Thomas came in to see me all perspiring after visiting Caliberlink at Brash Basah Road two hours earlier.

He also has to return to work at 2.15pm for the second shift of his 3-month-old technician job with a MNC. The second shift ends at 11pm but Thomas is not complaining.

It was something that he desperately took up as he didn’t want to go jobless for too long  after he was  retrenched from a lucrative $60,000/year IT engineering position earlier this year.

He has worked there for six years and was fortunate to come out with a reasonable severance package.

However, his wife is a home maker and it would be disastrous for two adult family members to go unemployed at the same time.

He has two primary school-going boys and it was a challenge to make ends meet  if there is no income for a prolonged period  -  to him the technician position was a God-sent.

“It was also something that kept me going even though the pay is 1/3 of what I earned,” he told me when I offered him a drink and tissue to wipe off his perspiration.

Its true that jobless PMETs who continue working  at lower-end jobs after retrenchment often feel energised and positive than those who simply apply for jobs and wait at home for the phone calls.

Looking younger than his mid-40s age, Thomas earned his engineering degree from NTU and life was rosy then as the lucrative semi-con industry has just took off and work was plentiful.

Nevertheless, all good things have to come to an end and he was soon retrenched from his engineering job early this year.

He has sent out numerous job applications as an  angineer but none came back  favourably so when the employment agent advertised for a technician position at $1600/month, he jumped at the offer even though the entry level is only a  diploma.

“Its more like a production operator job and even below that of a diploma holder,” Thomas told me.

How long do you want to continue in the job?  I asked.

“As long as I am still looking for a a permanent  enginnering position,” he replied.

He knew that his biggest competitiors are cheap thrid-world engineers from India, Philippines and India who will flock to our country for as little as $2000/month.

His current company also hires many technicians  but they are all permanent residents – mostly from India, Philippines and PRC China. They all earn around $1600 and below.

There are also many local diploma holders who just served out their national service working there but the turn over is high as the job is monotonous and does not require  much technical skills.

Thomas  has tried to request for upgrading courses from a few government aid bodies   in the  nursing and therapist profession but when he was told that the starting entry pay is not more than $1500,  he hesitated.

“I wanted to switch to another  line but it has got to be viable,” Thomas told me.

After studying full time for more than a year, the entry pay for many niche in-demand  fields such as nursing is not attractive enough to convince past high-income engineers like Thomas to make the switch.

He will continue  to look for engineering jobs but so far the response has being discouraging. as he has being rather selective in the positions that he applied for.

After speaking with Thomas  for about an hour, I must say that I was inspired by his zeal to survive even though he could onlty take  home less than $1200 for his efforts.

Transitioning has seen close to 500 clients of which at least half are with engineering background.

Some ended up driving cabs or become property agents even though they have engineering degrees from our prestigious local universities.

The semi-con shut down has truly affected the rice bowls of many of our engineers who took the cue from our government two decades ago to study engineering courses.

Now, they face the onslaught  of competition from many cheap young engineers hailed from third world countries who could ply their trade here   due to the ease in getting them work permits.

Looking at Thomas case, I feel that it will be a tall order for him to secure any engineering job despite his qualification and years of relevant experience and even if he manages to find one, the pay will not be anywhere near to his previous salary before he was retrenched.

Unless  the government drastically reduces foreign talents soon, we will see more Thomas running around – jobless and desperate.

We will also see more undergraduates opting to study the arts and social sciences in universities as this is the best way to gain entry to the secured  civil service sector.

Singapore will  in future face the unpleasant situation of not having enough local experienced engineers as currently most of the engineering positions are occupied  by foreigners. 

The profession may also be cheapened by foreign hirings who may one day take their experience with them to other developed countries who will treasure their skills more.

Written by: Gilbert Goh

To continue  keeping my job experience relevant, I should head back to the banking and finance industry. 

I worry that my skills and experience would not be viewed favorably by the bank if I continue to stay but still do badly in my current job.

It seems that looking for a perm banking position is tough nowadays.  

Then again, I am not sure if I should just take up a temp or contract banking position and end up jobless when the contract ends. I would appreciate if I can speak with a career coach on this as I think I need some direction in my career.

Thanks Gilbert. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Yours Sincerely

 Denise

********

Hi Denise,

Editor’s Note: We have assigned Denise a career coach  to see to her career needs. She has also recently informed us that she has found a full-time job with a insurance company – congrats!

Transitioning has heard of how many jobless PMETs panicked and fumbled during a job interview.

From fresh graduates to experienced matured executives, an interview normally brings along butterflies to  the tummy and some even could not sleep properly the night before.

If you could not be at your tip top best during an evening, chances are you will have a hard time competing with many other candidates for the job.  Companies normally will see between 6 to 8 candidates before deciding on three for a second interview.

If by the 7-8 job interviews you still could not manage to get a second interview, its timely to seek advice on how to brush up your interview skills.

I will assist by suggesting 7 things to do immediately before an interview.

1.  Wake up fresh

If you could not sleep well the night before the interview, chances are you will wake up feel grouchy and even fall sick before an interview.

I have heard of how one jobless PMET fell ill everytime she has to go for an interview and she would always contact the employer few hours before  that she will not turn up.

Anxiety attack normally strikes at those who suffer psychologically from performance syndrome.

Try to rest earlier than normal so that you have given yourself ample time to rest well before the big day.

Drink milk if you can so that you can sleep easily or simply follow your own normal routine if you can handle the interview pressure well.

Having a bad night of rest is a sure way to bomb yourself out of the interview process.

2. Read something positive

Read up something positive hours before the interview.

This will help to psyche yourself up for the big moment with your mind filled with positive thoughts.

I did this as a regular habit and every morning before I read my mail, I would read up positive stuff on http://www.marcandangel.com/ - one of my favourite website.

You should take a look at the site – it is fill full with valuable gems and never fail to pump  me up.

You can also read up your own favourite website  to psyche yourself up before an interview.

Starting the day with positive-sounding thoughts help to prepare you for what lies ahead.

For counsellors, its always important to feel positive about yourself as we need to listen to quite alot of negative stuff from our clients.

Take every interview as a challenge and staying well prepared helps alot.

3. Review your past achievements

Reviewing your past achievements also help tremendously to prepare you for the big moment.

Write down a list of achievements that you have accomplished during the past few years e.g. completing the marathon, gaining a promotion or going for a difficult mission abroad.

Hopefully, when you recount your own past accomplishments, it will boost up your self esteem while you prepare for the interview.

Interviewers like to see a fired-up confident person instead of a insecure mousy candidate answering questions sheepishly.

In order to stand out from the rest of the candidates, you have to  speak and act differently from the rest. 

Interviewers have also always complained  that our local executives tend to be rather soft-spoken and even shy when they attend interviews.

The opposite happens to foreign candidates who tend to be more confident and even sound bragging to some employers. With that, they appear to be more hungry and desperate than our local PMETs.

4. Dress smartly

Many  candidates amazingly  still dress shabbily before an interview.

Its good to iron your shirt the night before and decide what you want to wear for the big day. Do not leave it to the last minute.

Dress something that you feel comfortable and abandon that  brand new smart long sleeve shirt as we may feel uncomfortable in it.

A fresh graduate whom  I have recently  seen told me that he feels uncomfortable wearing a long sleeved shirt to interviews as he is always in tee and jeans – he even wore a pair of slippers to see me!

I told him to wear more long sleeved shirt wherever he goes so that he will get used to it.

Dressing smartly makes us feel confident and  you may want to, put on a tie if the job interview is  for a managerial or executive position.

Of course, don’t over dress or else the interviewers will find us odd!

5. Research on the company

A employer whom I have sent some candidates   told me that none of  the interviewees knew what the company is doing.

He told me that this is unacceptable as they are going in blind without bothering to  find out more about the company’s profile and core mission.

I agreed with him.

Perhaps, our jobless candidates  are  more keen in trying to land a job with any company that they fail to realise working for the right company is equally important.

They are probably also more concerned with the salary package and other benefits than the company itself!

I urge candidates to research abit more on the companies before going for that interview.

It will show that you are really serious in wanting to know more about the kind of company that you are going to work for.

Interviewers will also be impressed as relatively few candidates nowadays bothered to read out about the company’s profile and doing so helps you  stand out from the rest.

6. Be punctual for the interview

I am still surprised that  candidates can be late for an interview.

It shows a lack of discipline  on your part however valid the reasons may be. Once a bad impression is formed, the candidate can kiss the job goodbye.

An interview is all about making good impression and failing to do so in the beginning is almost suicidal.

Moreover, if you are early its good to freshen up in the washroom and stay focused on the interview process. You can’t do that when you are late and worse get frantic when you can’t find the location.

If you can’t turn up for an interview for personal reasons, do inform the interviewer at least a day ahead and try to reschedule for one if possible.

Interviewers are also human and will understand if you provide a valid reason for rescheduling.

If possible, do a recee of the company’s location a day before the interview to ensure that you know exactly where the company is.

Some companies – especially those at Tuas – can be difficult to find so do be sure that you know where it is located.

I remembered that I was an hour late when I scheduled an appointment to see a company’s GM in Tuas for a discussion.

I scheduled 1 1/2 hour for travelling from Punggol but it actually took me 2 1/2 hour to reach Tuas  and I was not lost!

7. Speak up confidently

I have heard too many employers complaining that  our local candidates do not speak up confidently and  I will want to dwell on this abit more.

Perhaps we are low on confidence due to prolonged unemployment or that we have being rejected too often to pick ourselves up again.

Nevertheless, its a chicken and egg situation as the more ill at ease we are the more rejections we will face during interviews.

No employers will want to consider someone who is uncomfortable during an interview and whisper out his replies awkwardly.

Avoid rambling on and if you could provide 3-4 sentences to any questions asked it should be sufficient.

Try to mimic the interviewer’s body language to stay at ease with him. For example, if he sits up straight you should do the same but in most interviewing situation these days there is always a panel so there is less opportunity for mimicking.

If there is  a panel of interviewers, try to place your hands on the table  clasped if possible to portray confidence. Move your hands to illustrate a point when speaking.

