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This is my third week in Singapore after a lengthy three-month stay in Sydney to be with my family.

I have not seen them for seven months since touching down in Singapore way back in January last year – and later stood for election in May.

I have shuttled to and fro Sydney-Singapore these past few years and must have chalked up enough frequent flyer points to get a free airticket by now.

Introduction

I am not surprised if some of the air stewardess will recognise me  as I have always travelled via Qantas and on the same flight number too!

With the Scoot budget airline coming on board soon mid this year, I am sure that my travelling schedule will be more frequent as I heard that the pricing will be 40% lesser than the full-board airlines.

Running transitioning.org almost on a full time basis now,  it does not make much sense to be away from my host country for too long though  many of my friends have often questioned why I even bother to return home.

Patriotism still exists?

“Why don’t stay put in Sydney forever?” they often asked almost unbelievably when I told them that I would be returning soon to Singapore – again.

“This is my country!” I retorted back.  “I love my country too much!”

They would then roll back their eyes and walked away in mocked disbelief at my patriotism as if I am lying to them.

I am also happy to learn that a Malay friend, Nazryn,   has just returned home from Melbourne with about the same reason as me – he felt more belonged in Singapore than down under.

I often felt unbelonged in Sydney even though I have yet to face up to any discriminating taunts – unfortunately felt by some of my emigrant friends. Unbelongness can be unsettling as it is as if your body lives there but your heart is somewhere else.

Racial discrimination is also one chief reason  why many emigrants felt displaced and unbelonged.

An Asian  friend living in Sydney told me how he was taunted by a passing car full of young Aussies shouting: “Asians go home!” when he crossed the street at his suburb.

Last year, a few Indians were also stabbed in Melbourne causing the massive  Indian community to flee the country by the thousands.

Though I have lived  in Sydney for the past few years, Australia is not my country and the feeling of belongness is important  as one’s  roots will tie him to that place.

I have also seen many Malaysians residing in Sydney  who are ex-PR in Singapore and they flock to places which provide them the best economic benefits.

I am not saying that they are unloyal to Singapore  and one also could not expect too  much from them as their emigrating needs are mostly economical.

Nevertheless, one suspects that many Malaysians or Filipinos may have look for work in Singapore first before tring to emigrate to Australia later - after chalking up enough years of work experience in Singapore to get the required points for visa application.

Working abroad more common

Singaporeans nowadays    travel widely for work and some even have to be posted abroad for job assignments – many families have to make do with the distant separation and young children  grow up knowing that they   can’t have both parents staying together with them forever.

Some work  abroad from Monday to Friday and only return home during the weekend.

The money is in Asian emerging countries and it is not surprising that Singaporeans will have to get used to spending more of their working hours abroad.

Yet, there is always the danger of a marital breakup when one spents too much time abroad.

A friend recently  just returned to Singapore after completing a 4-year work stint in Qatar.

Though he could never get back the same kind of remuneration if he returns to Singapore,  he has decided to discontinue the contract and return for good to be with his wife. They do not have any kids yet.

He is currently embarking on some business venture in China but the short-distance travelling means that he is able to shuttle home more often than compared to  the middle east.

The lack of entertainment choices plus the mostly-warm weather condition in Qatar are also push reasons for him to return home late last year – even though he will not have the luxury of a tax-free cushy US dollar monthly pay cheque.

Over in Sydney where I spent my last four years abeit on an on and off basis, I have seen many Singaporeans  uprooting themselves as they look for jobs in down under.

Australia – the favourite migration country for Singaporeans

Australia has being tightening their emigration policies of late and the government will  issue work visa instead of a direct PR status.

One has to work for two years first before he can apply for PR and it is increasingly difficult for one to get that covetous 457-class work visa for skilled emigrants.

Some are singles whereas many others have families and young kids in tow. Most have at least a degree and mainly come in search of greener pastures and a better lifestyle.

As many as 40, 000 Singaporeans have resettled in Australia during the past few decades and Perth remains the most popular choice for emigrating Singaporeans due  to its close proximity to Singapore.

Perth  is just a mere four hours’ plane ride from Singapore unlike Sydney which is 71/2 hours away.

