this is our country, this is our home

Do we invite foreigners to our homes and allow them to insult us and tell us to get out? This seems to be the latest development in the game of foreign talents and welcoming more people to our shores, as citizens. Many well meaning people have been singing praises of foreigners and how important they are to our survival in the future. And this message has sunk into the heads of many foreigners and Singaporeans alike, that we need them to save us. And they believe so. Some Singaporeans also believe so. And foreigners are even telling us that if we are uncompetitive, want high salaries and less work, then we should ship out. They are willing to come here to work harder and for less. The remarkable thing is that some Singaporeans do agree wholeheartedly to this kind of argument. There are Singaporeans who are working overseas as foreign talents and understand how tough it is to be foreigners competing against the locals. And they have achieved some success in doing so. And they empathise with the foreigners working here. They understand the logic that more work and less pay is the only way to fight the competition. Singaporeans can no longer rely on the stupid idea that they must be paid first world salaries when others are willing to work for less. Admittedly this reasoning is logical and true. There is no pleasant alternative in a globalised world. Singaporeans must work more and be prepared to earn less, except for positions where foreigners are not allowed to compete in. For such occupations, they can go on as before and keep increasing the salaries at will. Would there be any profession where the incumbents dare to say they are over worked? Or after being given more perks and increments, have the audacity to ask for less work and responsibilities? Now that this new living mantra is the accepted conventional truth, it can only be expected that life will be a bit tougher for the lazy or less talented Singaporeans. So what can we expect them to do? Are they expected to tighten their belts and fight with foreigners for jobs here, asking for lesser pay? And is this a fair equation? Foreigners are hungry, have no stake or responsibilities here. They can live with less. Should we allow them to proceed to compete with our own people for jobs? Are we saying that time has changed and Singaporeans have to look backward, to a level of living like in the past? The other alternative is for talented Singaporeans to rough it out like our foreign talents. Go forth and seek for new pastures. And there are jobs galores overseas. Singaporeans are in high demand as foreign talents and logically will be getting better pay in foreign lands. Strange isn't it? Why are Singaporeans in great demand overseas but not wanted in their homeland? Or is this a game of musical chairs? We export our unappreciated talents overseas and welcome foreigners to take their places. Would we reach a stage that the more able Singaporeans will be found living overseas and their homes rented and occupied by foreigners? If this is the likely development, what kind of nation or society will we become? Citizens of the world? The Filipino and Indonesian maids went overseas to earn foreign exchange and left behind an empty nest. Some returned to find their nests occupied by strangers and they were no longer wanted or could not fit into the new equation. Would we pay the same price if this happens to us? And very likely the price will be much higher. For instead of the women folks being abroad, our able men folks are the one that are missing from home. A home without a man or a nation without its men or talented men can have unimaginable consequences. This is our country, this is our home. What would it be like if our homes are now overseas and our country becomes the homes of foreigners?

scam stories

hi fellas, i have started a column in my forum on scam stories that i replied to and the details of the exchanges over email. i have received many in the past but conveniently deleted them. i think it will be educational to all by playing along and reveal how their modus operandi. i have started on two cases now, one claiming from bank of africa and another from uob singapore!

Scam Stories

hi fellas, i have started a column in my forum on scam stories that i replied to and the details of the exchanges over email. i have received many in the past but conveniently deleted them. i think it will be educational to all by playing along and reveal how their modus operandi. i have started on two cases now, one claiming from bank of africa and another from uob singapore!

unhappy singaporeans, please go somewhere else

Johnny be good is right. If people here are not happy, leave for a life overseas. Then you shall see through your one-dimensional prism that you will face the same problem foreigners face in Singapore, and you shall see how you like it. Don't even argue national protectionism for one's own peoples, for your concept of nationalism is increasingly flimsy in this globalised world. A nation is an imagined community and this is one area in which your imagination is a liability to all. The above is a view of anonymous posted in another thread earlier. The discussion is on the serious issue of replacing Singaporeans with more foreign talents. All FTs will stand for such a position. No more countries, no national barriers, the world is free and open and the talented shall be welcomed everywhere. If this is what the world should be, good for the talented. And Singapore just committed the most expensive mistake in Education. There is no need to pamper our teachers with more salaries and perks. Go overseas and recruit the best teachers from the poorer countries and pay them peanuts and they will all rush to come here. As for our demanding teachers, tell them to pack up and go overseas and see which country will pay them the big fat salaries they are getting. Yes, all Singaporeans who think that they are not earning enough and want more should go overseas and see if they are worth what they are getting here. I can bet most Singaporeans, other than a handful of exceptional ones, will find that no one will pay them what they are getting here. The salaries that Singaporeans are getting is an artificiality that is created by ourselves. We consciously push for high salary and high cost of living and are trapped in our own doings. Singaporeans will willingly go for lower salaries if the cost of living is lowered. But we can't if we are to live in this island. But should Singaporeans listen to such comments that if we are unhappy, pack up and leave? Who has the right to say this to Singaporeans? Any politician who dares to utter such remarks will see himself packing. This is home. And for FTs who are here, they must know that they are here with our blessings and good grace. So long as they respect that there are citizens and non citizens, and the citizens must have better privileges, they are welcomed. Once they get crazy ideas in their heads and telling Singaporeans to ship out because they have a right to compete with Singaporeans on less pay, their time is up. They must not understimate the wrath of an angry people, the citizens, to kick them out. The world is not a free or borderless world. Otherwise we will not have any Singaporeans left and all will be replaced by people from the poorer countries. The island belongs to every Singaporean. It is a product of our forefathers, their sweat and tears. Any foreigner who thinks otherwise is planting the seed for their expulsion. Any Singaporean who agrees with this will see his own expulsion as well. For there are many hungry people willing to take their place here.

i can't resist this

George Bush has a heart attack and dies. Obviously, he goes to Hell, where the Devil is waiting for him. "I'm not sure what to do," says the Devil. "you're on my list, but I have no room for you. But since you definitely have to stay here, I am going to have to let someone else go. "I've got three folks here who weren't quite as bad as you. I'll let one of them go, but you'll have to take their place. I'll even let you decide who leaves." George thought that sounded pretty good, so he agreed. The Devil opened the first room. In it was Richard Nixon and a large pool of water. He kept diving in and climbing out, over and over. Such was his fate in Hell. "No!" George shouted. "I don't think so. I am not a good swimmer, And I don't think I could do that all day long". The Devil led him to the next room. In it was Tony Blair with a sledge hammer and a room full of rocks. All he did was swing the hammer, over and over, time after time. "No! I've got this problem with my shoulder, I would be in constant agony if all I could do was breaks rocks all day", commented George. The Devil opened the third door. In it, George saw Bill Clinton Lying on the floor with his arms staked over his head, and his legs staked in a spread-eagle pose. Bent over him was Monica Lewinsky doing what she does best. George Bush looked at this in disbelief for a while and finally said, "Yeah, I can handle this." The Devil smiled and said "Ok, Monica, you're free to go!"