creative ideas on procreation, Mr Goh asks parents and the young.

7 Ageing: Today, 9 per cent of our population are over 65 years of age. By 2030, it will more than double to 20 per cent.

How do we support so many senior citizens, he asks the chairman of the Ministerial Committee on Ageing.

How will we look after our parents and grandparents? Will you build more community hospitals, nursing and old folk's homes, and keep them affordable?

8 Scarce land: In the last 50 years, land area has been expanded by more than 20 per cent, through reclamation.

How much more land can Singapore reclaim over the next 50 years, he asks the Minister for National Development.

As the population and the economy grow, how will Singapore deal with the potential over-crowding problem?

9 Education: Bright students will be sought after internationally, chipping away at Singapore's talent pyramid at the top. Mr Goh considers this one of the most serious threats to Singapore's long-term survival and says it has to be solved now.

His questions for the Prime Minister, Education Minister, schools and families: How do we bond students going abroad to Singapore, physically if possible, and if not, at least emotionally? How do we ensure most will return home and contribute to Singapore? How do we ensure there will always be a core of honest, able and dedicated Singaporeans to look after the country and their fellow men?

10 Religious harmony: For four decades, Singapore has enjoyed racial and religious harmony. How do the people of Singapore ensure that Singaporeans of different faiths will continue to mix with one another and respect one another's faith?

In subsequent posts, I will share some thoughts on some of the 10 questions above.