Parent-Support law: Necessary or not?

In PM Lee’s National Day rally speech not so long ago, he brought up an issue close to the hearts of many Singaporeans: Filial piety. He spoke of the increasing number of sons and daughters who neglect their parents, leaving them financially unable to fend for themselves. But is it necessary to resort to enacting laws, so as to force these unfilial children to support their parents financially? Or is such an action too extreme and severe?

Even though such a law might be unheard of in many other countries, but I feel that the Maintenance of Parents Act is necessary to stop this trend. Our parents have worked hard and spent so much money bringing us up, and as we grow up and start earning an income, it is natural for us to repay them for what they have given us. However, over the past 2 years, there have been an increasing number of aged parents suing their children for not giving them financial support. This rising trend has made it even more important to implement this law, and make sure that no elderly will be left abandoned in today’s society.

Besides, the children abandoning their parents in homes for the elderly can also cause a burden to the community. In a newspaper report some time ago, the Peacehaven Nursing Home, run by The Salvation Army, had over 300 residents and about a third of them owed more than 3 months’ fees, which roughly equates to $500,000 unpaid dues in total. As the parents age, it is the child’s responsibility to support the parent, instead of leaving the parents to nursing homes and not even giving their parents some financial support. The enactment of the law will ease the amount of unpaid fees for nursing homes.

However, although the law will ensure that the parent is financially supported, it still does not solve the problem of filial piety in Singapore. Instead, it might end up in a situation where some people give money back to their parents “just because the law says so”. This is definitely not desirable and the government will have to put in much more effort in solving this social issue. For example, the government can organize more talks that teach parents how to educate the child on about filial piety and the importance of it, and schools may also teach children to remember to give back to their parents for what the parents have done for them.

In conclusion, I would say that the Maintenance of Parents Act is necessary, but much more has to be done to change the current situation. Inculcating filial piety in the younger generation is a not an easy task that can be solved by law.

Orchard Road makeover

Around a month ago, Singapore Tourism Board completed a $40million dollar makeover of Orchard road. WOW, $40million? Surely it must be something I do not want to miss! But just make sure you don’t get your expectations too high, before rushing madly down to Orchard Road. In fact, I feel that the makeover to Orchard road is an ideal waste of money, and the huge amount of cash could be better spent on other areas such as cleaning up of the dead leaves along Orchard Road.

Although there were many different changes, including new lighting to emphasise Orchard road’s greenery, flower totems, glass panels, plants and flowers, new benches and litter bins, etc., out of 100 people surveyed by LifeStyle along Orchard road, only 40 people noticed any difference. What’s the use of spending $40,000,000 on something that less than half of the people who visited noticed? Furthermore, out of the 40 people who spotted differences, many of them did not find that the changes made Orchard road more aesthetic, and some did not even know the purpose of the new additions.

Besides not being noticeable, the construction during the makeover also irritated quite a number of tourists, and affected the business of quite a number of stalls along Orchard Road. The noise and the dust caused by the construction also served as disruption to the shopping experience of visitors. This is clearly a negative impact on Orchard Road’s image as a tourist attraction.

The above two reasons both support the fact that the makeover was unnecessary. Also, the 40 million dollars could have been spent on more useful things like the construction of more shopping malls and widening the pavements of the roads, or even the simple cleaning up of dead leaves on the floor, as suggested by those surveyed along Orchard Road. The Singapore Tourism Board should have been thriftier and put more thought into this project before deciding to spend such a huge amount of money. STB could also have gathered more opinion from the public and other experts before carrying out the makeover.

As a conclusion, the makeover was not a very wise decision to make, given the current economic situation. The decorations were not too outstanding, and instead, the construction chased away more tourists than it attracted. The large sum of money should not be spent on this makeover.

What is an exposition?

I guess many would see expositions as “the essay-things that our English teachers demand over the weekend” or “number twenty-four on my list of things to study before EOYs” – and while these might hold some element of truth, I believe an exposition goes far deeper than that.

A skin-deep glance would make it seem like the purpose of an exposition is “to expose”, in other words stating that which is hidden and uncovering what lies below the surface of any topic. But in actuality, the word ‘exposition’ stems from the root meaning “to expound”, and thus a good exposition should not only inform but explain. It should also provide opinion and connection to larger concepts alongside mere fact, and give the reader a wholesome and concise view of the subject. In other words, it is an essay aimed towards simplifying and evidencing that which is difficult to understand, and making every outsider a connoisseur.

"exposition (EXPLANATION) Show phonetics
noun [C or U] FORMAL
a clear and full explanation of an idea or theory.

exposition (SHOW) Show phonetics
noun [C] (ALSO expo)
a show in which industrial goods, works of art, etc. are shown to the public."