ARE SGporeans pathetic- .. to settle for so little? .....
Why pay PAP heavenly salaries so we can live as 2nd world citizens?
MM Lee: “so that they can live nearly as well as in a First World country. “ - (para 5)
And he tells: ‘The young will re-order their priorities’ (??Prepare to live 2nd world lives??)
1. Singapore Prime Minister's Basic Salary US$1,100,000 (SGD1,958,000) a
year -- SG Minister's Basic: US$655,530 to US$819,124 (SGD1,166,844 to SGD1,458,040) a
year - Source: Asian Wall Street Journal July 10 2000 -- http://groups.google.com.sg/group/soc.culture.malaysia/msg/8c92de9c209c9a7e?&hl=en
I’m not sure about PM $1.5M/yr pension…- -‘A Minister's Pay - an estimate’-- http://groups.google.com.sg/group/soc.culture.singapore/msg/7151c65dc0ebd239?&hl=en
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The young will re-order their priorities: MM
ST 20 Apr 2006.
He gave this response when asked about his forum with 10 young people last week. In a reply to The Straits Times, he said he is not surprised by the widely different reactions to the televised dialogue, but he does not believe the views of the young participants are representative.
1. [What did you think could be achieved by having this I change with young Singaporeans? Did the forum achieve what you wanted it to? ]
I talk to university students now and again to know the thinking of our educated young. I met the young journalists to get a sense of their attitudes to elections and politics. They gave me this but they were over-emphatic putting across their views. Perhaps they were conscious that their peers and readers would be watching them and they wanted to emulate tough interviewers like Tim Russert on CNBC's Meet The Press, Tim Sebastian on BBCÂ’s HARDtalk or Wolf Blitzer CNN's Late Edition.
2. [.. What is your view of the issues raised by the 10 young Singaporeans during the forum and the way they chose to put these questions to you? ]
They knew that they were '- free to raise any subject they wanted. And they were at li1berty to pitch them in the tone they chose. I am used to all manner of interviewers and I respond appropriately.
3. [The public reactions to the forum seem to be divided along age lines. In general, older Singaporeans were of the view that s. the young people were disrespectful towards you, while younger Singaporeans tended to be critical of the way you responded to the questions posed. How do you view these responses? What do you think accounts for the divide? ]
It's not surprising that there should be this difference in viewer reactions. But I would be chary of believing that most young people share the pre-occupations of these young journalists.
4. [Do you think the 10 young Singaporeans on the program are representative of the younger generation? If not, why not? ]
Over 70 per cent of the under 30s are non-graduates. They are more concerned about their job prospects, their, chances of training for high level positions, when they can afford to buy their first home to settle down and earn the wherewithal for a happy family and satisfying life.
5. [Regardless of whether their views represent those of the majority of young people here, they show that there is a group out there that is critical of certain aspects of the PAP Government's rule. What would you consider the best way to persuade them?]
For the time being, they do not want to be persuaded. I sought to explain to the wider audience why the PAP acts in the way it does, that we do so not to enrich ourselves or perpetuate the PAP, but to ensure that there is and will be an honest and capable government to protect and advance the interests of the people.
That whether it is GRCs or race quotas for HDB precincts, the elected presidency, upgrading of HDB lifts and homes, it is the duty of Government to organise Singapore and Singaporeans so that in spite of our small size and negligible natural resources, we can provide the security and stability necessary for economic activity to flourish, and to create better- paying jobs for an increasingly well-educated people so that they can live nearly as well as in a First World country.
6. [During the Young PAP 20th anniversary celebrations last Saturday, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan said the forum indicated a gulf between what young people think they want and what the PAP has provided. Do you agree? How can this gulf be bridged? ]
They represent only a portion of the graduates, some 30 percent of the below 30 age group. It is the result of foreign travel and study, and the daily exposure of American and British TV.
As Vivian gets more experienced, he and his generation- will find some way to lessen the chasm with this segmen1 of the radical English-educated young, of which Vivian was one. When I e-mailed Vivian how he saw the issue, he replied: "It is preferable for them to feel passionately about their society rather than to be alienated and cynical. Consequently, we must continue to engage them, give them a say and a stake in the future, even as their perspectives are tempered by experience."
It is not possible to make them like their parents. When they grow older and assume responsibility for their families, their world view will be different. I saw it with the anti- Vietnam War generation, rebellious protesters who became hippies, flower people with long hair, smoking pot, free love and no responsibilities. When they grew older, they corrected themselves.
It is like Joshka Fisher, the former German foreign minister who was an anti-nuclear protester and a greeny but later became a member of the German establishment in Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's government. When they grow older and have to leave the comfort of their parents' homes and fend for themselves, they will reorder their priorities.
It happens with every generation. They will realise that a large majority of Singaporeans are steeped in their respective Asian cultures whose core values will not be easily displaced. .