45th National Day ; My wishes and concerns

Live our Dreams, Fly our Flag

This year, 2010, marks the 45th year of Independance for Singapore from its neighbour Malaysia. Formerly a part of the Malayan peninsula, Singapore's early history was fraught with tensions due to political, racial and economic reasons. But with the strong leadership of the PAP government and a supportive electorate, it has weathered the many uncertain times over the last 45 years and recently ridden out 3 major crises (1997-99 Asian Financial), 2003 SARS and 2008-ongoing with amazing speed and resoluteness.

As a Singaporean, I am grateful for many things, racial and religious harmony for one. A united people based on a meritocratic society offering each and every able citizen equal oportunities in work, business and play. A fast paced, shopping and food paradise which is the envy of many countries world-wide. Recently, an article which stood out was this, the Macau casino boss Stanley Ho sent his private jet to Singapore to buy durians and gave some to his pal, Li Kar Shing. Even tycoons favour the flavours of the hoi polloi (ordinary people). How fortunate.

My 5 wishes this National Day is this ;

1. let us all move towards being a more gracious and caring society.

2. Lets not judge people in materialistic terms (that is how much people are worth) ; rather how much good a certain person has done on a weekly,monthly and yearly basis. That should be the benchmark rather than where one lives,how much is his net worth and what car he / she drives.

3. let us all be good parents and role models for the next generation, transmitting the best values for them and inculcating in their minds the values of hard work, thrift and compassion for their fellow citizens or new migrants.

4. Lets accept the foreign migrants into our society and teach them our 'Singapore way' of striving for the best with total transparency and accountability of our actions.

5. Lets face our ageing society head on and be prepared to work as long as necessary to enjoy the excellent quality of life which can be offered here provided we have the means.

My 6 worries for this National Day is this :

1. The casinos are likely to undermine our social fabric as they will lead more people downward the debt spiral and hence only reinforce the gambling culture. The 'get rich quick' mentality will only prevail leading to higher expectations of quick returns for less effort. This attitude is quite worrisome.

2. The rising costs of housing,cars and general foodstuff will continue unabated. That means a hyperinflation worry

3. Structural unemployment means that more and more of our PMETs will be facing new challenges in either lowering their job expectations downwards and move to another field but in a lower capacity or moving overseas to continue pursuing their careers in their fields but in foreign country.This is especially true for people who are 40 years of age and above.

4. Housing costs are pushing people out of the inner city, and ordinary Singaporeans are being priced out of the private property market.

5. Global warming, leading to massive weather changes, as a result flooding in Singapore and other parts of Asia, as well. This may be only the start of other natural disasters to come.

6. SARS has hit, a H1N1 virus mutation has happened and our medical defences have been up to the mark, but for how long ?

Happy 45th Birthday Singapore.