Sydney is also  not a popular choice for migrating Singaporeans as it’s now infested with Malaysians, Indians, Filipinos, Vietnamese, Burmese, Chinese, Middle-easterners  and Indonesians.

I think the Singaporean contingent in Sydney should not have exceeded 3000 – including students studying in the universities there.

Asian towns have sprung up in Cabrammata, Hurstville, Rhodes, Stratfield,  Rockdale among others. I have never felt more at home in Sydney than anywhere in the world!

Many Aussies have actually left for Queensland the past few years whereby the properties are cheaper and the climate milder.

There is this strong anti-Asian feeling prevailing in Sydney among the whites but it is largely unseen and resigned.

The properties’ prices  in Sydney have shot through the roof  – fuelled largely by cash-rich Chinese buyers and slow property development.

A 3-bedroom unit which is half an hour by train to the city can set one back by A$400, 000 – if its an old development.  A new development unit can cost half a million dollars and smaller in size.

Why Singaporeans won’t return home

I attended a Christmas party held by a ex-Singaporean last year whose three daughters are all attending unis there. She has a house overseeing a lake and used to walk her jack russel in the evening around it. The backyard garden was large enough to contain a HDB 5-room unit.

“I have everything here, Gilbert,” she qulped in between tea as we chatted after a delicious home-cooked meal . “It will be foolish to return to a cramped HDB flat and what about my daughters?  They all love it here and are doing well in unis.”

All her daughters have became naturalised citizens in Australia now and seem happy and care-free.

She decided to emigrate many years back when she realised that the rote-learning educational system is not what she wanted for her three daughters back home.  Moreover, she did not see eye-to-eye with much of what the government was  doing then and took the plunge to look for a better lifestyle abroad. Her efforts seemed to have pay off as she was all smiles and looked very much a contented woman in her mid 50s.

There is also another young Singaporean in the party who has just finished his accountancy degree study and  has decided to look for work in order to cement his stay further in Sydney. He is aiming to get the prestigious PR status down under.

Having stay in Sydney long enough to know the gaping difference in environment between Singapore and down under, sometimes I must admit that it’s a struggle personally to get  away from the wide open space and clear blue sky over there.

Its  a picturesque landscape  and the  mild temperate weather  contributes to the almost-perfect living condition. It is difficult to convince anyone otherwise – especially when one comes  from a humid tropical overcrowded living environment  like ours.

Melbourne is noted for being too temperamental in it’s weather fluctuations and Perth too extreme in hot-cold differentiation – there is often a 15-degree difference in day and night temperature in a state that harbours the most Singaporeans. Yet no Singaporean is complaining and many prefer to stay put in down under than return home.

Last year, Sydney has one of the coldest start to the summer in 50 years. I dragged out most of my kept jackets last December as the average temperature rarely hovered above 22 deg C during day time. At night, it plunged to about 16 deg C mostly and the pleasant conditions also kept me in bed from 10pm onwards.

You hardly see large crowd gathering together in down under unless it’s the shopping mall and after six in the evening, most people journey home to cook dinner.

I always suffer from claustrophobia here when I returned as there are hardly any places that do not have people crawling all over.

Lack of significant private space

I was at Bugis last Saturday and regretted going out to meet a friend as the crowd and the forbidden weather  frustrate what would be a good rendevous with an old friend.

There is hardly any place here  that is quiet and peaceful…

Everytime when  I went away and returned a few months later, it seems that more people have entered our country making it almost uninhabitable and very stifling.

We are now the second most crowded city in the world – having leap frogged Hong Kong last year  and just lining   behind Monaco for the top spot  – with almost 7, 000 people living in a one-kilometer square radius.

My friend told me that besides his HDB flat’s toilet and master bedroom, there is nowhere that he could not see another human being sprouting  right in front of him.

“There is no more private space anymore, Gilbert,” he confided in me when we caught up for coffee.

“People now just rushed home, locked their door behind and want their privacy without having to see any other  living being besides their own family members.”

Studies have shown that people living in urban city suffer most from stress as they could not find any more private space to recover from the day’s hustle and bustle.

