More on the unfolding Pioneer Generation story...

I had previously said I liked the idea of honouring older Singaporeans and referring to them as the Pioneer Generation (PG). And I agree with Mr Lee Kuan Yew's point that this special generation's numbers are dwindling and that the young should speak to "the remaining members of the pioneer generation who lived through those times"...

This 84-year-old man certainly is a PGer...

So is this man -- some years older than me (yes, I know him) but who was enlisted in the pioneer batches of national service even though he was past the age of 18 on account of his being a new tertiary graduate at the time...

But, as I have also noted, the policy makers have screwed up by extending the Pioneer Generation all the way to Dec 31, 1949. Why? This photo is telling:

These five gentlemen were all classmates in an all-boys secondary school. They studied under the same teachers, chatted up the girls from the nearby all-girls secondary school, went to see the movies and listened to the same pop music of their era. But wait! There is now a "class divide"! Three were born before 1950 and are now PGers. The other two were born in 1950 and I dub them the "pia kias".

It becomes even more ridiculous when you learn that the three PGers did not have to do National Service (unlike Dr Quek, above, they did not go on to university... no big deal, really; they have done well in life) while one of the "pia kias" did his full time NS stint (receiving a good conduct medal along the way) and the other enrolled full-time in the military. Ironic, huh?

Meanwhile, the tweaks to the PG policy gets weirder. We are now told there are Sports Pioneers...

...and "NTUC Pioneers" (my coinage):

This man "explains" why "NTUC Pioneers" are a great idea...

So, three of those guys in that picture above having coffee together helped make "Singapore OK" but the other two did not? Sheesh.

Already, there is some concern about possible abuse...

...and which this cartoon pointedly sums up: