Hello Gilbert
Below are some issues that my family and many of my friends are concerned about and we hope that you can bring them up during the upcoming GE:-
Foreign talent (FT) and foreign worker (FW)
We should look at ways to sustain economic growth without letting in too many FWs; also white collar jobs for Singaporeans are at risk from “FTs” which in fact is becoming a bigger issue now. However, the PAP government refuses to acknowledge this and keep harping on just the FWs and providing justification for their numbers.
Also related to this is the inability of our public infrastructure to accommodate so many people on our tiny island. This can’t go on indefinitely. Telling the people that if we don’t let in FWs, there will be no economic growth, is just too simplistic an explanation and sounds like a threat to us. Nobody likes the tone that MM Lee used when he said this and it was published in the Straits Times.
The PAP government wants to copy the big cities such as NYC, Paris and London but they don’t understand that these cities have a big hinterland to expand. We are just a small island with the sea all around us. Just ask the ministers to take the MRT on a weekday during peak hours to see how many trains they have to miss before they manage to get on one.
Just ask the ministers to take the MRT on a weekend during off-peak hours and count for themselves how many Singaporeans there are in one train carriage. Just ask the ministers to take the MRT to stations such as Boon Lay, Jurong East and Aljunied over the weekend and see for themselves how ”foreign” the places are. One can be forgiven if they think they are in another country!
I have nothing against the FWs, they are earning a decent living, but when their numbers become too great and you see them loitering and littering around the void decks of public estates every evening and when your loved ones get stared at and visually harrassed when they return home at night, you start to think, something has gone wrong some where! I have female friends who were molested before by FWs and they weren’t even dressed skimpily and were just returning home after a long day at work.
The ministers don’t know because they stay in private properties unlike the majority of us Singaporeans. The quality of life has indeed dropped and the safety we are so proud of in this land is fast becoming an illusion.
Overwhelming number of Singapore government scholarships for foreigners in local universities
Many of them did not fulfill “bond” requirement and run off to western countries for work and further studies. MOE has no (or maybe refuse) way to track them after graduation. Some of these scholarships are not shown on university websites for obvious reasons and are hidden behind names of Government-linked companies such as SIA and NOL. The government doesn’t want the countries where these scholars originate, to think that we are stealing their young talents, hence these companies become the fronts as sponsors for the scholarships.
Effectively, taxpayers’ monies are used to fund foreigners’ university education while our young people can’t get in and their parents have to spend more to send them overseas for their first degree. And I’m not even talking about the amount of tuition grants that the PAP government easily dishes out via MOE, to the many foreign students every year. Maybe MOE can provide the figures on percentage of scholarships for the past 3 years to foreigners and Singaporeans. One thing to note, when our Singaporean scholars default on the bond, they get punished, but the foreign scholars get off scot-free. What is MOE going to do to ensure they fulfill their 3 or 6 year bond?
Housing Issue
Singles like myself simply do not benefit from any government subsidies whatsoever in terms of buying a HDB flat.
he PAP government needs to remember that we DO pay taxes and we DO take care of our retired, aged parents. Is this not important to the PAP government? Singles like myself who earn beyond the cap imposed by the HDB (in order to qualify for grants) but are not earning high enough, are not given any help at all. This is unfair.
The PAP government should be aware that there is a growing number of dissatisfied singles like myself who can’t own a home in Singapore. They should be aware that we play a big role in “taking care” of an ageing population (more so than married couples since we are more likely to continue living with our parents and taking care of their everyday needs), something that the PAP government is concerned about.
Though the HDB has imposed a quota on the number of PRs of certain nationalities in HDB estates in order to prevent ethnic enclaves from emerging, resulting in “racial ghettos”, this “racial ghetto phenomenon” is unfortunately seen in many private housing estates. Just examine the condominiums in the Meyer road and Katong area, you will find sometimes, an entire block comprising mainly of Indian nationals.
It is not surprising that the Meyer Road area has been called, “Little Mumbai”. When you have too many of one nationality, there is lack of incentive for the new immigrants to mix and integrate with the locals, resulting in misunderstanding and friction between the 2 sides. For example, some of us are aware that the local Indians can’t get along well with the India Indians. PAP government should stop chasing after economic figures such as the GDP….Singapore has an open economy with many MNCs located here (more than 7000 on this small island, which is remarkable). Revenue earned mostly go back to their home countries.
