The overflowing tea cup

The call for allowing more foreigners into this island has not subsided, instead in some corners the voice is getting louder. We must aspire to be a global and cosmopolitan city, with the best of the rest of the world coming here to give it the buzz. Sounds pretty exciting and positive huh, a vibrant and rich city with a rich blend of culture and lifestyle from people all over. In big countries, the rich city is like a centre or heart of the country, a nucleus of sort. In our case, we will be a global city and also a global country, as the country is in the city or the city the country.

Now what is left of the country for the people? Where is the place for the citizens, or what is in it for the people when the city/country becomes homes to foreigners?

Many of these advocates for a cosmopolitan city of foreigners are just talking through their asses. There must be an optimum or desirable percentage of foreigners to keep a city vibrant without the citizens losing their place or right of existence. The percentage of foreigners could vary for cities in big countries to those in small countries and to those where the city is the country itself. A city like New York or London could have a bigger proportion of foreigners and still would not lose its perspective and place as a part of the USA or UK. A city in a small country with a relatively smaller population would be hard pushed to have a big foreign population without undermining the interests and character of the country. A city like Singapore, which in all sense a city country, would be under great pressure to have 50% or 60% of its population made up of foreigners. Pushing this limit to 70% or more is critical and could put the citizen’s interest in jeopardy. Where are we now? State secret?

What is the desirable or optimal percentage of foreigners should this city state allow in to be comfortable socially, politically and with no compromise to our sense of security? Have we already long exceeded our comfort zone and should be culling the foreigners now instead of foolishly and unthinkingly asking for more foreigners to be let in? Though there are some quarters internally that are rooting for more foreigners, the call for the incessant influx of foreigners is mostly from foreigners themselves. They have no vested interests as citizens of the city state and what is good to them is not necessary good for the citizens and worse, often bad, very bad for the citizens.

When the tea cup is full, it is silly to keep filling it up. We are already overpopulated for our own comfort except for the views of people who think it is good and desirable to live like mice in a small enclosed space. We have also exceeded the safe or comfort zone in the percentage of foreigners vis a vis our citizens. We are already a minority in our own country. Is that not scary? The citizens must have the final say on this.

In whose benefits are the calls for more foreigners into our city home? Is it for the general good of citizens, for the good of a small group of citizens, or for the good of foreigners? The people, non citizens, or citizens who treat this city state as a hotel, will be all for more foreigners. They have no stake or interest in the well being of the citizens except for themselves and their short sighted immediate comfort and good. The citizens’ interests can be sacrificed or ignored.

Please, the tea cup is overflowing. Unless we have a bigger cup, a swimming pool, talk some sense and spare a thought for the citizens that are being squeezed out of their island city state. Foreigners should stop prescribing what they think is good for Singaporeans. We know what is good or bad for us.