Yours Toothfully (ad space for sale)

Dr Toh has finally been laid to rest. It makes me worry, not about my own inevitable death, but what will people say at my funeral? Will they share my childhood experience of suffering a bleeding scalp while rushing to get up from below the bathroom sink to get to the longans my mother had just bought? Unlike the rich and powerful in Singapore, I don’t think I can sit up from my coffin and correct mistakes that people make in their eulogies for me.

It was said that: “Dr Toh’s passing reminds us of how we got here, how much we owe to him and his generation, and how heavy a responsibility we have to carry their vision, and ours, forward and take Singapore higher and further into a brighter future.”

Their vision and ours? What if both visions are different? What if their vision of what a brighter future means a very different Singapore from the one that used to value thrift and pride in public service?

And to make our future even brighter, CPF rates for older workers are going to go up and NUS is proposing another increase in fees. Our vision? I remember when Dr Toh was Health Minister, healthcare in Singapore was basic, no frills and affordable to everyone. Today’s public health institutions have gotten rid of the “budget terminal”. Everyone needs to walk past the million-dollar fountains, decor and displays to get to the reception counter staffed by foreign talent. Yes, they have a finger in the medical tourism pie while private practitioners struggle to make ends meet.

To me, Dr Toh’s passing serves as a reminder that the good old days are over. His vision is lost and his legacy has morphed into something else. No more “budget terminal” in our public hospitals. No more real subsidies. No more comfortably affordable homes. Regulations that make entry requirements for all businesses higher and higher. Increasing costs of doing business, turning Chinese medical halls which used to dispense cheap herbs for minor ailments into glitzy shops selling bird’s nests and ginseng. Little room for sole proprietors to exercise their creativity and make it big. Compulsory Medisave contributions for self-employed people. Dr Toh’s vision? Certainly not. We now live in a world where luxury is a necessity and only the fit, the fast, the aggressive and the souless survive.

Mr Yaw Shin Leong was recently alleged to have had an extramarital affair with a female member of his party, who was also married.

The allegation first surfaced online last month and has been reported by several newspapers. Mr Yaw, however, has stuck to his line that he does not comment on rumours. He had also stayed out of the public eye. He cancelled one of his Meet-The-People’s Sessions after Chinese New Year and was absent from his Aljunied-Hougang Town Council office for the rest of the week.

As far as opposition politicians go, our mainstream media is always keen on playing paparazzi. Some folks have even taken the role of preacher or Justice Bao. One Chinese newspaper even asked Mr Yaw to come clean, confess everything and apologise. Wait a minute. Did the current Mrs Yaw complain? She didn’t. Why is everyone so interested in seeking justice for her? What about the former Mrs Yaw? Well, his former wife has stepped forward to state that it was not adultery on his part that ended their marriage. His ex-wife’s name is Ng Mei Sze and Ng Mei Sze is at this point in time, the top search word on google.sg!

The only evidence for adultery? It was an anonymous Chinese woman who claimed she had a “very short” affair with Mr Yaw. She initially said their relationship was a professional one where she provided him translation services. She has been working with Mr Yaw for about two years. She later “admitted” to the affair, but said it was so short that she didn’t want to mention it!

Yao mo gao chor ah? Like that also can? Isn’t this Mr Yaw’s family problem that is best settled within his family? Why dig into his story and be so judgemental about it when we are supposed to be Asians and should know that 清官难断家务事?

It’s all right to be kaypoh. It’s only bad to be a judgemental kaypoh. Furthermore, Hougang is such a small constituency. There are 83 other elected Members of Parliament. The laws of probability tells us that if the paparazzi bothers to mine the other constituencies, they may dig up even jucier tales. Why let Hougang steal all the limelight? Give the other constituencies a chance.