The Sunday Times today carried the headline, “New Push to explain benefits for pioneers”. A new unit, the “Pioneer Generation Office” is being set up to coordinate and train “PG ambassadors”.
The unit which is funded by the Ministry of Finance but housed under the Peoples’ Association (PA) was revealed yesterday by PA Deputy Chairman Lim Swee Say on the sidelines of the aforesaid annual grassroots seminar.
There has been a phenomenal hard-sell on the PGP never seen before since its announcement in the 2014 budget review and I shall enumerate here the initiatives running up to the announcement yesterday of the set-up of the “Pioneer Generation Office”:
(1) First by mobilizing 500 from the PA Woman’s Wing to explain the package to the seniors.
(2)The staging musical “Getais” in the vernaculars in heartlands to promote the PGP.
(3) Mobilized a thousand of front-line staff in government linked hospitals to explain to elderly patients what the PGP is all about.
(4) Relinquished the duties of Mayor and SMOS Dr. Amy Khor in order for her to spearhead a team to improve communication on the PGP.
(5) MPs and PA organised weekly Q & A forums on PGP.
(6) Advertising videos in TV prime-time to push the message through, seven adverts in all dialects Cantonese, Hokkien, Teochew, Malay, Mandarin and English (remember the Brian Richmond’s foot-ball “yellow-card” turning into a PG card advert during World Cup?)
It’s amazing given our patriarch’s emphatic no to “dialects”.
Yesterday, Saturday, Sept 13th 2014; Minister Chan Chun Sing was seen delivering explanations of the PGP to seniors at a HDB block void deck near the Buona Vista Community, not the first time he was doing this.
Quite evidently with the slew of efforts and they still think it is only a communication problem. They are lost. It is not a communication issue. People don’t buy their bullshit anymore.
Many uncles and aunties were heard whispering on the sideline; “What lah! More like Pai Mia Generation Package” (meaning Hard Life Package).
A few were seen lambasting the RC officials on this perceived hoodwink of a package to try appease the senior citizens when their lives are falling on a hard surface in the highest cost living environment in the world crowded out by an unthinkable flood of immigrants endorsed by the PWP of 6.9 million.
The relentless hard-sell of PGP is unprecedented in scale as illustrated above. It is a total flop, period.
It seems that our seniors are not swallowing this PGP hook, line and sinker. I for one, as a senior, am not buying into this bullshit not until they fix the population issues that incessantly drove up the cost of living here.
Truth be told, the PGP comes with numerous caps in per visit, per year. It is also non-progressive meaning when you advance in age you will still be stuck in the band you are in as of 2014.
PGP subsidies can’t feed us. It’s money to be used on our sick-beds and on our death-beds, sigh!
A Senior Speaking