Essay
written by Lee Wei Ling
:
In
2007, in an end-of-year message
to the staff of the National
Neuroscience Institute, I wrote:
'Whilst boom time in the public
sector is never as booming as in
the private sector, let us not
forget that boom time is
eventually followed by slump
time. Slump time in the public
sector is always less painful
compared to the private sector.'
Slump time has arrived with a
bang.
While
I worry about the poorer
Singaporeans who will be hit
hard, perhaps this recession has
come at an opportune time for
many of us. It will give us an
incentive to reconsider our
priorities in life.
Decades of the good life have
made us soft. The wealthy
especially, but also the middle
class in Singapore, have had it
so good for so long, what they
once considered luxuries, they
now think of as necessities.
A
mobile phone, for instance, is
now a statement about who you
are, not just a piece of
equipment for communication.
Hence many people buy the latest
model though their existing
mobile phones are still in
perfect working order.
A Mercedes-Benz is no longer
adequate as a status symbol. For
millionaires who wish to show
the world they have taste, a
Ferrari or a Porsche is deemed
more appropriate.
The
same attitude influences the
choice of attire and
accessories. I still find it
hard to believe that there are
people carrying handbags that
cost more than thrice the
monthly income of a bus driver,
and many more times that of the
foreign worker laboring in the
hot sun, risking his life to
construct luxury condominiums he
will never have a chance to live
in.
The
media encourages and amplifies
this ostentatious consumption.
Perhaps it is good to encourage
people to spend more because
this will prevent the recession
from getting worse. I am not an
economist, but wasn't that the
root cause of the current crisis
- Americans spending more than
they could afford to?
I
am not a particularly spiritual
person. I don't believe in the
supernatural and I don't think I
have a soul that will survive my
death. But as I view the crass
materialism around me, I am
reminded of what my mother once
told me: 'Suffering
and deprivation is good for the
soul.'
My
family is not poor, but we have
been brought up to be frugal..
My parents and I live in the
same house that my paternal
grandparents and their children
moved into after World War II in
1945. It is a big house by
today's standards, but it is
simple - in fact, almost to the
point of being shabby.
Those
who see it for the first time
are astonished that Minister
Mentor Lee Kuan Yew's home is so
humble. But it is a comfortable
house, a home we have got used
to. Though it does look shabby
compared to the new mansions on
our street, we are not bothered
by the comparison.
Most of the world and much of
Singapore will lament the
economic downturn. We have been
told to tighten our belts. There
will undoubtedly be suffering,
which we must try our best to
ameliorate.
But I personally think the hard
times will hold a timely lesson
for many Singaporeans,
especially those born after 1970
who have never lived through
difficult times.
No
matter how poor you are in
Singapore , the authorities and
social groups do try to ensure
you have shelter and food.
Nobody starves in Singapore .
Many of those who are currently
living in mansions and enjoying
a luxurious lifestyle will
probably still be able to do so,
even if they might have to
downgrade from wines costing
$20,000 a bottle to $10,000 a
bottle. They would hardly notice
the difference.
Being
wealthy is not a sin. It cannot
be in a capitalist market
economy. Enjoying the fruits of
one's own labour is one's
prerogative and I have no right
to chastise those who choose to
live luxuriously.
But
if one is blinded by
materialism, there would be no
end to wanting and hankering.
After the Ferrari, what next? An
Aston Martin? After the Hermes
Birkin handbag, what can one
upgrade to?
Neither an Aston Martin nor an
Hermes Birkin can make us truly
happy or contented.. They are
like dust, a fog obscuring the
true meaning of life, and can be
blown away in the twinkling of
an eye.
When
the end approaches and we look
back on our lives, will we
regret the latest mobile phone
or luxury car that we did not
acquire? Or would we prefer to
die at peace with ourselves,
knowing that we have lived lives
filled with love, friendship and
goodwill, that we have helped
some of our fellow voyagers
along the way and that we have
tried our best to leave this
world a slightly better place
than how we found it?
We know which is the correct
choice - and it is within our
power to make that choice.
In
this new year, burdened as it is
with the problems of the year
that has just ended, let us
again try to choose wisely.
To a considerable degree, our
happiness is within our own
control, and we should not
follow the herd blindly.
The
writer is director of the
National Neuroscience Institute.
And also Lee Kuan Yew's
daughter...
