samedi, février 17, 2007  Children. They're everywhere these days - and yet, the government still says "not enough." Now, someone (MALE, typical, see appended article below) has suggested that older singles who "refuse to marry" be taxed for our impertinence.Imagine that! How DARE single people refuse to marry! How DARE they sit on their skinny asses and party all night long without a care in the world while parents slog away at getting their kids educated well, enrichment classes, co-curricular activities while still trying to make their career work? How DARE they enjoy themselves and climb the corporate ladder while the self-righteous martyr themselves for the state? Why, these singles must be taught a lesson!  It's clear for all to see that singles obviously have some form of agenda against the government. They're an organised bunch, openly defiant and unified in their stand against the institution of marriage. "We refuse to marry!" they cry. "You're not getting my ovaries!" the women declare. "Self-love is enough for us!" the men cheekily say.There's obviously something wrong with the way that childbearing in Singapore is marketed in Singapore. Romancing Singapore didn't work, all the pro-family campaigns (too many to mention) didn't work, so there's something missing. I think it's time to take an edgier approach to procreation in Singapore: tap on reverse psychology and negatively associate children with life. Let's call my campaign: "Get an STD - Sexually Transmitted Dependent© Life, after all, is sexually-transmitted.  This way, there's no mention of children, no mention of romance, no mention of anything wholesome, in fact. The whole idea of having children is relegated into a sort of sordid category of Things To Do In Life - which will make it more appealing to the many singles who obviousy have a problem with authority (why else would they be defying the government's call to have more children?)I leave you with the catch-phrase (turn it into a jingle) of my campaign: "Go on, risk an STD - forget about the condom!" (pictures are of my friend's new baby who entered the world blissfully unaware of the PAIN that she caused her momma on Valentine's Day 2007. I've already been committed to babysitting duties.) WANT TO INCREASE S'PORE POPULATION? HERE'S HOW ---------------------------------------------- Letter from seah leong khai [TODAY, 15 Feb 2007] I am surprised at the Government's vision of increasing the population to 6.5 million from the current 4.5 million. As I see it, unless Singapore opens its floodgate to immigrants, it is near impossible to achieve this target. With our low birth rate, Singaporeans are not even reproducing enough to replace ourselves. There are many reasons for this. Nowadays, Singapore men and women get married in the later years of their lives. There are many who choose to stay single. Other than for medical reasons, there are also many couples who do not want to have children. How do you arrest this problem? Even though the Government has given these people more carrots such as tax incentives, baby bonus and longer maternity leave, the baby shortage situation remains. I believe it is time to dish out some sticks such as imposing more income tax on older singles who refuse to marry and able-bodied childless couples. Another way is to attract more foreign women who are qualified and who share similar cultural and social background to come to Singapore and allow them to marry the locals. Offer them permanent residence status and citizenship if they can produce two or more children. SURVIVAL, NOT BABIES, COMES FIRST --------------------------------- Right environment is a pre-requisite for human procreation Penalty will not increase fertility People do have a right to be single [TODAY, 16 Feb 2007] Letter from lim boon hee Letter from carol tham Letter from zheng shuwei I read with amusement Mr Seah Leong Khai's suggestions on increasing our population ("Want to increase S'pore population? Here's how, Feb 15). Social engineering through "carrots and sticks" has proved to be a failure thus far. Mr Seah is in favour of granting Permanent Residence status and citizenship to "qualified" foreign women of "similar cultural and social background" in exchange for marrying local men and producing two or more children. I think importing "baby-producing" machines to solve our demographic problem will produce even more headaches for our society. Punitive taxes to regulate what is essentially a complex biological-cum-environmental interaction of factors in the survival of a species cannot change the outcome of why and when procreative multiplication occurs or not at all. When the environment is conducive and all the necessary conditions such as enough food, shelter, safety and happiness are present, animals and flowers procreate and bloom naturally. When there is much stress in the pursuit of survival and all energies focused on keeping the stomachs full, survival of the species is bestserved by channelling all the efforts in preserving the self first instead of reproducing more mouths to feed. The suggestion by Mr Seah to tax older singles who refuse to marry and able-bodied childless couples is ridiculous. The solution has got nothing to do with punishing people - Singaporeans not marrying early as well as not having children really has to do with the society and how it thinks. Females are now holding higher paid jobs whereas previously many solely depended on their husbands. So, there is the reluctance to give birth, which might affect their career prospects. Also the cost of raising a child in Singapore is escalating. Also the stress that is prevalent in our society means less time for singles to socialise. It has also been proven that stress affects a person's fertility. So, the issue of an ageing population with a dipping birth rate needs to be looked at carefully. We all know by now that penalty does not equate motivation. Most of the time, it works the other way round. There are things we can learn from the welfare that America, Europe and Australia provide for their people. In Australia, seeing the doctor is free. A pregnant lady gets to stay in a two-bedder and sometimes even single room for a week. They are sent home with some milk powder and diapers for the baby, too. And all of that is covered by the state. In Singapore, the kind of ward that women stay in for their delivery all depends on how much money they have. The frequent check-ups for the baby thereafter add to the burden. I believe that we live in a free and democratic society where personal choices are respected. Singling out individuals - singles and couples who choose not to have children - goes against the grain of an "inclusive society". With divorce rates on the rise and in a society where getting an HDB flat is often a reason for marriage, have we not learnt enough about the importance of building marriages on sustainable relationships and not just to contribute to the society's needs of replacing itself? Instead, I suggest that government policies work at developing a culture that supports a work-life balance that allows Singaporeans time for quality interaction with each other. Libellés : current affairs, humour, issues, singapore [Go on, get an STD] |
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