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The Straits Times FORUM:
July 31, 2009
A CANADIAN WRITES
Be grateful, S'pore
I AM writing to share many things Singaporeans take for granted.
Thanks to years of budget surpluses, when the global financial collapse hit, Singapore was able to use more money as a percentage of gross domestic product than any other country, rich or poor. Now, with its economy rebounding at a 20 per cent rate this last quarter, Singapore has recovered from the collapse faster than any other country. This is something only Singapore, with its deep pockets and years of good economic management, could pull off.
My home city, Toronto in Canada, has its rubbish collected only once a week, yet it is considered one of North America's cleaner cities. It is in the 36th day of a rubbish collectors' strike, with rubbish and foul odours on its streets and an increasingly serious problem with rats and insects. Some people even store rubbish in their refrigerators.
In Singapore, our rubbish is collected every day, no questions asked. For a $40 conservancy fee, we get a clean-up that would cost hundreds of dollars a month in the United States or Canada.
Most buildings in the US and Canada have no sheltered walkways to protect residents from rain or snow, unlike most HDB blocks. This is so even though there are Americans and Canadians who freeze to death outside in the cold every year.
Most North American cities I have lived in are cutting bus and train services just to balance their budgets. Singapore plans to add a new MRT line this year and more lines and stations over the next three years.
If a poor person lives in a building without a lift in the US or Canada, that is his tough luck. In Singapore, the Government is upgrading our four-storey HDB blocks with a new staircase and a wheelchair-friendly lift that stops at every floor.
If a poor person cannot afford to pay his mortgage in the US or Canada, he can be turfed out and left homeless. If an HDB dweller cannot pay his mortgage after he loses his job, he can seek a moratorium on payments from his community development council. This mercy, to the best of my knowledge, has no equal anywhere else in the world.
After living and working in six countries, I have known for a long time that no country takes care of its people the way Singapore does.
Eric J. Brooks
Be thankful to Canada, Mr Brooks
Thursday, 6 August 2009
The following is a letter by Mr Cheong Wing Lee, a Canadian, in response to Mr Eric Brooks's letter
in the Straits Times titled, "Be grateful, Singapore".
Dear Editor,
As a fellow Canadian I am embarrassed by Mr Eric Brooks' remarks to Singaporeans. Mr. Brooks is a visitor with a superficial knowledge of Singapore history. He should refrain from making such ridiculous sweeping
statements.
I was born shortly after the Second World War and raised in Singapore before immigrating to Canada. I have worked and lived in more countries than Mr Brooks. There is no doubt that most Singaporeans deeply
appreciate the outstanding work done by the Singapore leaders in bringing the country from third world status to the present world class status. However, gratitude evolves with time and social changes. Singaporeans are now better educated. They travel, see, learn, compare and adapt. Singaporeans are not stupid or naive.
Singaporeans now have a higher level of thinking and are more demanding. This demonstrates progress. Higher aspirations, greater expectations come with evolving progressive social changes. A society that remains complacent and stagnant deteriorates and eventually collapses. No country can excel with a mindless society of puppets. The Singapore government should be grateful that its citizens are matured and not treat anyone with opposing views as public enemy. Most of them are as passionate as the government in making Singapore a better society.
Singaporeans are smart enough to see through spins and propaganda and evaluate the truths for themselves. It is difficult for most Singaporeans to remain silent whilst government leaders lecture them to be thrifty, not to be materialistic and not to demand for higher pay. On the other hand, the leaders reward themselves with pay packages that exceed the leaders' of the eight richest countries in the world combined.
The Singapore ministers� argument that their pay package is only a small fraction of the country's GDP is weak and debatable. The Canadian prime minister draws less than 10 per cent that of the Singapore prime minister's but he governs a country 15,000 times the size of Singapore, with a population that is eight times larger and with a GDP that is ten times more. Vancouver in Canada is constantly voted the best place to live in the world. This example put the Singapore government�s argument out of context.
The government gives S$360 a month as financial support for the poor and needy. If such an amount is computed by the government as enough to survive, why then do they need to pay themselves by millions?
I cordially invite any member of parliament and/or news media reporter to come and stay with me for a period of time and I will show them that it takes only a small tiny fraction of their salaries to live happily and healthily
in a beautiful environment with a good standard of living.
Is it a surprise that Singaporeans are discontented? It is just human nature. Confucius was quoted as telling the emperor on good government:
�How can the emperor be happy when the people have nothing? How can the emperor not be happy when the people have everything?�
Does Mr. Brooks know that 79% of Singapore students after studying overseas do not return to Singapore? Are they not grateful too?
So Mr. Brooks, before you further make a fool of yourself in Singapore, be grateful to Canada and not complain because of a temporary disruption in garbage collection in Toronto. Be thankful of the good healthcare system
and the generous old age pension. If you truly like Singapore you should be a citizen. There are lots of Singaporeans who are willing to trade your citizenship if it is possible.
