Is Singapore rich?

By definition from the site Investopedia, "Minimum Wage is the minimum amount of compensation an employee must receive for performing labor. Minimum wages are typically established by contract or legislation by the government. As such, it is illegal to pay an employee less than the minimum wage."

Does Singapore have a minimum wage?
The answer to that, is no. To this you may ask, why not? Why is establishing a minimum wage so important?

For many countries, the minimum wage often  establishes whether you are living in poverty or whether you are living a good normal average life. The de facto minimum wage for Singapore can be taken as that of cleaners and security guards at $1,000. Which is the LOWEST minimum wage amongst all developed countries as of late.

Even more appalling is the fact that in Singapore, a poverty line is not established. A Poverty Line as defined by Merriam-Webster online dictionary, "a level of personal or family income below which one is classified as poor according to governmental standards —called also poverty level". The estimated amount of Singaporeans that are living in poverty is 30%.

So, are Singaporeans rich? Is Singapore rich? Even as Singapore is now ranked the most expensive city in the world by The Economist, we are also the country in which the gap between the rich and the poor is the largest. Meaning the rich are very rich and the poor are very poor.

How is it that we fail to see the many people living a hard life? How is it possible that we fail to extend our help to make the lives of these people better? Why is the government so focused on increasing our economic value that they are living the poor straggling behind?

Worst still, why are we Singaporeans not protesting against this? Dont you think that a minimum wage should at least be established ? Shouldn't cleaners for all that they do for us, dealing with our shit (quite literally), get paid more?

I feel that this is quite saddening. We fail to see the things that truly matter and instead focus on trivial and superficial matters like mrt trains disruption. Why havent we woken up yet ?

References:
http://thehearttruths.com/2014/11/05/this-is-what-is-wrong-in-singapore-now-are-you-willing-to-see-it/
http://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/minimum_wage.asp
http://i.word.com/idictionary/poverty%20line

Singapore an Age-Friendly society?

AGE FRIENDLY IN SINGAPORE:

"Outdoor spaces and buildings" in Singapore are highly developed and very age-friendly such as can be seen in the picture above. All elderly citizens that have the elderly ez-link card or concession pass, can tap the card onto the reader to prolong the time they have to cross the road. This is a very helpful invention as some drivers could become impatient with elderly pedestrians and refuse to wait for the light to change before driving.

Community Centre's are age friendly. this is because in accordance with 

"Respect and social inclusion" , one of the 8 interconnected domains of social life. In community centres, there are a wide-range of activities available for the elderly to participate in. At community centres, they also come into contact with the younger generation of volunteers thus creating a socially-inclusive community.

"Community and health care" is a well-established area in Singapore. In all HDB estates, without fail there will be more than one medical clinic, dental clinic and pharmacy. This shows that in Singapore , the needs of all elderly are being well taken care off.

NON-AGE FRIENDLY IN SINGAPORE:

As seen above is a ramp for wheel-chair bound individuals and elderly offered by buses.Although a very good effort to create a more age-friendly society in accordance to "Transportation" ,one of the 8 interconnected domains of social life, it is however not implemented in every bus and only certain buses are wheelchair friendly. This is something that should be change in order to cater to the needs of the elderly in Singapore.

In Singapore, the interconnected domain of social life with regards to "Civic participation and employment" for the elderly is lacking. This is because they are seen as not as educated and incapable of handling the job of an average working adult and hence are given odd jobs or unfavorable jobs such as that of cleaners or dishwashers. They may also be working under unfair working conditions such a low-pay, unhygienic working conditions and hard labor which is detrimental to their health.

"Social participation" as one of the above mentioned 8 interconnected domains of social life

is not very well integrated here in Singapore. There is a stark difference to what is a social 

activity for the young and what is a social activity for the old. Very rarely are

there opportunities for both the elderly and the younger generations to enjoy a social 

activity together. Hence, i feel that Singapore has still a long way to go to establish an age-

friendly society with regards to social participation among all age groups.

