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Appended below is one of the many emails I received from the unemployed readers of our site. Permission was granted for us to post his story (editted) on the site.
Hi Counselor,
I am self-employed for the past 10 years after having worked for others for the first 20 years of my life.
With a family of 2 kids and a wife and at the matured age of 52, I find it very hard to go back into employment and compete for job with much younger and better educated job-seekers. Older job-seekers face an uphill task of landing a decent job in an employers’ market today.
Being self-employed has it’s good and bad days: income is always unstable and jobs are few in between.
When weeks go by without income, the self-employed sometimes feel like the unemployed.
Blame it on the poor economic situation and the high cost of living in Singapore, it is just getting harder not to feel stressful even when one is optimistic and live a simple life.
Any suggestions you can think of to lessen the anguish and stress that I am experiencing now?
Thank you and grateful that you 2 guys started this site.
Regards,
Tan (name changed to protect the person’s identity)
No related posts.
It is sad that a worldwide recession is blowing. Though many experts said that it is a cyclical phenomena, it seems that the bad situation now is mainly human caused.
Could it be that a few greedy men around the World have managed to hoard much of the wealth to and amongst themselves. It was reported that it is the case. Why do these people do it? Hoarding the wealth.
Singaporeans are likely to suffer more than other nationals because Singapore is devoid of natural resources and over populated due to liberal immigration policy.
Now that we are caught in the thick of things with structural umemployments and retrenchments, any mean to create jobs must be explored.
As investors move away from SIN to cheaper countries, more job losses are to be expected. Under such circumstances, me as a old time farmer, would like to suggest to our government to allow for primary industries, farming and fishing, to be reintroduced to its’ former scale in the 50/60s.
Not only will primary industries create jobs/occupations, they will make our unoccupied land productive instead of breeding mosquitoes and stealth activities. They will also provide us with fresh supply of foods, meats, vegetables, eggs and marine produces.
Capital needed to allow the use of land and the shore should be kept to the minimun for a start.
Those resettled farmers who are likely to be over fifties in age and probably doing nothing in the heartlands should be allowed to apply for licence to farm.
Any occupation and job now will be very precious to the unemployed. I wish that those in Authority would consider my suggestion. Readers who think this is a workable idea, help to push for it to be actualize.
patriot
Patriot my friend,
Thanks for yr post.
Singapiore is facing a hurricane now and we all will face the backlash in one way or another.
Such bad times also need astute confident leadership to bring the ship back to shore safely.
I think Singaporeans need to learn from thsi lesson to be nimble and prudent and not to overspend.
The golden years of lavish expenditure has to stop. Taking loans to indulge in out wants also need to be curtailed.
So long as will save and spend within our means we should be ok.
Those who take large loans to consume their wants will definitely be hit hard and their journey will be long and arduous if they lose their jobs.
Gilbert
I agree with you that we should look into producing our own food by utilising the land in Singapore; rather than leaving it unproductive.
Unlikely the Government would consider your viable idea if you still could recall what happened to the heartland herb- garden that was torn down by the authorities last year?
Our smart Government goes for large profit margins not this. I envy those people who have gardens. Maybe, these group of people could bring forth Patriot’s idea to work in our land scare country.
Ah but we have so little land and so many people. Not feasible to set aside too much land for planation or farming.
We may need to rediscover our economy as i guess we are being too open to the outside world but right now no country is spared lest of all our small red dot.
Hang in there.
I think our gov is short-sighted,they only think of making easy money by investing in the banking/Fin sectors. I hv heard that South Korean and Russia (if I’m not wrong) bought lands in Africa and invest in agriculture for long term investment (Biofuel,agricultural commodities)for future needs. In another 1 to 2 decades the world definately run out of food and oil if every country going for industrialization. Indirectly it helps to minimise the unemployment issue by creating some jobs in the agriculture sector.
Thanks very much to those who responded to my suggestion/proposal.
As rightly pointed out, the only problem Singaporeans face today is the policy makers idea of value-add and high idiosyncracies.
Gilbert, there are still plenty of unused state lands in the North East, North West and North of Singapore. Rentals are super high and for my proposal to work, the rentals to use those unutilized lands for farmings must be low, low enough for those who toil to till the lands must be viable.
THE IDEA BEHIND THIS PROPOSAL IS FOR US TO CREATE OCCUPATIONS/JOBS AND ANCILIARY INDUSTRIES. No high tech, no value add but back to basics to help in SURVIVALS.
I hope that some political leaders will sincerely consider his proposal which I have also posted at Theonlinecitizen.
patriot
My apology;
‘value-add and high tech idiosyncracies’. The word tech missing from the phrase in the above post.
patriot
I really doubt that our govt will consider the proposal to turn unused land into farming. It is like going backwards instead of forward.
Perhaps our focus on economic growth via the expoert/inport manufacturing model has to change. We are too exposed to the world economy and our local consumption needs to improve.
