3/18/2013

HR professionals must do national service to recruit Singaporeans


Nation building has been a continuous process for this little island of less than 50 years. We became a nation by accident in a way, by the grace of colonialism and a twist of fate. The colonialists came, grabbed whatever they wanted from the nascent countries everywhere when the natives were still evolving in different stages of civilisation. Nationhood was an alien concept to these tribal people that grew and lived naturally in their land. There were tribal chiefs, princes, kings, sultans, rajas etc etc but no nation or country recognisable with defined territories and sovereignties. The borders were porous, expanded or shrunk depending on the powers of the chieftains. It was easy for the colonialists to take over everything under the barrel of their guns. They lumped everything they could seize under their empires, breaking down all barriers of tribes, kingdoms or whatever.

Singapore existed for many centuries as a loot of the British Empire, part of the Straits Settlements that include Malacca and Penang, three entities separated by land and water hundreds of miles apart. The colonialists treated them as little jigsaw pieces and pieced them together or took them apart at their whims and fancies. Immigrants moved freely with the consent of the colonialists to meet their needs of the moment. There was no citizenship, no ownership, just subjects of Empires or free or indentured labour marketed by the human traders of the day.

1959, 1963 and 1965 were milestones in our history that saw this island becoming a country and nation with its own citizens. This was followed by years of daily drumming of a nation state, of being citizens of a country, our country, our people and our land. We have to gel as one people. And as citizens, live, work and fight to earn our rights to be equal in our very own country. We pledge to look after one another, for a better life for ourselves and our children.

We almost made it as a nation, almost, until things took a crooked turn. Overnight we were told we were not a nation or just a nation in the making, just a city. Worst, some even regard it as a hotel, free for all, anyone can come and stake his claim in the island, just like the citizens, with no barriers to entry. The silly cries of meritocracy prevailed and became the mantra of the day. Anyone that is good, or faked to be good, has all the right to step over the undead bodies of the citizens, to climb over them for the fruits of labour planted by the pioneers of this islands, the forebears of the daft citizens.

Meritocracy was embraced without question and distinction of nationalities. Many citizens fell on the sidelines and were disregarded as losers and have no place and right to protest. They were seen as simply no good. Foreign talents, the biggest myth that is being perpetuated in this city, not a country, are the new privileged class. They have more rights than the citizens by virtue of their claims to talents. The truth, many were fakes or just below average cons from third world countries.

The slack and neglect to recognise the worth and rights of citizens have allowed many foreigners to be here, some issued with citizenships, some as PRs, some with Employment Passes to dominate the job market in executive, managerial and top management levels. No one cares. Everyone forgotten that we are a country, a nation of people. We invited foreigners to take over our jobs and our city. And the foreigners were not going to be shy about this golden opportunity offered to them by the daft citizens of this failed nation. They seized the moment to dig in, bring in all their tribes, to set root here, easing or knocking down the citizens to make way for their buddies and tribesmen to gain a foothold in a paradise painted with gold. They are now entrenched, all with the blessing of top management and the human resource practitioners. And the best part, the govt did not know and has nothing to do with it.

The management of businesses and private institutions are only interested in their bottom lines. And the HR staff just tagged along, to recruit foreigners without a thought to the citizens. I think even ministries and GLCs too did not bother or care a hoot that they are taking in non citizens and abandoning the citizens. It was just not something that matters. Citizens, non citizens, they all look alike, they only want the headcounts.

The problem grows and is now a big problem when the displaced citizens have grown too big to be ignored. There is a sudden awakening, the disadvantaged citizens are not going to take it lying down anymore. They are staking their claims as citizens and wanted to be treated as citizens above others.

The management of businesses and enterprises, the ministries and GLCs and their HR now have a job cut out for them. They have a national duty to recruit citizens first above all else. All management and HRs must start to take care of citizens or failing which, they too will be replaced in a matter of time.

The HRs is the first line of defence of the citizen’s rights to employment. They must stop the crazy calls of meritocracy and foreign talents and start to think country, nation and citizens first. And they must report discrimination and victimisation of citizens at workplace by foreigners or management if they are unable to make things right. The HRs must stand on the side of the miserable citizens that have lost their jobs to foreigners, to give citizens a chance to employment, to reclaim their rights to work and live with dignity as citizens of a nation, not a hotel without owners.

The human resource practitioners have a vital role to care for the citizens and to protect the citizens from the hordes of foreigners here to replace the citizens from their jobs. This is a call to the HR practitioners to do national service. Their job is not to blindly recruit foreigners and to kick the citizens aside. Their future is with the citizens of this nation and they must close ranks with the citizens, to move forward together as one people. They must not be the enemies of the citizens of this country.

