SINGAPORE — Singapore must never become a welfare state, but it can be a welfare society where everyone takes responsibility for the welfare of others, Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said on his last day of working for the Government.
More than just personal responsibility, there has to be solidarity and social empathy, he said in a speech at the National University Heart Centre Singapore's 15th anniversary at Sentosa Golf Club on Friday .
Mr Tharman said that when Singapore was younger, the ethos of the day was self-reliance and that made sense when the country was a young society. He said:"There has to be solidarity. There has to be social empathy. Social empathy and solidarity are not at odds with personal responsibility. In fact, they go very well together."
The Government would, over time, have to collect taxes for healthcare to take care of an older population but it cannot simply be that, Mr Tharman said. This is why it is important for every individual to take responsibility for other people's welfare.
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