Yours truly,
Wing Lee Cheong
July 31, 2009
A CANADIAN WRITES
Be grateful, S'pore
I AM writing to share many things Singaporeans take for granted.
Thanks to years of budget surpluses, when the global financial collapse hit, Singapore was able to use more money as a percentage of gross domestic product than any other country, rich or poor. Now, with its economy rebounding at a 20 per cent rate this last quarter, Singapore has recovered from the collapse faster than any other country. This is something only Singapore, with its deep pockets and years of good economic management, could pull off.
My home city, Toronto in Canada, has its rubbish collected only once a week, yet it is considered one of North America's cleaner cities. It is in the 36th day of a rubbish collectors' strike, with rubbish and foul odours on its streets and an increasingly serious problem with rats and insects. Some people even store rubbish in their refrigerators.
In Singapore, our rubbish is collected every day, no questions asked. For a $40 conservancy fee, we get a clean-up that would cost hundreds of dollars a month in the United States or Canada.
Most buildings in the US and Canada have no sheltered walkways to protect residents from rain or snow, unlike most HDB blocks. This is so even though there are Americans and Canadians who freeze to death outside in the cold every year.
Most North American cities I have lived in are cutting bus and train services just to balance their budgets. Singapore plans to add a new MRT line this year and more lines and stations over the next three years.
If a poor person lives in a building without a lift in the US or Canada, that is his tough luck. In Singapore, the Government is upgrading our four-storey HDB blocks with a new staircase and a wheelchair-friendly lift that stops at every floor.
If a poor person cannot afford to pay his mortgage in the US or Canada, he can be turfed out and left homeless. If an HDB dweller cannot pay his mortgage after he loses his job, he can seek a moratorium on payments from his community development council. This mercy, to the best of my knowledge, has no equal anywhere else in the world.
After living and working in six countries, I have known for a long time that no country takes care of its people the way Singapore does.
Eric J. Brooks
Be thankful to Canada, Mr Brooks
Thursday, 6 August 2009
The following is a letter by Mr Cheong Wing Lee, a Canadian, in response to Mr Eric Brooks's letter
in the Straits Times titled, "Be grateful, Singapore".
Dear Editor,
As a fellow Canadian I am embarrassed by Mr Eric Brooks' remarks to Singaporeans. Mr. Brooks is a visitor with a superficial knowledge of Singapore history. He should refrain from making such ridiculous sweeping
statements.
I was born shortly after the Second World War and raised in Singapore before immigrating to Canada. I have worked and lived in more countries than Mr Brooks. There is no doubt that most Singaporeans deeply
appreciate the outstanding work done by the Singapore leaders in bringing the country from third world status to the present world class status. However, gratitude evolves with time and social changes. Singaporeans are now better educated. They travel, see, learn, compare and adapt. Singaporeans are not stupid or naive.
Singaporeans now have a higher level of thinking and are more demanding. This demonstrates progress. Higher aspirations, greater expectations come with evolving progressive social changes. A society that remains complacent and stagnant deteriorates and eventually collapses. No country can excel with a mindless society of puppets. The Singapore government should be grateful that its citizens are matured and not treat anyone with opposing views as public enemy. Most of them are as passionate as the government in making Singapore a better society.
Singaporeans are smart enough to see through spins and propaganda and evaluate the truths for themselves. It is difficult for most Singaporeans to remain silent whilst government leaders lecture them to be thrifty, not to be materialistic and not to demand for higher pay. On the other hand, the leaders reward themselves with pay packages that exceed the leaders' of the eight richest countries in the world combined.
The Singapore ministers� argument that their pay package is only a small fraction of the country's GDP is weak and debatable. The Canadian prime minister draws less than 10 per cent that of the Singapore prime minister's but he governs a country 15,000 times the size of Singapore, with a population that is eight times larger and with a GDP that is ten times more. Vancouver in Canada is constantly voted the best place to live in the world. This example put the Singapore government�s argument out of context.
The government gives S$360 a month as financial support for the poor and needy. If such an amount is computed by the government as enough to survive, why then do they need to pay themselves by millions?
I cordially invite any member of parliament and/or news media reporter to come and stay with me for a period of time and I will show them that it takes only a small tiny fraction of their salaries to live happily and healthily
in a beautiful environment with a good standard of living.
Is it a surprise that Singaporeans are discontented? It is just human nature. Confucius was quoted as telling the emperor on good government:
�How can the emperor be happy when the people have nothing? How can the emperor not be happy when the people have everything?�
Does Mr. Brooks know that 79% of Singapore students after studying overseas do not return to Singapore? Are they not grateful too?
So Mr. Brooks, before you further make a fool of yourself in Singapore, be grateful to Canada and not complain because of a temporary disruption in garbage collection in Toronto. Be thankful of the good healthcare system
and the generous old age pension. If you truly like Singapore you should be a citizen. There are lots of Singaporeans who are willing to trade your citizenship if it is possible.
Yours truly,
Wing Lee Cheong
