What I hate about the current Singapore
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Whether we decide to migrate to Canada, NZ, Australia, UK, US, or even Timbuktu :yikes: there are many varied reasons for doing so and there will be many push and pull factors.
But despite the wonderful news you hear from ex-Singaporeans, I have always wondered in today's world where it is most certainly the Asian century why would you want to go to places where the governments of those countries look to Asia with envy?
If u had listened to the State of the Union speech of Obama, you would have realized that this country that so prized innovation and immigration is looking at itself and wondering where it went wrong. Obama mentions how they have to pump in money into the education system so that US children will not get left behind, have to encourage US companies to come back to the US, have to encourage US companies to innovate etc. I love San Francisco but I find New York too crowded, and yet you have to try to stay in the crowd to feel safe! I love Washington because it seems to have the right balance of space and buzz.
I love Melbourne, find Sydney so-so and Perth is :snooze: I love England but the weather is terrible for me personally.
I cannot comment on Canada or NZ as I have never been there.
Yes you will find a lot of attractions superficially in all the countries above that I have listed except perhaps Timbuktu, but I still personally feel I will remain a 2nd class citizen in the eyes of the born and bred whites. It is no different from the recent angst that Singaporeans who are born and bred here have displayed to immigrants.
Just because every country I listed is bigger than Singapore and has more space etc. does not mean the citizens there do not feel the same way as we Singapore citizens do? It is a visceral reaction that comes naturally.
You can see the resentment that the Europeans have to the mass migration of Africans and Middle Eastern persons of the Muslim faith to especially Germany and France. You can feel the resentment of the British towards the mass influx of Indian, Polish and other eastern Europeans into the UK. The middle-class white American is grappling with accepting the idea of the overwhelming influx of Latin/Hispanic immigrants both legal and illegal. The list can go on and on.
The argument that these countries are big and can absorb such immigrants cuts no ice with the locals there as where do u think the immigrants are going to live and work? In the great forests of Canada, the great desert of Australia? The immigrants will compete for the same housing, jobs, facilities, as the locals. So ultimately the type of unhappiness Singaporeans express about foreigners are the same ones expressed by locals in the various towns and cities of the US, Canada, Australia, NZ, UK (but perhaps not Timbuktu).
We have to adapt to the living conditions that surround us especially in Singapore and to be aware that there are actually very few places out there that are better than home. There are always trade offs whether u decide to stay in Singapore or migrate. It is whether the trade offs in staying outweigh the trade offs in migrating to a foreign land and dealing with the problems and issues over there. -
pirate:
Singapore is just becoming more like the rest of the developed world, just that people here have yet to learn how to adjust to it.
Dunno leh, I am surrounded by Malaysians, PRCs, Indians from India, Philippinos, Japanese, angmos etc but I still feel very comfortable with the foreigners around me leh.janet_lee88:
Singapore is not of the past...a place we feel at home...a place we call home.
With a great influx of foreigners, we are going to lose a sense of belonging. -
For those who have benefitted from the growth of the last decade, it is important to help those who had been left behind.
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3Boys:
Singapore is just becoming more like the rest of the developed world, just that people here have yet to learn how to adjust to it.[/quote]We opened the door to foreigners but there are no legislation to protect SCs against discrimination. Countries like Aust and US have labour laws to protect their citizens at work, something we face everyday. I dun think I'll ever adapt to being a 2nd class citizen in my own motherland. If I have to adapt being a 2nd class citizen, then I might as well migrate to be a 2nd class citizen with a bigger house and car and shorter working hours?
Dunno leh, I am surrounded by Malaysians, PRCs, Indians from India, Philippinos, Japanese, angmos etc but I still feel very comfortable with the foreigners around me leh.pirate:
[quote=\"janet_lee88\"]Singapore is not of the past...a place we feel at home...a place we call home.
With a great influx of foreigners, we are going to lose a sense of belonging.
The reason ppl like us are making so much noise is that there are certain industries in SG were SCs are severely discriminated. But fortunately it has not spread to entire SG yet. There is no laws nothing to protect us. The reason we are tirelessly bringing up the issue is to prevent this from spreading to the whole SG, which will be highly likely with the white paper. The day I stopped complaining means I've totally given up hope of SG and left to be 2nd class citizen elsewhere -
Agree. Heard that in Aust,foreigners only allow to purchase new hse,cannot buy pre-owned house.
