10/30/2013

Hearing the good stuff or saying the right stuff

I thought I was dreaming and I had to slap myself a couple of times to confirm that it was 8 am in the morning, bright and clear. I read the news again, the speeches made by Hsien Loong and Tharman, and wow, what were they saying? Let me start by looking at the comments by Hsien Loong first.
 

In the front page of Today, this is the headline, ‘Immigration policies must be managed in sustainable way: PM’. Have we been doing it in an unsustainable way? This is followed by the first paragraph, ‘Singapore has to manage its immigration policies in a sustainable way, taking into account the political, demographic and economic objectives the country has for the long term, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong told a gathering of business leaders yesterday. While new immigrants have to be integrated into Singapore society and not dilute its values, the country must remain open to talents so as to lift the low birth rate and make Singapore a vibrant economic hub.’ He added that in order to improve the lives of Singaporeans, ‘We don’t think we can do this just by expansion, but we do believe we must do this through economic growth, and upgrading and transforming our economy.’ He justified the need to get talented people from all over the world by saying, ‘Because we’ll need that range of skills and experiences and talents which no society can generate on its own.’
 

The first thing that came to my mind is the 2 million foreigners in our midst that were brought in during the last ten to fifteen years. Is this number sustainable, can they be integrated into our system without social and political consequences? Would they not dilute our Singaporean core and our core values, culture, work ethics and social norms?
We don’t think we can do this just by expansion? What is the 6.9m all about? And we already have more than 2m foreigners here. Do their talents fit the range of skills and experiences that our society cannot generate on our own? I think we know the answers.
 

Now what did Tharman said that was so earth shattering? ‘Singapore has to ensure it has a thriving and competitive economy by always looking for opportunities to bring high quality new investments that can create better jobs and ways to take advantage of the rising middle class in Asia.’ Now, how many of the businesses in Changi Business Park are high quality investments and create better jobs for Singaporeans. Really, I don’t know. But I believe everyone who knows knew better. And hardly any of the jobs, good or low paying jobs, went to Singaporeans. We have been taken advantage of instead, providing all the superb infrastructures for low wage businesses employing foreigners instead of Singaporeans.
 

Where are the quality and productivity growth that benefit Singaporeans ‘especially the average workers and the lower income workers’? All we heard of is Singaporeans having to go for retraining to downgrade their job expectations and be underemployed, sacrificing and wasting their qualifications and experience. Tharman added that Singapore must remain an inclusive society through social policies, not only via economic policies, and we are in it together. The realities on the ground is that Singaporeans have been feeling neglected, alienated, not good enough ship out, or it is their fault, go for more training. Why are the voices of anger and unhappiness growing louder? Why are the Singaporeans feeling like they are strangers in their own homes, in their own countries?
 

What have all the economic and social policies been doing? Oops, sorry, it was all economic policies before. Going forward we will have more social policies to integrate the Singaporeans with foreigners and new citizens, to improve our Singaporean core. We will have more quality investments providing more quality jobs for Singaporeans and improving productivity. These are the good stuff that I read this morning and I could hardly believe my eyes.

24 comments:

  1. After 47years running the Govt, our MOM is now asking employers to be fair to locals in job opportunities with the recently introduced Fair Consideration Platform.

    What this means to me is that Govt has been condoning employers to exclude locals from jobs over the years.

    ReplyDelete
  2. What PM Lee and DPM Tharman mentioned are aspirations.

    What actually happened is what you see in Changi Business Park, overcrowded trains and Sinkie PMETs driving taxis.

    Which is also not bad lah, I mean earning average $3K or $4K per month driving taxis. And for MRT train drivers, wow, can even exceed more than $6K per month with overtime!

    So what's the problem? And what's the problem for PAP when the strongest opposition is not even anywhere ready to take over?

    ReplyDelete
  3. No problem. 43% are still happy and satisfied to vote PAP in a by election, and 60% in a General Election.

    What more can PAP want? If I were PM Lee, I am also very happy and satisfied, especially with WP Low Thia Khiang. Of course cannot say it publicly lah.

    ReplyDelete
  4. We can't even integrate the minority PAP into the Singaporean culture.
    You think we can integrate 2 million foreigners?

    ReplyDelete
  5. PAP minority meh?

    I mean the votes they got in a GE. Which is what really matters, tio bo?

    ReplyDelete
  6. PAP voters does not equal PAP tio bo.
    Don't CONfuse the wolves with the sheep.

    The card carrying PAP members number how many?
    Just a few thousand?
    And compare that to the misery they cause tio bo?

    ReplyDelete

  7. I wish all new citizens and PRs well......

    It is my hope that they can integrate into our society......

    This is my country..... our country .....

    Our govt must help them to integrate by making sure that they don't form official and unofficial groups with those coming from their same ex-motherland.....

    Integration is never easy....

    It took us many years just to integrate the major Singapore races to live together as a nation.....

    Can our society be an integrated one with folks coming from all corners of the world.....

    What Singapore society will be ten years from now...

    What say you........

