For
the ordinary Singaporean that has to squeeze everyday on the MRT
train with the 'new immigrants', the ire is definitely not
irrational.
Written
on 05. Apr, 2010
AT the
first anniversary celebration dinner of Crossroads, a segment in
the Chinese daily Lianhe Zaobao on new immigrants and citizens,
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Lim Hwee Hwa spoke of the
need to ‘avoid developing irrational fears’ of foreigners by
Singaporeans, and instead stressed on the need to embrace them
collectively in our society.
Ms. Lim Hwee Hwa’s comments came after a series of strong
vitriolic criticisms against the increasing influx of foreigners
into Singapore, now composing more than one-third of Singapore’s
total population.
Pointing out that these foreigners add ‘color and vibrancy’ to
our country, two new permanent residents were cited as examples of
how new citizenry contributed to in more ways than one to
well-being of Singapore. Of them, Mr. Welkers, a managing directory
of a software bundling company, was commended for his voluntary
contributions to the Toa Payoh neighbourhood police post, totalling
some 40-50 hours a month.
The fear of this influx of foreigners by ordinary Singaporeans,
in this sense, was ‘irrational’ for Ms. Lim.
What kinds of new immigrants are Singaporeans
fearful of?
The on-going debate regarding the influx of foreigners in
Singapore will stand to benefit if we can take the simple step of
differentiating between the kinds of new immigrants in Singapore.
By coalescing the different kinds of new immigrants in
Singapore together, there is not only a sense in which both sides
of the debate are talking at different things altogether, but it
will also lead to an oversimplification of the complex reality on
the ground.
It is highly doubtable that the ordinary Singaporean is fearful
of foreigners such as Mr. Stijn Welkers from the Netherlands, a
managing director of a software bundling company, and Mr Jim
Rogers, an American investor and financial commentator as mentioned
in the reports.
Much of Singapore’s economy hinges on the inflow of foreign
investments into the country, and surely most if not all
Singaporeans would gladly welcome these ‘new immigrants’ to startup
a company in their shores and then subsequently creating new jobs
for the locals.
Singaporeans by and large are not xenophobic. As mentioned,
Singapore was originally a country of immigrants who came from
areas as diverse as India and China. Growing up in a country of
extant religious and racial diversity, most Singaporeans are able
not only to understand other differences in culture, but also to
accept them as part of the manifold threads of the Singapore social
fabric.
The ‘foreigners’ that Singaporeans are fearful of are those who
easily enter their shores without serving any concomitant duties
such as National Service and yet access highly similar or equal
privileges in comparison. These foreigners typically enter the
workforce at the middle or lower level and are able to work for a
pointedly less amount than the ordinary Singaporean, for the
Singaporean dollar when exchanged to their local currencies would
be able to fetch very much more.
For new immigrants such as Mr. Welkers and Mr. Rogers, most
Singaporeans would surely give them a pack on their back and say a
warm ‘thank you’ for not only investing in our country and creating
jobs, but also contributing in remarkably sincere ways such as
volunteering at a police post.
It is foreigners such as
Zhang Yuan Yuan,
however, that enter our shores and enjoy the fruits of our
educational system on local scholarships, and not only gained
permanent residency in roughly 5 years of her time here, but also
obtained a job at a MNC in Singapore, before readily putting down
Singapore on China’s State TV that are the real ire of
Singaporeans.
Trickling down from Ms. Zhang’s example are countless of
immigrants easily obtaining employment at various places such as
credit card call centers, restaurants, banks and other firms in the
professional fields. A high amount of students from other countries
have also obtained places at local universities and other
educational institutions.
Singaporeans are not xenophobic, but are merely saying that the
government of Singapore that they have placed their trust in and
elected must serve to protect their interests first. In a tiny
country such as ours, the middle class Singaporean is being
squeezed out of employment opportunities, not by the likes of Mr.
Rogers and Mr. Welkers, but by the class of foreigners that Ms. Lim
has neglected to refer to.
While tiny steps are taken to sharpen this citizen-PR divide and
to restrict the inflow of Singaporeans, it is certainly not helpful
to label the Singaporeans’ fear of new immigrants as being
‘irrational’.
For the Singaporean that has to wake up before 7.30am every
morning, only to squeeze on board the MRT train and buses with ‘new
immigrants’, work his life away at a colorless office for fear of
losing his job to these ‘new immigrants’, before returning to the
very same train/bus in the late evening, sweaty body to sweaty body
with them again, the frustration is definitely not irrational.
It is an experience that one who travels to work in the comfort
of a BMW or Mercedez-Benz, one whose job is never being threatened,
will never truly understand.
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