NS: Key Indicator of Integration @Enact Law @All PRs Do NS?

QX179R SG

SINGAPORE: A new study has placed National Service (NS) as a key indicator of integration for foreigners.

The report by the Institute of Policy Studies seeks to examine what immigrants ought to do, in order to be regarded as a full participating member of Singapore society.

The study covered some 2,000 local and foreign born citizens.

They were asked several questions on what they thought were social markers of integration.

The study showed some perceptual gaps, which researchers said are cause for fault-lines within the community.

The biggest area of incongruence - that a son of a new citizen undergoes NS.

About 70 per cent of Singaporeans feel it is an important indicator of integration, while only about 40 per cent of new citizens think so.

The other top areas of divergent viewpoints are - a new citizen getting on well with workplace colleagues, being gainfully employed, and having the ability to speak conversational English.

More Singaporeans than new immigrants feel these are all important attributes for integration.

The study also showed that Singaporeans who tend to be less inclusive are tertiary educated, come from the middle income group, have strong family ties and are more nationalistic.

Researchers said it boils down to the group that feel the most threatened by the presence of foreigners.

However, the study also showed that Singaporeans embrace multi-racialism.

The study showed they do not expect foreigners to discard their cultural identity, even as these foreigners embrace core beliefs held by Singaporeans, such as meritocracy and religious tolerance.

On the policy implications of the study, researchers said the Singapore Armed Forces may need to reach out more at the community level.

For example, in convincing first generation new citizens of the value of National Service.

They added that more could be done also to facilitate the learning of English among foreigners.

They have also called for more transparency in data on immigration.

These include details on specific sectors foreigners are employed in and the criteria for obtaining a PR status.

Researchers added businesses should also think about programmes to improve workplace relations between Singaporeans and foreigners.

- CNA/cc

charlize SG

Life is surreal.

troublemaker2005 SG

do you feel safe, letting them into our army? what i fear is happening - soon we will have naglas to dig trench for us while we take canteen break. most soldiers NS will be happy. but look at the whole picture - ireally got nothing to say

why stop at two? who the idiot came up with that policy

Dalforce 1941 SG

why stop at two? who the idiot came up with that policy

It came from PAP.

mancha SG

Previously integration was by two languages. Singlish and Pasar Malay.

The young ones spoke Singlish - Malay, Chinese, Indian, Sikh, Eurasian boys and girls spoke Singlish. The elders who spoke no English spoke Pasar Malay - Malay, Chinese, Indian, Sikh, Eurasian elders all spoke Pasar Malay. And there was harmony. There was the kampong spirit.

When the kampong was gone, it was Singlish and Pasar Malay that held the community together. Slowly Pasar Malay fell away to disuse, as the younger generation grew up unable to speak Malay and were encumbered with Mandarin. Housing policy design to prevent ethnic enclaves affected the Malays and Indians only. They Chinese were everywhere, struggling with English and Mandarin. Gone also were the dialects, namely Hokkien, Cantonese, Teochew, and Hainanese. These were only spoken by the elders.

The aloofness came about. We don't know the names of our neighbours, even after living next to each other for a number of years.

Pol Pot tried to destroy the past and want to replace Cambodia culture with a new order as quickly as possible.

Here the government did that insidiously. And now is trying to reverse the damage by integration and reviving the kampong spirit.

Lokey SG

Since when does doing NS, means to make a PR give more acceptance?

Dalforce 1941 SG

Since when does doing NS, means to make a PR give more acceptance?

NS should not be degraded. NS is for defence of Singapore, not use as a propaganda ploy to import foreigners to vote for PAP.

tarutaru SG

I think some kinda of service community is good for them. At least will let them know all kinda of people in Singapore not just his/her community only.

NS? I think will be good to those who take our scholarship from 'O' lvl. So that we are not taken for granted.

Dalforce 1941 SG

They Chinese were everywhere, struggling with English and Mandarin. Gone also were the dialects, namely Hokkien, Cantonese, Teochew, and Hainanese. These were only spoken by the elders.

Here the government did that insidiously. And now is trying to reverse the damage by integration and reviving the kampong spirit.

All due to that cultureless freak Lee Kuan Yew.

Instead of having a leader that embraces local culture, we have one that wants to suppress and impose an alien one on the local people.

A ratbag and scumbag to the end, that bastard Harry Lee Kuan Yew.

troublemaker2005 SG

pee arse should not do NS. please for goodness shit - do we really have to pull down our pants and now ask to be annaled? might as well hired merceneries - pls lah, might as well ask bangla to dig our trench while we drink red bull better right?