Letter to the Editor | When should politicians and even cabbies realise it’s time to call it quits

Dear Editor,

I read the irrelevant comparisons and comments regarding The Independent Singapore’s Opinion piece: Whether you’re Joe Biden, 81, or a cabby, 73, know when to call it a day (July 7).

The article highlighted a common issue — when should individuals choose to retire regardless of their profession? Of course, everyone hopes to retire as early as possible and live happily with their family.

As all know, for an individual to retire reasonably well in this society with the high cost of living, he/she must have enough savings to ensure his/her retirement life will not encounter any financial difficulties/hardship.

This clearly explains the importance of saving in life. However, someone’s ability to save is tied to his/her ability to earn. Any politician’s monthly income is way higher than any cabby. A politician’s savings is many times more than a cabby.

As for the influence or impact of a political figure, such as the president of a hegemonic country, any political decision he makes will affect his country and the world in many ways.

Anyway, if a top politician’s physical and mental health is deteriorating conditions, it will affect his ability to govern his country in the future. Hence, the best choice is for him to step down.

For example, in the latest television debate of the US election, Biden’s hoarse voice and confusing answers made some Democratic supporters increasingly worried about Biden’s physical condition because his performance in this debate was unstable.

As a result, some Democrats “panicked” and called for a candidate change.

Conversely, if an elderly cabby’s medical and mental health is declining, he will not pass his annual medical examination, and his vocational licence will not be allowed for renewal.

For those physically and mentally healthy elderly cabbies, the worst possible scenarios are slow but safe and orderly driving. In regard to cabbies’ sudden death scenarios/situations, such as heart attacks or neurological issues, are rare in Singapore.

Despite all this, they are keeping themselves physically and mentally occupied and making a decent living by supporting themselves in this high-cost-of-living cosmopolitan city.

Teo Kueh Liang

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of The Independent Singapore

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