TR EMERITUS

By Joe Street In his speech, Finance Minister highlighted that “at the lower levels, foreigners are taking up the jobs that Singaporeans shun. Meanwhile at the upper levels, those foreigners coming in ended up improving job prospects for Singaporeans.[2]” But given that so many PMET[3] jobs are now hiring only foreigners in the same way they hired lower skilled workers, what is there left for the average Singaporeans? Singaporean citizens have a few distinct disadvantages in competing with “foreign talents” in their own labour market: 1.       National service takes away 2.5 years of college time and potential professional experiences for the males in Singapore. This lead to a unnecessary and tremendous effort on the Singaporean males to catch up with their foreign peers in terms of education and professional experiences. 2.       National service call ups are a great disincentive for hiring firms to hire a Singaporean Citizen. As business competition increases, there is little allowances or tolerances for disruption to business operations. A Singaporean on in camp training (or reservist duty) although reimburses the salaries for absences due to reservist cannot reimburse the same for the opportunity cost4 incurred by the company. Hence, it is only natural that companies prefer any candidate without national service liabilities. 3.       High cost of living and a rooted family means that a typical Singaporean will have to ask for compensation that way exceeds what a foreign talent would ask for in order to maintain the same standards of living. 4.       Employers are constantly mindful about hiring local women as when the women do get pregnant, the employers will not just lose their opportunity cost in the absence during maternity leaves, having to pay the wages for the months of absences, but also risk the backlash of discriminatory complaints shall the company do anything that may suggest to the employee a form or discrimination. This makes the companies hire foreign talents in an unproven assumption that these talents will not one day also become be on maternity leaves. Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugratnam said, "We must continue to attract top quality people from around the world, while investing further to provide the best opportunities for Singaporean talents to grow and develop, to the highest levels of expertise in a range of fields.[5]" However, his statement appeared to be begging the question.[6] If Singapore does not have top quality people and thus need to import them, why didn’t the government invest earlier and shape policies to produce local talents? Was it myopia on the government’s part that caused the current need or was it because it is a cheaper solution to government investing in talent building and nurturing? In view of this we have not seen any real investment in developing local talents for the projected national needs. There are no real road maps, milestones, or even a vision for the future economic demands in line with developing the country’s core competencies[7]. This makes the following speech by Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports, Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan even more perplexing: "But this is also why subsidised housing, healthcare, education and other essential services must be slanted in favour of Singaporeans.  We cannot shield Singaporeans from competition but we can try to give Singaporeans a headstart.  And we must allow our children, native born Singaporeans, to get a headstart by nurturing them to allow them to fufil their potential, and picking up Singaporeans when any of us stumble.  I said, "put Singaporeans first". But do it in an enlightened way.[8]"   With NS and indiscriminate FT9 policies, Singaporeans will never have a head start in our own economy compared to foreigners. This in addition to the fact that there are no real investments from the government to nurture local talents and the absence of providences to a strong social safety net for the citizenry unemployed, we have strong doubts on the truth and sincerity of the government when they proclaim “Singaporeans First.” Will the government ever have the integrity to really stick to what it professes in the very own words of Dr. Balakrishnan: "We have to start off with the perspective that we have to help Singaporeans first. Singaporeans must have jobs and be able to afford the basic things.[10]"     References / Glossary: 2 - http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1031319/1/.html 3 - Professionals, Managers, Executives and Technicians (PMET) 4 – Definition: The value of the use of resources in an alternative way that is not obtained when the resources are used in the current way. 5 - http://www.pressrun.net/weblog/2010/02/singapore-will-continue-to-welcome-foreign-talent.html 6 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Begging_the_question 7 - Core competencies are those capabilities that are critical to a business achieving competitive advantage. 8 - http://www.pap.org.sg/articleview.php?id=4375&cid=84 9. – Foreign Talent 10 - http://www.pap.org.sg/articleview.php?id=4375&cid=84  Read More →

