I'll comment about it below.
SINGAPORE - Veteran diplomat Tommy Koh laments that Singapore is a First World country with Third World people. Many Singaporeans lack the civic-mindedness that citizens of an advanced country should have, he said on Tuesday (Oct 1).
"I am more critical of Singaporeans than of the Government. Many of our people don't give a damn for the environment when they should. Many of our people are selfish and unkind. Just look at the way they drive," Prof Koh said, drawing laughter from his audience.
He was speaking at the Singapore Bicentennial Conference, organised by the Institute of Policy Studies. It was held at Raffles City Convention Centre and ended on Tuesday.
During the dialogue, which was moderated by Straits Times editor and editor-in-chief of Singapore Press Holdings English/Malay/Tamil Media Group Warren Fernandez, Prof Koh and Bloomberg News editor-in-chief John Micklethwait both highlighted areas in which Singapore society can improve.
Mr Micklethwait pointed out that meritocracy has created its own problems, both in Singapore and other cosmopolitan capital cities. In such cities, the result is "a tribe of people who are working insanely hard to keep pushing ahead", often pumping money and resources into their children.
"That is a very good thing for your children, but it means society gets a bit harder for others to catch up, and that is one of the dilemmas of a modern country," he said.
He recounted how a friend had attended a dinner at which none of the guests, including Singaporeans, could understand why people in the United Kingdom had voted for Brexit.
"Nobody could understand why anybody had voted for Donald Trump. Nobody could understand why the protesters in Hong Kong had anything to protest about at all," he said.
The troubling conclusion that his friend came to was that the dinner guests - even though they came from different parts of the world - had far more in common with each other than others living a block away from them.
"He worried that his children only ran into poor people when they were delivering their Internet shopping," he said, adding that societies must find a solution to be more inclusive.
Prof Koh called for Singapore to set a poverty line and raise the wages of workers, noting that there is often a vast pay gap between a company's top executives and its rank and file employees.
Responding to a question on whether there is an alternative to capitalism, he said the right question to ask is what kind of capitalism Singapore wants.
Moral capitalism is where companies consider themselves accountable to not only shareholders but to the wider society, where they care for the environment and take good care of employees, and champion gender equality and diversity, he said.
He added that he had many ideas for Singaporeans, which he will write about in his next few columns for ST.
"I love Singapore. I would die for Singapore. But are we a perfect people? We are not," said Prof Koh, who turns 82 next month.
"But I believe that we can always be better and in the remaining years of my life, I want to dedicate my time, energy to making Singapore an even better place, and Singaporeans an even better people," he added.
I kinda understood what he was saying...
The thing is... Singaporeans somehow feel that they are struggling. Still trying to make ends meet. It's always about progress, more, success, more money, being busy...
Singaporeans have some of the highest incomes in the world. Even more than many European countries.
https://www.worlddata.info/average-income.php
Look at this... SG has a higher income compared to France, Germany, Canada, Japan, etc.
But somehow, the feeling I get is that... Singaporeans are somehow still struggling.
Not enough time, not enough money. I have no idea why.
No time for anything else. No time to think about other things.
The point is... we aren't struggling. But somehow we feel like we are... Ever wonder why?
Well... when Tommy Koh said this...
I am more critical of Singaporeans than of the Government.
I absolutely don't agree with this...
Cos... for me, what I see is... this is the tone from the top.
If the Government makes people constantly feel poor, makes them think that there is not enough, makes people feel insecure.
Then it is all too natural that the citizens will end up believing that they are struggling.
When Government officials normalize being rich, ie, makes it seem that being rich is normal...
Then wouldn't normal people feel that they are not normal? Since normal people aren't rich?
When a famous person once said that S$600,000 annual salary is peanuts... it's really telling of the mentality of the elite.
The tone from the top, ie the Government, is always about money. That's their solution for everything.
When another famous person suggested that for new residents to Singapore, they may pay a tax in lieu of serving national service... it's telling of what they view national service vs money.
When the economy grows... prices increase... inflation... well, the money collected via GST naturally increases. It's a percentage... that's how percentages work. When people have higher salaries. Income taxes naturally increases... Similarly... it's a percentage. That's how percentages work.
So why is there regular talk about increasing GST?
Why does the Government require new sources of income when the taxes rise naturally when the economy grows? Maybe I'm missing something...
(Side note: For annual price increases for public transport, buses, MRTs, I fully understand. Staff wants their increment, materials are more expensive due to inflation, etc... so the cost of running the transport systems will naturally increase. So LTA will need to approve the increase in transport fares.)
For taxes... Personally, I don't get it. Cos it's a percentage of spending or income.
So anyway... when the Government also gives the impression that money no enough... I think it's pretty natural for the citizens to get that same feeling.
So... I don't blame the citizens for being so called "Third World Citizens" as alluded by Tommy Koh.
I blame the Government.
If the Government runs campaigns about reduce wastage, or environmental programs, people will learn more about such issues and have a higher chance of making some action towards it.
If the Government stops talking about money as the "be all end all" solution to everything, then maybe citizens will stop thinking about money so much and stop thinking that they are struggling.
If the Government has a more comprehensive social security network, and run campaigns, maybe citizens will be more interested to help the less fortunate.
It's like a parent who keeps telling their child... they aren't good enough. And the child believes that they themselves aren't good enough cos the parent keeps repeating it.
But maybe... the child is already very good at whatever already...
True or false, I don't know... But personally, this is the impression that I'm getting.
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