Singapore's pension reform plans spark rare protest
Reuters - Thursday, September 6
SINGAPORE, Sept 6 - Singaporeans have started a rare protest
against the government's pension reform plans with an online
petition and a planned public protest action.
An online petition against the pensions reform had drawn nearly 600
online signatures as of Thursday, while on Saturday, activists will
test Singapore's ban on demonstrations by staging a symbolic "black
T-shirt" protest at a popular downtown mall
(http://forums.delphiforums.com/sammyboymod/messages?msg=151660.1).
Any public protest is rare in Singapore, where all outdoor
demonstrations are banned and any public gathering of more than
four people requires a permit.
The protest takes aim at plans to make it mandatory for all
Singaporeans under the age of 50 to buy annuities and which would
impose restrictions on how pension savings are invested.
"People are quite unhappy, partly about way the announcements about
the pension reforms were made," political commentator Leong Sze
Hian told Reuters.
Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced the pension
reform in his National Day speech last month, saying there was no
choice as "people are living longer".
To cope with a rapidly ageing population, the government is upping
the retirement age from 62 years to 65 years by 2015, and up to 67
beyond that.
In recent weeks, government ministers have talked about several
planned changes to the Central Provident Fund , a mandatory
retirement savings scheme for all Singaporeans that pays a lump sum
upon retirement and can be used to pay for flats.
"There is concern, but the public ought to wait for more specific
details on the changes, to be out later this month," Member of
Parliament Halimah Yaacob told Reuters.
Singaporeans have turned increasingly to cyberspace as an outlet
for their dissatisfaction.
The latest petition -- on Petitiononline.com -- has drawn 580
signatures over two weeks
(http://www.petitiononline.com/annuity/petition.html). In the past
two years, petitions against a pay-and-perks scandal at a national
charity and against the introduction of casino gambling drew
thousands of signatures.
Saturday's protest -- announced on political blogs and online
forums -- is set to test Singapore's limits on freedom of assembly,
as organisers merely suggest participants turn up at 4 p.m. at the
Centrepoint mall, dressed "partly" in black.
Law student and online activist Choo Zheng Xi told Reuters he does
not expect a strong turn-out, as other small-scale protest actions
in the past months have drawn a massive police presence as well as
plainsclothes policemen filming protesters.