Remember also to smile when you reply to questions but I know that this is difficult to do as when we tense up its difficult to soften our facial muscles.

One way to overcome the butterflies in the tummy before an interview is to rehearse with a friend your replies to common questions.

There are at least ten common questions that employers will ask candidates e.g. why do you apply for the position, what are your strengths and weaknesses, why do you think we should hire you, etc.

Rehearse such common questions with a friend so that you are not caught tongue-tied when it comes.

Many candidates are caught by easy-to-answer  questions as their mind normally goes blank during an interview and worse if  they are also struggling with the uncomfortable environment.

Going to an interview room is like going to the dentist and how we relax ourselves prior to an interview will hopefully enhance our performance before the employers.

By nature, we don’t like to brag about our own strengths alot here due to our humble disposition but this is a different era and I am most impressed by how foreign talents speak about themselves.

Not only do they dress smartly but they also  carry themselves very confidently compared to our own local graduates.

They brought along stuff to prove a point e.g a foreign talent I met brought along a NUS MBA course phamplet and told me how he has graduated from the $90,000 programme. He used a visual aid to cement his point.

It is timely perhaps for our local executives to start planning how to deliberately impress our interviewers as if not we will keep losing work  opportunities to foreign  talents. Attend a public speaking course if you need to in order to brush up your interview skills.

Remember an interview is all about creating a favourable impression and once you can do that the rest is up to the interviewers to select the best candidate for the job – you have done your part.

You will do yourself no favour if you can’t speak confidently and worse can’t impress the interviewers that you can do the job.

You must adopt the attitude that for every interview that you are call up, there is every chance however small it may be that the company will hire you.

If they decide to hire someone else, its their loss…

Written by: Gilbert Goh

Hi Gilbert,

Just came back from China

I spent a few days recently touring the city of Beijing in China, and have some interesting observations to make.

On the whole, the city seems to be prospering, evidenced by the overcrowded shopping streets and the congested roads with a large proportion of Beijingers able to afford cars now.

People seem more civilized on the streets with less spitting and pushing around on the trains, which was contrary to my initial impression of the historical city.

My feeling about Beijing is that the cost of living is similar to  that of Singapore  in terms of property and daily consumables like food (cars are definitely cheaper), but since the people obtain lower wages than Singaporeans so  if you do a dollar to dollar comparison, it’s more expensive to live in Beijing as a local.

I now agree with many people who say that the elderly in China do not have to slog like dogs in their 60s and 70s as the Chinese government allows them to retire early in their 50s and obtain a good pension.

There are many beautiful parks in Beijing where the elderly just sit down happily to chat with each other, play table tennis, engage in line-dancing or salsa and simply take part in some other recreational activities.

Can Singapore learn  something here from the PRC Chinese on how they have taken care of their elderly? I have seen many of our elderly folks cleaning toilets in Changi Airport ambling along as they struggle with the heavy mop and water pail. Surely, if communist China bothers to care for  their elderly people by the millions, we should be able to do so for our own by providing them a small pension to retire comfortably.

Our government has pushed the buck of  caring for the elderly to their children but in today’s high-inflation economics,  not many people are so fortunate to be able to care for their  ageing parents as comfortably as they hope to be.

However, I would hesitate to draw any conclusions from what I have observed and  make direct comparison with the situation in Singapore as circumstances are different.

Having spoken to one of my tour guides, he told me that  at least in Beijing , people prospered because the government  provides good compensation to home-owners when they wanted to demolish homes or relocate the owners.

Having obtained free or cheap housing under communism, many people had their assets enhanced  and now  by rising property prices.

Anyway, China is a very complicated place and you do not know who you should really trust.

I was lucky enough to have some friends I knew I could trust in Beijing otherwise it is very hard to really get to know the place.

Driving on the road is a nightmare, while catching a taxi and crossing a roads are skills that Singaporeans are never taught. The country is too big and complicated to enforce clear rules for an organized society, compared to  Singapore.

I also saw the other side of economic growth in China, with lots of  destitute people pitching their wares around the most touristy areas around the city. Truly, the country’s miraculous economic progress should be applauded  but there is still much more work to be done.

Just like in Singapore…

Marcus 

Editor’s Note: The writer is now working in the UK.

As our government continues to bring in 20,000 new citizens each year through the various easily-acquired work permits, Singaporeans continue to suffer in silence as there is nothing much that they can do except to wait for the balloting box every five years.

Many local Singaporeans  also look at migration to other countries as the easiest way out and some parents even encourage  their children to study and work abroad knowing that it is very difficult now with cheap foreigners competing against  Singaporeans for work opportunities.

Starting salaries have gone down by at least 20% since last year and though we don’t have relevant official manpower statistics to support this, anecdoctal evidences from our pool of jobless PMETs have confirmed this fact.

Many jobless young PMETs have indicated that their pay was reduced by at least 20% from their previous salary range and more seriously, they remain the minority worker in their companies and are dominated by foreign workers in the ir work places.

Some have also told me that they are hired because one of the foreign worker’s work permit is not being renewed by MOM or they were  hired to make  up for the foreign-local worker quota.

Employers continue to hire foreign workers as they are cheaper, younger and educated. Many are hired using the S-Pass category with a pay scale of $2000 and 2-year contract.

More than 1.8 million foreigners lived among a population of 5.18 million  and their presence is overwhelming. Half a million of them has attained permanent residencies and they carry the strongest chance of converting into citizens.

Transitioning will attempt to draw up a profile of each foreign nationality and wants to reiterate that we are not anti-foreigner here:-

1. PRC Chinese

Population:  800, 000

Personality: Business-minded, hard working but can be a show-off for those who are rich

Favourite hangout: Chinatown (they also took over a bulk of the businesses there)

Popular jobs: F & B, own businesses,  entertainment, construction

Pay range: Depend on kind of jobs acquired but between $1500 to $2500 usually.

Niche skills: Business

Bad habit: Likes to talk aloud in public places oblivious to local environment. Seen as brash and rude. Women also portrayed as husband snatchers as many divorces occurred because our local men got involved with Chinese women here. They remain the number one public enemy of our local population now due to a spate of badly-publicised stunts.

Favourite past time: Working, shopping  and eating

Social integration: Average as tend to talk only in mainland Mandarin and can’t communicate well in English with locals. Needs to brush up English so that they can integrate well with locals. Many young Chinese are also scholars picked from poor villages in China to study here with allowances.

Citizenship: Some PRC Chinese won’t mind becoming citizens if they have good jobs here but the abundance of opportunities in China now may lure some to return home. Many PRC Chinese like our hassle-free travelling benefit associated with our  passport  and many have  use us as a stepping stone to apply for PRs in Australia, New Zealand and United States. However, many of them don’t like our humid weather here and lamented at our  limited space.

Latest bugbear: A rich Chinese  PR crashed his Ferrrari into a taxi killing himself, the taxi driver and a passenger at Rochor Road. Numerous other recent clashes with locals suggested that PRC Chinese immigrants may have difficulty assimiliating with Singaporeans whom they secretly look down upon. The PRC Chinese are also the ones who demonstrated at MOM twice last year against local employers  for errant salary payment and may be troublesome on law and order issues.

2. Indians

Population: 400, 000

Personality: Polite and well mannered

Favourite hangout:  Little India

Popular jobs: IT, management, construction, shipping

Pay range: If working in IT banking jobs pay can be between $3000 – $5000 depending on work experience

Niche skills: IT programming and software – tens of thousands of Indians work in the lucrative IT sector

Bad habit: Tend to group among themselves even in the workplaces and oblivious to local environment

Favourite past time: Working, eating, going to parks

Social integration: Don’t seem to integrate well with locals as they all group together among themselves even though many speak good English with an Indian slang. They also don’t mix well with our local Indians here and may even be viewed   with envy as most of them are well educated and have good jobs.

Citizenship: Many Indians won’t mind becoming citizens here especially if they have a good job and house. However, if we bring in too many Indian citizens, it will change the multi-racial demographics  alot especially when our Malay counterparts   feel sidelined at the employment front.

Latest bugbear: Nil so far and remain the model immigrant with few social  problem  from this nationality.

3.  Filipinos

Population: 200, 000 (80, 000 domestic helpers)

Personality: Friendly and polite

Favourite hangout: Orchard Road and Lucky Plaza remains the Filipino favourite shopping mall for the past two decades

Popular jobs:  F & B, healthcare, entertainment,  administration,  executive

Pay range: Between $1500 – $2000 depending on work scope and experience

Niche skills:  Service industry as tens of thosuands of them work in the two integrated resorts and many hotels here. Speak the best tagalog-accented English here among all the nationalities and highly sought after by tele-marketeering companies.

Bad habit: Tends to group among themselves alot forming cliques  in the work places. Likes to bring in their own kind to  the office as replacement. Speaks tagalog loudly in public places oblivious to public environment.

Favourite part time: Shopping, singing, going to parks

Social integration: Don’t really see them integrating much with locals even in the work places. Use alot of tagalog among themselves to ostracise  locals at work. Seen as political and manipulative. They are also  the most united among the many nationalities that congregate in Singapore and tend to take care of each other well.

Citizenship: Some Filipinos won’t mind becoming citizens  but many are still fiercely patriotic and will return home after making enough money here. They also prefer to emigrate permanently  to US, Australia and New Zealand.

Latest bugbear: Though they do not misbehave as publicly as the PRC Chinese, Singaporeans do not really take to them well as they tend to group among themselves and live in their own world. At the work places, they are not the best of workers to work with and tend to take care of their own kind only.

4. Myarmese

Population: 50, 000

Personality: Friendly and well mannered

Favourite hangout: Mostly town area

Popular jobs: Executive in most sectors

Pay range: $1500 to $2500 depending on work experience

Niche skills: Organised, listen to instructions

Bad habit: None so far

Favourite past time: Shopping, eating, upgrading one’s skills

Social integration: Like many other nationalities, they don’t  integrate well with our locals though they speak  decent English as many are educated here. However, employers have  so far sang praises of their work ethics and this nationality remains their top choice for foreign hiring.

