Good Morning Brothers and Sisters and especially to our active agers gathered here this morning.
1 When Mr Lee Kuan Yew and Mr Goh Chok Tong announced their desire to quit Cabinet on 14 May, one week after the watershed general elections, they issued a 148-word joint statement.
2 It is a very short statement but the impact and implication to our political scene are tremendous. To the older generation Singaporeans like most of us here, the most touching para in their statement is this:
"But the younger team must always have in mind the interests of the older generation. This generation who has contributed to Singapore must be well-looked after."
3 In short, the two former Prime Ministers are reminding the Government formed with the younger team of ministers that they must not forget us and must look after our older generation well.
4 And to most of us, the older generation, we know that we now live longer and we need to work longer. One aspect we want government to look after us well is in term of employment. We want a decent job with decent pay. In short, we want to work with dignity.
5 This Active Ager National Day Observant Ceremony is jointly organised by the NTUC Re-employment Group and the U live. This is the platform for us to show case of our progress in the area of re-employment and also to remind us that we shall stay active and healthy and be engaged and connected.
6 Indeed, we are seeing more and more of our active Agers pursuing knowledge and widening their horizons through learning, sports, hobbies and travelling and continue to contribute through work, volunteering and mentoring.
7 Last year's inaugural active Ager NDOC was held at the Pinnacle@Duxton. This year, we are here at the Marina Barrage. Why are we having our National Day Observance Ceremony at these places and not in a hotel or at a workplace? I think these two places remind us something about the Singapore spirit, the dare to dream, can do and do together attitude that we are world famous for.
8 Pinnacle used to be an old and forgotten HDB precinct. A public housing project in the heart of city that nobody ever thought could become pinnacle. It could either go to private developers or become commercial. But we chose to keep it a public housing project, and not only any other HDB project but high rise buildings with inter connected roof top gardens.
9 The Marina Barrage is another example of our dare to dream, can do and do together spirit. It was achievement to clean up the Singapore River in the 1980s and 1990s. But in the new millennium, we dared to dream of turning the Singapore river bay into an enclosed downtown lake in the heart of the city. And we did it with the great engineering feat that is the marina barrage.
10 Like Pinnacle and Marina Barrage, active agers is also about daring to dream, can do and doing together. Everywhere in the world, developed countries are facing the same problem of an aging population. Governments have raise retirement age to the displeasure of elderly people or they have chosen to ignore the problem and let pension schemes go bankrupt. But we want a system where government, employers and older workers come together not only to make our older workers work longer but create better work for them.
11 After this ceremony, the organiser has arranged for us the kite flying at the roof garden. It is a good reminder to all that re-employment of older workers will become law come Jan 2012, no more flying kite.
12 NTUC takes it seriously that our re-employed workers must be fairly treated; our brothers and sisters at the union level also take it seriously that our older workers must be engaged and connected.
