Will, or how many, of our older generation do you think would
resort to or be reduced to, selling tissue paper?
I'm not expecting our government to provide welfare for older
workers, but at least provide avenues for those who can find no
paths to make a living!
Since it's illegal to beg; Damn it! create more opportunities for
hopeless aged to make a living!!!!
Don't tell me our multimillion dollar salaried ministers CAN'T
think of something??? That's BULL.
Frm New Paper
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Orchard Road confidant
Tissues for tears & ears for their fears
By Zubaidah Nazeer
February 05, 2006
YOU would have seen him in his dark glasses and baseball cap, which
reads: Jesus Blesses You and Your Kindness.
You may have heard his voice singing hymns and serenading
passers-by.
Mr Goh Siang Leng, or Coco as he is known to friends, is almost
blind, and a jack-of-all-trades.
He's a gospel-singing evangelist, a kerbside tissue-seller, an
entertainer to passers-by, a confidant of sorts - someone who is
willing to provide a listening ear to anyone who needs one.
'People tell me all sorts of things, from marital problems to work
woes,' the 65-year-old told us outside Meritus Mandarin hotel,
where he usually sells tissues.
For example, a 40-something woman once approached him for advice
because she suspected her husband was having an affair, he
claimed.
'I could tell she was nearly in tears and didn't know what to
do.
'I told her not to idolise one man, to be patient, to pray to the
Lord. I also told her to communicate with her husband because men
do not always know how to tell you that they want your love.
'Two months later, she looked for me near Novena Square and told me
that she and her husband are doing all right. She sounded
radiant.'
Another time, a young engineer was so stressed with life he
wondered to Mr Goh whether he should quit to devote himself to
church-work.
He told him he should continue to work and save money so that he
can be stable and devote himself to church-work later.
Mr Goh said he left school at Secondary 4, was a clinical assistant
in a hospital for four years and then worked as a clerk in various
ministries for the next 14 years.
This was followed by a stint selling stationery for a printing
company. He was also a passenger services officer at a cable-car
station.
Then he became a tour guide and park assistant at the Jurong
Crocodile Park.
He appeared in shows and handled the reptiles when visitors wanted
snapshots.
But he hasn't had a regular job since 2000 when diabetes-induced
glaucoma affected his eyes.
Now, he is about 95 per cent blind. He recently also had prostate
surgery, but said his diabetes is under control.
The eldest of six siblings, Mr Goh separated from his wife 26 years
ago and does not have children.
He lives on his own, renting a room for $120 in a friends's
three-room HDB flat in Eunos. Can't he get a job?
His tired reply is that he has tried.
'I applied to work as an ice-cream seller, but my application was
rejected because of poor eyesight,' said Mr Goh.
'I have also applied to do simple clerical or reception work, but
the employers told me they don't employ someone older than 35 years
old.'
Despite his old age and failing eyesight, Mr Goh is fiercely
independent, travelling everywhere by MRT and bus, tapping his
cane.
He is on his feet for four to five hours a day, five times a
week.
He gets up to $70 on good days, selling tissues at $1 for four
packets.
Said Mr Goh: 'I can't stay at home. I find such joy meeting and
interacting with people.'
Singaporeans, he said, are a kind-hearted lot. 'A few times, a
doctor and a company manager have driven me home.'
He even squirrels away some money to travel to Batam, Penang and
parts of Thailand to visit churches and do missionary work.
'Selling tissues is not just about making a living for me. I see it
as one way for me to pass my time and to reach out to people, and
hopefully, to touch them in some way.'
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Are they begging & breaking the law?
PEOPLE who solicit for money in return for packets of tissue paper
can be fined for illegal hawking, said the National Environment
Agency (NEA).
It can also be considered disguised begging, which is
illegal.
Under the Environmental Public Health Act, those found peddling
tissue paper can be fined up to $5,000 for illegal hawking.
Repeat offenders can be fined up to $10,000, jailed for up to three
months, or both.
They can also be charged with begging under the Destitute Persons
Act. Those convicted face a fine of up to $3,000 or up to two years
in jail.
In recent times, there has been a call for the authorities to be
more lenient with the elderly selling tissues.
The NEA declined to comment on whether laws will be relaxed, but
said they are working with the relevant authorities to tackle the
issue.
An NEA spokesman told The New Paper that they understand some
people in financial difficulties want to hawk for a living.
But they advise people to apply for street hawking licences. That
would allow them to sell ice cream, canned drinks and tidbits
within their town council estates or parks.
- Maureen Koh