Citizenship: Many Myarmese won’t mind converting into citizens as their country is still backward and lacking in opportunities.

Latest bugbear: None so far

5. Vietnamese

Population: 30, 000

Personality: Friendly and sociable

Favourite hangout: Joo Chiat

Popular jobs: Entertainment, F & B, office administration

Pay range: $1000 – $2000 depending on work experience

Niche skills:  entertainment-related

Bad habit: None so far but some are seen as husband snatchers as many divorces happened because of affairs with petite soft-spoken Vietnamese women. Their publicised foray into vices at Joo Chiat also tarnished their  image here.

Favourite past time: Drinking, eating, socialising

Social integration: As many Vietnamese do not speak English well they have difficulty integrating into our society. Tend to group among themselves for security and comfort.

Citizenship: Many Vietnamese won’t mind  becoming citizens here due to our infrastructure and abundant opportunities compared to their own country. Vietnamese women also like our local men but the langauge barrier is a challenge.

Latest bugbear: None so far.

6. Caucusians

Population: 100, 000 (from all over)

Personality: Friendly, pleasant

Favourite hangout: Clarke Quay

Popular Jobs: Senior managerial positions, consultant, banking executives

Pay range: $5000 – $20, 000 depending on work experience

Niche skills: Consulting, communication, leadership

Bad habit: Tend to be seen as aloof and detached. May look down on the local people here due to their enhanced  job scope and pay scale. Men may also flirt around with our local gals with some boasting that they could freely get into bed with them.

Favourite past time: Fine dining, sports, travelling, arts and music

Social integration: Men tend to mix better with our local women who flock to them. Other than that, there is little integration seen with the general population as many  stay in expensive exclusive condos. Children also study in expensive international schools further alienating them from the mainstream.

Citizenship: Not many  ang moh will want to become citizens  as many just want to work and have fun here. They also dislike our country’s strict laws and gum-free society. Probably less than 1% of them will want to become citizens here but they remain our local gals’ perfect dream for a potential husband.

Latest bugbear: None so far though their exclusive lifestyle may draw envy from the local population. With a  local colonist white supremacy mindset, many whites are well respected here though their brash mannerism –  especially when they are drinking – may draw some criticism from the locals. They also need to be more careful when befriending our local gals in the pubs as there are many fights occurring because of this.

7. Indonesians

Population: 10, 000

Personality: Warm and friendly

Favourite hangout: Orchard Road

Popular jobs: Office, business-related

Pay range: $1500 – $2500 depending on experience but many go into businesses

Niche skills: Business development especially for the Indonesian Chinese

Bad habit: Tend to spend as if there is no tomorrow

Favourite past time: Shopping and spending money

Social integration: Though they can speak dialects for the Indonesian Chinese, many do not seem to intergrate well with our locals.  They are also scattered all over the island with little concentration but many rich Indonesians have bought expensive private housing for investment.

Citizenship: Many Indonesians will want to be citizens here due to our safe environment. Probably more than 50% of Indonesian PRs will want to become citizens here.

Latest bugbear: None so far but wealthy Indonesians tend to  use our country for money laundering due to the lax banking secrecy act here. Singapore remains their first choice of destination for emigration due to our safe environment and many Indonesians will want to be citizens here.

8. Malaysians

Population: 500, 000

Personality: Hard working and business minded

Favourite hangout: All over

Popular jobs: Executive, managerial, logistics, businesses. Many Malaysians have became successful corporate CEOs such as the infamous ex-SMRT CEO Ms Saw and Hyflux CEO. Dr Goh Keng Swee – our ex-defence minister and DPM is also from Malaysia and so is Housing Minister Khaw Boon Wan.

Pay range: $2000 – $5000 depending on work experience

Niche skills: Many Malaysians study in Singapore when they are young and move up the educational path together with local Singaporeans. I have heard of many Malaysians heading big corporations and seen to be doing very well. Many may now have migrated to Australia or the US during this period of  mass foreign influx.

Bad habit: None so far

Favourite past time: Working and accumulating wealth

Social integration: By far the most integrated lot of the foreigners working here due to the close proximity with our country. Long accepted as one of our own and  mostly welcomed to become citizens. In fact, our government should focus on this group and try to convert  as many Malaysians to become citizens as possible as they are well accepted and has integrated into our society for a long time. Many Malaysians have also married our locals and their children have become citizens serving national service.

Citizenship: Many Malaysians have became citizens probably numbering well over 100, 000 throughout the past decade and lived among us like local Singaporeans due to similar culture and tradition. However, there is still a sizeable group of  Malaysian PRs who  do not want to convert into citizens for personal reasons.

Latest bugbear: None so far.

Written by: Gilbert Goh

The nationwide F & B boycott has entered into the thid week and I am glad that many Singaporeans have joined me in this Singaporean First movement event.

We are also heartened that some Singaporeans have already all along shunned away from patronising F & B outlets that hire predominantly foreign workers even before we started this infamous boycott.

This is also the first time that someone has organised a nationwide boycott event targetting  the F & B industry that hires predominantly foreign workers. Transitioning will continue to monitor the situation and see if we need to extend the boycott or rest it after a month as scheduled.

We are also glad that the Ministry of Manpower has recently announced that flouting the foreign hiring rules will carry a minimum fine of $5000 and that the violation will be a criminal one.  Manpower officers now  have the right to search any premises suspected of harbouring illegal workers.

Stricter legislation is welcomed as we need stringent laws to tighten up the illegal hiring of foreign workers.

Of course, during the boycott, I missed Hans Cafe pandan cake and Toastbox aromatic coffee dished out with delicious   butter-kaya toast. Yummy…

I also nearly went into a burger king outlet last week at my work place until I realised that it was listed for the boycott  and hastily withdrew my order and opted for the nearby coffeeshop instead.

The food craving  wasn’t that bad actually as I patronised the nearby foodcourt at  Punggol Plaza Kuofu which served  good $1.10 coffee. Moreover, I am a eat-to-live guy rather than live-to-eat like some of my friends who participated in the boycott.

They literally suffer through hunger pangs as they missed all the  food served by our boycott cafes.

Ironically, I think I am losing some weight as my tight jeans could fit me better now.  It shows that some fast food abstainance is actually good for our waist!

Punggol Plaza Kuofu also hired a strong legion of Malaysian and PRC Chinese workers but I can see that there are lately a trickling of local aunties and uncles working there – mainly colelcting plates off the tables when customers have finished their food.

At Simei Food fare, local old aunties and uncles now replace young PRC Chinese mopping floors and cleaning up tables which is a welcomed relief.

We always feel that our older folks want to work if someone is willing  to employ them but if employers continue to hire younger foreign workers then they really have nowhere to look for work.

Besides cleaning and service jobs, their money-earning choices are really very limited and we hope that F & B employers will give them a chance even though they may be  slower and grumble through their way.

During this boycott incident, I also crossed sword with a few friends who clearly  do not support the movement as they felt that Singaporeans do not like to work in the F & B industry and why not let the foreigners dominate a sector which is clearly shunned by most locals?

Of course, some of these friends are also F & B owners with vested interest.

I explained to them that the F & B industry is as good as gone as 90% of the current workforce  is already foreign and if we do not stand up to this onslaught soon, the rest of the other sectors will be gone too.

I know for a fact that the Indian-dominated IT industry is as good as gone and the administrative sector is slowly being gobbled up by Filipinos.

Already, many local PMETs have informed me that they are usually the minority worker in their companies. They are surrounded by Filipinos, Myarmese, Indians, PRC Chinese, Thais, Malaysians, etc.

Some have even told me that they are being hired to improve the headcount so that their bosses can hire more foreign workers!

Many people have also asked me why target the F & B industry for boycott?

The F & B industry is also one sector that is visible and so its easier to start a boycott than say the marine, construction or logistic industry. How do you boycott the logistic or marine industry?

When you see an outlet that is listed for  boycott because they hire more than 80% of foreign workers on the floor –  regardless of the legitimacy of their work permit hiring, you simply don’t patronise that outlet.

Its simple as that.

I also know for a fact that some highland Macdonalds and KFCs hire alot of locals so if you happen to pass by that outlet, by all means go and eat there. There is no hard and fast rule about this boycott.

You can also opt for a reduction in visits to certain outlets if you have no choice but to eat there on a regular basis as I know that in certain HDB areas, eating out can be a fuss and there is also little options to choose from.

Some people have also questioned us how successful it will be if we target so many outlets at one go as the response will be muted – we should chose one and target that particular outlet for maximim impact.

Targetting one particular F & B chain indicates a victimising spirit and I feel that this is not how we want the movement to operate.

We don’t particularly want to bring down the business operator but we do want to send out a clear message to the F  & B chain that they should hire some Singaporeans – only 20% and the rest can be foreigners – be it work permit, S-Pass or even PR holders.

We  have observed that clearly some retail outlets have 100% foreigners staffing the premises.

This is not right even though they do not contravene any work permit ruling.

It is also disturbing to know that besides  the dependency foreign ratio puts in place to check the number of foreigners  working in the F & B industry, many employers still continue to hire them using alternative employment permits such as the S-Pass or even  hiring PRs to make up for the numbers.

Local Singaporeans naturally felt short-changed and discriminated in their own turf which should not be the case as this is first our country – making money should be secondary.

The Ministry of Manpower should legislate the F & B industry to set aside 20% of the job positions for local Singaporeans as if not we will be sidelined by younger and cheaper foreign workers – which is the case now.

Already on my visits to some SMEs, I have witnessed how foreign PMETs have dominated the workforce and local Singaporeans have now lag behind as the minority worker – all done in our own country!

Employers have always cried foul that they could not hire suitable local workers and thus they have no choice but to hire foreign workers.

If F & B coffee chain like Ya Kun Coffee can hire predominantly local aunties and uncles I don’t see why the rest can’t do the same.I observed that in most Ya Kun cafes, there is only one or two foreign workers dominated by locals which is a rare sight these days.

We urge the ministry to come up with a foolproof system to counter-check what the employers have claimed so that our own local workers will not be short-changed.