Many who work here are foreigners and we probably need to find out more on how this group has impacted our emplyoment situaiton here.
Singapore to evolve and hopefully turns up better after this crisis. We need to learn how to move out of the worker-mentality and depend moreo n ourselves to make money.
Jobs can only help us so much but when we can turn what we have as ideas into reality, that will be more powerful.
Dear Tan,
I am a self-employed person myself having my own professional practice. I can identify with you with regard to the lack of income during certain bad time. However, you do remember that there were times which you also experienced high income when times were good.
Being self-employed requires strict discipine and good financial management. Many self-employed personnel live by the day without planning for tomorrow. In fact, you’ll need to plan many years ahead.
The economy moves in cycle. The self-employed personnel must have a huge emergency cash to buffet against economical downswing like now. During the good times, the large surplus must be set aside to somewhere safe so that during the bad times like this, you can withdraw these reserve. If business is poor, you will not worry about lack of money since the reserve is there for you.
One of the advantage of being self-employed is there is no salary cap unlike salaried staff. However, the downside is lack of income which is no different from a retrenched salaried person. If the self-employed personnel seldom enjoy large surpluses during good times, perhaps it will be prudent to examine whether is the business viable and useful. This is a business decision. The self-employed person is a businessman. He can be taxi driver, part time cleaner, tuition teacher, doctor, insurance agent, etc. It does not matter. All of them are businessperson.
Dear Mr Tan
Besides sharing a similar fate, I am also saddled with debts from a failed business. I have since exhuasted all my savings, as well as the goodwills of spouse, relatives and friends.
Shame, guilt, and fear are the constant battles that I have learned to live with throughout these years.
The one thing that kept me hanging on is faith in myself; that I can re-invent myself to rise above the present state.
A refound thirst for new knowledge has also helped in bolstering and strengthening this faith for me.
So Mr Tan, you may want to try taking this step if you have not already started.
CHEERS
There are still opportunities at 52, such as being a taxi driver. There are also jobs that pay by the hour at government ministries and stat boards. Admitedly not much, but still something to hold on. Whe all else fails, try McDonald’s, Burger King and KFC. Fastfood restaurants have extremely high staff turnover, and if you don’t mind the hours, you’ll get by rather decently.
Bottom line : no fish, prawn also can, no prawn, seaweed also can
Really thanks for all the comments – usefull and encouraging in relating to the plight of unemployment and self-employment readers like me. Your sharing and life experience motivate me to move forward.
Don’t give up Mr Tan, one door close is the opening of another, recession is also a good opportunity for new ideas and innovation.
Hi Mr Tan
That’s the spirit
Btw I’m also fifty, has two school-age kids, with an ‘O’level qualification, and a learning disability (dyslexia).
During the last two years, I managed to get eight months of work for each, on an average salary of 3k/month doing sales work.
I started the year with a job after a two months lapse; but it looks like I’m not going to able to break probation if the current market condition persist.
My advice to anyone seeking to earn a decent living this year is to change their approach in job-seeking, and business modeling. Cheers
11/2/09
We as Singaporeans must be proud and stand up again on our own two feet like our forefathers in the past. I have gone through worse than you having lost all in 1997 Asia Financial Crisis and still struggling and I continue to pray and ask God for wisdom and with wisdom, I am able to see things clearly ie opportunities.Let us be proud being a Singaporean and fight back and put behind any hope of handouts from the Government as I don’t believe in handouts and our Modern Singapore is an Open Economy and must never be a Welfare State. You are 52 and I am 48, only 4years apart. God Bless. Take care.
Regards
Andrew Chuah
11/2/09
Further to my posting, what I meant I have gone through worse than you ie besides having lost all in 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, my only brother in Penang, the richest and powerful man (even the Penang Police is under his payroll and with millions in S$ investments in Singapore, did not help me and bribed the Penang Police to take me under ISA-Sedition after he failed to get me to make a false declaration to Inland Revenue of Malaysia who went after him for millions of tax evasions that those informations were false. I refused and I told the Penang Police to go ahead but they did not and even my own Parents who are very educated mind you-my dad a retired Associate Professor in Penang Unviersiti and now a Pastor and my mum a retired businesswoman took his side but I stood firm. He used his millions to settle his brothr in law gambling debts and helped him opening up many businesses for him and he still failed.
I am proud of being a Singaporean, Singapore born as we are honest and hardworking besides having principle and dignity and let us continue doing so and stand on our own two feet and continue to struggle and bring food on the table for our families.
11/2/09
Perhaps, you can take a look at the Internet business and there are many opportunities to sell things on the net. Good Luck.
Regards
Andrew Chuah
HP +60166549188
As self-employed, Ling perception is quite right that many of us(me too) have no plan for the future, live and survive by the day. But when I started out 10 years ago, the market for my type of trade is good but as time passed-by it went down hill.
