MM: My job to look after those who built nation
MM: My job to look after those who built nation
He pays tribute to S'poreans who did the 'hard and dirty work' for country
By Sue-Ann Chia
Apr 23, 2007
The Straits Times
MINISTER Mentor Lee Kuan Yew had this message for Singaporeans who did the hard and dirty work to build the nation: I am here to look after you.
'I do not believe 50 per cent of Singaporeans can emigrate,' he said at the Young People's Action Party dialogue at the St James Power Station nightspot.
'So as a government, and personally for me and my colleagues, my responsibility is to look after those who cannot migrate.'
Paying tribute to them, he said: 'Without them doing the hard and dirty work, I would not have had a decent life, I would not have been a leader, my children would not have been educated.
'You would not have been educated, so I owe them a responsibility, an obligation.
'I've persuaded them to follow me, went into Malaysia, got kicked out from Malaysia, had to make a living for them.
'To make a living for them, I had to make a good living for the people on top by educating them and getting them into the modern economy, and bringing the modern economy to Singapore.'
He was responding to questions from participants about where their future lies, given the growing opportunities in other countries that are seeking talent, just like Singapore.
He said that while most Singaporeans could not leave, he is aware that the better-educated and talented ones could do so.
He noted that the top 20 to 30 per cent of educated Singaporeans have the skills and abilities to emigrate to anywhere in the world.
And many do, with about 150,000 Singaporeans working in companies, setting up businesses or living abroad.
'We are now into a globalised world where people who are well-educated, well-trained and especially English-educated have enormous options,' he said.
But his point to them was this: 'Can you leave with a clear conscience? I cannot.'
He urged them to think hard about what they owe the country. 'If we lose our top talent, then we will decline as a nation,' he said.
The key, he believed, was to inculcate a particular message in the young - especially those doing well in schools, colleges, polytechnics and universities.
'You are here, you are getting this education, you are getting these opportunities that make you mobile, that make you desirable because this mass of people had discipline, (were) hardworking, provided the stability, the base on which you mounted your career.
'Can you in good conscience say, 'Goodbye! Thank you very much'?'
sueann@sph.com.sg
I belong to the 50% of Singaporeans who cannot emigrate and I shudder at MM Lee's proclamation that the govt will look after us. Will that mean another round gst hike, from 7% to 10%? Remember not so long ago they said to help the poor they have no chioce but to raise the gst from 5% to 7%?
Or worst still, would they ask the women folks of the 50% Singaporeans not to be fussy but to work as maids for their beloved foreign talents? Haven't they told us many times that foreign talents are here to create jobs for singaporeans?
To MM Lee I would like to say, 'No thank you very much Sir, we can take care of ourselves, you just enjoy your retirement.'
He pays tribute to S'poreans who did the 'hard and dirty work' for country
By Sue-Ann Chia
Apr 23, 2007
The Straits Times
MINISTER Mentor Lee Kuan Yew had this message for Singaporeans who did the hard and dirty work to build the nation: I am here to look after you.
'I do not believe 50 per cent of Singaporeans can emigrate,' he said at the Young People's Action Party dialogue at the St James Power Station nightspot.
'So as a government, and personally for me and my colleagues, my responsibility is to look after those who cannot migrate.'
Paying tribute to them, he said: 'Without them doing the hard and dirty work, I would not have had a decent life, I would not have been a leader, my children would not have been educated.
'You would not have been educated, so I owe them a responsibility, an obligation.
'I've persuaded them to follow me, went into Malaysia, got kicked out from Malaysia, had to make a living for them.
'To make a living for them, I had to make a good living for the people on top by educating them and getting them into the modern economy, and bringing the modern economy to Singapore.'
He was responding to questions from participants about where their future lies, given the growing opportunities in other countries that are seeking talent, just like Singapore.
He said that while most Singaporeans could not leave, he is aware that the better-educated and talented ones could do so.
He noted that the top 20 to 30 per cent of educated Singaporeans have the skills and abilities to emigrate to anywhere in the world.
And many do, with about 150,000 Singaporeans working in companies, setting up businesses or living abroad.
'We are now into a globalised world where people who are well-educated, well-trained and especially English-educated have enormous options,' he said.
But his point to them was this: 'Can you leave with a clear conscience? I cannot.'
He urged them to think hard about what they owe the country. 'If we lose our top talent, then we will decline as a nation,' he said.
The key, he believed, was to inculcate a particular message in the young - especially those doing well in schools, colleges, polytechnics and universities.
'You are here, you are getting this education, you are getting these opportunities that make you mobile, that make you desirable because this mass of people had discipline, (were) hardworking, provided the stability, the base on which you mounted your career.
'Can you in good conscience say, 'Goodbye! Thank you very much'?'
sueann@sph.com.sg
I belong to the 50% of Singaporeans who cannot emigrate and I shudder at MM Lee's proclamation that the govt will look after us. Will that mean another round gst hike, from 7% to 10%? Remember not so long ago they said to help the poor they have no chioce but to raise the gst from 5% to 7%?
Or worst still, would they ask the women folks of the 50% Singaporeans not to be fussy but to work as maids for their beloved foreign talents? Haven't they told us many times that foreign talents are here to create jobs for singaporeans?
To MM Lee I would like to say, 'No thank you very much Sir, we can take care of ourselves, you just enjoy your retirement.'
posted by locky2ky at 11:35 PM
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