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Minister: Govt doesn't spoil S'poreans
By Lediati Tan
May 31, 2009
--TNP ILLUSTRATION: KELVIN CHAN
NO, SINGAPOREANS are not spoilt rotten by the Government.
Mr Lim Swee Say set the record straight in Parliament yesterday that 'there is never enough no matter how much we (the Government) do' to help Singaporeans during recession.
He said this in response to MP Sam Tan's comments, reported in The New Paper on Tuesday, that the Government may be overly protective of Singaporeans.
And this may lead Singaporeans to develop a false sense of security even in the worst recession in the country's history.
Meeting dreams, easing fear
Recognising that every Singaporean has his or her anxiety and aspirations, Mr Lim said that the Government should help as best as it can to overcome those anxieties and meet those aspirations.
'(We) are working very hard to take care of Singaporean workers and we do not believe that we are being overly protective of our workers,' said Mr Lim who is also Minister in the Prime Minister's Office.
While Mr Lim understood Mr Tan's concerns, he disagreed with Mr Tan's use of the analogy of a child riding a bicycle.
A worker, he said, was more like someone who has to ride a motorbike faster and faster down a highway due to global competition.
He said: 'Now, as the worker goes faster and faster on this motorbike on a highway, two things can happen to him.
'One, what if the motorbike is taken away from him and he loses his bike.
'Or second, maybe as he goes faster, he's not skilful enough to control the bike and he loses control of the motorbike.'
Instead of sustaining minor injuries when one falls off a bicycle, the worker who loses his bike or loses control of the bike is likely to suffer serious loss or injury.
'But more importantly, don't forget, this worker is not on his own. Riding on the motorbike, sitting behind him are his wife, his children, his entire family,' he said.
'So when a worker loses his job, what happens to the entire family? It's something that we should not take lightly.'
Optimism amid recession
Mr Lim went on to assure Singaporean workers that the tripartite partners - comprising the Government, union and employers - will continue to do their best to help workers save jobs and to retrain and upgrade their skills to contain retrenchment.
Mr Lim was also unfazed by Mr Tan's observation that there was a lack of a sense of recession among Singaporeans.
He argued that such optimism was possible because of the strength of tripartism.
'It's the outcome for the strength of tripartism in cutting costs, saving jobs, helping workers to gain re-employment rather than a weakness of the Singapore system,' he said.
He also urged Singaporeans to support and help each other, regardless of individual differences, through the current recession.
'At the end of the day, we must stand in unity, stand in pride together as we go through this downturn so that we can continue to strengthen the social capital of Singapore,' he said.
Minister: Govt doesn't spoil S'poreans
By Lediati Tan
May 31, 2009
--TNP ILLUSTRATION: KELVIN CHAN
NO, SINGAPOREANS are not spoilt rotten by the Government.
Mr Lim Swee Say set the record straight in Parliament yesterday that 'there is never enough no matter how much we (the Government) do' to help Singaporeans during recession.
He said this in response to MP Sam Tan's comments, reported in The New Paper on Tuesday, that the Government may be overly protective of Singaporeans.
And this may lead Singaporeans to develop a false sense of security even in the worst recession in the country's history.
Meeting dreams, easing fear
Recognising that every Singaporean has his or her anxiety and aspirations, Mr Lim said that the Government should help as best as it can to overcome those anxieties and meet those aspirations.
'(We) are working very hard to take care of Singaporean workers and we do not believe that we are being overly protective of our workers,' said Mr Lim who is also Minister in the Prime Minister's Office.
While Mr Lim understood Mr Tan's concerns, he disagreed with Mr Tan's use of the analogy of a child riding a bicycle.
A worker, he said, was more like someone who has to ride a motorbike faster and faster down a highway due to global competition.
He said: 'Now, as the worker goes faster and faster on this motorbike on a highway, two things can happen to him.
'One, what if the motorbike is taken away from him and he loses his bike.
'Or second, maybe as he goes faster, he's not skilful enough to control the bike and he loses control of the motorbike.'
Instead of sustaining minor injuries when one falls off a bicycle, the worker who loses his bike or loses control of the bike is likely to suffer serious loss or injury.
'But more importantly, don't forget, this worker is not on his own. Riding on the motorbike, sitting behind him are his wife, his children, his entire family,' he said.
'So when a worker loses his job, what happens to the entire family? It's something that we should not take lightly.'
Optimism amid recession
Mr Lim went on to assure Singaporean workers that the tripartite partners - comprising the Government, union and employers - will continue to do their best to help workers save jobs and to retrain and upgrade their skills to contain retrenchment.
Mr Lim was also unfazed by Mr Tan's observation that there was a lack of a sense of recession among Singaporeans.
He argued that such optimism was possible because of the strength of tripartism.
'It's the outcome for the strength of tripartism in cutting costs, saving jobs, helping workers to gain re-employment rather than a weakness of the Singapore system,' he said.
He also urged Singaporeans to support and help each other, regardless of individual differences, through the current recession.
'At the end of the day, we must stand in unity, stand in pride together as we go through this downturn so that we can continue to strengthen the social capital of Singapore,' he said.