In Australia, employers have to show proof that they have advertised the job vacancy for a while and interview an X  number of local applicants before they are allowed to hire a foreign PMET. It is the right thing to do especially when globalisation is such a rampant happening  now.

 The government has all along gives priority to our employers to hire foreigners and this has hurt the employment opportunities of our own people. I felt that our government has relented too easily when  F & B employers claimed that they could not hire workers easily.

They fail to implement any work balance system that improves the image of our F & B industry and the wages  are pathetic. Foreigners have no choice but to work as its still far better than working in their own third world countries.

They also do  not know that the F & B industry is so tough and meaningless and many young foreigners simply return to their own countries after working for a while. Employers just replace them with another set of foreign workers.

Local workers have a choice and also the need to earn enough to offset whatever operational cost that they have or else its not viable to carry on working.

Left to their own devices, employers will not hesitate to take the easy way out and hire foreigners using all kinds of work permits that are daggle out by our government. In no time, the private sector will be totally dominated by foreigner workers – leaving the crumbs to our local workers.

Business owners who continue to hire predominantly foreigners using all kinds of work permits available should be shamed as their priority is only in making profits and there is no place for such husinesses here.

Our workers  felt sidelined, displaced and alienated – in our own turf. This has to stop.

If the government does not shame them, this site will and this  includes  shaming our government if they don’t tweak the discriminatory work permit system  – which allows our employers to hire foreigners easily in the first place.

Written by: Gilbert Goh

Our government is trying to bring in at least 20,000 new citizens each year in the hope of arresting the low birth rate here.

Transitioning is carrying out a qualitative survey on the views of local Singaporeans towards this contentious move and will post the survey response periodically on this blog.

 _______________

Transitioning(T): First of all, thanks Jason for helping us with this online interview, can you state your age, marital status, educational qualifications and work experience?

Jason (J): 41 years old, married, tertiary educated, 20 years of work experience.

T: Do you agree with the government’s stand to bring in 20,000 new citizens each year to stem the current low birth rate here? Why so?

J: I disagree with the  need to fix a quota as to how many foreigners the government can or would bring in to Singapore. However, I felt the government can impose more legislation to create better or compulsory work life balances thus in the long run increase the marriage or birth rates.

T: What do you think the government can do alternatively instead of bringing in fresh foreign citizens to beef up the population?

J: Create more legislation for work life balances and more incentives for parents to give more flexibilities and conveniences in bringing up a child despite both parents having to juggle a career. More child care facilities and also promote more pro-family corporate practices  e.g. making 5-day work week mandatory for executive  positions or even as much for blue-collared positions too.

T: Many Singaporeans have cry foul with the ease foreigners has in attaining permanent resident status and then citizenship later on, what are some of the  measures you  hope to see so that the immigration processing can be further tightened up?

J: Foreigners should only be given PR status if they have work in Singapore for X number of years and have been given a good testimonial by their employers or peers. As for citizenship, they must clock certain hours of volunteering in helping needy Singaporeans or at least justified with their notable contributions to fellow Singaporeans or the nation in order to be seriously considered for citizenship. These criteria should be non-monetary in nature.

T: Many netizens have also commented that bringing in large numbers of foreign citizens is one of the sinister plot of the government to convert them into loyal voters for the next general election in 2016, do you agree with this statement? Why so?

J: I disagree as there is no substantial proof to this saying and these foreigners turned Singapore citizens are dumb. So if Singaporeans felt being oppressed by the incumbent government, sooner or later these new citizens will feel the same way as in their home countries they are also potentially more politically liberal or verbal.

T:  Our government has being asking Singaporeans to accept and help foreigners assimilate into our culture, do you think this is happening now? What are some of the things you hope to see plan out with regard to social integration programmes?

J: It’s the natural thing to do as Singapore is a melting pot of cultures, religions, races, beliefs, nationalities etc etc. So just like our old kampong days where we welcome anyone that chose to reside there, now in the bigger landscape, it should also be the same. As long as everyone gives each other their mutual respect as human beings.

 T: On a personal level, how are you affected by the influx of foreigners into our midst and what is the maximum number of foreigners you want to see living in our country at any one time?

J: Just like any other Singaporean, I’m also not spared by the influx of foreigners however we must take such changes in our strides. In terms of the workforce, the government can and should implement better legislation to level the competition and eliminate discrimination by employers that are out to reduce manpower costs to improve their bottomline. It needs not be a full-fledged employment protectionism policy but a sufficient safeguard. Singaporeans on the other hand should asked themselves if they have been too sheltered since the 1990’s so much so that they have forgotten how to be competitive despite the home ground advantage?

T: Many people have commented that our government should do more to help our young couples give birth given the chronic work stress and high cost of living here, do you agree with this? Why so?

J: Yes, I certainly agree. But young workers have also themselves to blame as they aspire for the 4 or 5 Cs in life thus they go all out to win the hearts and minds of their bosses by working long hours therefore it soon became a societal norm or practice. Young workers should learn to say no to their bosses and also bite only the amount that they can chew comfortably and not sacrifice their family time or work life balances. Many are over confident of keeping in touch with family and friends through social media or technology. I don’t see my staff as productive or efficient if they work OT daily rather I find them lack time management skills. Also I frown on people who practices reply to every single emails on the go through their smartphones, anytime, anywhere. The biggest excuse on everybody’s mind is “I don’t have enough time” which is very lame.

T: What are some of the other areas you want our government to look into in the area of birth issue?

J: More incentives to give birth can be in terms of infrastructures like child care centres, paternity leaves, compulsory 5 day work week, greater health care subsidies, etc.

T: lastly, do you believe that our country is in one of the worse post-war period now and that the next few years will be tough for Singaporeans given the intense competition for employment due to the huge foreign influx and fight for physical space?

J:  I agree as even if the government were to implement new measures to alleviate the problem, it will still take at least 5 – 10 years for things to normalise or be accepted by all. In fact, it’s not just about the government taking action to  arrest the deteriorating  current birth situation  but rather also fellow Singaporeans taking ownership and stepping up to chip in and putting in their effort to contribute as one nation.

Thank you and end of interview.

Hi Gilbert,

This article first appeared here in Aug 09.

Bankruptcy Option For The Unemployed

Written By: Gilbert Goh

Should one consider bankruptcy when he  is unemployed and facing massive financial debts? Unless the retrenched has strong financial reserves or have learn to spend prudently before he goes jobless, this is one option that the unemployed  will consider when press against the wall by creditors.

One of the key backlash of unemployment  is financial distress. Bills are often left unpaid and non payment of big ticket items like mortgages and credit cards invite adverse  legal consequences. There is simply no income coming in when one is jobless and it is not surprising that we see  a spike of  bankrupt cases during an  economic crisis.  There are relatively few options to choose from when one owes the bank here.

In Singapore, one can be made bankrupt if his credit debts exceed  $10,000.  Being a bankrupt here is troublesome as he could not open a savings account and his career options are also limited for certain industries  such as in the  banking and finance sector. He also has no access to any other bank loans limiting his option for any future housing purchase.

Even though he may later pay off his owed debts during bankruptcy and discharged as a bankrupt, his tarnished record is still locked in with the Credit Bureau for many more years.  The Bankruptcy Act kept changing over the years and it may be good to check out with the Credit Bureau to find  out any other alternatives besides going the bankruptcy route.

Credit Bureau

It is easier now for   a bankrupt to discharge oneself out of bankruptcy and many have benefitted from new  business-related bankruptcy law.  In a drive to persuade more Singaporeans to be entreprenurial,  banks are encouraged to be more forgiving of debts related to business failure than personal overspending.

More importantly, the Credit Bureau   has  perform the mediation role remarkably well negotiating between the creditor and the debtor. They will try to iron out a viable option for repayment and many people have benefitted from their service. Simply call out a financial advisor from the bureau and they will do the rest. Moreover, their services are free of charge.

Nevertheless, no one wants to be a bankrupt unless he has no further alternatives. Bankruptcy is often a shameful option that most Singaporeans do not want to associate with. They would rather borrow and owe loan sharks than  the banks and be made a bankrupt.  On the other hand, I have met bankrupted friends who live life as normal as before.  Some also get to travel out of the country after lodging their travel request with the relevant ministry. One I heard even work abroad for close to 2 years as an undischarged bankrupt.  To be a bankrupt  is  not as bad as one thinks. It is not the end of the world.

Overspending and Undersaving

Personally, I am known to be a spendthrift and have never learn to save much when I started to work. The only time that I saved up was when I needed money to get married with my wife. I saved five hundred dollars a month in the now-defunct POSB Save-As-You-Earn (SAYE) account and managed to accumulate close to $15,000 in the savings account. Nevertheless, the habit never took off after my marriage and I spent like there is no tomorrow.

I have two credit facilities – a $5,000 credit card and a $11,000 overdraft facility which I kept to this present day. I guess in Singapore one can never run away from spending beyond one’s means – that is we revolve ourselves around credit facilities. We live in our home using the loan taken from the bank. The same goes for our car, education and holiday. How much loan one takes is very personal and each has their own threshold of comfort in how much they want to owe the bank. Just remember that if you can’t pay the bank consistently, one will get into all sorts of legal trouble which is common knowledge for all by now. In fact, during a recession, more people will pile up their debts as they run into all kids of problems. This not only increase their stress level but the threat of bankruptcy may even loom for some. Most banks will sadly remove their umbrella when the rain storm arrives.

I was nearly made a bankrupt when I ignored my credit card bills for a few months during that period. The situation was so bad that you would not bother whether the banks will made you a bankrupt or not. Apathy sets in and I played a dangerous game of hide-and-seek with the banker. Fortunately, wisdom prevailed before they went to the court to file for bankruptcy proveedings against me and I managed to pay off an agreed amount so that they will let me off. Bankruptcy brings forth a lot of inconveniences to one’s life chief of which concern re-employment as certain industries will not consider bankrupts as their employees. The financial sector is one such industry. Moreover, you will not be able to get any housing loan in future and this may inconvenience you if you want to buy a house when times get better for you.

