Tuesday, March 24, 2009
不孝子
Top: Leong Mew Peng, 80, a Singaporean at Spring Valley Homecare in Johor Baru.]
JB nursing homes draw some S'poreans
By Melissa Sim
WHEN civil servant Gordon Yong, 39, needed to find a nursing home for his mother following her stroke, he found the ones in Singapore too expensive.
They were charging between $1,200 and $1,800 a month - far more than he could afford on his salary of under $4,000, which also supports his three-child family. His working wife also has to look after her parents.
He did the next best thing and got his mother a place in a home in Johor Baru (JB) for $600 a month. This is how Madam Leong Mew Peng, 80, came to live in Spring Valley Homecare, less than half an hour's drive from the Causeway.
Fellow Singaporean Alison Low, 58, checked herself into Spring Valley over two years ago - also for cost reasons.
The three-year-old home has 11 Singaporeans, making up one in five residents there. Of the 10 other homes The Straits Times inquired at in JB, eight said they had between one and 10 Singaporeans.
Checks with their kin showed cost savings to be the main draw of these homes.
A plug for these homes came in Parliament on Monday from Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan, who said Singaporeans could save money by using JB nursing homes. For what it costs to board someone in a private nursing home here, 'you can stretch it easily to pay for at least 21/2 months of nursing home care in Johor Baru', he said. The facilities there typically charge between $450 and $1,000 a month, compared to those here which ask for between $1,000 and $4,000.
Mr Khaw said another perk is that JB is 'near enough for relatives to visit'.
But 57-year-old supervisor Mohamed Waris, whose father is at Spring Valley, said he has problems finding a cab to go there. Nonetheless, he makes the journey every two to three weeks.
Those who check out JB homes are also finding some with facilities that are comparable to those here.
Spring Valley, for example, follows Singapore regulations and provides one toilet for every four beds. Its high ceilings and large windows make its rooms airy.
China Healthcare, previously known as Econ Healthcare, will open a 200-bed home in JB within two years, following its 100-bed facility in Kuala Lumpur. Its chairman, Mr Ong Chu Poh, said a home in JB would appeal to Singaporeans due to their familiarity with the town, its proximity to Singapore and the lower fees.
Mr Yong would agree that JB is still the best choice for him now for those reasons. 'I'm just unable to afford the rates here. But I do wish I was able to bring my mother back.'http://www.asiaone.com/Health/News/S...16-122330.html
It makes me very sad and angry reading this
yea I understand that there is a budget constraint
Singapore cost of living is high
but nothing ABSOLUTELY NOTHING can justify dumping your parents in a JB home
YOUR OWN MOTHER LEH FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!!!
I mean what happen to all the 好公民 lessons in primary school
where have all the moral values gone to?
how can you do such a thing?
how can you treat a person who gave birth to you like that!!
饮水思源 HALLOW!?
look at the lady in the picture
does she even look happy
imagine everyday lying on the bed gazing at the ceiling
far away from friends and family
no one to talk to
no grandchildren to play with
讲得不好听好像在等死
it's a sad sight
shame on this Gordon Yong
whether fictional or not
given we have a "154th media"
don't tell me spend a few hundred dollars on a maid also can't afford
get $4000 salary somemore
must chuck his mum to JB to 'cut cost'
even going to senior citizens day care in Singapore is cheaper and a better alternative
what no time to look after her MY ASS
got time to earn $ no time to look after your own mum rite
or issit your wife can't get along with your mum
choose wife over mum right
why don't send your wife's parents to JB as well leh?
ingrateful bastard
who look after you when you were a baby
feed you bathe you coax you to sleep
raise you up and provide for your needs
all the $ and effort
and this is how you treat her
raining that time you better be careful
walk outside 雷公劈
to think that the govt
the health minister
suggests JB as a good place to send your aged parents to
no doubt it's cheaper
everything aside
that is just plain wrong morally
wait till the health minister's children send him to a JB home
and conveniently 'forget' to visit him
see how he feel
out of sight out of mind mah
everytime I see the picture I feel very sad leh
why they even publish this
govt have agreement with malaysian govt issit
boost the malaysian economy issit
I imagine when I am old and not economically useful in Singapore
does this imply I will be
- sent to old folks home 
- sent to nursing home far from children's place
- sent overseas 
I dun believe visits to JB is really so convenient. Over time there will be a lot of excuses and then it becomes one visit per year machiam area inspection liao
hope all who read this
please don't do this to your parents
whatever your financial situation
there can be other solution definitely
your parents deserve more love and respect
they are humans with feelings too
don't do unto others what you don't want others to do onto you
so he said @
5:18 PM
