PM Asks "What kind of people do we want to be?"

[verykiasu2010]

winchester:

Dora1:

As much as I want to agree with the PM, I think the root cause for the anti-foreigner behaviour needs to be seriously looked into. It is not as simple as just lack of housing and over crowded public transport. These can be easily resolved by building more house/ train lines.

I am not sure what industries are most of the parents here from. In my industry, it is very common for SCs to be sidelined. When I started working 10+ years ago, it was preferential treatment for the expats, which probably make up 10 % of the workforce, and some foreigners on WP in the lowest tiers jobs. SCs make up the middle 80% or so. The expats were given preferential treatment - they work less, but are paid more. However, the SCs were mostly OK with it, cos these are MNCs and the expats are from their HQs. Since we are working in their companies, we \"more or less\" expected this type of preferential treatment, so not much complains there.
However, in recent years, more and more of the middle management jobs started to go to PRs. And these PRs were given PRs within 3-6months of coming to SG. It started with 1 in the middle management. The SCs were given all the \"undesirable tasks\" and their own countrymen were given all the cushy portfolios, those that have an opportunity to perform with minimal effort. Very soon, SCs were by passed for promos, and soon many left. Within 1 year, you can easily see the whole dept replaced by all the staff from the same nationality.
The SCs who left and joined other companies faced the same problem with other companies. It was very difficult for SCs to find good jobs. Many of us with years of experience in the field were by-passed as the hiring manager was a PR, and he managed to get candidates from his own country, who flew here on social visit pass for interview, and undercut our pay by $1000. Once they are employed, they were quickly granted PR. Many of my ex colleagues have left the field, which by the way is one of the highly promoted field by the gov, and is highly technical. It is really very sad that all the training and hardwork has come to this.

you in IT or banking? yah, the problem is the mid-management also come in to compete with resources with us - housing, transport, jobs, opportunities. worse as they dont come as expats and are cheap, looking for the same things as us and also they are protected by their own kind in office.

I would say the ROOT CAUSE is the thrust and misguided belief & trust that only foreign bankers are gooder and the blind trust given to foreign CEO heading the local banks.

Salute Wee Cho Yaw and Lien Ying Chou

[3Boys]

An issue (that PM also highlighted, although using different words) is Singaporeans’ penchant for externalising blame. Its unfortunately part of the learned helplessness that pervades the middle-aged, middle-classed Singaporean of today.


The root cause of anti-foreigner sentiment is…anti-foreigner sentiment. If one were not xenophobic to begin with, one could not easily be turned xenophobic by external circumstances.

[winchester]

verykiasu2010:

I would say the ROOT CAUSE is the thrust and misguided belief & trust that only foreign bankers are gooder and the blind trust given to foreign CEO heading the local banks.

Salute Wee Cho Yaw and Lien Ying Chou

yah. i hate this thinking. and those in the industry, know about the rumours of them foreigners clicking together, covering each other. laughing at us as they climb over our heads.

[winchester]

3Boys:

An issue (that PM also highlighted, although using different words) is Singaporeans' penchant for externalising blame. Its unfortunately part of the learned helplessness that pervades the middle-aged, middle-classed Singaporean of today.


The root cause of anti-foreigner sentiment is.........anti-foreigner sentiment. If one were not xenophobic to begin with, one could not easily be turned xenophobic by external circumstances.

some of the anti-foreigner sentiment is pure trash bullshit. like that ferrari accident. that is irrational and stupid criticism and outright xenophobia by some locals.

[Dora1]

Winchester


I am not in IT/banking. There are other industries around that also suffer the same fate.

3boys
I want to say that I was never xenophobic. I had lots of friends from other countries. The turning point was when certain PR managers took over and \"forced\" SC to quit so that he can bring in his own countrymen from his country. And this happened in more than 1 company. I don't think you can ever understand unless you are in our shoes. Can you imagine being squeezed out of your job due to nationality in your own country - repeatedly? Would you still open foreigners with open arms? I am sorry I am a normal human. I am not able to do that. However, I still have some personal good friends who are foreigners.

And please don't tell me that those are real talents and SC cmi. I heard from the last few ex-colleagues that the company has so many non-compliance issues now, that the HQ is sending some ang mos over to investigate. The result of the investigation was \"professionalism and technical skills of staff\".
Ours is a highly regulated industry, and the reason that we managed to attract so many foreign investments in the earlier days was SG's reputation for good quality professional workforce - made up mainly by SCs. We painstakingly build up the good reputation and its now officially destroyed by the FTs. :gloomy:

[Dora1]

Winchester


I agree the Ferrari incident is irrational. But what I am trying to say its that there is an underlying root cause for these type of irrational behaviour.
And that should be addressed. I think if we don’t remove the underlying frustration about the unequal treatment of SCs at work by PRs (not EP or whatever), those irrational xenophobic behaviour will always exist.
When people are being driven up the wall, you can’t expect them to be always rational. It’s a ticking time bomb.

[verykiasu2010]

Dora1:

Winchester


I am not in IT/banking. There are other industries around that also suffer the same fate.

3boys
I want to say that I was never xenophobic. I had lots of friends from other countries. The turning point was when certain PR managers took over and \"forced\" SC to quit so that he can bring in his own countrymen from his country. And this happened in more than 1 company. I don't think you can ever understand unless you are in our shoes. Can you imagine being squeezed out of your job due to nationality in your own country - repeatedly? Would you still open foreigners with open arms? I am sorry I am a normal human. I am not able to do that. However, I still have some personal good friends who are foreigners.

And please don't tell me that those are real talents and SC cmi. I heard from the last few ex-colleagues that the company has so many non-compliance issues now, that the HQ is sending some ang mos over to investigate. The result of the investigation was \"professionalism and technical skills of staff\".
Ours is a highly regulated industry, and the reason that we managed to attract so many foreign investments in the earlier days was SG's reputation for good quality professional workforce - made up mainly by SCs. We painstakingly build up the good reputation and its now officially destroyed by the FTs. :gloomy:

I think if you write to HSK and LHL, they will listen

[Daddy D]

I just saw the picture on straits times, page A7... On people watching NDP this year @ Esplanade waterfront...


Majority not locals... :yikes: :yikes:

How to have a big heart?

[verykiasu2010]

Daddy

I just saw the picture on straits times, page A7... On people watching NDP this year @ Esplanade waterfront...


Majority not locals... :yikes: :yikes:

How to have a big heart?

http://i46.tinypic.com/2e1suic.jpg\">

[3Boys]

Here we go again......


Big heart?

It means acceptance in the face of adversity, graciousness under stress, it does not mean its big only when things are fine and dandy.