Spending On Credit

So if possible, pay off your credit card debts entirely or at least the minimal sum monthly so that your credit worthiness is still intact. It is important if you want to buy house and borrow from the bank.

For me, I would pay the minimal sum every month and roll the balances over the next month. I know that this is not ideal but I have no choice as I do not have the money to pay off one lump sum. I believe many people out there belong to this category and trust me this is financially imprudent. The credit card interest of 24% a year is astronomical and can only be surpassed by those illegal loan shark in the open market.

When I was unemployed, those credit facilities landed me in a lot of trouble as I could not handle the monthly repayment without defaulting occasionally. There was the occasional lawyer’s letters to pay up or else. Banks have the usual habit of only seeking legal recourse when a customer defaulted on the repayment schedule which does not help the consumers much. What they can do is to seek a win-win situation when the consumers can pay within his means (paying the interest only) and the bank can still revert back to the usual repayment mode when the person is gainfully employed. I have seen people made bankrupt by payment defaults on credit facilities of less than $10,000 which I think can be avoided. More can be done to minimize bankruptcies as it is not ideal solution for all. It stressed up a lot of people resulting in some having to lose their job due to their industrial requirement that no bankrupt is allowed as employees especially for those in the banking industry.

Financial Over Commitment

Personally, we made  the financial mistake  of committing ourselves to a private house when we returned from overseas in 2000. I was also not working then. The house that we bought was about ten percent below the prevailing market valuation. We took out a mortgage of around $350,000 payable over 25 years. Repayment was around $2000 but rose to $2,500 when interest rate spiked few years later. We also paid around $300.00 monthly interest to service a $5,000 credit card and another $11,000 for an overdraft loan. Total interest payable per month – $2,400 and per year is $30,000! How financial silly can one get?

Yet tens of thousands of Singaporeans queue up to get that bank loan or credit card. We can actually retire comfortably on the interest payable every year. The morale of the story here is to spend within one’s means and if necessary take a loan that will not be too huge for one to repay. Some may not feel the pinch as many people fork it out from their CPF account but when you sell your house, the interest payable for your loan amount will be either deducted from your cash deposit on the house or your CPF savings.

This actually happened to us as we sold off our private home the same price that we bought it – $660,000 but due to the interest incurred for 5 years on our mortgage loan, our cash deposit of around $140,000, that we paid upfront, was reduced to zero.

When people buy a house, they only want to know whether the loan is approved and how much they have to pay every month. Nothing is enquired on whether there is any pre matured termination charge of the loan when they seek refinancing or when they sell their house. The amount can be a few thousand dollars and if the bank can absorb it you can save the sum for rainy days.

Spending Beyond Our Means

When we started out after coming back from abroad, on the safe side, we decided to set aside about $40,000 in our CPF ordinary account in case the worse scenario happened. The worse scenario did happened and after about 3 ½ years, my CPF was all gone after deduction for the house mortgage loan and the situation was not helped by my low income immediately after 20 months of unemployment. It was fortunate that I have some shares in my CPF Investment account and I have to sell them at a loss to buy the mortgage loan.

I believe that we will be financially better off if we have sticked to a more conservative housing from the HDB resale market. Besides having to pay a sizeable repayment amount monthly to the bank, we also need to pay maintenance of $600 per quarter on top of the annual property tax. It was a big financial mistake on my part and I learned a valuable lesson not to be overly confident about the employment market and my own employability competence.

Later, to add on to a very dicey situation, we also received a letter from the bank’s lawyer after two months of repayment default during one very difficult period. I was also rocked by my ATM bank balance showing a miserly figure of only $20.00. How low can you get?

Pleasant Experience With Banker

I decided to initiate a meeting with the bank to find out more on what can be done to minimize the damage. It will be very messy for all if there was a foreclosure on the house. There is not only the possible hefty loss in a very weak property market but also the effect of shame and loss of esteem for my family.

The lawyer that we met was very understanding and we worked out a repayment scheme for a limited period whereby we only need to pay the loan interest less the principal. It was only then that I realized that for every $2,500 that we paid monthly to the bank, only less than $500 was used to pay off the loan principal! After paying for five years, our loan principal of $350,000 was only reduced by only $30,000 to $320,000. The rest of the money went to pay off the hefty interest! We would have have paid close to $700,000 in total after 25 years on a loan of $350,000. How foolish and financially imprudent can one get?

The bank was at least understanding to our predicament and to this day I am thankful for their endeavour to help us during that dark period. They never remove their umbrella during those rainy days as rumoured by many who had very bad run-in with their bankers. So if the bank’s lawyer letter came, don’t avoid them – seek them out and try to work out a solution. It may even save your home from eventual foreclosure. The limited soft payment period may provide you precious time to tide through those difficult period. So never run away from the banker.

We have since sold off the apartment at exactly the same price that we bought it five years ago. Nevertheless, due to the bank interest, technically we lost close to $150,000 for the apartment. We took it well as it was like a rental that we have to pay for five years of residence there. We have since bought a resale HDB maisonnette fully paid for by our CPF funds without taking a loan from the bank. Five years of nightmarish repayment fattening the bank’s after-tax profits have make us realized that it was financially imprudent to go through the same mistake again.

The lesson to learn here is not to avoid the banker especially if the lawyer’s letter is issued. Face up to the bank’s lawyer and if possible go prepared with a repayment plan that you feel confident that you can work on for a limited period. Banks are not so merciless as alleged and they are equally fearful that the customer will declare bankrupt and they will not get back the full loan anymore. If feasible, they will also want to help the client tide through a difficult period. The umbrella is there only if we want to reach out for it.

Low debts The Solution

Also, learn to keep our debts as low as possible. Too many people are living in too much debts now – they took loans for housing, car, education, holiday, etc that once we are out of work, our debts will collapse on us. Since that very bad experience with our private apartment’s mortgage loan, we have not taken any huge loan yet and prefer to pay off our purchases with cash in our account. Our recent HDB resale flat was also fully paid up with our CPF savings incurring zero debt which we are very proud. This is the first time that we purchase our property without taking out any loan from the bank.

Thus,  the decision to  choose bankruptcy is frankly a very personal one. Some may decide to go this way as there is no other alternatives. Others will try to avoid it like the plague and fight it. Whichever way you choose to settle your financial debts,  bear in mind the consequences and then move on.  Never look back and regret what you have decide. Life is too short for regrets.

Living simply and within our means should also be our motto from now on.

The ordinary person takes everything as a blessing or a curse. A warrior takes everything as a challenge. Carlos Casteneda

I WAS encouraged after reading last Saturday’s series of articles (‘Left turn at 50′). It showed that many people can make life-changing decisions during the twilight years of their careers.

I went into social work when I was 45 years old, as I was looking for a more meaningful career – just like those featured in the articles.

I studied for a diploma in psychology and a graduate diploma in counselling before plunging head on to start my own non-governmental organisation four years ago.

It was a counselling and coaching service that was provided free of charge to jobless Singaporeans struggling with prolonged unemployment. There were no recurring funds because we could not possibly charge a consultation fee when our clients were mostly jobless.

Today, as the sole full-time volunteer, I operate from my home and and depend on my volunteer team of 10 coaches and counsellors to share the heavy load. We must have seen close to 500 people over the past four years.

Funds are hard to come by and we depend on contributions from friends and the public. I remember days when I had less than $100 in the bank.

There also remains the regular urge to return to the workforce and forsake voluntary work. But each time someone writes in seeking support, I relent and continue.

Moreover, each letter thanking us for our services is enough to make me hang on for another year. Indeed, we have just started another support service for divorced people.

I have never felt happier in my life, despite having to struggle with funding. If we dare to look beyond our own needs and focus on those of others, life will be much simpler and more enriching.

Gilbert Goh

President

Transitioning – Unemployment support services

Editor’s Note: This letter appeared in the Straits Times forum online on 15 May. We still urge our readers to support us in our works by contributing generously to our cause for Singapore. Please write to gilbert@transitioning.org  for more details.

Mr Fadil was happy when he managed to secure a senior engineer position at a MNC – UGL Services Premas Operations  Ltd late last year.

He was the engineer in charge of facility management at ITE College West.

The job  was also paying well  and when  he signed up on the dotted line, he felt confident as the job scope was within his capabilities.

However, six months later, he was given the sack and his last day was on 2 May after failing to clear an extended probationary period on 31 March.

The signs were already ominous when he first stepped into the office. Three quarter of the 50-strong workforce are foreigners –  mostly from Philippines, India and Malaysia.

80% of the technical staff are foreigners.

They also tend to clique together according to nationality and it is difficult to penetrate into their inner circle.

Moreover,  two Filipino technical staff who are supposed to assist  him are also loaded with their own duties and he was told not to disturb them. The Filipinos were so unskilled that they could not even fix a simple aircon problem.

He ended up carrying out most of the technical  tasks  himself whereas he was under the impression during the interview that he has two staff  assisting him. He felt cheated.

Mr Fadil brought this matter up to his American boss but every time he was told to carry on working alone.

He was later shocked to be informed  that he was ill-suited for the position of senior engineer after working for a few months and that he would be reassigned.

Nevertheless,  he was given the merry go round by the respective department heads and realised that the reassignment plan  was just a plot to get him out.

Feeling chided, Mr Fadil later had  a stormy meeting with the HR manager – ironically a friend who has brought him into the company but who proved to be very unhelpful when he is in need of wise counsel.

As Singapore struggles with integration in the workforce with many locals fighting to survive in our own country, more can be done to better protect the livelihood of local Singaporeans.

Singapore is probably the only ountry in the world that allows foreigners to control the top and middle management echelon at the work place.

Singaporeans are often sandwiched  at the  middle management level and report to a foreigner  boss who often is suspect in his work and qualification.

Transitioning envisages that stressors at the workplace will boil over in the future with ugly consequences if the ministry does  not look into the local-foreigner quota soon.

Many of the jobs now performed by foreigners can also be carried out by local Singaporeans who are currently jobless.

Already, many locals have questioned the hiring bias of foreign bosses who tend to hire their own kind and even make things difficult for the local staff so that they will resign on their own.

