Neo colonialism - When state institutions start to buy up Singapore

‘The Indian Express, 5 Mar 2013

The State Bank of India (SBI) is investing in accommodation-based property in Singapore, ensuring higher grade housing requirements of its expatriate staff, a media report said today.

According to the report, SBI would want to purchase at least 10 to 20 more units to house staff as it ramps up its local presence.

SBI had recently advertised for purchasing high grade apartments, ranging from 1,100 to 1,400 sq ft in size, near to main schools and rail-based transit system….’

When national institutions start to buy up Singapore piece by piece on top of rich foreigners doing so, the developers and property owners will all be laughing all the way to the banks.

Is this a good thing for Singapore and Singaporeans? I reckon soon Singaporeans will be selling out every thing and finding out that there is no place left for themselves except to go somewhere else. The short sightedness of the Govt is becoming legendary.

Singapore is going to be bought out by foreign countries without needing a military invasion.

The xenophobia backlash

Singaporeans are one of the most generous, friendly and hospitable people as far as welcoming foreigners into their country are concerned. Singaporeans are mindful of their immigrant past and have a soft spot for immigrants. Some still think they are immigrants, and passing by, just like the new immigrants. They could not appreciate the fact that this is now a country, their own country, fought, won and built by their forefathers. It is no longer a no man’s land.

Over the recent years, Singaporeans have increasingly become a minority in their own country. Many jokers still cannot see this fact and still harping about becoming a minority in 2030. It is here and now. They are already a minority. Of the 5.3m residents, 3.3m are considered to be Singaporeans by virtue of citizenship. How many of these are true blue Singaporeans? Many are new citizens. The reality is that every one other person is a foreigner now. Could be more!

All this is fine as long as the Singaporeans are doing fine. Trouble has started to brew when the number of foreigners has given them increasing confidence to disregard Singaporeans as irritants. Singaporeans are being scolded, beaten and chased around by foreigners while the Govt continues to lay the red carpet for foreigners, giving them the tag as foreign talents and here to help the daft Singaporeans.

Even Singaporeans wearing foreign dresses for a party, an innocent gesture without any malice or bad intention were attacked for racism by foreigners. Singaporeans are tarred by foreigners as racists and xenophobic in their home land. How dare the foreigners!

And things are getting worst in the job market when Singaporeans are losing out in job opportunities by unfair anti Singaporean practices. With a few hundred thousand foreigners gainfully employed, with high paying jobs, with full employment, many Singaporean graduates are having difficulties getting a job. Many PMETs have been booted out to be substituted by foreigners. Can you believe that?

The evidence in workplaces to discriminate and victimize Singaporeans is everywhere. Someone is sleeping or closing one eye. The xenophobia is not Singaporeans against foreigners but foreigners against Singaporeans in Singapore.

The Hong Lim Rally was an event where Singaporeans gathered to show their despair at the pathetic state of affair in the country, when Singaporeans are being ousted out from jobs, and may eventually be from their own country. There was anger and sadness. But this will not be for long if things continue to go against Singaporeans.

It is heartening to hear Tan Chuan Jin, Christopher de Souza and a few other MPs calling the Govt to do more for Singaporeans. They have openly acknowledged in Parliament that Singapore is for Singaporeans, finally. Tan Chuan Jin is going to give more teeth to his Tafep, Tripartite Alliance for Fair Employment Practices, to investigate discriminatory practices against Singaporeans in work places. He would have to do more to mean business, to be seen to be doing something real. Job priorities must go to Singaporeans.

Christopher de Souza is asking the Govt to introduce control measures on the purchase of properties by foreigners to protect Singaporeans. He has suggested that the policies of the Australian Govt are a good model to adopt. Hopefully this will not be discarded and thrashed by vested interests.

The Govt must take heed of the plight of Singaporeans and their interests in Singapore. It is unacceptable that Singaporeans be discriminated and victimized in their home country. Any politician that still call for more foreigners, protecting foreigner’s interests at the expense of Singaporeans will see their political career prematurely terminated in double quick time. The situation is dire. Singaporeans are about to break out from their meek and docile persona. The backlash against foreigners practicing racism in Singaporean and xenophobia against Singaporeans, discriminating against Singaporeans in job opportunities will no longer be tolerated.

The Govt got to act fast and swift to manage the anger of the Singaporeans and to protect their interests from the invading hordes of foreign economic bandits.

Financial Institutions Discriminate Singaporeans

Financial Institutions Discriminate Singaporeans Recruiting in Favor from One Single Country

Today, there is an article Lianhe Zaobao admits that Singaporeans are discriminated in job market. What particular striking is a part of the article showing rampant discrimination against Singaporeans job seeker… Last year, TAFEP ( Tripartite Alliance for Fair Employment Practices) received feedback that foreign managers in some financial institution hire in favor of their own country people, rather than hiring Singaporeans.

TAFEP contacted these financial institutions. The senior managements agreed that certain departments do have many employees from one single country. The senior managements claim that they will hire more Singaporeans.....

The above article by Veritas is reposted in TRE. It is a terrible state of affair for Singaporeans to be discriminated in their own country. This is possibly another first that Singapore has achieved. There used to be policies that favoured foreigners but these have been watered down after anger flared in the social media. Now this. How could it happen? What is the Govt going to do about it?