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Dora1:
We opened the door to foreigners but there are no legislation to protect SCs against discrimination. Countries like Aust and US have labour laws to protect their citizens at work, something we face everyday. I dun think I'll ever adapt to being a 2nd class citizen in my own motherland. If I have to adapt being a 2nd class citizen, then I might as well migrate to be a 2nd class citizen with a bigger house and car and shorter working hours?
Singapore is just becoming more like the rest of the developed world, just that people here have yet to learn how to adjust to it.3Boys:
[quote=\"pirate\"]
Dunno leh, I am surrounded by Malaysians, PRCs, Indians from India, Philippinos, Japanese, angmos etc but I still feel very comfortable with the foreigners around me leh.
The reason ppl like us are making so much noise is that there are certain industries in SG were SCs are severely discriminated. But fortunately it has not spread to entire SG yet. There is no laws nothing to protect us. The reason we are tirelessly bringing up the issue is to prevent this from spreading to the whole SG, which will be highly likely with the white paper. The day I stopped complaining means I've totally given up hope of SG and left to be 2nd class citizen elsewhere[/quote]
Not true! There is a quota of how many foreigner a company can employ. Of course unless you still regard those new Singapore Citizen as foreigner.
Any company you suspect flouting the foreigner employment quota you should blow your whistle to the MOM. Your help is much appreciated. -
vinegar:
Agree. Heard that in Aust,foreigners only allow to purchase new hse.
And they are not allowed to sell back to the locals, so slowly, all the new houses are properties of the new immigrants and the born and bred locals are occupying the old and run down estate :yikes: -
Harlequin:
We opened the door to foreigners but there are no legislation to protect SCs against discrimination. Countries like Aust and US have labour laws to protect their citizens at work, something we face everyday. I dun think I'll ever adapt to being a 2nd class citizen in my own motherland. If I have to adapt being a 2nd class citizen, then I might as well migrate to be a 2nd class citizen with a bigger house and car and shorter working hours?Dora1:
[quote=\"3Boys\"]
Singapore is just becoming more like the rest of the developed world, just that people here have yet to learn how to adjust to it.
The reason ppl like us are making so much noise is that there are certain industries in SG were SCs are severely discriminated. But fortunately it has not spread to entire SG yet. There is no laws nothing to protect us. The reason we are tirelessly bringing up the issue is to prevent this from spreading to the whole SG, which will be highly likely with the white paper. The day I stopped complaining means I've totally given up hope of SG and left to be 2nd class citizen elsewhere
Not true! There is a quota of how many foreigner a company can employ. Of course unless you still regard those new Singapore Citizen as foreigner.
Any company you suspect flouting the foreigner employment quota you should blow your whistle to the MOM. Your help is much appreciated.[/quote]The quota groups PR with SCs. There are companies with 0% SCs and totally legal. And there are foreigners who get their PRs within 6 months of arriving in sg -
Dora1:
The quota groups PR with SCs. There are companies with 0% SCs and totally legal. And there are foreigners who get their PRs within 6 months of arriving in sg[/quote]\"There are companies with 0% SCs and totally legal.\"....Harlequin:
[quote=\"Dora1\"]
We opened the door to foreigners but there are no legislation to protect SCs against discrimination. Countries like Aust and US have labour laws to protect their citizens at work, something we face everyday. I dun think I'll ever adapt to being a 2nd class citizen in my own motherland. If I have to adapt being a 2nd class citizen, then I might as well migrate to be a 2nd class citizen with a bigger house and car and shorter working hours?
The reason ppl like us are making so much noise is that there are certain industries in SG were SCs are severely discriminated. But fortunately it has not spread to entire SG yet. There is no laws nothing to protect us. The reason we are tirelessly bringing up the issue is to prevent this from spreading to the whole SG, which will be highly likely with the white paper. The day I stopped complaining means I've totally given up hope of SG and left to be 2nd class citizen elsewhere
Not true! There is a quota of how many foreigner a company can employ. Of course unless you still regard those new Singapore Citizen as foreigner.
Any company you suspect flouting the foreigner employment quota you should blow your whistle to the MOM. Your help is much appreciated.
Really... don't know how you come about saying that they are totally legal.
Please visit MOM website for Manpower Act.
And please do your part to support the local workforce by providing proof to MOM to pursue such errand companies/employers. -
Harlequin
Like I said, 0%SC is ok because PRs are considered local workforce, so as long as they employ the required number of PRs, they are legal. And FYI, those quota only applies to lower skilled work permit and S passes. For those on employment passes meaning the PMET, as long as they meet the salary criteria, then no quota applies.
You can read up the MOM website for details.
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