Malaysian
doctor: Singapore should be grateful to Malaysians for its
success
December 6,
2009
A
Malaysian doctor by the name of Chen Jiayi who had chosen to return
to Malaysia after working for a number of years in Singapore wrote
in the Malaysian Chinese newspaper Sin Chew yesterday that
Singapore should be grateful to the Malaysians for its success
today.
Dr
Chen did not reveal the reason behind his return except that “the
answer would be revealed in time to come.”
When he first
came to work in a Singapore government hospital as a house officer,
Dr Chen soon realized that he was working with many of compatriots,
some of whom are his highest level superiors. Even the Singapore
Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan was a former Malaysian
citizen.
Malaysian Prime
Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak told the press that half the number
of medical specialists at Singapore’s Mount Elizabeth Hospital are
Malaysians during his recent visit to Singapore to attend the APEC
Summit.
The exact number
of Malaysians doctors working in Singapore is not known. About 5 to
10 per cent of the each year cohort of medical students are
Malaysians.
While some
Malaysians graduated from NUS, others like Dr Chen join the
Singapore public healthcare service after they finished their
studies overseas when they are lured here to work.
Dr
Che was told by colleagues that Malaysian talents were the
most sought after in Singapore and it not a surprise as due to
cultural similarities between the two nations, Malaysians find it
easiest to assimilate themselves into Singapore society.
During his years
of working in Singapore, Dr Chen noticed that young Singapore
doctors are encountering difficulties communicating with the older
generation of patients due to language barriers.
“Due to their
educational system, the younger generation of Singaporeans are
proficient in English, mediocre only in Chinese. For Malay
language, they are largely outsiders; as for Chinese dialects, that
will have to depend on whether their gandpas and grannies are still
around.
As such, young Singaporean
doctors face communciation problems when they encounter aged
patients, resorting to hand language at times just to get their
messages across,” he wrote.
As
a result of a chronic shortage of doctors in the public sector, the
Singapore Ministry of Health has turned elsewhere to recruit
foreign doctors.
The polyclinics
employ many doctors from other countries like the Philipines,
Vietnam, India, Thailand and Indonesia, some of whom are unable to
speak Chinese or Hokkien, the lingua franca of elderly
Singaporeans.
Most Singapore
doctors will leave the public sector upon the completion of their
mandatory 5-year bond if they are local graduates unless they
decide to specialize further.
The meagre pay,
long working hours and job satisfaction are often commonly cited as
reasons for their departure and yet little has been done to retain
senior medical officers within the public sector over the
years.
Dr
Chen ended his letter with a smug remark that Singaporeans should
be grateful to the Malaysian (doctors):
“The more
successful Singapore has become, the more I feel proud of my
Malaysian compatriots who have crossed the Causeway to serve in the
Lion City.
But sometimes I
would have this perverted idea: You Singaporeans need to be
grateful to us, the “Made in Malaysia” yet forsaken lot, for what
you have achieved!”
As
a matter of fact, Dr Chen should be thankful to Singapore for
giving him an opportunity to succeed in life. Had he not come to
Singapore, he would have to serve his internship in a Malaysian
hospital which is much busier before being packed off to a remote
corner to serve a rural community for three years.
After working in
Singapore for a number of years, Dr Chen will probably be able to
retire in his homeland with little financial worries for the rest
of his life like many of his compatriots who enjoy the best of both
worlds by being a Singapore PR and Malaysian citizen at the same
time.
December 5, 2009
By Chen Jiaqi from Sin Chew
Daily
I met up with some old classmates several times since my
university graduation, and discovered that over half of my Form V
classmates had gone to study, work, or even settle down in
Singapore.
I knew many of the top talents from my school ended up in
Singapore, but I was not aware that the number could be so big.
Those secondary school classmates of mine were among the most
brilliant in school, and Singapore was more than happy to bring
these independent Chinese secondary school students there so that
they could get the opportunity to advance their ambitions.
Still on my internship at a government hospital here, I had a
mixed bag of feelings, and to my own disbelief, I joined their rank
several years later.
Only a few days in Singapore, I was told by my superior that
there were plenty of my compatriots around me.
Indeed, beginning with my colleagues and looking upward level by
level, I found that many of my highest level superiors were
Malaysians.
They were doing their work conscientiously and had contributed
significantly towards the success of the tiny city-state.
I suddenly had that feeling of pride that Singapore owed much of
its success to the contributions made by Malaysian citizens.
I was told by colleagues that Malaysian talents were the most
sought after in Singapore.
Due to cultural and geographical proximity, we are actually that
group of foreigners who can best assimilate themselves into the
Singapore society.
This can’t be more true, as the two countries were forced apart
by nothing but politics!
