<Pic Credit: Straits Times>
NSP Statement on Nursing Care for Sick and Elderly Singaporeans
1. The National Solidarity Party (“NSP”) believes in building families with strong ties and a nation with strong moral values.
2. In the Sunday Times dated 15 March 2015, a troubling report appeared with the headline“Singaporeans sick and elderly pack Johor Bahru nursing homes”.
3. It was reported that there is a growing number of infirmed Singaporeans who have been admitted to nursing homes in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, where prices can be as low as half those in Singapore. The growing influx is convincing major nursing home players to expand in Johor Bahru and more homes are being built to house Singaporeans.
4. It would appear that all is well and good when Singaporeans are able to find cheaper alternatives in neighbouring Malaysia because they cannot afford the higher costs of nursing homes for their aged parents here. However, NSP is concerned that if this situation is allowed to develop further, there will be serious implications for our future as a nation. This statement is issued by NSP with regards to these implications.
The plight of elderly Singaporeans – PGP benefits and the right to live and die in Singapore
5. The Pioneer Generation Package (“PGP”) was implemented to honour and thank elderly Singaporeans who are 65 years old or older as at 31 December 2014 for their contributions to nation-building. As many of the Singaporeans staying in these foreign nursing homes would be entitled to the PGP benefits, there is the concern whether or not they are missing out on their PGP benefits and if so, what is being done about it.
6. Loneliness, sickness and dying in a foreign land are amongst the greatest fears of the elderly. Every citizen has the inalienable right to live to a ripe old age in their own country. Whilst we make provisions for new citizens and foreigners to settle down in Singapore, it would be a sad day indeed if our aged citizens cannot find a place here to live out their remaining days.
7. NSP believes that elderly Singaporeans who have been forced out of Singapore by the high costs of nursing homes are being denied their right to live out their lives in their homeland. This is particularly so if they do not even know that they are not living in Singapore. With our constant emphasis on family values, the plight of these elderly Singaporeans cannot be ignored.
Upholding filial piety - The plight of the middle-class breadwinners
8. The report further refers to the “sandwiched middle class” as the group most affected by the high costs of nursing homes in Singapore and that crossing the border deters some families from visiting the homes. NSP sees this as a serious setback in our national effort to strengthen family bonding.
9. Filial piety is an important building block in our Asian society. With the high cost of living, it has however become more and more challenging for many Singaporeans to provide for their aged and infirmed parents, and to raise a family at the same time.
10. With the government committed to building more nursing homes and subsidies for the lower income group, NSP hopes that nursing homes may be made more affordable to the middle-class group. Every effort put into enabling our citizens to love and care for their aged parents in our own land will go a long way in our determination to build families with strong ties and a nation with strong moral values.
By: Tan Lam Siong
Secretary-General
16th Central Executive Committee
National Solidarity Party
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