Some new Singaporean Realities

Forget about car ownership. Owning a car will be beyond many Singaporeans even if they are graduates. Many will never own a car in their life time, I am not referring to just the average Singaporeans but the PMETs. This is a grudging reality. Many average Singaporeans used to able to own a car, second hand also good.

Having problem getting a job for new graduates or older PMETs will become an unpleasant part of Singaporean job seekers while watching foreigners who are nothing better landing the jobs. Accepting foreigners having jobs in their home country while they themselves going jobless not because the Singaporeans are less qualified or less able is a very painful reality to face. Can anything be done with the Singaporean first policy?

Getting a public flat may no longer be the right of a citizen. While many would still be eligible, they would have to queue and compete under the same terms and conditions as new citizens. For those who are excluded, disqualified or forbidden to buy a public flat under the present terms and conditions, I dunno what to say. Shall I say just too bad. The rules are such and they are being excluded by the policies of Govt they helped to elect to power.

While on this issue, owning a bigger flat or private property will be a fleeting dream to many Singaporeans. The entry barrier is now so high that it is better for the average Singaporeans to resign to their HDB flats. And many, including PMETs, would have to contend with a 4 rm flat. As wage earners, private properties that cost several millions or tens of millions is just for day dreaming.

The CPF savings are looking more like the Govt’s money. Other than taking some out to buy a home, many would barely be able to touch their CPF savings in their life times. And be prepared to be wiped clean when hit by a major illness.

The days of free medical or paying a small fee for medical services are history. Singaporeans must take care of their health as the saying health is wealth is becoming a new reality. Singaporeans cannot afford to fall sick, so they said. But the Govt said no worry, no Singaporean will be deprived of medicare. That’s very comforting.

Many Singaporeans are getting use to the new realities and started to talk about taking public transport as better than their own cars, and to be happy living in a 4 rm BTO flats that are better designed. The aspirations for bigger flats or private properties will soon be forgotten.

Contorted justifications for bigger population

The arguments put forth by Professor Ng Yew Kwang at the seminar on the Population White Paper were at best elementary. Any A level students would be able to come up with better reasons than those put up at the seminar. I was reluctant to waste my time on this but with the main media giving it so much coverage as if that view was a good and reasonable view, I would thus offer my two cents worth to join in the talk cock session. I would not put in too much effort as it is really a waste of time. So I will just talk about the few points printed in the media.

  

 .Having a large population may not necessarily be bad, as it could lead to better developed infrastructure and employment opportunities.

Who doesn’t know this? The problem is the will to provide the infrastructure and what is a large population given a limited space available.  At 5.3m, we are now living through the unhealthy aspects of space constraints and inadequate infrastructure. And the fact that the population has gone up dramatically over the last 10 years, the question to ask in response to 1 above is why aren’t the infrastructure be better developed? It cannot be due to ignorance of the lack of talent or the lack of foresight. It is elementary. The truth is that large population would not automatically lead to better developed infrastructure or adequate infrastructure.

As for employment opportunities, the question is for who? We have several hundred thousand foreign PMETs here gainfully employed but our locals, the young graduates and the older PMETs, are either unemployed or under employed. So what is the point of creating more employment opportunities for foreigners when our own citizens are not gainfully employed? I say, keep your employment opportunities if it is not to benefit the citizens.

2.   With a smaller population there would be correspondingly fewer roads and lower bus and train frequencies. The degree of competition between companies would also be less.

Let me answer the second part. With the number of transport companies we have, is there any real competition? Even if we add in a couple more, would there be real competition? Come on, let’s not kid ourselves and be an ivory tower academic.

Smaller population therefore fewer roads and bus and train frequencies. Agree. Bigger population would mean the other way. Also agree. The issue is not how many more or how many less but what is adequate or sufficient or what is comfortable for a good quality service and life style. Over providing is bad and under providing is equally bad. Bigger population with more bus and trains and higher frequencies may not be enough. Lesser population with lesser of the same may be more than enough. See the picture? The argument is quite stupid isn’t it?

3.   Through immigration, these issues would be addressed and entrepreneurial migrants would set up businesses that create hiring opportunities.

Really? We can see how inadequate our infrastructure is today with the influx of immigrants. It simply means that immigration is not the answer but something else. And only immigrants have entrepreneurial skills, can set up businesses? Bullshit lah. You mean there are no entrepreneurs among the locals?  And not all the new businesses are desirable or could complement the economy to better the quality of living here.

4.   These migrants would also “provide locally unavailable skills which make certain business ventures possible”.

Such ventures could be provided by some migrants, but the real stuff is provided by the MNCs, the big corporations, not migrants. True or not?

I think I have said enough on this seminar. One thing comes out very clearly, that the professor was looking at one side of the coin and totally ignoring the negative side that comes with high population. There are many negative consequences, bad consequences and social and political costs to pay for. So are the environment and the quality of life for having so many people squeezed into this small piece of rock, higher cost of living and stressful competition for jobs, goods and services.

To be a fair and serious piece of work or recommendations, both merits and demerits must be put out for airing for people to have an informed view of what is good or bad, or which is better.

KNN.