SINGAPORE: As he often does after house visits, Workers’ Party Member of Parliament (WP MP) Jamus Lim (Sengkang) offered a commentary about particular conversations with older Singaporeans that stood out to him in a Facebook post on Wednesday (Oct 1).
He wrote that most recently, he and the WP team on the ground at Anchorvale have been talking with residents at Block 351D and the coffee shops at blocks 303 and 308.
“Our chats were rich and varied, but two contrasting interactions left a more lasting impression,” he wrote.
The first was with a woman in her 70s, who expressed that she is pretty satisfied with where she is in life and told stories about how far Singapore has “come as a nation, from very humble beginnings.”
Assoc Prof Lim added that “Her one issue was that she felt that their home—which they had downgraded to—was too small.”
The second conversation was with a pair of residents in their late 60s or 70s. When the MP asked them if they have anything fun planned for the weekend, they told him “that it was hard to take time off, as they had to work. Otherwise, by their telling, it is impossible to survive in modern Singapore, given the costs of living.”
Acknowledging that having people with contrasting experiences happens in every society, what struck him was the ages of the people in these two encounters, since they are “fairly elderly folk.”
Assoc Prof Lim wrote that in many countries, advanced or otherwise, people at that age are already in their retirement years and are pursuing leisurely activities such as gardening or travel.
“This happens here, too, but I’ve met way too many residents who also feel compelled to work, because they would otherwise be unable to make ends meet,” he added, expressing the fear that there would be more and more people like the pair he spoke to whom financial circumstances force to remain working, even when they’re already supposed to have retired already.
The MP added that there is nothing wrong with working at advanced ages, especially for those in white-collar jobs and for those who choose to do so. He himself hopes to work even at that age, as he loves his job, but added that continuing to work during one’s older years “under compunction is something else altogether.”
Singapore, therefore, can do more for the elderly.
“I believe that a small, wealthy country can, and should, fully take care of those who have already contributed their lot in life,” he added. /TISG
Read also: As 15th Parliament begins, Jamus Lim pays tribute to his wife
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