We deserve better - thoughts of a
technician
Monday, 28 September 2009
Source
:
http://yoursdp.org/index.php/perspective/vantage/2817-we-deserve-better-thoughts-of-a-technician
My name is Amin. I am a technician in my early forties, married
with three school-going children. I tied the knot with my beloved
Fatimah at the age of 28. My wife used to work as a clerk in a
statutory board but is now my minister for domestic affairs.
We live in a four-room flat
which we bought some years ago in the northern part of Singapore. I
am servicing my flat installments through my
CPF.
Two of our older children are in secondary school while the
youngest is in primary four. I travel to my work place by motor bike
to escape the hassle of travelling by feeder bus and the
MRT.
I am often told, not too
subtly by government and union leaders, that I should consider
myself fortunate because I am still gainfully
employed. Although my monthly income is
about $2,000 my take home amount is less than
$1,700.
Besides putting food on the table I also have to take care of other
expenses, which include my children’s
school expenses, utilities, transportation, etc. Occasionally we
have to cope with the unexpected such as when the children fall
sick.
At the end of each month we can barely make ends
meet.
Life in Singapore is becoming more and more
expensive. It is really tough to raise a
family. My wife and
I also make it a point to keep in touch with our elderly parents
and chip in whatever we can to make their retirement less
painful. We pray very hard that we
never have to be hospitalized because we cannot afford the
expenses.
I am nonetheless supposed to be "fortunate". The
frightening thing is that there are other ordinary workers who earn
even less but have financial obligations no less daunting than
mine.
But are we not supposed to be
living in the First World and enjoying the Swiss standard of
living? Every
now and then we are told that Singapore is number one in something
or other. Our port is the world’s busiest, SIA is the number one
airline, our so-called sovereign fund is among the biggest in the
world etc, etc.
I used to feel proud of these achievements. But
over the last couple of years I have begun to have second thoughts.
I ask myself what have these achievements got to do with
me?
The fact that Changi is number one really has nothing to do with
me. The fact that our reserves amount to a few hundred billions has
done nothing for the average Singaporean like me.
We are still ourselves and still toiling away day in and
day out for an income that is not commensurate with the amount of
work we put in.
On the other hand, our
ministers are the most highly paid in the world as their salaries
are pegged to the country’s top earners.
Worse, we now have to compete
with foreign workers who threaten our livelihood.
We also have the largest number of foreign immigrants percentage
wise. No ordinary worker – at least the people I know – feels
secure with his or her job. Any talk of increased wages
will inevitably be countered by the threat of being
retrenched.
The temptation for employers to hire cheaper foreign labour
is too attractive to resist. There is absolutely no job security
for us.
Should we lose our jobs we are expected to downgrade. This is what
I don't understand, we are
supposed to be No. 1 in this and that but we constantly face the
propsect of having to downgrade.
Worse many have to resort to begging and queueing for free food.
This is our country. We have served our country in many
ways. Our parents too have done their share in making Singapore
what it is today. Surely we deserve
better. But alas this is the real situation that exists in
Singapore today.
A Government leader tried to make us believe that I as a Malay
enjoy special privileges under the constitution. In fact we
Malays have not received any special treatment. We identify ourselves with Singaporeans of other
races and share the same hardship as all other
citizens.
Unfortunately, our loyalty to Singapore has always been
questioned to the extent that we have been deprived of many
opportunities to serve our nation. But despite this we
will join our fellow Singaporeans and put our shoulders to the
wheel to build a better nation for all.
We see little hope for a better life in Singapore unless
there is a drastic change in the way this country is being run.
What good can our country’s multi-billion reserves do for ordinary
people like us? We
are beginning to feel that the Singapore of today is only meant for
the rich and powerful – many of whom are not Singaporeans.Ordinary
Singaporeans like myself exist only to serve their
interests.
We truly long for
change. Ordinary Singaporeans deserve to be treated
better in our own country.
This piece written by Mr Jufrie Mahmood is an amalgamation of
several discussions with ordinary Singaporeans.
Source :
http://yoursdp.org/index.php/perspective/vantage/2817-we-deserve-better-thoughts-of-a-technician
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