Cochlear Implant Surgery (Pt 5)

On the evening of Saturday 31st March 2012, I went attended a volunteers’ night event with 2 fellow youth group members, Raymond and Iskandar, at Senja-Cashew Community Club.

Honesty speaking, I would like to thank them because I did a surprising breakthrough – wore both my hearing devices — hearing aid and cochlear implant device publicly on our MRT train journey from Choa Chu Kang back to Yishun. Yes, honesty speaking I am also surprised. lol.

To you able-hearing readers, well, it may be nothing but to me, being someone who is self-conscious, it was a “daring” act. I focused on the two gentlemen and on the spot, broke through my pyschological barrier — just threw away self-suspecting thoughts of “after putting on my hearing devices, will people stare at me as if I am an alien?”.

Yup, life is too short for me to bother think about how others may perceive me.
Look, some people are unable to see clearly, so they wear spectacles. The same theory applies to hearing devices for hearing-impaired individuals as well. Humans are not perfect beings afterall. So since I need to wear the hearing devices in order to communicate effectively with the people around me, why must I be looked upon differently?

With my four limbs, I can move around on my own, and communicate fluently with others. Just like anyone of you. Yay! =)

I believe the issue boils down to ignorance, and negative perceptions about hearing-impaired people in Asian perspective, particularly among illiterate elderly folks. Such mindsets are to be changed.

By the way, I foresee that the coming generation of hard-of-hearing Singaporeans are possibly those 20-40 year-olds who have grown up with Walkmans, iPods, iPhones, iPads, MP3 players and insanely loud dubstep in nightspots these days. They will be increasingly hearing-impaired at earlier ages.

Is it time for me to start advocating the importance of hearing care now, than leaving it to commercial hearing aid service providers? Hmmmmm. That is food for thought for me. Hmmm..

I just went for one of those follow-up appointments, seeing my audiologist again at the ENT Clinic 1B @ Tan Tock Seng Hospital yesterday. So far so good. =)

 

Some post-Budget 2012 thoughts

Enhancing our Singapore Transport System

(i)         Boosting Bus Capacity by 800 buses over next 5 years, or a 20% increase – Government will provide funding for 550 buses while the public bus operators will add another 250 buses.

(ii)        Revisions to Vehicle Tax Regime – replace the Green Vehicle Rebate Scheme (GVR) with a new Carbon Emissions-based Vehicle Scheme, or CEVS

(iii)      Special Diesel Tax for Euro V Vehicles to encourage the adoption of new and cleaner diesel technologies

(iv)      Removal of Additional Transfer Fee (ATF)

Thoughts:

I am glad to see that our Government have had looked into having more buses, catering to the growing demands of commuters in the coming years.However our transport operators have earned quite hefty profits in recent years, hence I see that it should be the public transport operators themselves who should foot the funding for the purchases of buses.

Still worried about another possible hike in transport fares 1 or 2 years later from now. We should seriously look into matter of nationalizing our public transport services.

Providing the Best Care for our Seniors

1. Expand our healthcare capacity

(i)         Increase the number of acute hospital beds by about 30%, or 1,900 beds by 2020

(ii)        Increase the number of community hospital beds by 1,800 by 2020

(iii)      Double the capacity in long term care services by 2020 including nursing homes, home-based health and social care services, day care and rehabilitation facilities, and Senior Activity Centres.

(iv)      Improve access to polyclinics and introduce new models of care, such as Medical Centres that provide specialist outpatient services in the community.

Thoughts:

Our Singapore population is fast ageing, hence it is likely that we will see even more aged citizens going to hospital for medical services in future years. Yes, more hospital beds. This is a good move.

Yes, there should be more dedicated medical services for our elderly citizens. It is important these services are made affordable for them.

Having said that, to avoid further cost burden in healthcare services in future, we need to start heavily emphasis the importance of healthy lifestyle among senior citizens now. Encourage active ageing, not sick ageing. Am I right?

2. Enhance affordability in our healthcare

(i)       Increase subsidies in our Community Hospitals

1. 75% subsidy for lower-income patients will receive a 75% government subsidy
2. 20% to 50% subsidy for those above the median income, who previously did not receive any subsidy

(ii)     Raise subsidies for nursing homes, day care and rehabilitation facilities and home-based care packages so that more in the middle-income group can benefit.

(iii)    A $120 grant per month to families hiring a foreign domestic helper to help care for elderly family members who have severe dementia, or are immobile and unable to care for themselves

(iv)   Subsidise home modifications such as grab bars and anti-slip treatment for bathroom tiles

(v)     Absorb GST for subsidised patients in Long Term Care sector including community Hospitals to nursing homes and the range of home-care services.

