http://kentridgecommon.com/?p=3751
The Kent Ridge Common, 2 Jun 2009, Kelvin Teo
Warning signs of unhappy sentiments against foreigners
SINGAPORE – Last week, the National
Inter-school ‘A’ division badminton finals featured a showdown
between Jurong Junior College (JJC) and Raffles Institution (RJC).
What was supposed to be a simple final duel between 2 schools ended
up being polarized into a Singapore versus China showdown. How did
that happen? The boys’ and girls’ teams from RJC consisted of Singaporeans, while the girls’ team
line-up from JJC wholly consisted of Chinese
nationals. Of the 7 members in the JJC boys’
team, 4 were from China, 1 from South Korea and 2 were
Singaporeans.
JJC made history with its first appearance
in a badminton final. However, the line-up of its teams came under
heavy criticism, and there were hints of unhappy sentiments.
Vice-captain of the Anglo-Chinese Junior College (ACJC) badminton
team, John Low, echoed the sentiments of his team:”‘It’s unfair and
we do feel a little resentful.” RJC coach
Hamid Khan agreed with Low’s unfair assessment, adding that there
should have been a cap in the number of foreign players allowed to
participate. Others felt that a cap in number of foreign players
would have the advantage of improving sporting standards without
adversely affecting the participation of local players. The
polarized contest between Singapore and China was summed up by Lim
Boon Tiong, an RJC reserve player:”A lot of
us feel like we’re playing for Singapore, not just Raffles”.
The resentment went to the level that even supporters from
ACJC cheered on RJC.
This is a thought that any ACSian in his right frame of mind would
never ever entertain given the rivalry between ACS and Raffles. The fact that the former cheered for the
latter just showed how polarized the contest is, which transcended
inter-school rivalries.
Such unhappy sentiments were reminiscent of those expressed in
the wake of the open door policy, which opened the floodgates for
waves of foreign employees into our work force. These sentiments
were expressed occasionally in our very own Straits Times forums,
and online in blogs and other popular Internet forums. Like those
who were concerned over the badminton showdown between JJC and RJC, there were repeated
calls to exercise a strict cap or quota on the number of foreign
employees a company can hire. Like local badminton players losing
out on the opportunity to represent their school, local employees
fear losing their rice bowls to foreign employees. If the calls
remained unheeded, such unhappy sentiments against foreigners will
rear its ugly head. The events at the badminton final provided a
stark reminder to all.
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