100 receive Pioneer Generation cards from PM Lee at launch

SINGAPORE — About 100 pioneers were the first to receive their Pioneer Generation cards yesterday, which will help healthcare providers identify them as pioneers and enable them to receive benefits they are entitled to under the Pioneer Generation Package.

At the official launch of the card by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the People’s Association Headquarters, some of them received their cards from Mr Lee, while the remainder of the 450,000 pioneers are set to receive them within the month.

Speaking at the event, Mr Lee said there would be a big effort to deliver the cards on time.

“There will be 449,900 more cards to distribute to the other Pioneer Generation Singaporeans and we’re going to make a very big effort to deliver all of the cards on time to them over the month — before Sept 1, when the scheme begins,” he said.

The private-sector partners, Media-link Printing Services and SingPost, have been working extra hard to produce, pack and deliver the packages that contain these cards, he added.

The red-and-white personalised cards will be delivered with a welcome pack, which includes a personalised list of the six nearest Community Health Assist Scheme (CHAS) clinics to the recipient’s home, a CHAS clinic directory and a booklet detailing in four languages the benefits of the Pioneer Generation Package.

These benefits include subsidised healthcare at participating general practitioners and dental clinics under CHAS, an additional 50 per cent off subsidised treatments at polyclinics and Specialist Outpatient Clinics, among other things.

Among the pioneers who attended the event yesterday was midwife Jumiah Yunus, to whom Mr Lee also paid tribute in his speech.

Mdm Jumiah felt the benefits under the package would help reduce her family’s burden when it comes to footing her medical bills. Although retired, the 70-year-old — who has nearly 50 years of experience as a midwife — remains active under KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital’s Postnatal Home Care Service, where she visits the homes of new mothers every month.

Another pioneer who was excited to receive the card was 69-year-old Foo Meng Wan, who said the scheme could cover seniors’ healthcare costs “quite substantially”.

A former teacher at the Institute of Technical Education, Mr Foo said he had also received an email from his friends that shared a Mandarin video showing local entertainers singing about the benefits of the package.

“My friends and I know that, with the scheme, generally, we are well looked after,” he added.