Thoughts:

Good move. I like the part about subsidizing home modifications to make our homes safe for senior citizens.

The $120 monthly grant slightly helps in families hiring a foreign domestic helper to care for an elderly family member who is unable to care for himself/herself. Given our increasingly living costs, it would be good if this grant amount can be increased to say, $200 or $250.

I suggest domestic helpers with right attitude be assessed and be properly trained with the necessary care-giving skills before the monthly grant is given to the families.

To make healthcare further affordable, it will be ideal if no GST tax is imposed for all essential healthcare services for all Singapore citizens. =)

Supporting Singaporeans with Disabilities

1. Pre-school Years

(i)         Increase places in centres for children who need intensive early intervention.

(ii)        Development Support Programme (in mainstream pre-school classrooms) – provide learning support and therapy intervention to children with mild speech, language and learning delays [about 2,000 children to benefit]

(iii)       Enhancement to Special Education (SPED) schools.

Thoughts: 

Great. It is a big policy change with the heart to help these children having an easier start in life.

It is certainly a good move to integrate children with mild disabilities with others in mainstream pre-school classrooms. In my own viewpoint, it is also a good opportunity to expose normal kids, cultivating the perception to “look at each and every individual as equal, and care for others who are physically challenged” at a young tender age.  =)

2. Supporting employment

(i)         Extend Special Employment Credit to employers who hire SPED graduates, regardless of age

1. Get credit of 16% of employee’s wages (2x that for older workers)

(ii)        Extend Workfare Income Supplement Scheme to all SPED graduates who work, even if they are below 35 years olds, and double the Handicapped Earned Income Relief for all persons with disabilities.

Thoughts:

It is important that we help fellow disabled Singaporeans to find employment, so that they can able to support themselves independently, in the event if their parents or caregivers are no longer around one day.

Good move, as it encourages more employers in Singapore to hire them. =)

Uplifting Low-income Families

1. More support for children from low-income households

(i)         Pre-school subsidies

1. Introduce a new, per capita household income criterion (PCI) for subsidies

(ii)        MOE Financial Assistance Scheme

1. Help more students benefit from the MOE Financial Assistance Scheme by raising the household income ceiling from $1,500 to $2,500 per month. It will mean that 40,000 more students, or twice the original number, will be fully subsidised for their school fees, uniforms and textbooks, and receive a 75% subsidy on their exam fees

(iii)      Provide a further top-up to School Advisory and Management Committees of up to $15,000 per year for the next three years. This will give the committees greater certainty of government support and help them introduce new schemes in the school – such as transport assistance for students

(iv)      Enhance Student Care Fee Assistance (SCFA) Scheme to benefit more families

1. Extend subsidies to a larger group of families than those who qualify for the MOE Financial Assistance Scheme. Subsidies for student care will be extended to families with up to $3,500 in monthly household income. A family earning say $2,500 per month would typically see the amount they pay for student care reduced from $200 to $80 per month

(v)       Top-ups for Education & Social Support

1. a $200 million top-up to the Edusave Endowment Fund to help all children enjoy meaningful enrichment programmes
2. a $200 million top-up to the ComCare Endowment Fund to support families in need
3. a total of $10 million to our Self-Help Groups and the CCC ComCare Fund

(vi)      Broadening Opportunities for Every Child

1. Not just about helping families cover their fees and costs in school, also providing is a breadth of exposure to every child regardless of family background in a way that few school systems overseas do. We have been building this up across the school landscape, so as to allow every Singaporean child to discover what they like, and what they are good at.

Thoughts:

Good move. In order to truly talk about “broadening opportunities for each and every child”, I just wonder if our government can also provide further help in helping lower-income families with disabled children who are enrolled in special schools receiving education?

Such parents may also be burdened with the costs of special education.

I personally feel that we also need to help move these disabled schooling children up the social mobility ladder.

Ministry of Education, what do you say?

 

An foreigner’s view on Singaporeans’ attitude towards jobs

During a recent dialogue held at Singapore Polytechnic Graduates’ Guild, one participant asked Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong about his own views on the perception of Singaporeans being “soft”, compared to counterparts in other regions such as China.

SM Goh responded, saying that a more appropriate description for the current younger generations is perhaps that they are “not hungry enough” and that is due, in part, stems from the fact that our nation has been successful over the years.

Yes, that could be one of the possible valid reasons behind the kind of  ”can’t-take-the-heat” attitude which some Singaporeans among us may have towards their jobs at the workplace today. Erm..are you one of them?

Here is a commentary article written by Mr Chris Reed (Director, Regional Partnerships) of Partnership Marketing, a creative agency which specialises in partnership marketing. Read on..and then decide whether you agree or disagree with what the author says.

