Many websites have mentioned about foreigners and their negative impact on Singapore's society. Foreigners are portrayed to be "disruptive," "irritating" and "destroying" the fabric of our nation. These websites claimed that foreigners took the jobs of Singaporeans and deprived Singaporeans of having a HDB flat because they drove the prices sky high! Are these claims justified? Or Are these websites accurate in portrayed what ordinary people feel about foreigners? Let MyQueenstown Team find out more about our residents' thoughts about foreigners today!
Singapore's population has reached 5.08million. Overcrowding in trains, insufficient places in schools and high prices of public housing were some of the "perceived" concerns by the policymakers and some of these messages were publicised by online blogs and other media platforms. In order to verify these statements, MyQueenstown Team spent 6 hours in various districts in Queenstown, including rental flats, to find out the exact impact of foreigners to ordinary residents.
One of them is Mohammed Ali, a Singaporean who works in Queenstown. He thinks that foreigners contribute to Singapore's economic growth and competition for jobs is great for Singaporeans and lowly educated workers. This is because the presence of foreigners motivate him to work harder. While he finds that the prices of public housing in Singapore has rocketed in the past few months, he finds the new housing policy will be effective to curb speculators. He believes lower income Singaporeans will have the opportunity to purchase their own houses when the prices fall.
Mohammad Ali
Mr Fong, 71, is a retiree with a son who works abroad. Like Mohammad Ali, Mr Fong is impressed with the new housing policy because it can dissuade investors from profiteering from speculation. Comparing foreign labour to Singaporeans, he finds foreign workers in the construction sector more hardworking and they are needed to do manual labour! With regards to Singaporeans who blamed foreigners for "stealing their jobs," he urges Singaporeans to strive hard for their ambitions and not be deterred by competition.
Phillip and Irene are young couples living in Queenstown. They appreciate the policies which differentiate citizens from Permanent Residents because they make the PRs choose whether to be Singapore citizen or give up PR so that they cannot enjoy both country's benefits and would be more loyal to Singapore if they choose to stay in Singapore. They do not find foreign workers a problem but express slight concerns on the possibility of the reduction of housing loan on the lower income families.
Sandeep
Likewise, Sandeep, a resident in Tanglin Halt, feels that foreigners are essential for economic growth and higher wages. However, he expressed his concerns on the transport system which is getting more crowded. He hopes that more can be done to alleviate the crowd in the buses and trains!
From the interviews above and other intermittent response, it appears that Queenstown residents do welcome the presence of foreigners and appreciate their contributions to our community and society! While there are some unhappiness among certain groups towards the management of the foreigners, we can conclude that Singaporeans and Queenstown residents welcome them with open arms!
It is unfortunate that there are some articles circulating online without credible basis and response on the actual situation on the ground. Well, for readers of this article, you can always choose whether to accept the arguments put forth by certain publications without credible interviews or believe in this article with pictures of the interviewees =)
Phew!
Who to blame for these problems? Read On!
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6 comments:
Let us be clear about whether Singaporeans truly view foreigners as the cause behind the 'disruption' of our social fabric, or was it the policies that bring about excessive foreigners thereby causing the strain on the supply of housing, overcrowding of our public transportation, depression of wages by large influx of foreign workers and deprivation on various social services.
No one doubts the benefits and contributions to Singapore's economy by the various foreign workers. As commented by many like-minded Singaporeans, Singapore is founded on the premises as an immigrant nation, and as long as the newcomers are willing to integrate as good neighbours, contribute to the betterment of Singapore, and to abide by our laws. I am sure they would be more than welcomed by the local populace.
The unfortunate aspect of our 'lax' foreign talent policy had always been the boon that improves our economy and the bane that strains our available resources to allow more foreign residents. The primary cause will always be the lack of sufficient foresight in our government's policy making to cater to increased population by foreign influx.
Thus every so often, you will get 'imbalance' in the supply of our public housing or a need to expand MRT rail platforms.
Do we hate foreigners? The answer is probably no for most of us.
Do we like overcrowding, increased housing prices, lesser employment opportunities, lower pay, and service staff that can't speak English? I don't think any Singaporeans like that.
There will always be the question of whether we need growth that exceeds our current ability to cater for it. But of course that is for another time and for another article.
But you know who we are pinning the blame on.
"He thinks that foreigners contribute to Singapore's economic growth and competition for jobs is great for Singaporeans and lowly educated workers. This is because the presence of foreigners motivate him to work harder."
Ask him to cut his salary by half. If he cuts his salary by half then he can offer his service cheaper, more competitively so that he can work harder.
No one wants to work harder without benefits. Everyone wants to get the maximum return with the minimum effort. Only a stupid person will make that kind of comment and I am not surprised he is among the low income earners.
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