The Caring of One and the Callousness of the Other

CPF.  The Central Provident Fund may be providing well for the big guns in Temasek or GIC. For its poor mandatory members, I'm not too sure.

I have always felt that PAP was and still is wrong in messing with our hard earned money. I did not know that Dr Toh Chin Chye felt the same way too. Not until I read this [Link] and this [Link].  Through Dr Toh Chin Chye's speech in Parliament in 1983 and 1984, it is heartening to note that he cared enough to speak up. He proved his mettle by abstaining from voting for the motion. For that he deserves our respect!

It's so often said that Singaporeans are apathetic. To be indifferent is fine but to be ignorant of the fact that Medisave is our hard earned money taken from our income through our hard work by CPF is detrimental to our well-being. It is equivalent to be tricked lock, stock and barrel. Could it be the reason why we are called 'daft' by our ex-MM/SM/PM Lee Kuan Yew? I'm amazed by uncles and aunties I meet in hospital and polyclinic who think that Medisave does not belong to them. The sense of "bochap' (in Hokkien = "don't care") and 'bopiancity" (in Hokkien = 'helplessness') in what the PAP through CPF can inflict upon them is scary. The wiser ones say, "Bo pian lah, Wah eh lui pian CPF eh lui, pian chenghu eh lui. Lan lan lor!" = "Can't be helped. My money becomes CPF money, becomes government money. Prick prick lor!" I think the last 3 words mean "Suck thumb. There's nothing I can do about it".

CPF was supposed to hold on to our savings till we reached 55. However, according to Ng Eng Hen, CPF Board deserved the right to delay returning our savings because of the tendency of 55-year-old-male-Singaporeans 'having a fling here and a fling there" [Link].

And if that's not enough, they have the temerity to charge you an administrative or processing fee when you wish to use your Medisave to pay for your medical bills [Link]. I can understand that most Singaporeans (and their close relatives) who are not sick will not be affected by such daylight robbery. However, many will think that inflicting more financial pain to the sick is loathsome.

According to PM Lee, it is it is better to be poor in Singapore than anywhere else in the whole wide world! [Link]  Such elitist callousness can only come from the highest paid politician in the whole wide world!

Rich or poor, elitist or otherwise, we live, we do and ultimately we die.

Some do with honesty
Some do with simplicity
Some do with pride
Some do with spur on their hide

Some do with caring humility
Some do with hubristic audacity
Some for goodness sake
Should stop their fookin' fake

feedmetothefish