November 28, 2009 by admin
Filed under
Headlines
Leave a comment
Written by Our Correspondent
A Singaporean by the name of Edmund Lin has written to the
Straits Times Forum complaining about free riders among new
citizens “using the Singapore passport as a springboard to greener
pastures”.
He proposed putting strong counter-measures in place to prevent
the situation from worsening.
One example quoted is how expatriate couples do not take up
Singapore citizenship together, leaving one with the native
citizenship to bring the family back home to enjoy their retirement
there.
“Many expatriate couples from South Asia usually strategise
by having one spouse take up Singapore citizenship – to enjoy
subsidies in housing, childcare and education – while the other
retains the couple’s native citizenship, even though both are
equally qualified to take up Singapore citizenship.
They do this so that when they have earned enough in
Singapore, the spouse with the native citizenship can easily take
the whole family back to their home country to enjoy their
retirement. After all, the cost of living in their home country
(South Asia) would be far lower than in Singapore,” he
wrote.
Mr Lin also cited loopholes within the system which allows the
children of new citizens to avoid serving the mandatory 2-year
National Service:
“Alternatively, when the child is required to do national
service, the spouse with the Singapore passport will apply for
another country’s citizenship so the child can cancel his permanent
resident status to avoid serving the nation.”
The examples raised by Mr Lin are not uncommon. Singapore
is considered a stepping stone to greener pastures elsewhere by
many new citizens and PRs who have no thoughts of settling down
here permanently.
The Singapore government has opened the floodgates
indiscriminately to new migrants in order to boost the country’s
declining birth rates in recent years.
According to Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng, about two out
of every three applications for PR are approved.
Foreigners now make up 36 per cent of Singapore’s 5-million
population, up from 14 per cent in 1990.
The issue of immigration continues to be a hot topic lately with
many senior leaders taking turns to speak up on it.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has consistently urged
Singaporeans to “embrace” the newcomers as they are “essential” for
Singapore’s continued growth.
Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong mused publicly about allowing
immigrant “enclaves” to emerge in the HDB heartland.
Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew exhorted Singaporeans to “bear”
with the tide of foreigners which has since become a flood.
Like many others, Mr Lin is sceptical if the new citizens come
to Singapore because they really want to make it their home.
“Many new citizens flock to Singapore because they see
Singapore as a land of opportunity, which is clean, safe and good
for families. But not many think of Singapore as their new
homeland,” he wrote.
Mr Lin wants the authorities to impose penalities on “new
citizens who give up their Singapore citizenship within, say, five
years.” The number of new citizens who do so is not known.
It is highly unlikely that the pro-foreigner PAP government will
take concrete measures to safeguard the interests of locals other
than to pay lip service to it in order to “sweeten” the ground
before the coming election due by 2011.
A $10-million dollars mega Community Integration Fund was
unveiled this year to make the newcomers feel “welcomed” in
Singapore even as a nationwide program “One Singapore” was launched
to raise funds for Singapore citizens affected by the economic
downturn.
Minister of Youth, Community and Sports Dr Vivian Balakrishnan
is even proud to admit that there are 4,500 new citizens who are
serving as grassroots leaders in quasi-PAP organizations.
As new citizens are most likely to vote for the government,
their increasing numbers will help to keep the PAP in power for the
next few decades.
For “true blue” Singaporeans like Mr Edmund Lin, they will have
no choice but to “shut up and sit down”.