Due to the nature of my job, I came to know many patients.
Singapore is a multicultural, more so a multinational country. To
these migrant workers, fundamental communication is never a
problem: Chinese Malaysians are well versed in three languages plus
an array of Chinese dialects.
Not all Singaporean doctors have this linguistic gift! Due to
their educational system, the younger generation of Singaporeans
are proficient in English, mediocre only in Chinese. For Malay
language, they are largely outsiders; as for Chinese dialects, that
will have to depend on whether their gandpas and grannies are still
around.
As such, young Singaporean doctors face communciation problems
when they encounter aged patients, resorting to hand language at
times just to get their messages across.
To Singapore, Malaysian talents are what they are most avid to
tout for.
Singapore’s meritocratic system knows no skin colours. But if it
does, I could have bagged in more perks.
I later decided to return to my country. Many have asked me why
I wanted to come back to Malaysia, which is filthy, messy, hard to
make a good living, and plagued with partial government
policies.
Why did I make such an unnatural decision? Perhaps the answer
would be revealed in time to come, I was thinking.
The more successful Singapore has become, the more I feel proud
of my Malaysian compatriots who have crossed the Causeway to serve
in the Lion City.
But sometimes I would have this perverted idea: You Singaporeans
need to be grateful to us, the “Made in Malaysia” yet forsaken lot,
for what you have achieved! (By Chen Jiaqi (reader)/Translated
by DOMINIC LOH/Sin Chew Daily)
Republished from Sin Chew Daily on 5 November
2009
Singapore's
Borrowed Success
A Malaysian writes about the longstanding role of
his countrymen and women in this city-state. Sin Chew
Daily
Dec 7, 2009
By
Chen Jiaqi
I met up with some old classmates several times
since my university graduation, and discovered that over half of my
Form V classmates had gone to study, work, or even settle down
in Singapore.
I knew many of the top talents
from my school ended up in Singapore, but I was not aware that the
number could be so big.
Those secondary school
classmates of mine were among the most brilliant in school,
and Singapore was more
than happy to bring these independent Chinese secondary school
students there so that they could get the opportunity to advance
their ambitions.
Still on my internship at a government
hospital here, I had a mixed bag of feelings, and to my own
disbelief, I joined their rank several years
later.
Only a few days in
Singapore, I was told by my
superior that there were plenty of my compatriots around
me.
Indeed, beginning with my colleagues and
looking upward level by level, I found that many of my highest
level superiors were Malaysians.
They were doing their work conscientiously
and had contributed significantly towards the success of the tiny
city-state.
I suddenly had that feeling of
pride that Singapore owed much of its success to the contributions made by Malaysian
citizens.
I was told by colleagues that
Malaysian talents were the most sought after in Singapore.
Due to cultural and
geographical proximity, we are actually that group of foreigners
who can best assimilate themselves into the Singapore society.
This can't be more true, as the two countries
were forced apart by nothing but politics!
Due to the nature of my job, I
came to know many patients. Singapore
is a multicultural, more so a multinational
country.
To these migrant workers, fundamental
communication is never a problem: Chinese Malaysians are well
versed in three languages plus an array of Chinese
dialects.
Not all Singaporean doctors have this
linguistic gift! Due to their educational system, the younger
generation of Singaporeans are proficient in English, mediocre only
in Chinese.
For Malay language, they are largely
outsiders; as for Chinese dialects, that will have to depend on
whether their gandpas and grannies are still
around.
As such, young Singaporean doctors face
communication problems when they encounter aged patients, resorting
to hand language at times just to get their messages
across.
To Singapore, Malaysian talents are what they
are most avid to tout for.
Singapore's meritocratic system knows no skin colours. But if it does, I
could have bagged in more perks.
I later decided to return to
my country. Many have asked me why I wanted to come back to
Malaysia, which is filthy,
messy, hard to make a good living, and plagued with partial
government policies.
Why did I make such an unnatural decision?
Perhaps the answer would be revealed in time to come, I was
thinking.
The more successful
Singapore has become, the more
I feel proud of my Malaysian compatriots who have crossed the
Causeway to serve in the Lion
City.
But sometimes I
would have this perverted idea: You Singaporeans need to be
grateful to us, the "Made in Malaysia" yet forsaken lot, for what you
have achieved!
MySinchew
http://www.littlespeck.com/content/ForeignAfair/CTrendsFA-091207.htm
http://www.mysinchew.com/node/32432?tid=96
http://jayteoh.multiply.com/journal/item/651
((By
Chen Jiaqi (reader)/Translated
by DOMINIC LOH/Sin Chew
Daily) The
borrowed success of Singapore
| My
Sinchew
...
http://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/archive/index.php/t-2589826.html