With limited fund and hard to get loan from banks for small business like mine, it never really take off. It will be worse this coming years as many of my clients are cutting cost.
Hi Simikai, we are at the fifty and do share simility in fortune. Maybe I am better now as I have not yet in debt from failed business. Hope that it will not happen any sooner.
I think you do facing much tougher situation to raise your family with a dyslexia child. Hope you can manage it well.
I am not much better than you as I married late with 2 kids – 7 months and 2.5 years old. I am wondering can I raise them up well? That my greatest fear.
That why I must stay fit and healthy and able to work until they are big enought to take care of themselve and their mother.
Thank Andrew for the blessing and We Singaporean never say die and will stand proud (little dignity) with our 2 feets firmly on the ground with some help from the government reserve budget. It do help quite abit.
11/2/09
Tan, good to hear from you.My story is far worse as you read from my three postings and I continue my struggle so long as I am still alive and we earn honest money (I am unlike my only brother a Malaysian the richest and powerful man and my Malaysian parents who are in their early 70s no principle,no dignity and worse they told me that with his tens of millions, he can buy anything even in Singapore (he is highly educated with a first class honours from a top UK unversity and a Master from NUS) and I told them, in Singapore we hang these type of people.My mother insulted me being a Singaporean ie everything no balls and fear Government and I told her no, I don’t fear the Government and I am God Fearing.I just back on talking terms with my parents after a year of cut off-they betrayed me-sold me out to him for his money.This is life and as Singaporean especially we Singapore born, we must always Fear God.
Regards
Andrew Chuah
Alamak Mr Tan, it’s Me lah; not my child. hehehe
Poor syntax = dyslexia+low education.
Can you imagine how challenging it is for me to write in for job applications, and for the people who read them?
11/2/09
Simikai-I don’t thin it is challenging for us to write in for job application,today’s employers are looking at bottomline ie how much you can contribute or make for the company (businesses in terms of money, you can bring).We as Singaporeans must not be afraid of any kind of hardship as our forefathers too had face much harder hardships and I have faced far more hardship than any Singaporeans and I continue my struggle ie lost S$30million plus during the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis and two years ago betrayed by my own parents who opted for my only brother in Penang who is the richest and powerful man (the Penang Police is under his payroll) and I told both my age parents in Singapore, we hang this type of person and my mum replied with his tens of millions, he can buy people in Singapore (he has millions of S$ investments in Singapore). Don’t give up hope and let us move forward and continue with our struggle and don’t be like Dr Chee and his gang who only knows how to take monies from foreign NGOs and running to foreign Government and most recent one is to the new USA President. We Singaporeans especially those local borns like us, fight our own battles and we don’t need handouts or looking for a change in government and Singapore becomes a Welfare State.
Regards
Andrew Chuah
Hp +60166549188
Really ah? Andrew
I think you are truly blessed.
cheers
Simikai, pardon me for the mix-up. Me too also O level, English only half pail full.
Andrew, your story and grouse with your parent and brother complicated and I find it hard to digest. You really lose $30 million Sing dollar in 1997? You must be super super rich fellow one upon a time.
12/2/09
Hi Simikai & Tan-Yes. my story is very true and you can read more at http://www.discuss-singapore@yahoogroups.com which I have been writing since 2001.Not easy being a Singaporean which carries a perception that Singaporeans are afraid of our government which is not true, to me I am proud being a Singaporean,Singapore born and I am not afraid of government, I am God Fearing unlike my families in Malaysia as my mum put to me with his tens of millions he can buy anything even in Singapore.I did not hide a single cent and I am still struggling and I have no regrets.When I had those monies, I lived a simply life-a HDB 5rooom flat in Yishun, takes taxi and lrt when I am in Singapore (I don’t even have anything in Malaysia till today)
Regards
Andrew Chuah
B.Social Sciences (Hons) & MBA
12/2/09
Hi Simikai & Tan-My mum is very proud of how he obtaind his wealth and blamed those drug addicts and his business is just business like other businesses.He gives the old couple alot of monies and parked millions in their names also.This is real life. (another good example is he told them to bring me to his mansion which costs Rm40million and let him hit me till I agreed to sign an affidavit that those information which the Malaysia’s IRB has on his tax evasion were not true-why must I)
Regards
Andrew Chuah
How about looking beyond Singapore? The job market here is just too saturated, and made even worse by the presence of foreigners. It may be true that this crisis is a global one, but some countries are less affected than others.
the older worker can indeed have a more difficult time in the current climate
I have to say that there’s something ironically wicked about the “civilized” society we become.
Here we are, denying ourselves and saving what little we have for our children. So they get a better education, and are better equiped to butt someone’s father/mother out of their jobs, and of course someone’s children is going to butt me out of mine. Now, what will society changes be in the near future? Is this the beginning of the end for “asian family value”?