23 comments:

Anonymous said...

All these new citizens, will come to know that they are paying ten times the pay of New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Denmark & Finland ministers, and why are they been so keen to attract to Singapore by them, and later suffer the same fate of the old citizens, probably they are prepared, to migrate back or other countries, this will come in term of indirect taxes and causes of many other problems in futures? They need to adjust to the pay of around them, to reverse the trend?

Anonymous said...

Paying these high pay is not so simple as just saying all these people like Bill Gates and Warren Buffret got much higher incomes, it affect the life of many ordinary citizens?

Anonymous said...

In order for whistle blowers to come forward, we need to have laws passed in Parliament to protect such people. Why such law will not come into effect leave much to the imagination. Between catching a criminal and committing suicide at the same time, versus not catching the criminal, what do you think is the choice?

Veritas said...

You will not be able to make HR and recruiting managers hire Singaporeans unless you impose a H1B visa. I am working in engineering. Would a engineering manager hire a fresh grad or a 10 years experience engineer shipped in from India, given the same amount of salary?

And I could empathize with some recruiting managers as well. Company policy is 3% increment per year best case. But at inflation of 5%, you will not be able to retain Singaporeans. After gaining working experience, a fresh grad will jump ship. Then the manager get shit and got to struggle to find someone taking over.

Thats where the "unloyal" Singaporean workers come about.

Veritas said...

Once the flood gate of FT is open, citizens face shit.

Some like banks are taken over by racist, others are taken over by PRC, pinoy racist. In Singapore, PAP encourage everyone to play office politics. Every managers are insecure. They are afraid someone below could take over them. To make themselves more secure and also due to racism, they shipped entire village to SG.

The biggest sin of FT policy is not only it bring racism, but it destroy the apprenticeship system and workplace harmony.

Before companies were forced to allocated headcount to train new engineers. Today, every engineers are expected to perform day one.

That create trememdous stress. Also it is very difficult for young engineer to gain entry into certain jobs. In SG, the skills are not pass on to Singaporeans, but to foreigners.

Veritas said...

The solutions to all our woes in engineering sector is, reduce manager wages. The managers wages are too high, it breeds a lot of office politics and condescension towards engineers.

In all tech companies, managers are 20-30% better paid than engineers. In SG, its 300%.

Privatize NCS, ST, DSO, DSTA. These places are cesspool of politics. They are suppose to grow into Samsung, or TSMC. Both Samsung and TSMC arey on the model of government supporting talent entrepreneurs, thats y they succeeded. Our GLC are on the model of amakudari, they failed big time. Many people there are extremely piss off.

Anonymous said...

RB u are kidding me. It won't happen lar as long as the gate is fucking wide open

Anonymous said...

If the banking industries keep hiring foreigners, soon there will be no Sinkies suitable or experience to be in banking. They will be all driving taxis.

If the IT industries is hiring foreigners instead of Sinkies, soon all Sinkies will be inexperience IT people and will not be wanted.

This can apply to other industries. Sinkies will become unskilled, inexperienced and unemployable.

You mean the govt does not know this?

Veritas said...

If the banking industries keep hiring foreigners, soon there will be no Sinkies suitable or experience to be in banking. They will be all driving taxis.

If the IT industries is hiring foreigners instead of Sinkies, soon all Sinkies will be inexperience IT people and will not be wanted.

This can apply to other industries. Sinkies will become unskilled, inexperienced and unemployable.


This is the first phase where FT Indians make us Dalits. Today they and PAP tell us Singaporeans are too stupid for bankings. Some idiots believe. They then proceed to kick out all Singaporeans. In fact India Indians IQ is 81 and our IQ is 103. These India Indians are already proven to be a moron.

Today, all taxi drivers are bullied big time by FT Indians. Don believe you go ask. Next FT Indians will start to kick out taxi drivers. Then they will say "Singaporeans too stupid to become drivers".

PAP and FT racist has already charted a path for us to be prostitute and shit collector.

Anonymous said...

A good write up that reflects much the reality prevailing though it is kind of shallow in the analyses.
First, no hotel is without owner though the owner does not physically stays in it. The paying guests are also temporary owners so long as they pay the actual owner. So the hotel has more than one owner and as an enterprise, profit is the goal and bottomline is the concern.

The weakest and really poor understanding lies in understanding nationhood vis a vis independence. Singapore's independence is liked a premature baby that got out of the womb 6 months before due date. Only a miracle will allow it to survive and grow. The best expert(s) and equipments at best will keep the baby, foetus actually, to breathe a few more hours or days. It's demise it as good and sure as the rise of the Sun.

