SPEECHBY DR WONG KWEI CHEONG,
MINISTEROF STATEFOR
LABOUR,AT THE SENIORCITIZENS' GATHERING
ORGANISED
BY
THE CAIRNHILLRESIDENTS'COMMITTEE
AT BLOCK 9(VOID DECK)
GLOUCESTER
ROADON SUNDAY, 14FEBRUARY
1982 AT 7.15 PM
The ethos of Singapore are constantly being moulded by the rapid
economic and social changes. If we are not careful, we might lose
our cultural heritage.
Importance Of The Family
The family institution
is the basis of our social system. It
helps in the preservation of values and culture.
The traditional
Asian family concept is an extended family concept. Nowadayswe
call it the three-generation family. For this kind of family structure
to live on, our younger generation must have the responsibility
of
of old folk
homes
looking after their parents. The availability
should not lead us to making our parents or grandparents liabilities
of the state.
In our strive for technological prograss, we must not overlook
the fact that the foundation of any society is its people. It follows
that the future of a society rests with its younger generation. But
how the next generation shapes up depends on the guidance of the older
of
generation. Therefore, the family has the social responsibility
nurturing the next generation. The well-being of a state is, therefore,
in some ways dependent on the family,
Filial
Piety
What bound the traditional
Chinese family together was the virtue
piety).
Ancient China was rich in sayings on 38 (filial
of filial
piety.
And these maxims had been the guiding principles of the Chinese society.
Let me ....
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Most of US take filial
Let me tell you a little
story on +.
piety to mean respecting and caring for our parents, especially by
the sons. However, this quality of love was exemplified in another
way by a filial
daughter-in-law in olden China, She had just given
birth to a boy. But it happened that her aged mother-in-law was very
ill and could not consume any solid food except milk. Being poor,
they could not afford to buy milk. Moved by the sufferings of her
mother-in-law, this daughter-in-law fed the old lady first before
feeding her son. This womanhad observed the precept of filial
It is also a belief among Chinese that your children will be
piety
filial
to you only when you have been filial
to your parents.
l
I am sure most of you are familiar with the Chinese legendary
figure of 21 ‘2 (Bao Gong). Ho is the black face, itinerant judge.
In his ceaseless quest for justice, he decapitated several law breakers
which included breakers of moral laws. Justice Bao also strongly
advocated filial
piety and there are stories that those who trangressed
this moral law were punished.
Hopefully, the message of filial
piety could be instilled
into
our people without the need of a twentieth century Justice Bao. The
value of such virtures to our social system has to be grasped by our
people.
l
In
implying
Indians,
respect
quoting these stories which originated in China, I am not
that only the Chinese have moral laws worth following.
The
Malays and other races also have their code of conduct on
and love for the old.
Roles of Senior Citizens
Curs is a developing nation. We are striving towards greater
and energetic
heights of achievements. We need young, intelligent
people. It is
therefore not shocking that the premium on being young
is high. But this brings a host of setbacks for the older generation.
The fact that they need care may be easily overlooked. And they may
be viewed by the younger generation as being redundant and a hindrance.
However, this is a case of principles and values. It is a matter of how
we view .... ...3/-
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we view things. The older generation in an indirect way can
With our tight labour market, it would
contribute to productivity.
be good if more females could work. Fifty per cent of females who
are 15 years and above are employed. This is a positive indication.
However, the female participation
rate in the labour market drops
sharply from 60 per cent for the 25-29 age group to 45 per cent
for the 30-34 age group. The reason which we could deduce is that
Singapore womenchoose to stay home after marriage or childbirth.
In the majority of the cases, it could be that it is more economical
for mothers to look after their children then engage servants while
they work. This is where the older folk can help by taking care of
their grand-children, while their daughters-in-law go to work. This
will certainly help to increase the female participation
rate for
the 30-34 age group.
Besides this, it would be healthy if our senior citizens could
be encouraged to be more active in community activities.
They could
help in the organisation of various activities
at their community
In
this
way
the
community
spirit
could
also be fostered.
centres.
Conclusion
I am certain that we do not want our society to consist of
ruthless, uncaring youths. We have to constantly take stock of
our values as we forge ahead with our development programmes. We
do not want our nation to be nebulous in its values and vague in
its identity.
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