Tan Kin Lian - Perspectives A new Singapore Dream

In presenting the Forward Singapore report, the prospective prime minister, Lawrence Wong, said that it is no longer realistic to hold on to the Singapore Dream comprising of the 5Cs, namely condo, car, country club membership, credit card and cash.

Instead, he suggested that the Singapore Dream should now be replaced by "Purpose".

Many Singaporeans were not enthusiastic with this new Singapore Dream. Some ridiculed it.

I agree with LW that the 5Cs is no longer realistic. The first two, namely car and condo, are no longer attainable for most people, due to the high cost. The third is probably not necessary, as they can enjoy the sports facilities available to the public. Most people are short of cash anyway, after paying the installment payments and high cost of daily necessities.

Credit cards are widely available. Most working people have several cards. But they need to pay on their card spending with high interest on late payments.

What should be the new Singapore Dream?

I suggest that we go back to the early days before the 5Cs were pursued. This was the dream of the earlier generations that came before me. I will call it the new dream, although it is more correctly described as the "restored" dream.

The new Singapore Dream should be to raise a family and have two or more children. It is not easy, given the high cost of living today, but it is still attainable. It is a worthwhile goal.

The new dream require the government to change many of its current policies and reduce the cost of living, make a home affordable and make jobs secure and pay well.

It also requires the people to be frugal in their spending and to manage their finances well.
Some people will prefer not to raise a family or may not be able to do so. They can choose, as their purpose in life, to help their immediate family or others in the community to achieve their goal of raising a family.

Let us move from a personal goal (i.e. achieve material success through the 5Cs) to a community goal (i.e. to raise a family).

Tan Kin Lian
 

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