And with a huge foreign workforce, much of the income earned also get channelled back to their home countries. So, my question is, how much of this actually filter down to Singapore and to the ordinary folks like us? A high GDP doesn’t mean anything. Chasing after numbers and forgoing “a better quality of life (for example: less crowded, more space, no long queues, more greenery, less built-up areas, less stress)” is just not the way to go in the long term.
Public Transport
Talking about public transport, the PAP government should not have privatised the bus and MRT services in the first place.
By doing so, it actually doesn’t encourage competition (since the operators avoid having services running similar routes for profitability reasons) and instead, drive prices up almost every year. The Public Transport Council is ineffective and I often wonder, do they care more about the people or the operators’ ability to make profits? I wonder why we call the MRT and buses, public transports, when they are owned by private corporations out to make sure their share-holders are happy.
Singaporeans should be brave enough to vote for the opposition, it doesn’t mean if PAP is not returned to power, Singapore will collapse. Don’t forget, we have over 60,000 civil servants running the show! These people will be working for the opposition if they come into power.
PAP government should do something more concrete about tackling inflation. Cutting GST is one sure way. We have billions and billions in our reserve, cutting our GST won’t hurt, instead it will benefit many people. The PAP government is overly conservative in this aspect.
Last but not least, we often heard about the PAP government coming up with measures to help the poor/lower income group, but they have conveniently forgotten about the rising middle-income group which are increasingly burdened by inflation. But because we are not classified as poor, we do not get anything at all. We are in no-man’s land.
From:
A Singaporean Who Cares
Hi Gilbert,
A well-written argument especially on the issue of FW and FT. All along the government has been very adamant about the economic contributions of these FT in the country’s pursuit to sustain economic prosperity and progress. This reminds me of a similar argument put forth by the government in the 70′s when Singapore was experiencing high economic growth due to increasing number of foreign multinational corporations that set up their manufacturing bases in Singapore. In those days,the PAP had a clean sweep of the Parliamentary seats. None of the opposition could make any breakthrough. Singaporeans were constantly reminded that the economic prosperity that they have enjoyed would whittle away if there is even a slightest sign that the country has become politically unstable. By electing a single member of the opposition into Parliament, it would be a sure signal to these foreign MNCs about the political instability of this country and they would not hesitate to consider packing and leaving Singapore shores for other countries. However, when JBJ won Anson by-election in 1981, these MNCs stayed put and Singapore continued to enjoy the economic miracles for many good years even after more opposition MPs managed to win few more seats thereafter. Some of these MNCs did move their manufacturing operations from Singapore. But their move has nothing to do with the political situation in Singapore. It is more because of the cheaper costs in running these facilities in the new emerging economies like China, Vietnam etc.
Well written arguments but they have no ears to hear you out.
Simply put, your vote and all of our votes for any other candidate is better than to talk, complain or argue till the cow come home.
It is not that they are not aware but their agenda exclude us, the citizen.
You should have known since the last election that we all got played out wholesale.
Use your vote to complain.
All of YOU.
[...] anonymous writer lists his election agenda We should look at ways to sustain economic growth without letting in too many foreign [...]
Time for change @
You are right on man!
We are played out wholesale after the last election.
Action speak louder than words. The answer is in your vote!
Me am confident that when the Cabinet comprises 30 percent or more Opposition Members, the People will be better treated.
And when Opposition Parties manage to capture 40% or MORE, our voices will be stronger and mean something.
WE WILL NO LONGER BE DAFT ANYMORE!
patriot
Dear Gilbert (A Singaporean Who Cares),
You have to be very careful when adopting an open statement like your slogan. What actually do you care about? Not trying to be a smarty but I am sure you would agree that anyone can end the statement anyway they like.
Anyway, I am going to give you the opportunity to ‘prove’ yourself, not that you need to if you don’t want to. I am going to retract every personal opinion I have of you, some of which I have previously shared; and to take my chance with you. I do this because I see some good online friends having nice things to say about you. One of them is ‘Patriot’, whom I have always admired and look up to (even though I have not heard from him for a very long time … lol).
I will be sending you an article in which I will share with you some of the frustrations I had experienced when dealing with my current MP, Halimah Yacob, the TC, and various other quasi-governmental bodies and agencies. Since the National Solidarity Party is most likely to contest in Jurong GRC, where I am a voter there, in the coming General Election, it will be good to listen to what it has to offer.
