no, foreigners don't make up half of our population, only
25%.
anyway, you better get use to the idea since the ft policy is going
to stay for quite a while. here is some reality:
Indians
History revisited
A new wave of Indian immigrants is uplifting Singapore's skills
content; some locals see them as a threat for jobs. By Seah Chiang
Nee.
Jul 7, 2007
A RETIRED banker on a visit to the city centre after several years
was taken aback by the new mass of cosmopolitan humanity during
lunch-hour, especially the number of Indians.
He wasnt referring to local Indians, who had lived here for over a
century, but the new arrivals.
I was surprised to see the changes. The crowds were a colourful
lot with people speaking in various languages. There was hardly a
place to sit, he said.
Above all the buzz are Indian professionals, who seem to be
everywhere, from Raffles MRT to Suntec City.
The foreign elements were not so prevalent in the years that he had
worked there before he retired. At the time most of the Indians
could be seen only in Little India or were scattered around the
housing estates.
My friend would have been more impressed had he visited some
industrial estates, where many IT engineers work in
electronics.
Needing to change a computer disk drive, I went to Ang Mo Kio
Industrial Estate recently, lost my way in the vast concrete jungle
and had to seek direction from two workers.
Both turned out to be recent arrivals from India.
As Singapore moves deeper into the 21st Century, its future lies
increasingly in the hands of immigrants of the right kind, of
course. With its birth rates falling, it needs millions of them to
stay ahead.
And India is one of the top suppliers of talent, next in numbers
only to Malaysia and China (though Malaysians have never really
been regarded as foreigners).
Over the past decade, Singapore's Indian community has been
transformed by the invasion of high-tech professionals, similar to
the impact they made in the United States.
The new arrivals are not only IT professionals but include a
growing number of financial, research and support workers. Some
bring their own businesses here.
Several condos in the East Coast are popular choices for Indian
families; their kids play in the parks on Sunday.
The influx is reshaping the demography. Traditionally, some 8% of
Singaporean residents are ethnic Indians, 76% Chinese and 14%
Malays.
But Indian arrivals make up a large 12% of the estimated
900,000-strong foreign community here.
This has pushed up the total number of ethnic Indians living here
to more than 420,000 or 9.4% of the total population of 4.5
million.
Unlike those in the past, this new wave has higher skills and is
wealthier; their children are better educated, which augurs well
for the future.
Being a creative and entrepreneurial group, Indians are a great
asset to our economy, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong
commented.
A blogger recently wrote: The new breed of professional Indian
expatriates are radically transforming the Indian Diaspora in
Singapore.
In 1990, for example, only 22% of Indians were professionals or
managers; today it is more than 50%. Cleaners and labourers fell
from 15% to less than 8%.
The Indians have become a major ingredient in the mixed racial
salad bowl of this city state South East-Asia's most high-tech
and wealthiest country.
The flavours of the Indian curries, of Roti Prata, Thosai and
Briyani, the festivities of Deepavali and Thaipusam, and the song
and dance of Indian movies, are all an integral part of the
socio-cultural landscape of Singapore.
Little India is the enclave for Indians, as Geylang Serai is for
the Malays and Chinatown for the Chinese.
For the new migrants, settling down to Singapores lifestyle is
less a social or cultural challenge compared with the West or Hong
Kong. But even with the affinity, life is often less than
rosy.
Singaporeans do not feel hostile towards foreigners whether from
China or India but neither do they welcome them with open arms.
They are sometimes resented for taking away local jobs or places in
university.
Even among their local kin, the foreigners from India often stand
out. Mindsets and values between them differ.
Many new arrivals seem to consider themselves superior to local
Indians, Peoples Action Party backbenchers say.
An ethnic Indian backbencher said the way they were seen to behave
had raised concern among the local Indians.
A similar barrier exists between the local-born and mainland
Chinese that sometimes bursts into online verbal spats.
Tapping into emerging Indias strength is a major strategy for
Singapore not only economically but also politically.
It is a universal truth that the new world belongs to the United
States, China and India, said a political commentator. In short,
India makes a good strategic partner to offset Chinas power.
Traditionally, Singapore has thrived on trade and investment in
South-East Asia, but in recent years the environment has
deteriorated for its investors in Thailand and Indonesia.
Singapores high-powered investments in several counties in the
region are encountering local sensitivities.
In many ways, India itself has changed.
In the 70s when it first banned Coca Cola and other foreign
products, an ambassador told me in New Delhi: Ive been here for
three years and I still havent figured out whether this is a
capitalist or a communist economy.
India is gradually overcoming partisan politics that prevent
another China from taking shape there.
Realistically speaking, India is not China and the opportunities,
when they come, will be slow to take root, said an exporter to
China.
Between them there is still a big gap, but it could narrow in
future and Singapore should be there.