In fact many, like me were not convinced that Singapore could go indepent. There were much resistance and opposition to independence than there was to the merger with Malaysia. But then it was a gift on a silver platter which some conceited folks thought would have been too good to forgo. The chance to be rulers and lord over the richest rock in the whole of SE Asia was sinply too foolish for the ambitious to miss despite the foreseeable problems of survival.

Not only was the ambitious folks too eager to own the prosperous rock; their followers and believers in the mostly immigrant populace were having blind but strong faith in those conceited folks. By the 90s, wow, almost all Sinkies were bathing in glory as most believed a tiny rock has gotten more powerful than Israel in SE Asia. Indeed many do believe so now and think Sg could expand its' territories anytime it wishes. Of course it is wishy washy imagination.

Now, Sinkies are beginning to realize that they have been employees to a hotel operator all these years without knowing. Okay, at least a regular here, Matilah Singapura has own the hotel known as Singapore. As aforesaid, a guest is also an owner of a hotel so long as one stays in it.

Your country? Have You got a nation to belong to?

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

Yes we have a nation and Singaporeans must not allow anyone to scuttle it. Singaporeans must stand up to defend this land of theirs. That is what they did NS for.

Anonymous said...

NS equals nationhood.

Pretty queer definition.

Do other independent countries with no conscription fall short of being nations?

There must be many nations without NS.

Veritas said...

NS equals nationhood.

Pretty queer definition.

Do other independent countries with no conscription fall short of being nations?

There must be many nations without NS.


Provided a country has spare manpower to support mercenary or, if a country does not have external threat, it will not have NS.

In SG, we need a citizen arm forces to provide security, at least at this point of time.

Anonymous said...

NS is at the expense of interest of male Singaporeans...

Anonymous said...

Dont understand what's written. What this extra manpower to support mercenary?
Which country no external threat?

Veritas said...

PAP is ungrateful towards Singaporeans. Singaporeans never ask why is our asset price so coveted by rich tycoon? Why everyone want to park their physical hard asset such as precious metal, arts, antiques in Singapore?

The answer is all these activities are back up on the foremost by our NS man.

Imagine we do not have NS. Tomorrow, Malaysia come and tell us they want to conduct life firing exercise on pedra blanca, their sovereign land.

Within the next sec, foreigners will sell their property, take out all their physical asset and flee.

Veritas said...

Dont understand what's written. What this extra manpower to support mercenary?
Which country no external threat?


Germany abolish conscription on 2011. Why?

There is no external threat since the end of cold war. In the mid term future, no one is expect to throw their division marching towards Berlin.

Also Germany is able to sustain mrecenary because she has 80 million people.

But at cold war, the above 2 conditions are not met. So there is conscription.

Anonymous said...

If only Malaysia allows Singaporeans to settle there with no or minimal condition. Few Singaporeans will remain in the tiny rock.
However, Malaysia tak hiran Singaporans. Malaysians are more interested in buying up assets in Singapore.

Ⓜatilah $ingapura⚠️ said...

redbean:

>> This is a call to the HR practitioners to do national service. Their job is not to blindly recruit foreigners and to kick the citizens aside.

Err.. good luck with that.

Last thing I remembered about private enterprise: profitability. They will do -- whether it accords with you or not -- what will make them profitable -- in accordance with their self-interest.

Nation building? Fuck spider lah. Different times now. Borders don't matter so much. Culture is flexible and changing. Population and citizens can be inculcated from a GLOBAL POOL, to meet the needs of the nation state.

Still living in the past?

Veritas said...

We are not Switzerland. Switzerland neutrality is guaranteed by Germany, France and others. Anyone who wanted to attack Switzerland will face Bundeswehr or French Army.

Even then, the Swiss has NS, till the extend that Swiss citizen are allow to have firearms. In war, they are suppose to make Switzerland like Stalingrad. There are too much treasure in Switzerland. Investors cannot hoard things there unless the citizen show to have capabilities to protect foreigner treasure trove. Switzerland is mother of monies laundering, tax evasion, wealth hoarding, because of their conscript army. And also because others are willing to back up its neutrality.

Same in Singapore, except that no one wants to back us up even we declar ourselves as permenant neutral state.

Anonymous said...

I declare under the open sky that I am the most honest, pious and purest being.
Trust me.

bond said...

In the Dilbert comic strip, the HR section is the second most evil section after the most evil management section. This comic strip can easily apply to the mismanagement of sg inc whereby politics hinders productivity.

Anonymous said...

Vote opposition else one day, sinkies will only end up as "harvestable being" and is being kept as a source of replacement parts. The movie (The Island 2005) is a good example.