The full employment in Singapore is a source of pride for the country which places much emphasis on human capital, but it is also the source of many of the problems employers have today.

Singaporean employees have all the power and they know it. There is a lack of commitment which has a negative effect on a company’s long term planning. For some Singaporeans, the length of employment period is short and a promiscuous attitude from these employees pervades. This comes through in the big number of sick days taken (almost to the degree that it is an unwritten rule that sick days are really like holidays with an MC), lack of drive/responsibility taking/lateral thinking and desire to go above and beyond the call of duty. Some think: Why do so much when I anyway won’t be in the job that long?

I’ve had heard many examples of Singaporeans accepting a job and then either taking another better-paying  job even after signing a contract for the first job offer or just deciding simply not to turn up to the new job or worse still, accepting several job offers all at the same time, thus letting down several expectant employers. To these people, it is their playground and they’re going to play in it.

Many Singaporeans generally live in homes in HDB flats, into their thirties or even forties. This allows them to have no financial concerns when it comes to a job. If they somehow lose one job or decide to resign in order to pursue another one (without having another job to fall back on while on the job-search), they know that they will not lose their homes because they are aware that all their bills will be covered by their parents. Money is then less of a motivating factor to committing to a job. Hunger is lacking.

Once, a Managing Director of a MNC told me that in interviews, he would always ask how much debt the job applicant had as he believed that it would made him/her more focused, committed and hard working. Such debt-ridden people will have to worry about paying it off or keeping up prepayments on a house mortgage and therefore, they would be serious about delivering; going above and beyond what was needed and would do everything they could to achieve goals in order to generate an increase in salary and bonuses. However this doesn’t seem to be a factor amongst Singaporeans and that comes through in a lack of ambitions to succeed within their roles at the workplace.

When they are in the job, there is a lack of responsibility-taking and a lack of creative thinking. Is this the result of the Singapore education system or just the attitude? Is this because there is a lack of risk-taking in case anything goes wrong and it’s better to play safe? Ironically you would expect Singaporeans to actually be braver and to take greater risks and think more laterally. They have the safety net of knowing that if all goes wrong and should they lose their jobs,  they still have their homes living with their parents and minimal debts. However this is not the case for many other people around the world, because they don’t have that plan B. If they take a risk and it doesn’t work out well,  they may get fired or the company goes under, they know that it will have a detrimental effect on their homes, lifestyles and personal well-being. Yet they still take the risks. Why don’t Singaporeans do the same?

Singapore’s country football team is facing calls from inside and outside of the game to be taken apart and abandoned. Such is the state of the national team but does it have to do more with the same risk-free, safety net thus the lack of commitment factor? Contrast that with Barcelona.

Barcelona is no bigger than Singapore with an immediate population of 1.4 million and even in Greater Barcelona it is only 4 million, less than Singapore’s 5 million. The bedrock of its success has been its ability to produce top soccer players through La Masía, its in-house training academy. All three finalists in FIFA’s Player of the Year 2010 Awards are graduates of the academy and the winner, Lionel Messi, has won for the second consecutive year. Barcelona takes a holistic approach.

La Masía has been home to more than 500 players over 30 years, as both a training academy and boarding house. The original aim of the school was to develop successful football players. It sought out players who were talented but also had the personal drive to win and the ability to work as part of a team. That is the key. Personal development and athletic performance are made inseparable in the lives of young players.

Contrast that with the Singaporean players where instead of going to a boarding house at the age of 12, (as many current Barcelona players did), they are still living at home with mum and dad in their late 20’s and thirties. Instead of coming from relative poor homes in Argentina in Messi’s case or Catalan in most other cases, the Singaporean players have the comfort of knowing that if it doesn’t work out as a professional footballer, they will always be able to find a job easily in the full employment scene in Singapore.

This fall-back plan B psychologically tempers desire, determination and ambition. It’s not all or nothing. It also means that such Singaporeans will always look after themselves rather than think of the team. Spain has unemployment rate at 20%. If Singapore had that kind of unemployment rate, perhaps then Singaporeans would go that extra mile, take that risk that would lead to greater security and rewards, remain in their jobs for longer periods and thus, succeed scaling greater heights? Of course the society wouldn’t be as content and happy…you can’t have it all!

A recent survey done in Singapore shown that 40% of the respondents would change job this year, thanks to the upswing in employment outlook due to strong economic growth. They will do so because they know that they can. From an employer’s point of view, this attitude limits creativity, lateral thinking and drive which in turn limit a company’s ability to compete. It is one of the many reasons why one million foreigners have been employed in Singapore in the past decade, and also one of the reasons that holds back Singapore from realizing the amazing potential that the country has in its human capital.