Our ministry probably may need to send in spies to the private sector to better understand the seriousness of the manpower staffing issue.

If not, they will end up not knowing what is the real situation on the ground  if they continue to sit in comfort at the their ivory tower.

Editor’s Note: This interview was conducted last month when the engineer  is still working. He is now no longer  a staff with the company and wish to put the matter behind him.

Transitioning wants to congratulate three of our readers who have found jobs recently and started work today.

Most of them are in their late twenties to early thirties and  jobless for about six months.

Finding a job has been the end of a long dark tunnel of which none of them wanted to relive their  jobless nightmarish experience again.

However, we want jobless readers to ask themselves what have they learn during the period  when they are in transition -  were there valuable lessons learn?  Things to change perhaps and new goals to set for themselves.

They can’t be different anymore and oblivious to what’s happening around them. Many Singaporeans continue to live in their cocoon when they are happily working and are shocked to realise that the labour market is so messy when they are in transition.

Transitioning also has the priviledge of helping these three Singaporeans  walk  through  their lowest point  in transition and wish them the best in their new career.

Incidentally, the average unemployment period for most people here is between 4 – 6 months before they found employment. Suffice to say, the older you are the longer will be your unemployment duration.

Those age 50 and above frankly can seriously consider driving cabs or become property agent – such is the dire straits of our discriminatory age-bias hiring pattern here.

All of them who started work today   also are hired  on a contractual basis i.e. renewable once the contract runs out but they carry full benefits such as medical and leave allowance.

More worryingly, all of them have started on work that they do not have prior experience  and in today’s employer market one can’t fault them as it is really tough to find work that matches the person’s qualifications and skillsets.

You simply grab what that is being offered.

However, their salaries are nothing to shout about. Even with degrees and a few good years of solid work experience, their pay hovers at around $2000 underscoring the ominous trend that the foreign influx has indeed affects starting pay – even for our local graduates.

Of the three , two have degrees – one from a local university and the other   from  a foreign university. The third one has a diploma.

Both the  graduate starting pay of $2000 is no better than the sole diploma holder who manages to clinch a similar $2000 salary. 

The ridiculously low starting pay for graduates nowadays  makes a mockery of our  meritocratic educational system which is supposed to reward the cream of the crop with good salaries as they belong to those who can study and forge ahead.

Transitioning also wants to request jobless Singaporeans who manage to clinch work to negotiate for higher salaries other than the ones that are being offered  to you.

I know that sometimes its easier just to accept the terms and conditions of the contract as you fear that you will miss out on the job but under cutting yourself with a much lower salary can be demoralising as you deserve  more.

Though you will work on but you will be unhappy and  look around for a better paying job as all of us need to survive and there is this   basic intrinsic need to be recognised via a reasonable pay check.

That probably explains why we have a  serious job hopping culture here.

The prospect of getting higher pay elsewhere is one of the most obvious contributors to turnover.(Citedwww.referenceforbusiness.com/encyclopedia/Eco-Ent/Employee Turnover – duties, benefits, expenses, 13 February 2011).

However,  in a research paper carried out by Kaplan entitled “EFFECTS AND IMPACTS TO ORGANISATIONS ON HIGH EMPLOYEE TURNOVER”, CHEYENNE JASLYN WEE wrote:

“Most environmental contributors can be directly traced to management practices. Turnover tends to be higher in environment that talented employees cannot contribute to their full potential in a cluttered, top-heavy organisation that blurs accountability, stifles initiative and achievement. Turnover recurs when employees feel they are taken advantage of, undervalued and ignored, or when they feel helpless or unimportant. There is a greater risk of alienation and turnover if managers are impersonal, arbitrary, and demanding. The organisational setting and climate affect individual and group performance critically.”

High turnover of staff not only affects productivity in the work place but it also leads to many man hours lost as the company needs to find a suitable replacement and start to retrain the new employee  all over again.

As for wage negotiation, I also know that some employers prefer the candidates to negotiate up and they merely throw in a ridiculous salary structure to test us. The salary offered could be at least 20% lower than what the companies are willing to pay.

Employers will pay the lowest to save cost and as it is a employer market now,  my fear is that starting pay for our graduates will continue to drop.

Only the civil service has a stronger starting pay of between $2500 to $3000 depending on the job scope and ministry.  For example, teachers are paid around $3000 if they have an honours from a local university.

As for the miserable private sector, I have heard of starting salary of  $1700 being offered and many jobless graduates will bite as its better to have a job for morale reason than staying at home and wait.

Its  frankly alright to counter propose when you are at the end of the negotiation round and human resource specialist has being trained to save money for the bosses. They will offer you much lower than what is being budgetted for – so dont be afraid to be assertive and ask for a few hundred dollars more.

A twenty-percent salary increase request  seems pausible especially if the salary offered is ridiculously low. Plan out what to say and why you think the low salary does not commensurate with your qualifications and experience.

State that you will work better and stay on longer if the salary is attractive and reasonable. Don’t settle for second best!

Bosses are also afriad of job hoppers and won’t mind paying a bit more to attract the right candidates.

I remembered asking  for a three-hundred-dollar increase in my pay from $2200 to $2500 – when I met the CEO of a company many years ago during the last interview phase. I was offered $2200 from the department head.

Not only did the CEO accepted  my request without any resistance but he mentioned that a $2500 salary  is just right for someone with a family to take care of!

I wish all CEOs will be that kind and understanding.

If you fail to successfully negotiate up your salary, another thing that you can do is to request for a slight increment once you are confirmed.

Companies normally have a 3 to 6 month confirmation period and some do provide an increment when you are confirmed but many do not.

Ask that the increment upon confirmation be put in writing so that at least you have something to look forward to.

The lack of a minimum wage system has hurt us badly here and the current labour forces all point to a supply heavy  equation due to the influx of foreign talents.

Local graduates are also asking if its worth  studying so hard when starting pay has drop to diploma holder level.

Moreover, its even harder if employers continue to hire foreigners holding suspicious degrees from third world countries over our own local graduates endowned with  first world degrees.

It just does not make any sense…

Written by: Gilbert Goh

Much has being written about the pathetic salary  earns by our rank and  file workers. It is estimated that around 30% of our local workforce earns a salary that is below $1800.  While researching for this article, I could not locate any median salary range for the ordinary rank and file  jobs from  our MOM website. I have thus compiled my own  list here according to the salaries advertised  on the newspapers by employers looking for such staff.

Shockingly, when I did a salary comparison for similar jobs earned ten years ago, a majority of the salary range has stayed stagnant effectively reducing the disposable income  of the average worker in Singapore due to the inflation factor. If there is any salary adjustment for some jobs, its also marginal.  Most of such jobs are also performed by foreign workers automatically  pushing down salaries  as employers will not want to pay more since there is a cheaper alternative  from employing foreigners. There is thus this need to push for a minmum wage policy for our low-waged workers or else they will continue to live on the edge. Minimum wage will also ensure that  more of our  local workers are employed as employers will not be able to capitalise on cheaper foreign imports for low end jobs. Note that the figures  quoted below are for starting salaries only and may fluctuate from employer to employer.

1. General drivers (delivery)

2000 – $1300 – $1500

2010 – $1300 – $1500

NB: Generally performed by local workers but foreigners are seen encroaching into this area now. Drivers are expected  to also load and unload goods at the customer places. A 6-day work week is the norm for such work. Not for the middle-aged and feeble.

2. Security officer (full time 8-hour shift)

2000 – $1000

2010 – $1300

NB: A job that is still predominantly performed by locals as foreigners are  barred from such work. Security officers need to clear a certification exam after a 5-day course. This industry can benefit from a more professional image and improved work benefits. Many security officers have no leave or medical benefits and only have two off days in a month. However, recently, pay has improved slightly for such jobs and has attracted some grads  who are affected by the recent downturn. Security officer who aspires to be security supervisor can take the supervisory courses which last around three months.

3. Waiters (full time)

2000 – $1200 – $1300

2010 – $1200 – $1300

NB: Job that is now performed mostly by foreigners (Filipinos, Chinese, Indians)  due to the low salary and the tough split-shift work system. An industry that is seen as low end and has no prospects. There is also no scope for advancement. Many leave this industry when they find better work elsewhere. Pay has remain flat for the past decade and does not seem like improving in the near future. A better pay structure and all-out drive to attract locals may spice up this foreigner-dominated industry.

4.  Clerk (junior)

2000 – $800

2010 – $900 – $1000

NB: Job that is still mostly carried out  by locals but Filipinos are now seen performing such  job scope. Starting pay has also remain flat all these years. Many junior clerks move on to become administrators after a few years of work experience and upgrading.

5.  Administrator

2000 – $1500

2010 – $1600

NB: Such work is still dominated by the locals for the time being but Filipinos with their strong command of English is slowly taking over such jobs. An industry that also suffers from a stagnanted pay struture that does no justice to these  office generals  who often become the office manager as well.

6. Cafe assistant (full time)

2000 – $1000

2010 – $1100

NB: Such work is split between the locals and foreigners. Of course, foreigners who  are younger and fitter, are the preferred choice of most employers. It  is  actually a no-brainer who the employer will employ if given a choice between the two. Pay has remain flat for the past decade and people job hop alot here. Has no job prospect and will soon be dominated by foreigners in the near future as employers continue to rely on cheap labour to run their  operation. Can benefit alot from mechanisation and better productivity.

7. Cleaner

2000 – $700

2010 – $700 – $800

NB: The cleaner job has not evolve much all these years as employers continue to rely on labour to do such work instead of mechanisation. Many uncles and aunties are shoved aside by the foreign cleaning brigade who is also seen as  faster and cheaper. Pay has remain flat for the past decade and workers become serial job hoppers in this industry. Employers have to rely on foreign workers to stem the high turnover among the local workers. An industry that badly needs an overhaul.

8. Factory operator

2000 – $1000 – $1200

2010 – $1000 – $1200

NB: Mainly perform by foreigners all this while due to the cost factor but many manufacturing companies have recently pull out of Singapore to countries like China. Malaysia and Vietnam due to the cheaper labour cost. Such work may not stay with us for very long. A sunset industry that we may want to forget.