The article I am sending has been discussed among my circle of friends, acquaintances and fellow residents who were just as frustrated with the responses we received from the ‘authorities’. So remember, there is a large pool of voters inside there.
Meantime, I wish you all the best.
Philip Loh a.k.a. gemami
Hi Gemami;
me am much elated to see some online buddies again; You, nofearsingapore(Dr Huang) and Gilbert Goh who me meets occasionally for coffee. Do greatly missed Observer(SG-HK) who had completely disappeared from Cyberspace, hope he is still reading.
My Singapore News, Diary of a Singaporean Mind(Lucky Tan), Singapore Notes, nofearsingapore, Getting to the Truth(John Hardings, Hard Hitting in the Lion City and Lee Kuan Yew Watch and Temasek Review are some of the Sites that i frequent and participate now.
Though not interacting with You at Sites where me did read You, me am constantly read most if not all comments from You, there is much i can learn from them and me admires most your frank remarks and the enlighten povs.
There are some other ‘patriots’ in Cyberspace and me am one of other patriots in Solo Bears’ Blog.
Me had stopped participation in TOC for sometimes, maybe two years, and did notice that You’re not active there too.
I feel flattered by your kind words and is most happy to see You around.
Yrs Truly: patriot
It is indeed time for Change – I would vote for any opposition party. Why any ? The key is to weaken PAP’s power of arrogance and greed by having at least 1/3rd of the seats filled by opp. parties in the parliament. Only then would PAP open up to listen to the people for better policy-making.
Of course it is a tough battle for opp. parties’ lack of fundings, and with PAP control of mainstream media and GRCs. That’s why the more we need to vote for opp. parties in.
After we get them in, we can then decide which opp. party is the best to challenge PAP in election 2016, because opp. parties have to be in the parliament to be heard by the public.
With more opp. parties’ members in parliament, more capable and qualified candidates will appear for 2016 election (a big organisation tend to attract more and better job candidates than a small one), leading to better quality of opp. parties for Singaporeans.
But for now, vote them in 1st ! If we the voters can’t even have them into parliament in this election, we will have no future !
All the best to u Gilbert and NSP. You are a courageous one, like most of the opp. members, knowing that you are entering the PAP’s den of lions ! Some say you are in this for your business, I say only a courageous one is willing to do so. thank u.
Will PAP change over time? How long will they take? How will they change? Can the change be sustainable?
Do we need oppositions to make them change? Is this the only way? And what are the odds? Are Singaporeans guilty of making what PAP is today? No party ever question this in this election, scare of losing votes? Face it, how concerned are most Singaporeans over politics outside election period? We either do not show much interest via actions or comfortably leave things to PAP or we bitch so much yet no action. One taxi driver blamed the government for making him lost his corporate job during the SARS period (not dipping into our reserve early enough to save jobs). Come on, there are always multiple reasons why an individual lost his job and not his co-worker. So, now is it solely the government responsibility to get him his corporate job back? Another guy compared the Leyman Brother episode and why HK government can repay the victims more than Singapore government when we have a bigger reserve? So if greed got over u and you lost money, you blame the government for not having a monitoring system and expect the government to cushion individual lost? Singaporeans need to start fending and looking after ourselves. It’s the mindset that needs to change. Don’t rely on the oppositions to make those changes. The changes are within ourselves.
So will more oppositions in parliament change this, after the election? If yes, how many do we need? Which country parliament is a good reference? So if one day WP becomes the ruling party and Singaporeans still don’t change, WP might eventually become the next PAP?!?
There are many good arguments from both sides, no one can predict who’s right or wrong. I urge all to look at the real source of the problem. Is it the government that turned us into what w are today? Or should we shoulder some of the responsibilities. Or is this a natural progression that a young nation has to go through, as we build our own identity and belief? So far, the election topics are mainly about domestics affairs. Be fair and judge the government on international front too. They are closely connected.
What changes are we expecting or do we want from this election? Can some of the oppositions give us those changes? Many people that I talked to, wanted a check and balance, and more empathy from the government. So try to stress this a bit further…. What does more check and balance, more empathy mean to you and me? less corruption? More payout for the people? more affortable living standards? Are these what we are looking for? Most people do not even think one level down?!! So change for the sake of changing? Change to make our presence felt? Is this the only effective and fastest way? Are these changes sustainable and have a profound influence to next few generations?
Think deeper what changes do u really want? And who can make those changes, don’t leave the change to the ruling party or the oppositions.
Change begins with us, Singaporeans!