    ReplyDelete
  8. /// ‘Immigration policies must be managed in sustainable way: PM ///

    WTF - you mean all this while it has been managed in an unsustainable way and you don't know?

    Just like introducing the "Singaporean first" policy only recently after decades of Singaporean last policy.

    ReplyDelete
  9. When good stuff are offered
    only from the gaps and nothing
    more, they are just lip services
    that should be treated like fartings.

    Roti prata(chenai in Malaysia) went
    up 20 cents, coffee and tea up 10 cents,
    ERP up $2 and some infant formulas
    went up as much as $6 in the Last one
    week.

    Wtf is going on?

    patriot

    ReplyDelete
  10. Even plain hot water went up
    10 cents a glass.
    Damn sickening place, daylight
    robbery.

    patriot

    ReplyDelete
  11. Just a bunch of bullshit words designed to keep people's minds at ease.

    The Fact Remains: Singapore's population will continue to increase, and the society will continue to change whether you like it or not.

    Me? I really like it! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  12. Matilah, you are lucky the people here are very nice and polite. In other blogs you sure kena blasted for sneering at their plight.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Matilar, stop talking nonsense from the safety of Australia. Bend forward and open your mouth, hehe knn

    ReplyDelete
  14. The Only Way to prevent falling victim to the Sweet Talkers or those talk only but do not deliver is NOT TO VOTE FOR THEM.
    Most of the Cabinet Members are aptly described by Matilah Singapura Above.

    patriot

    ReplyDelete
  15. redbean,

    Firstly, I only express my opinion, which I hope is based on my version of "reality" -- it is pointless going against the rapid trends and changes that happening.

    Secondly, however I write -- polite or sexually twisted, fuck all you all, I don't write taking your feelings into consideration. You are adults (or should act like :-) ) so you deal with your own feelings -- none of my business. You respond as you wish -- also none of my business -- if you are tormented or calm.

    If you are too sensitive, might I suggest you hit yourself in the head with a ball pin hammer 10 times a day for the next month. That should toughen you up :-)

    @1149:

    Who said Arsetrailer was safe? Many people believe this, I can tell you it is a fucken ILLUSION.

    ReplyDelete
  16. When they start to talk that way, it can only mean they don't know how to or refuse to handle the situation.

    ReplyDelete
  17. @223:

    The point is that there is no real solution to "handle the situation".

    It is a trend. A global trend and a cultural trend -- the cultural shift has already occurred -- i.e. most people, especially the young ones, are very NOMADIC. They think that moving to another cuntree to live and work is no big deal these days. They've accepted the fact that the human workforce is GLOBAL, so people will go to where their skills are in demand -- places like Singapore.

    No one can stop it lah. Even if you vote in the opposition, next day: business as usual.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Matilah, you are so presumptious.
    Who cares what you write? We got feelings? Who got tormented? Who is sensitive?

    Ok, ok, don't get excited and demented. Cool baby, cool. : )

    ReplyDelete
  19. The govt is very pro Sinkies. Chuan Jin also said hiring policies must benefit Singaporeans.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Since historical times, rulers never really have any compassion or feelings. They only have evil designs and ambition. They can even kill their own family members (father or mother or brother or sister) to takeover the trophy. The day the sinkies rulers have any compassion is the day pigs can fly in the sky. They are either doing that for election, bullshit, propaganda, pr purpose. They only viewed people as a tool - to be discarded once fully utilized. Only through unison, the people can stop the rulers from hurting them further. But unison is difficult to achieve in real world. There are too many distractions, tricks, scams that can be employed to deceive the people.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Such words like, "sustainability", coming from a politician is frightening, the, "help"' which was rendered each and every time has place more shit on the people.

    On the radio on 938 a Mr Yoon speaks not to help those SME's that cannot improve on their system and process, in other words leave them to die, is that the sustainable that we are talking about, some micro entities cannot up-grade to such levels, the mamas store are also SME's.

    The population will increase, like it or not and prior to what any politician says, RB, they will get the jobs away from us, just look at all the eateries in Sin, I would not be wrong to say it's a 100% dominance.

    The companies will get what they want eventually, sinkies, the next generation will be hard press for jobs, it's only a matter of time, for a country that is run on arrogance and growth.

    The white paper is pushing through, their action and words are becoming clearer, look at what was said on the damn cyclist by the transport MP to get the vibe.
    In 2016 we may see a swing of another 2 or 3% points but after which there maybe a back to normal with the endorsements of ft's turn sin.

    Kaki

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  22. It is only naive to trust what our politicians have to say about Singapore....

    ReplyDelete
  23. ‘Immigration policies must be managed in sustainable way: PM’.

    Wah! Ah Loong.
    Really ah?
    And when did you realize that immigration must be managed in a sustainable way?

    Just today only?
    Or over the last 10 years?
    Pray tell leh!
    No need to be shy.
    If you are not shy to pay yourself more than the President of USA.
    Why so shy now?

    ReplyDelete
  24. .....sustainable way?
    This is in fact a one way ticket announcement. They will make it even faster to achieve their dream population. U die your own business.

    ReplyDelete