Written by Our Correspondent In other countries, the governments will introduce measures to safeguard the livelihoods of locals by restricting the number of foreign migrant workers. It is the other way round in Singapore - the PAP opens the floodgates to allow the foreigners in to compete with Singaporeans directly for jobs which can otherwise be taken up by them. To add salt to the injury, it is playing an active role in "importing" foreigners while exhorting Singaporeans to be "cheaper, better and faster" at the same time. PAP leaders have been busy of late trying to defend its discriminatory immigration and labor policies against native Singaporeans. DPM Teo Chee Hean said on Monday at a NUS ministerial forum that the PAP has kept a "tight lid" on immigration. PAP MP and NTUC Deputy Secretary-General Madam Halimah Yacob claimed that according to her "counter-intuition", it is not true that employers are hiring foreigners over Singaporeans: “Wise employers know they should look strictly at merit so that they get the best talent for the organisation.” [Source: Straits Times, 7 April 2010] The PAP is indeed a "wise" employer by spending Singapore taxpayers' monies to go all the way to Taiwan to recruit their PMETs to replace Singaporeans. The China Times reported today that a Singapore government organization - Contact Singapore is mass recruiting thousands of Taiwanese PMETs in various fields such as healthcare, engineering and social media to fill up "vacancies" in Singapore. (read article here) Its officials had arrived in Taiwan yesterday and will be launching the recruitment exercise soon. As expected, the sensational news was censored in all the major Singapore papers out of fear of creating a public backlash against the PAP. Contact Singapore (联系新加坡) is an agency of the Singapore (PAP) government whose primary function is to draw people from around the world to work, invest and live in Singapore, with the ultimate aim of boosting economic development. It is an alliance of Singapore’s Economic Development Board and Ministry of Manpower. Contact Singapore has offices in the Asia-Pacific, Europe and North America. It partners Singapore-based employers and industry players to organise career fairs and networking sessions in cities across the world, and provide updates on career opportunities and various industry developments to individuals. [Source: Wikipedia] In other words, Contact Singapore is funded ENTIRELY by Singapore taxpayers to recruit foreign PMETs to compete directly with Singapore PMETs for limited jobs. According to the China Times article, Singapore is offering the Taiwanese salaries which is more than three times the market rate in Taiwan to lure them over to Singapore. The starting pay ranges from NT55,000 ($2,431) to NT66,000 ($2,917). Those with three to five years of experience can expect a starting pay of more than NT100,000 ($4,420) (1 Taiwanese dollar = S$0.0442) Besides PMETs, Singapore is also hiring creative designers in the cultural and arts realms who can command a starting salary of more than S$7,000. Why is the PAP bringing in so many Taiwanese PMETs into Singapore when these jobs can easily be taken up by Singaporeans? Are these jobs "shunned" by Singaporeans as proclaimed frequently by PAP leaders? Contact Singapore's CEO Huang Xiujuan said there are about 50,000 to 60,000 Taiwanese in Singapore and they tend to integrate well into Singapore society due to similiarities in language and culture. The majority of Singapore Chinese are Hokkiens who spoke the same dialect as Taiwanese (Min-Nan). (And who is paying for Ms Huang's airfare, lodging and meals in Taiwan when she goes about recruiting Taiwanese PMETs?) It is an open secret that the PAP has been trying desperately hard to lure Taiwanese and Hong Kongers to settle in Singapore. One Taiwanese reader wrote to us expressing his disbelief that upon applying to work in Canada, he was offered a Singapore PR immediately by the migration agency under the Landed PR scheme which gives Singapore PRs to foreigners who have never stepped foot on Singapore. "The agent kept selling Singapore to me and persuaded me to take up Singapore PR as the application for Canada work visa takes a long time. I refused. Singapore is not an attractive place at all. I rather stay put in Taiwan than to relocate to Singapore. At least it is a democracy here and we enjoy basic political freedoms. Who will be so stupid to bring up their children in a one-party dictatorship like Communist China? I know it is difficult to go to Canada, but I am willing to wait for 10, 20 and even 30 years to go there, otherwise I will just remain here," he quipped, obviously not having a favorable impression of Singapore. Prospective immigrants should observe how the PAP government treats its own citizens first before deciding whether to take up Singapore citizenship. Under the PAP's repressive rule, Singaporeans have no civil or political rights at all. We cannot criticize its leaders who are wont to sue for defamation; we cannot protest against its policies and neither can we vote them out of office as the electoral process is engineered to keep them in power forever. To those Taiwanese who are reading this, is this the kind of country you want to bring up your children in? Will you trade your human rights for a few hundreds dollars? Remember: if the PAP can so blatantly hire you to work in Singapore to make life miserable for native Singaporeans, it will be your turn one day too.   