Money is not Enough

"Exactly 80 years ago, a young man on a business trip to China fell ill. That young man was my grandfather. When he passed away 80 years ago, he left behind a young widow. This young widow had two children and was on the verge of delivering the third child, my mum.

You can imagine the deep grief of a young widow. Back then, there was no MCYS, no Public Assistance, and no ComCare support. Nevertheless, her two brothers gave her an allowance. She was not penniless but money was tight.

My mum had a tough life. She could never really enjoy taking luxury. She worked hard. She became a teacher. It was not easy even near the end of her teaching career. And in those days, MOE was not as enlightened as it is now.

My uncle went on to become a doctor and became a GP in Albert Street. Those of you who know him know that he never took a single day off.

Firstly, life can be tough, life can be unfair, and life is unpredictable. Bad things can happen to good, decent people. Regardless of this, we all need hope.

The second thing I have learnt is that you need family support. Who is going to be there for you when you need help?

The third lesson is that it is all about discipline and hard work. No matter how wealthy you are, if we lose that discipline or work ethic, we will fail.

At least for me, my mum has successfully transmitted those values. The question now is whether our youth, born in the times of plenty, spend more time thinking about how to spend their inheritance compared with our parents' generation.

At the end of the day, while money is important, it is also not enough. All the wealth in the world will not buy you success. Nor will it eliminate all the social problems in the world.

Is the real problem the lack of money?

Is it the poverty of material wealth or is it the poverty of relationships?

Those of us who live long enough will agree the long-term problem is a poverty of relationships.

We all need families, we need friends. And it is not just about families. We also want a caring, compassionate society. We will fail if society degenerates into nothing more than a society of selfish, successful individuals looking to spend more on themselves.

I remember Sam Tan's brilliant speech last week. I read the speech three times. I resonate with his views that it is not about the dilemma between the young and old, or between rich and poor, but between the head and heart. The head knows it cannot be overly generous, yet the heart wants the head to be so.

I believe we need a lean, efficient, rational, disciplined and competent government. There is also a need for compassion, generosity and emotional support in our society.

However, these are best delivered by community organizations rather than by a bloated bureaucracy. That is why we believe in many helping hands."

-Extracts from Community Development, Youth and Sports Minister Vivian Balakrishnan's speech