Former Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan got visibly emotional when he shared an anecdote about his late mother during an online question and answer session with residents.
The session, "Coffee Talk with PAP Candidates of Holland-Bukit Timah and Bukit Panjang", included Sim Ann, Christopher De Souza, Edward Chia, and Liang Eng Hwa.
Why NIRC is split in half
One resident asked: "Every year, we allocate 50 per cent of the Net Investment Returns Contribution or NIRC to the national budget. I would like to know what happens to the other half. Also, why can't the monies be dispensed to our fellow Singaporeans especially during these trying and unprecedented times?"
In response, Vivian addressed the question by explaining why Singapore has reserves, which he said was due to the Pioneer and Merdeka generations thriftiness and values of always spending less than they saved.
Vivian clarified that the reserves are being used on rainy days, especially during the Covid-19 crisis Singapore is in the midst of.
As for why the NIRC is split into half, Vivian said:
"We take half for this generation, we set aside half for the next generation. Simple and it seems fair."
Personal anecdote
The Q&A session then took a personal turn, as Vivian started sharing more about his own mother.
He said that his mother never met her father because he passed away a month or two before she was born.
"She knew what hardship and deprivation was," he said.
"All her life after that, she couldn't really spend money, she was always worried about a rainy day, and she was always saving, squirrelling money," he said. In that moment, his eyes got visibly red and teary.
Despite his mother passing away a long time ago — 22 years — one of Vivian's "enduring" memories of her was her doing her best to set aside money for her grandchildren, knowing she would pass away soon.
"And as I saw her doing that and making her arrangements, I knew this was money she did not spend on herself, kept and saved and squirrelled away. She didn't give it to me, she gave it to the grandchildren. So I feel very, very strongly about having savings, about preparing for a rainy day and for trying our best to make sure our children and our grandchildren will have a legacy and will have a starting line that is more secure than previous generations."
Throughout his monologue, Vivian's voice broke several times, and he appeared to be choking back tears.
Vivian then urged Singaporeans to always save for rainy days, and said that as long as people retain these values the older generations upheld, "we'll be alright".
This particular personal experience he had was why he felt so strongly on the issue of saving up.
"So this is something which I feel very deeply, and personally about. And if you think therefore that I'm being too tight on expenditures for the present, I'm telling you why I feel this way."
You can watch the full session here.