http://www.asiaone.com/News/Latest%2BNews/Singapore/Story/A1Story20120910-370586.html
The members were invited to join the committee for their individual perspectives and experiences such as:
TACKLING HIGH COST OF LIVING
"I'm worried about how my children are going to cope," said Mr Ismail Hussein, 49, head of Maybank Singapore's Islamic Banking Unit and a father of two boys and a girl aged between 15 and 25.
He is also concerned about the widening income gap, which he describes as very "divisive".
HELPING FOREIGNERS INTEGRATE
Foreign students whom committee member Thomas Pek spoke to shared their embarrassment about feeling unwelcome in Singapore.
"Some come here on a scholarship, some do volunteer work here. Their enthusiasm and warmth reminds me of our ancestors who came here for their survival," he said.
BEING INCLUSIVE OF THE DISABLED
Committee member Chia Yong Yong, 50, who is also the president of the Society for the Physically Disabled, suffers from a muscular disorder called pereoneal muscular atrophy.
Ms Chia, who is also a commercial lawyer, said she has personally encountered staring or impatience from members of the public, "like we are holding them up in traffic".
She has also heard of disabled children being rejected by mainstream schools, as well as disabled adults facing problems finding jobs.
REDUCING ELDERLY ISOLATION
There are increasingly more seniors who are "left alone" after their children move out to build their own families, said committee member, artist and host Lim Ru Ping, 61.
Ms Lim also hopes that effort can be made to reach out to the retired elderly, who may not be involved in enough activities to pass time. She said: "Maybe we can help them by having more volunteers visit them, or organise more functions to make them happy."
ALLEVIATING A COMPETITIVE EDUCATION ENVIRONMENT
Teacher Annette Chan, 27, told my paper that she is concerned about the state of "hyper-parenting", which seems to be much worse now, compared to a generation ago.
"The environment for kids to grow up in seems to be a bit unhealthy, in a space governed by the rule of 'survival of the fittest'," noted the mother of a five-month-old girl.
More should be done to allay the fears of parents and children when they are unable to get into an elite school or a school of choice, for instance, she said.
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