There is no wood or park that we can go to when we need some place to reflect and couping up in a four-walled concrete HDB flat is not the best ideal place for soulish recovery.

I  love the empty parks in Sydney where I used to jog almost thrice a week. The low humility  also helps as  I do not sweat a lot outside and the temperate weather is a lot more pleasant to go outdoor for a quick walk or run.

Its always very theraupetic whenever I go outdoor  as I am in tune with nature again. The low human traffic also contributes to the feeling that I am being recharged whenever I am out in the park.

I have to drag myself to return home as the environment outdoor can be rather soothing and hypnotic.

Even during summer when the temperature can hover to the 30s, one can still stay comfortable if he goes under the shade.

Exodus to down order continued unabated

Just the past few months, I have seen three young PMETs resettling in Melbourne and Sydney.

One just attained his  permanent resident status in Australia and the late 20s single guy with a degree in IT decided to quit his arduous job here late last year.

Having study in Melbourne before and very familiar with the environment there, Leo decided to pack his bag and starts his life afresh in a foreign land – leaving  behind his ageing parents.

It’s a tough decision for Leo as his ageing parents are the ones who sent him to Melbourne for his tiertiary education few years ago  but he failed to properly adapt to the insecure contractual work nature  and mostly abhorred the work conditions here.

He left the company in September  – in acriminous circumstances and after that has more or less decided to look for opportunities abroad.

I also met up regularly with a 30-something Singaporean in Sydney during my 3-month stay there.

Armed with a polytechnic diploma, Steve came over to Sydney in September  with a long-term stay visa provided by his Malaysian girlfriend.

He quitted from his 4-year houtly-pay job at the national library.

He earned a pittance $7 an hour slaving at the library and decided to pack his bag when his Malaysian girlfriend gave him the beckon from down under.

The marriage not only will provide him a gateway to the promise of a greener pasture abroad but also assure him that he won’t be single indefinitely.

“I will be a bachelor if I stay put in Singapore,” He told me when we met up at Ikea Sydney over free coffee last month.

Ikea Rhodes  provides free unlimited coffee if you are a member and they also put up very cheap affordable light breakfast at around A$3.00 every morning.

“How to date our educated well-paid Singaporean girls when I don’t even have a steady job?”

He was rejected for higher education learning when he applied for a place at NUS engineering faculty many  years ago and could not get pass interviews to any engineering work with just a polytechnic engineering diploma.

When the library looked for part-time workers he gladly took it up and has been working there for the past four years – even though it paid him a paltry $7 an hour.

“It’s a regular paying job and the work isn’t very difficult,” he told me when I questioned how he could stay on  for so long a period.

Maybe the arduous work conditions of the outside world plus the current uncertain contractual requirements are reasons for his long stay at the part-time job at the library.

Interestingly,  I have also received many emails from people who want to emigrate.

Some friends have even  told me to set up a migration centre!

My first meeting when I returned home was with a ex-Filipina who became a Singaporean many years ago.

She just returned from a holiday trip in Sydney with her family and wanted to know more about emigrating to Australia.

I told her that it is best she approached a migration agent as I may have provided her the wrong information.

Conclusion

Our home affairs ministry has also provided statistics last week that about 1, 000 Singaporeans every year renounced   their citizenship.

One wonders how many of them are foreigners who became Singaporeans and later renounced  their citizenship elsewhere.

More importantly, what can our country do to retain skilled Singaporeans from relocating when they are in their prime? There is this feeling that we are facing a mini brain drain when well-educated Singaporeans continue their exodus abroad during the past few years.

I have seen abled lawyers, doctors, accountants and engineers relocating to Australia or elsewhere and the numbers seen to be increasing – especially when we are opening our doors wide open recently for foreigners to compete with us for jobs.

You can almost call it a perfect storm for Singaporeans craving for the opportunity to venture abroad.

A Singaporean friend, who has set up a migration agency in Perth,  told me that he used to get about 100 Singaporeans attending his free migration session when he held it here.

Nowadays, he can easily pack   400 Singaporeans for  the Q & A sessions and he has to push away a lot more…

All  is not well in our country…

Written by: Gilbert Goh

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