9. Garage assistant (junior)

2000 – $1200

2010 – $1300

NB: An industry that is dominated by the oldies as our youngsters shun away from such jobs. Malaysians have also dominate such industry. Seen as a sunset industry.

10. Sales/retail  assistant

2000 – $1400

2010 – $1500

NB: An industry ithat s increasingly taken over by the Chinese foreigners as employers prefer younger workers but have refuse to increase the wages. The long working hours and weekend hours also deter many locals from such jobs. Pay can increase however due to the commission factor  tied to the quantity of products sold. Professionalism needs to be improved and with better pay locals may be attracted.  Most work  carried out by sales assistants abroad are performed by its own  local people. There is no reason to believe that this can’t be done in Singapore.

11. SBS bus driver

2000 – $1500

2010 – $1800

NB: At least 35% of our SBS bus drivers are foreigners hail mainly from Malaysia, China and India.  Recruitment drive for bus drivers is also very active abroad. The reasonably good pay has attracted some local workers in their 30s to try out this industry. Its still better than cab driving as you have a stable income and work benefits. SBS has done well to improve pay and work conditions to attract our locals into such jobs.

12. Mover

2000 – $1200

2010 – $1200

NB: An industry that is performed mainly by people looking for a part time job or in betwwen jobs. Pay  around $50  for a a hard day of back-breaking work. Not for the middle-aged and feeble. Another labour-intensive job that has not much  prospect.

13. Secretary (junior)

2000 – $1300

2010 – $1500

NB: Used to be a favourite job for school-leavers who have  just finish school.  A secretarial certificate is often required now for candidates keen on such job. Many junior secretaries move on to MNCs after acquiring a few years of work experience as the pay is higher and there are  better work benefits.

14. Accounts assistant

2000 – $1300

2010 – $1400

NB: A position that is a favourite for those who have passs out from the NTC accounting course. Reserved mainly for locals and there is always a demand for such positions. Pay can increase as the person chalks up work experience to become the senior accounts assistant. Starting pay has however remain flat all these years.

15. Cashier (NTUC, Cold Storage, etc)

2000 – $1100

2010 – $1200

NB: Another job that is reserved mainly for our local aunties. However, foreign Chinese workers are now seen manning cashiers in our supermarkets. A hot favourite for those who want to work part time for a few hours daily  and be a housewife as well. Pay will remain flat even after several years of work experience in this industry. A hot favourite job for retireess as well.

16.  Forklift driver

2000 – $1400

2010 – $1600

NB: Another industry that always has vacancies due to our solid warehousing and shipping industries. Need to go for a few weeks training and pass the forklift driver certificaton. An industry that has seen many foreigners coming in as many employers could not find local workers. Tough working environment as well. Pay can be good after  a few years of work experience.

17. Shipping clerk

2000 – $1600

2010 – $1700

NB: The shipping clerk is always thought of as someone who will work at least 10 hours in the office and will not see the light of day as she is forever cooped up in the office. Turnover is also high due to the stressful nature of the job. Pay can be high ($2500) after several years of work experience as there is a demand for such esteemed positions.

18. Nurse

2000 – $1000

2010 – $1200

NB: Many locals are attracted by such work even though the starting pay is relatively low. Junior nurses have to pass a one-year course sponsored by the government and have to sign a bond after that.  I feel that people who turn to such industry may be eyeing  immigration as countries such as Australia, Britain and USA have all along welcome immigrants with nursing experience. However, if the nurse decides to stay on, the salary at private hospitals is known to be much better. A experienced nurse can command  salary of around $2500 if she works in a private hospital. Those with a nursing degree can even be the nursing manager of a hospital commanding at least $4000 in salary.

Editor’s Note: This post first appeared here on Sep 2010.

Mum at her best when she smiles alot

Happy Mother’s Day to my mum! Only if  she is able to read this blog…

My mum is already 82 years young and it seems like she is getting more cheerful as the days go by – despite her stroke and mental health condition.

She is always smiling when someone accidentally glances  at her and approaches small children as if they are her own grand children.

Sometimes, strangers  will simply stop by and chat with her as if they know her before - she just attracts this kind of rave attention!

However, she isn’t all this  popular back in the past…

Mum has schizophrenia for a very long time since I was a little boy and we only managed to convince her to see a doctor  15 years ago. For all the sufferings that we  went through with her together as a family, I regretted deeply  not seeking medical help for her earlier.

Neighbours shunned us and we house-hopped frequently whenever things got out of hand for mum. Once, I almost forgotten that we have already shifted and went back to the old house after school!

I also have problem remembering addresses when I have to fill up forms in school  as we shifted house too often.

Those days, mum would talk to herself alot and sometimes imagined neighbours are talking behind her back.

I counted the many  times police came up to our house on yet another complaint made against her and sometimes I even have to sit on those police patrol cars while they brought us to the police station for questioning!

It was a torrid childhood time for me  to say the least and dad had a tough time handling her. It was indeed amazing how they even managed to stay intact all this while.

Dad died young – when he was only 60 years old making mum a widow for almost 30 years.

Things got much better when I came out to work to support the family and of course everything went back to a new normal when she has access to medication. She still occasionally speaks to herself but it is alot softer and subdued now.

Mum later contracted a mild stroke five years ago and it rendered her almost immoble and home-bound.

Once used to travel independently by bus from my brother’s place to mine, she is now reduced to assistive walking and needed someone to be around her.

Nevertheless, my biggest fear is not her medical conditions as all these are almost synonymous with old age – it is her non-relationship with her grandchildren.

My 82-year-old mum spoke only Cantonese and Mandarin but my daughter hardly can converse well with both.

So they spoke to each other using a raw combination of Singlish, Contonese and Mandarin and you can imagine how intimate they can be if they can’t even properly communicate with one another.

Since when did you see a grand child here brings his grand parent out together for a walk or shop together? Hardly.

The task is usually performed by a domestic helper further hampering the relationship.

The chronic work culture here also means that we ourselves hardly have the time nor energy to do anything worthwhile after work for our ageing parents.

Mind you – we don’t even have time to speak with our own spouses and children!

We rather watch TV or laze around to relax after a hard day out at the workplace.

Our old parents are pretty much left alone the whole day at home with a domestic helper whom they can hardly communicate with.

Personally, I am fortunate as I am doing my own stuff and thus not restricted to a office 9-to-5 work schedule.

I have being bringing my stroke-stricken mum out for lunch once a week for the past ten years. This habit was ironically cultivated  when I was jobless for 18 months during 2001/02.

Mum digging into her favourite chicken rice

Seeing that I have alot of free time on my hand, I decided to ask my mum out once a week for lunch. I was planning my jobless weekly schedule then and bringing her out for lunch took out almost half a day of  available any week day.

My mum isn’t a fantastic talker or encourager but her quiet gentle care during that period pushed me on to live for another day, week and month.

She didn’t check whether I have any interview or not for that week or if I have sent out sufficient emails looking for jobs – she is just there for me period.

Looking back, my mum is probably my main source of support  when I experienced prolonged umeployment during that stormy dark  period.

I have heard from some clients how their mums terrorised them when they are out of job and  they have to leave the house to seek refuge in the library.

I was glad that my mum isn’t like that.

When mum  is healthy and more mobile back then, we used to move around alot for lunches – going to Tampines Mall, Century Square or even Orchard Road for the rare shopping trip during Christmas period.

It was a habit which is made slightly tougher by her stroke condition five  years ago as her mobility is slow and unsteady now.

We have to catch a cab to the nearby Whitesand shopping mall  even though it is a mere five minutes walk for the able-bodied. If we walk, it will take about 30 minutes and she will have to sit down every twenty steps or more.

Mum looks forward to such weekly lunch rendevous with me as it means a day out of the boring routine of simply sitting on her own in the 5-room flat of my brother’s – for many continuous hours.

Sometimes, whenever I visit  her, it bothered me alot  that no one is talking to her as she sits there staring blankly into space for hours.  She just moves when lunch or dinner is ready or needs to go to the bathroom.

However, she told me that she is used  to it and kind of  like it too as she is relaxed and resting! Though I can’t understand her philosophy, I have to take her word for it.

Mum enjoyed the usual chicken rice at Whitesand – located outside the mall even though it costs only $2.00. Its not the grand meal that she looks out for but the bonding that she cherishes with me – that is what I would like to think!

Mum eats almost double of my portion and she still looks amazingly slim. I always wonder where the food goes to…

We don’t talk alot during the few hours of mother-son bonding but it fulfills a great need in her to be loved and cared for.

Most eating stalls over there would know us by now as we have been eating there for the past few months almost on a weekly basis.

Of course, I enjoyed all the accolades of “Wah, you so filial, always bring your mum out for lunch!”

Nevertheless, some old people whom we bumped into and ate alone tend to gave us that envious look of “How I wish my son can do that!”

At the old age of 82 years old, any occurrence of a potential second stroke  may totally destroy mum so  every living day is a bonus for us all.

I don’t want to cry at the deathbed of my mum and regret that I didn’t spent enough time with her when she is still living – a reminder which is repeated very often by friends whose parents have passed away.

As Singapore over-depends on the services of domestic maids, let us be mindful that they will never be able to replace the relationship we have with our parents.

I see too many old people accompanied by their maids when they are out on their own and though there is nothing wrong with this, it is always good to take some time out to be with your own parents.

Our ageing parents rather spent one day a week with us than seven days a week with their domestic helpers.

It is high time that we take over the responsibility of caring for our parents – don’t throw them to the domestic helpers!

Happy Mother’s Day to all mums here and abroad!

Written by: Gilbert Goh

Editor’s Note: I won’t be bringing mum out today as it will be very crowded and meals are at least double that of normal prices. I will be of course bringing her out weekly as usual.

This month marked the first year after  the watershed GE 2011 and it seemed like yesterday that we were up shaking hands with residents at Tampines NSP GRC during our rigorous campaigning..

