THE Government has asked Singaporeans to make foreigners welcome
in Singapore, whether they are new citizens, permanent residents,
employment pass holders or work permit holders. Similarly, these
foreigners are told they must try to integrate with the local
citizens and participate in their activities.
The State can facilitate this process. MediaCorp has an
expatriate radio station - 96.3X FM - that broadcasts French,
Japanese, German, Hindi and Korean programmes. This station caters
only to the expat communities in Singapore.
MediaCorp should consider operating another radio station
broadcasting in Tagalog, Bengali and Burmese. After all, we do have
a sizeable number of workers from the Philippines, Bangladesh and
Myanmar.
Besides offering news, music and programmes from their
respective home countries, the station could broadcast programmes
on safety, health and hygiene issues, as well as on their rights,
obligations and duties while in Singapore. In this way, we show
that we care not only for high-earning expats but also the
immigrant workers in our midst. It will also make the Ministry of
Manpower's job easier in reaching out to these workers.
I am sure many advertisers would also welcome this service as it
will enable them to reach their target audiences more
effectively.
Moiz Tyebally