EDITORS’ NOTE: Please join our Facebook page here and invite your friends to do so to create awareness of the current affairs affecting Singaporeans.   The UBS Series: >> Part 1: Singapore has lowest wages and domestic purchasing power among Asian Tigers >> Part 2: Moving towards a Russian standard of living >> Part 3: Why Singaporeans are paupers in a first world economy   Related articles: >> Halimah Yacob: Not true that employers hiring foreigners over Singaporeans >> Conversation with a PRC prostitute given Singapore PR by the PAP >> Teo Chee Hean: PAP's immigration policy has always been "strict" >> How the PAP allows foreigners into Singapore to compete with locals for jobs >> Why Singaporeans ‘fear’ of new immigrants is absolutely rational >> SM Goh reassures immigrants that they are still welcomed in Singapore >> Singaporean working in China lashed out at grouses of Singapore PRs >> Eight reasons why foreign workers will be preferred over local ones >> Declining wages of Singaporeans and the continued denial by PAP leaders >> Halimah Yacob refutes UBS study findings >> Halimah Yacob: Productivity drive will be derailed if foreign worker challenge not addressed  >> Exposing the six major flaws in the PAP’s immigration policies >> Wong Kan Seng promises to tighten immigration policies >> SM Goh: Foreign workers numbers may still rise >> Malaysian car mechanic applying for Singapore citizenship >> PAP launches Singapore Citizenship Journey to help new citizens integrate >> Compulsory for new citizens to attend “sharing sessions” with grassroots leaders >> Wong Kan Seng urged Singaporeans to be more tolerant of foreign workers >> Tharman: Foreign workers increase income of low-income families >> Sylvia Lim: Pace and influx of foreigners over last few years is wrong >> Amy Khor urges Singaporeans to welcome foreigners >> PAP MP wants more money to be spent to make new citizens feel welcomed in Singapore >> Shanmugam: Foreigners generate jobs for Singaporeans >> Vivian happy there are 4,500 new citizens serving as grassroots leaders >> Cosmetic changes made to immigration policy >> SM Goh: New immigrants needed to make up population shortfall >> PAP ministers hailed contributions of foreigners >> SM Goh expressed support for Zhang Yuanyuan >> State media: citizens have more rights over PRs >> Zhang Yuanyuan got her Singapore PR in only 2 months >> Official reply from government on the Zhang Yuanyuan fiasco >> Singapore PRC PR proclaimed loyalty to China publicly >> PRC resident hung China flag to celebrate its National Day >> PRC student in Singapore wants more scholarships for foreigners >> PRC prostitutes solicit for customers on Singapore’s cyberspace >> ERA: 40 per cent of resale flats buyers are PRs  Read More →

From ABC News   A young woman who was second on her party's voting ticket has found herself elected to the South Australian Parliament. Dignity for Disability candidate, Kelly Vincent, 21, will join the Legislative Council after South Australians voted on March 20. The party's lead candidate Dr Paul Collier died during the election campaign and votes then flowed to Ms Vincent as the second candidate. She paid tribute to Dr Collier as her win was confirmed. "It is essentially because of Paul and his encouragement I am here today and I hope that with the support of the party and the faith of the disability community behind me I will be able to make Paul's vision become a reality for all people with disabilities in South Australia," she said. Ms Vincent, who uses a wheelchair, says her party's efforts also have highlighted the issue of improving disability access at Parliament House. "Just the other week I was down at Parliament house and saw that some great work is already being undertaken to increase the accessibility of the building in general so, no, I don't have any real concerns and we're very glad that that work has been done," she said. Labor and the Liberals got four Upper House seats each and the Greens and Family First one each. Jing Lee is the newest Liberal, joining three others who were re-elected. Ms Lee says she will bring an economic and multicultural background to her new role. "I definitely want to draw [on] my Asian heritage. I just feel that South Australia as it is is very welcomed diversity and multicultural. I think I want to strengthen that perspective," she said. "None of the parties have come up with a multicultural policy as such and that is one of the directions that I would like to take." Family First's Robert Brokenshire says a win for his party shows its ongoing strength. "Given that Family First has only been in the Parliament for eight years and look like retaining the seat for the second time, that says that the party's in good shape," he said. Greens candidate Tammy Jennings will join current MLC Mark Parnell. Ms Jennings says the party recorded its strongest result yet. For the record, another 21-year-old William Neilsen was elected in Tasmania back in 1946. Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/04/08/2867319.htm?section=justin  Read More →