9/09/2008

Different interpretation of Serangoon Garden Incident

There have been different reactions to the Serangoon Garden petition with some calling them snobs while some raising the flag of racism. I see this rather as a case of social misfits where hardworking people, having worked for a better lifestyle and seeing what they have worked so hard for being threatened. Do we find this disgusting? Do we believe that people should work to improve their lives, their environment, and choose to live in an environment they are comfortable with? Do we want people to level up or to level down, accept the degradation of an environment that they have built all these years? Are we being fair to just look at the interest of the foreign workers at the expense of the residents who have been there first? Are they selfish? I will say no. They are just decent human beings who want to live life decently. And if you raise your lifestyle to their level, you will surely be welcomed. No one who wants a better quality of life will want to live in the ghettos or the slums. And it is normal for them to protest when people want to bring the slum to their doorstep. This is a microcosm of what Singapore is all about. We have move up to the first world in terms of quality of living and infrastructure. Do we want to level down? The influx of millions of poor workers into this first world city will definitely bring with it the graffiti culture along. Do we want that kind of environment or choose to be in a first world environment, F1 racing, fine dining, culture and concerts. Yes, snobbish appeals and past times. What do we want? Return to the third world? Racism is definitely not an issue. It is social class. A mismatch of social class and a clash of social lifestyles and habits.

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

First world nation must deal with some of third world workers issues, when the nation is a small island.

Top snobs must bear and grin, and live in tiny paradise as space is running out. Or they can afford to move.

NO TO CLASS DISCRIMNATION

Rights of Singaporean is important, however this is a wrong issue to voice our rights on.

We are running out of space

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

space is also a matter of interpretation. we have a lot of space if hdb flats are built smaller, reduce the size of each room. a 5 rm flat can be reduced to 80 sq m. 4 rim 60 sq m and 3 rm 40 sq m.

then we can have more townships for the foreign workers.

Anonymous said...

verging on paranoid.

Anonymous said...

They are just decent human beings who want to live life decently. And if you raise your lifestyle to their level, you will surely be welcomed. No one who wants a better quality of life will want to live in the ghettos or the slums. And it is normal for them to protest when people want to bring the slum to their doorstep.


This is the gist of it. You are absolutely right!

Anonymous said...

wag the tail, and see what comes out.

Anonymous said...

George says:

As someone has suggested, put the foreign workers in the vicinity of D10 and the Bukit Timah bungalow areas.

I can't see what is wrong with wanting to preserve your home environment. Even HDB residents should protest should it happen to them.

The govt create the situation, it should solve it without affecting Singaporeans, esp. those who has been displaced at work or who income has been affected adversely by the presence of FTs and FWs.

You can't be taking things sitting down and allow the $M ministers do what they like with the sort of salary they have given themselves.

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

hi george,

welcome to the blog.

if we are talking about making the place better, more hospitable, no one is going to object. it is like levelling up.

but to level down, it is a different matter. in the usa, when an afro asian moved into a white neighbourhood, the property value whoosed down straight away and all the whites would want to move out.

not that they are racists. they just want to protect the value of their homes.

Anonymous said...

Hey folks;

before the foreigners move in, the Locals are already squabbling amongst themselves!

Imagine the day the Locals riot with foreigners, it can happen. It will happen, you know.

patriot

Anonymous said...

No it is not racism to say that "foreign workers will bring the value down"?

No it is not racism to say that having foreign worker hosterl will "bring the slum to their doorstep"?

Is there any stronger words than "racist" that I could employ?

Anonymous said...

Maybe they should use Mr George Yeo's vocabulary instead.

If you are not of a certain economic class, Sergangoon Gardens is not for you.

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

you don't even know the meaning of racism and you are grumbling about racism.

as i said in other posts, it is a case of class difference. the residents there are very happy living a middle class lifestyle for all these years. and they have womenfolks, young and old, to worry about.

and you dump 1500 bare chested men, with testerone running high in their blood, single or alone, far from their families... if this is not a stage set up for things to happen, what is?

don't waste time to drag racism into this discussion. the foreign workers are black, yellow and brown and of all colors.

Anonymous said...

Exactly. I echo redbean. It has nothing to do with racism, but its a matter of social class.

Anonymous said...

Hey Sep 9 11:10pm, looks like you do not quite know the meaning of racism.

To see this as racism, shows up the inherent racist in you, or lack of confidence. Haha

Anonymous said...

sheesh. as if singapore can do without foreign workers! the last thing we need to do is to help the rich snobs preserve their 'land value'. You want them to build this and that for you but not anywhere near you lol. If security is such a real concern, they can always have another police post if that makes them feel better.

Anonymous said...

If i am a FW, i will tell my boss NOT to assign me jobs anywhere near SERANGOON GARDEN. Dont want to built house for snobs. . Hahaha ... now you Serangoon Garden Owners can go get someone else to clear up your trass in your district..

imagine the backlash if refuse collectors stop collecting rubbish in Serangoon Garden .. will the SG folks then appreciate the works done by these workers come crunch...

Ha we need organise this lah so Serangoon Garden folks can go for a heartware change. LOL..

Afterall i am only human FW ..LOL I sweat everyday to keep your city clean and this is what i get in return.....

You SG folk - bring out the water & coca-cola and welcome them to your kampong with open palms , they will in turn make your estates more beautiful. Heart to heart. Maybe FW show you a photographs of their wife and small children they are trying to support back home. They are only being human. Circumstances drove them and we in turn show some graciousness.

Anonymous said...

I believe even in zoos or animals' natural habitat, when you want to introduce another group of animals, there are social cohesion concerns, much least when you are talking about people? Do you really think it is so easy as to just bring in another 1000 people to an estate and everything will carry on as it has been?

Yes, we have a market, hawker centre, restaurants, NTUC and even recently cold storage. But will the hawker centre / bus service etc be able to come with a sudden influx of 1000 more people (which will form a significant proportion of the poeple living in the are)?

How many SBS buses will it take to transport these people during their time off? As it is, currently now the bus is infrequent. Are we to ask many of the senior citizens who live in the estate to have to Q for buses? Is it fair to the other segments of the society ?

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

let me ask one question, is it socially acceptable to mix the rich and the losers in the same neighbourhood?

the million dollar parties are happening in the next few weeks when F1 rolls in. i will not be seen in those areas where the parties are being held. let them party and i will go to visit my backyards. we have different playgrounds and social habits.

forcing them together will only create problems.

Unknown said...

lets see how they would react if they moved to somewhere like NY or London and get petitioned out of a neighbourhood. Us Singaporeans are way too sheltered and we have our noses way too high up in the air - it's only a matter of time when we can't see what's on the ground and trip with our foot in our asses.

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

hi The, welcome to the blog.

this thread has seen some interesting views expressed from all corners. this is a healthy discussion as everyone will see it from his own angle and values.

cheers.