Chee Soon Juan: You cannot solve the anxieties of younger Singaporeans simply by giving them more money

SINGAPORE: While in many parts of the world, and indeed, with many in Singapore, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong’s National Day Rally speech this year won cheers and applause, it certainly did not win over the opposition politician Chee Soon Juan.

“If there’s a Nobel Prize for tone-deaf speeches, Mr Lawrence Wong’s National Day Rally would win it hands down,” Dr Chee said in a recent video posted on social media.

While acknowledging that Singapore will be giving S$70,000 to each child in direct financial assistance is “good,” given the high cost of raising a child in the city-state, he said that “the real question” that needs to be asked is this: Can we solve every long-term problem simply by throwing money at it?

For Dr Chee, who heads the Singapore Democratic Party, what is more relevant is “the kind of Singapore” that future generations will grow up in.

He brought up the issue of Maju Forest, hectares of which have been slated for housing development. Aside from being a mature ecosystem, it’s also a “space to breathe” within a highly urbanised society, he pointed out, which is why thousands in Singapore have signed a petition to halt plans for its development.

While it may be an important issue for Singaporeans, Dr Chee wondered why PM Wong did not even mention it in his speech.

He also pointed out that Singapore is currently the third most densely populated country in the world, and expressed worries about plans to add more to the population.

Acknowledging that there is a need to develop housing, the SDP chief asked if development is being carried out “intelligently and sustainably.”

“When a mature forest is cleared, you cannot simply plant a few saplings, call it a micro forest, claim that it will lower temperatures and then say, ‘There, problem solved,” he added.

His second concern involves mental health, saying that the lack of green spaces may lead to poor psychological well-being.

Mental health, he added, cannot just be about counselling services or medical treatment, but an environment where people can thrive psychologically, not a “mental cesspit.”

Instead of using money to solve problems, Dr Chee seemed to suggest appealing to people’s better angels, their reason and education.

“You cannot pay someone $70,000 to compensate for the loss of a forest. And you most certainly cannot solve the anxieties of younger Singaporeans simply by giving them more money if they are worried about the kind of society their children will inherit,” he said, appealing to PM Wong to listen “to the people.”

The debate over Maju Forest, he concluded, is not just about land but about the future of Singapore as a people and added a warning that in becoming richer, Singapore should not destroy the things that “make life worth living”. /TISG

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