| |
| |
![]() |
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
SINGAPORE : Many Singaporeans have welcomed the announcements made by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in his National Day Rally speech.
They say Mr Lee has delivered a comprehensive speech that touched on various issues and addressed the needs of the elderly and poor.
To address the needs of Singapore's ageing population, Mr Lee has outlined various measures.
Key among these - a law by 2012 that requires employers to hire workers beyond the age of 62.
This is applauded even by younger Singaporeans.
"I think its okay to work till 65 because in other countries they also work till older age," said one boy.
"If you don't work, you lose your communication. You lose networking and then you become lonely, then enter the ground very fast," said one elderly Singaporean.
"At the age of 50, every Singaporean get sick, then most companies is afraid to employ them."
And if Singaporeans cannot continue to work, Mr Lee also announced several measures to ensure that they remain financially secure in their old age.
These include an annuity scheme and higher interest for their CPF savings.
"That will give people more money to spend during the retirement years," said one Singaporean.
"The scheme gives that little assurance to...the person who bought the annuity plan that he will have income for the rest of his life."
Another announcement that got Singaporeans excited - a fourth university.
"The government...wants to have up to 6 million people by 2010, so with so many people around, three universities may not be enough," said one Singaporean.
"Singaporeans are getting very (interested in) educational, so I think the fourth university will cater for inflow of foreign talent and local people."
And visuals of what Punggol and the Dawson area in Queenstown would look like created a lot of buzz among the public.
One flat owner said: "About the changes that are going to happen in Queenstown, I really welcome those are really good and some of the thing in Punggol, I didn't really expect that the changes will be such a good changes."
More details on the initiatives announced on Sunday will be released by various government departments soon. - CNA/ch
|
