Mr Chairman, our population is ageing and living longer. We have a good healthcare system but past solutions will not work as well for the future.

That is why we have been quietly restructuring our healthcare delivery system and gearing it up for a future with many more elderly patients. It is a quiet revolution: no fanfare, no sensational headline news. But if we do it well, our efforts will show in ten years' time.

We have a lot to do. We need to work harder at keeping patients well in the community, avoiding unnecessary hospitalisation, achieving greater integration between hospitals and the community partners, and helping patients achieve successful ageing at home.

We are not alone. Every country is trying to figure out the best solutions. The efforts are not just happening in the public sector, nor are they restricted to the healthcare sector. Industries are seeing an important role for themselves in tackling the ageing problem.

In Japan, Toto, the largest toilet producer, makes a toilet that has arm supports to help the old get off the toilet. They were the first to come up with a toilet seat with an integrated bidet. When I first saw it in Japan, I thought it had to do with infection control.

But they explained that using water to cleanse, rather than paper, reduces effort for the seniors. Zojirushi, an appliance maker, has a kettle that sends a wireless message if granny does not use it by a certain time each morning. It is a clever non-intrusive way for families to check that things are all right with their elderly.

There are many such pockets of excellence and innovation all over the world. In healthcare, I regularly remind my colleagues that we must challenge ourselves to match the best performers in each class. But the job is not mine alone. My Ministry can only provide a supportive environment.

Successful living and successful ageing are personal choices. Dr Chee Pui Hung provided an example. There are many others. Prof Chan Heng Leong, a former Head of Medicine in NUS, is another.

A brilliant doctor, a dedicated academic, a good family man. He could have earned more in the private sector but
chose a public career to teach and treat the poor. In retirement, he continued to contribute, in the University and at the hospital. When his time was up, he refused further medical interventions and passed away peacefully at home.

The last few days of these wise people are not mournful partings but quiet celebrations of having lived a fulfilling life. Friends and family members drop by to talk about the past and the good times together. Some may even sing (nightclub mamasan) "the lights are dimming, even the drunkards are gradually sobering, now is the time to say
goodbye".

I don't think Members need any translation, as I am told this is a favourite karaoke song of many MPs.

Indeed, Mr Chairman, everyone, rich or poor, will say goodbye one day. And we all want to end well. To end well, we need to stay well and live a healthy and fulfilling life. We have different starting points but all can live well.

Over the weekend, I was so happy to read about Jeremy Lim's achievements at his GCE 'A' level examinations. He was an NKF Ambassador when I first met him. He was born with a brittle bone disease and told me that a severe cough could fracture his ribs.

He is wheel-chair bound but has never allowed the disability to hold him back. As he put it to ZB: "we cannot determine what life will bring us, but we can determine our life journey". He added: "I cannot walk like other kids, but I can still do many things that other kids can".

He told ST: "I focus on the things that I have, rather than the things that I don't".

Life is a series of successive moments. We cannot change the past and we do not know what the next moment will bring. But we can seize the current moment and live it to the fullest helping others and touching their lives. How?

Lao-tzu's prescription is 2,500 years old but it remains relevant: "be like water which nourishes all life, but itself does not derive any gain". This is a high ideal, but we can all try to get close to it.