Done in reference to the following article: http://agefriendlyworld.org/en/age-friendly-in-practice/

Signing off,

Abigail

Curry Puffs and a Jail term

I believe that Ms Robiah Lia Caniago deserves the punishment that she is getting. This is because, although she may be short on cash to feed her family, the way she is trying to earn money is illegal and should be condone. She could have opt to instead receive help from the government but because of her self-professed "proud Batak woman" pride she did not do so. Hence I feel that because of this she has indirectly brought onto herself this tragic situation. 

Ms Robiah Lia Caniago could opt to apply for the ComCare Short-to-Medium Term Assistance Scheme and the ComCare Urgent Financial Assistance Scheme which can help her in terms of monetary benefits and also employment and/or job-training. She can also approach any Family Service Centres for help and she will be attended to. There are many schemes in Singapore that she can apply seeing that her husband is Singaporean, if she would put aside her pride, she would not be in such a sorry state.

Reading this story, I have come to realise that migrant workers and foreigners alike have such great pride in their country and nation. This is far different from A Singaporean's non-existent pride. I understand why Ms Robiah does not want to ask for help from the government because i myself would not be able to put aside my pride as a Malaysian and ask for help from a government that is not my own. However, i feel that she is being very selfish for not seeking for other ways to get help. This is because she has to think of a children. As a mother her first priority should be to take care of her children and that means ensuring that they are well-fed, educated and well-groomed. If she cares more about her pride instead, she is compromising the well-being of her children and i believed that that is wrong. I also think however that it was honourable of her to receive her punishment without complaint as this shows that she knows that she has done something illegal and is not fighting for a way to get out of it but instead facing the music. 

While researching on ways that Ms Robiah can get help, i have noticed that there are not enough policies and assistance i place to aid the families of offenders whereby they are the sole breadwinners if they are foreigners. This shows that the Singapore government has failed to address the needs of all the people who live here despite the fact that these foreigners contribute greatly to the income of Singapore as a whole.

What can we do now that we know this?

Signing off,

Abigail Fernandez

Two Generations of Youth Guidance Officers and my great plans!

"He may not live in the same house now as his parents, but they work in the same type of homes - juvenile homes, that is." This title really spurred me on to read about the article of two generations of the How family working as youth guidance officers.

Are we really doing enough to care about youth-at-risk in Singapore today? We hear of many inspirational stories of juvenile/troubled young men and women turning over a new leaf and making it big, daily. But are we aware of how many of these troubled kids do not go down the same path? And instead tread down the path of criminal records, drink driving, unemployment, underage smoking and more? I don't think so. 

Reading of the Hows passion to make these troubled/juvenile delinquent males and females become better individuals, stirs a very strong sense of pride in me as well as shame. Sense of pride because someone has made it their job to care for these youth like me who although have done wrong, are still vulnerable and need all the support and guidance they can get from the people around them before society forces them back into a social stigma they cannot escape from. and shamed because i have never realized how fortunate i am that my parents do not neglect or abuse. For if i had been put under the Beyond Parental Control Order or the Care and Protection Order, i would sure be too devastated and depressed to try to become a better person. 

In the article Mr Ken How- "We are firm, but we are showing concern in a firm way," he said.

"The army teaches you to be firm and fair, so that's also helped me in my work."

This statement tells me that people no matter from what line of work have it in them to care and give back to the community whether in big or small ways. Which was something i also learned from a talk by BZSE seniors. As graduates and current students of the BZSE Diploma, we shouldn't be reined in by the thought that with this diploma we can only start up a Social Enterprise (SE) or be involved in social work. There are so many more greater ways to make use of the knowledge we have learnt or will learn that we can apply for any job. If we wanted to, we can even start up a social enterprise that specifically hires NS-men and give army officers/ civil servants special privileges.

This is how much one little change in society can create bigger and better changes in our society. As BZSE students, what can we do?

From now on, i will make it a point to at least donate $10 each month to needy people selling tissue paper on the streets or students asking for flag day donations.

Reference:

He's at Home with at-risk youth (2014) Retrieved May 30, 2015, from http://news.asiaone.com/news/singapore/hes-home-risk-youth?page=0%2C1