Standing as a candidate with the  NSP Tampines team was one of the most memorable life event for me and there were of course both highlights and downlights.

Personally, it was a tough decision to make as with most candidates we hesitated over family  reasons  but once the final decision was made, it was all the way  and we campaigned hard and fierce.

Introduction

Contrary to what many people thought, campaigning is more tiring emotionally   than physically.

If you are physically tired, you could simply lie down and rest but emotionally you could not rest properly as it still taunts you  though you are at rest physically.

There was always the expectation part that you worried about – were you doing your best during the walkabout and campaign rally speeches.

For me, I knew that I bombed during rally speeches but did rather well during walkabout when I took time to listened to many residents at the coffeeshops and home. Perhaps, my counselling skills came in rather handy on this apect.

Though we lost by a mere 6% in Tampines, we felt like victors and many analysts  have commented that if we have put up a stronger team, we may even have won!

Of course, all of you knew that we also  lost Meng Seng – our ex-SG at NSP through a leadership tussle one month after GE 2011 and naturally the whole Tampines team  disbanded. Probably only Syafarih and Reno stayed  behind.

It is a pity as I thought that we have forged a solid team during the few months that we campaigned together.

Opposition candidates also have a tough time continue campaigning after the GE except for regular walkabout events and this inertia has benefitted the ruling party as they could regroup almost undeterred.

What’s next after Tampines NSP GRC?

I remembered the whole team going over to Raymond’s home during the last week as we prepared for our final touches to our campaign rally  for that night.

We joked about who will become minister if we win and which particular constituency each of us  will handle.

Though we campaigned to win deep down inside we knew that it was a tall order. Nevertheless, we were glad that we have fought a good fight and kicked the former housing minister Mr Mah Bow Tan out of the cabinet!

After GE 2011, I decided on the path of a social  activist and will continue helping disenchanted jobless Singaporeans caught up by   the foreign influx policy.

I will not comment futher on my political future here.

I have  also just read two excellent pieces on the one-year  aftermath of the GE 2011 – one by Mr Seah Chiang Nee and the other by the ever-green Catherine Lim.

Both are must-read articles if you want to have a snap-shot of the political climate one year after GE 2011 – many considered to be a watershed one.

For the record, I believe that GE 2016 will be the watershed election – not GE 2011 – as more seats will fall to the opposition if things are going on the way it is right now.

There is still the strong angry sentiments that underpin how the country is being governed and so far I don’t see much has changed after the recent election.

I have also accurately  predicted a few months prior to the previous election on this site that the strong sentiments against the foreign influx and the huge influence  of the social media would have adverse repercussion on GE 2011 for the ruling party.

Though the PAP may try to soften the foreign influx sentiments through legislation,  it could not do much to regulate the social media unless they try to enforce it through legislation forcing  many anti-establishment blogs to  go underground.

PAP – slow to change may be its ultimate downfall?

Seeing how damaging social media sites could be, I am not surprised that months prior to GE 2016, something will crop up which  will cripple the strong wings of these anti-establishment sites.

So,  has our government changed much after GE 2011?

Yes, there are cosmetic changes such as how our Prime Minister has  a facebook  page going on recently and  Minister Tan Chuan Jin’s publicised foray into the Bukit Brown issue for the sake of engagement but fundamentally the governing philosophy of the ruling party has not changed much.

There is still no freedom of speech – a big radical shift indeed if it does otherwise  as it still  clamps down on public open dissent all this while and the regime still smells of dictatorship and power monoply.

The fact that the influential socio-political blog TRE was sued earlier this year by both the Prime Minister and his younger brother testified to this dictatorial no-nonsense stance.

The only reason for this stance  is that the ruling party fears the damage it may bring to its power base  if it suddenly relaxes and allows the population to speak up openly in public. Currently, even a one-man public protest is punishable by law!

They fear a public backlash like the ones initiated in Tunisia, Egypt and most recently Malaysia. They will naturally  try to clamp it down at all cost as it will hurt their power base.

It will also try to shore up as much power base as possible and relent when it does not hurt them as much politically.

The ruling party will only engage the citizens through it’s official feedback channel REACH and will downplay all other channels – be it opposition-led or otherwise.

This site has try to engage the different ministries and though we have some successful unofficial meetings with MOM, NTUC and  TAFEP - we are still unable to have an audience with the relevant ministers for feedback purpose.

The government may need to seriously consider engaging civil groups that have the country at heart rather than shunning from them totally especially if they are seen as anti-establishment.

Our government is also not noted for drastic quick changes and its slowness in implementing changes may be its biggest bugbear as the population is tired of waiting for a regime that promises alot but fails to deliver much.

Though the housing policy has changed somewhat under the astute leadership of Housing Minister Mr Khaw Boon Wan and PM Lee has reduced ministerial pay by one-third, nothing much has actually changed under the ruling party after GE 2011.

In fact, things have gone somewhat worse especially after the two major train mishaps last year and the growing social disharmony due to the foreign influx policy which has displaced many mid-aged PMETs.

The rich-poor income disparity  is still there and inflation has rocketted to 5.2% last month. Well educated Singaporeans continue their emigration foray overseas reaching a high of 12,000 recently.

By now, 190,000 Singaporeans have moved abroad either for study or work-related purposes. Many have no intention of returning.

Hougang by-election – sure-win for Workers’ Party?

From not being able to vote all this while due to the faulty by-election strategy used by Mr Chiam See Tong  to coax Singaporeans to vote for the opposition as the government has already been formed, most Singaporeans by now would have the opportunity to vote twice – one for GE 2011 unless you stay in Tg Pagar GRC and the other for the most-recently held Presidential Election.

Hougang residents have the luxury of voting for  a third time and bookies I heard have given WP a +8% majority win i.e. the WP candidate must triumph  by 8 percent or more before you can win the bet.

However, it would be tough for WP to register another record vote of 64.8% chalked up by the previous WP candidate Mr Yaw Shin Leong from the roughly 22, 500 voters living in Hougang SMC.

The PAP candidate Mr Desmond Choo has being working the ground diligently and some new voters who have moved in to the old estate recently may have other plans.

Nevertheless, I will still take the  WP to win the SMC comfortably but perhaps by a reduced majority  of  60%.

Its still a slap to the face of the ruling party and one that it hopes will not be repeated so soon after the disastrous GE 2011.

Another defeat in Hougang SMC will be hard to stomach and one can see that our Prime Minister has aged alot recently.

However, the sex saga that plagued Mr Yaw and the leadership of WP would have some deterrent signs and many are also unhappy with its’ subpar performance in Parliament recently.

Other than its parliamentary sitting, WP is  being faulted by many political analysts for being too quiet on the civil social front.

For example, it could have being more vocal in attacking some of the pro-foreign hiring policies of the manpower ministry as most Singaporeans are aghast at how certain policies have allowed employers to hire foreigners over locals easily.

SDP has in fact risen up quite  alot recently and may even challenge WP for being the next dominant opposition party if  it could win at least a GRC in GE 2016.

Its healthcare plan for the country has being impressive and recently it has also beef up its strength through the recruitment of some solid healthcare specialists.

Singapore better or worse  - after GE 2011

Yet most Singaporeans will want to know – what really have changed in Singapore after GE 2011? Are we living better lives after the watershed election?

Are Singaporeans getting more involved politically or have we retreated to our shelf after the hustle and bustle of the recent GE?

If we want to compare life after GE 2011, what yardstick should we use to measure the difference?

All signs pointed to a more robust political environment especially in the online forum front.

More people flocked to socio-political blogs such as TRE, TOC and the recent new kid on the block  Temasek Times.

Nevertheless, for those Singaporeans’ First events that we have organised at Hong Lim Park, we detected a dwindling crowd size and for the recent SDP Labour Day rally, only about 200 people have turned up.

Unless Singaporeans show its support personally  for socio-political events organised by opposition parties or civil socio groups we will sadly not move beyond the arm chair critic slogan tag given to  our most earnest  opposition  supporters.

Our Prime Minister has promised changes when he apologised to the whole nation in a last-minute CBD lunch rally during GE 2011  - his face etched in pain and remorse when he said it as there is a fearful likelihood that he may lose a few GRCs given the strong angry undercurrent of anti-establishment sentiments then.

It was the first time that any PM has apologised to the nation –  a few days before the population cast its votes before an election. The call was also made a few days after his father strongman Lee Kuan Yew called on those who have the  intention  to vote for the opposition in  Aljunied GRC to repent.

The public apology by the PM  clearly showed that  the ruling party is desperately  fearing that  more than one GRC would fall to the opposition. Many have also rumoured that PAP  is willing to lose Aljunied GRC but no more.

One hundred and twenty thousand Singaporeans swung their votes from the ruling party to the opposition last year – representing a 6% swing which led to the PAP registering a record-low  60.1% majority votes.

Frankly speaking, if not for the 130,000 new foreign citizen votes – which  most likely would have voted  for the ruling party out of loyalty, the PAP’s majority votes will be much lower and they may even lose a few more seats.

So my take is that the PAP will continue to use the low birth rate to convince the population that more foreign new citizens will be needed to negate the growing anti-establishment sentiments.

Moreover, each year more than 20,000 new Gen Y voters will come on board and they are mostly anti-establishment given their upbringing and psyche.

Come GE 2016, if another 100,000 citizens decide to swing their votes, PAP’s  majority votes will drop to 55% and most likely two GRCs may be gone -  East Coast, Moulmein-Kallang or  Tampines GRC.

The next four years will be crucial not only for the ruling party but also for Singapore.

Will the ruling party welcomes more changes and implement them swiftly or  will it still drag its feet and implement them when it comes to the crucial  push for the polls?

By all accounts, it is trying its best to evolve into something more acceptable to the population but fundamentally its difficult to change as the whole cabinet team grows up together serving under one master.

Its DNA is almost the same and the growing number of army generals and admirals helming the cabinet now means  that group-think is almost prevalent and changes operate best when there is a diversity of views – something that I fear is missing right now within the ruling party.

All signs  point to yet another watershed election in GE 2016…

Written by: Gilbert Goh