Page 18 - Visionary Arts 2019

The two policies that play an important role in shaping the
Singaporean society today were the Central Provident Fund (CPF)
scheme and the Housing and Development Act. These two policies
gave birth to two notable institutions, Central Provident Fund Board

(CPFB) and Housing and Development Board (HDB) that
symbiotically helped people secure a home for themselves. The HDB
took care of building public housing or flats on a large scale and offer

attractive deals to citizens, while the CFPB helped and mandated all
working Singaporeans to allocate their income to the Fund for their
savings, retirement, healthcare, and housing plans. Through savings in
CPF accounts, Singaporeans can purchase a home at a cheaper price.
With such governmental supports on housing needs, it is not

surprising that Singaporeans at that time would see home ownership
as a milestone for their social success.

The underlying effects of home ownership are that people
of diverse ethnicity would feel socially secure and have a sense of
community, thus alleviating tensions between different ethnic groups
(Calder, 2016). Moreover, the HDB also helped prevent racial and
social stratification by mingling residences of different ethnic and

income groups together. However, Lim found this trend developing
into a self-centred society, obsessed with materialism. This
materialistic view is ironically portrayed in “Paper” through Tay Soon

and Yee Lian. The argument that Tay Soon makes against his mother
who is rebuking him for “putting all his money in those worthless
shares” is “Do you know, Mother, if I sold all my shares today, I would
have the money to buy fifty terrace houses like the one you have?”
(Lim, 1978) It is clear that this statement is completely opposite to

Lee Kuan Yew’s visions since his first day in the office.

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