TR EMERITUS

Hi editor, I'm a fan of this site and have been reading a lot of reports about local companies hiring foreign labour which could have been done by Singaporeans. I used to work in Metro; that was almost 10 years back. The director, Mr Edward Tan had a penchant for hiring female retail executives akaas department supervisors from China. They were paid a monthly salary of SGD$2000 a month. These jobs could easily have been done by a fresh university grad or diploma holder with years of experience. Back in the branch of Sengkang alone, there were about 6-7 of them. In the old Marina Square, there were about another 5-6 of them. This is an example of how foreigners are doing the work which Singaporeans could have done and informing you about it, just in case if you may like to delve further into it. Have a nice day!   Sunny Chow  Read More →

Written by Our Correspondent Under-fire National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan has lashed out at Singaporeans yet again for their "unrealistic" expectations of HDB flats. The prices of HDB flats have sky-rocketed over the last few years fueled by rising demand from immigration in the face of a limited supply of new flats. In 2009, the prices of resale flats grew by 8.2 percent to reach a record high while median Cash-Over-Valuation (COVs) doubled from $12,000 to $24,000 in the last quarter alone. Mr Mah was widely blamed by Singaporeans for his lack of foresight in planning to build additional flats to accommodate the growing population. The ruling party had made known its ambitious plan to increase Singapore’s population to 6.5 million via immigration as early as 2005. However, only slightly more than 11,000 new flats were built between the years 2006 – 2008 when there were over 90,000 PRs and 20,000 new citizens alone in 2008:   [Source: HDB Financial Report 2008/2009] Below is a graph illustrating how the rise in the prices of resale flats coincides with the rise in the number of foreigners in Singapore between the years 2000 and 2008, courtesy of Kojakbt, the moderator of 3in1kopitiam: Due to the ruling party’s liberal immigration policy, foreigners now made up 36 per cent of Singapore’s population, up from 14 per cent in 1990. The influx of PRs also contribute to a spike in the prices of resale flats as they have higher spending prowess and are willing to spend more. The Straits Times reported a Taiwanese couple paying a record $650,000 for a four room flat in Bras Basah lately. Another Indonesian PR forked out $653,000 for a 4 room flat in Queenstown. During a parliamentary session last month, Mr Mah claimed that PRs who make up “only” one in five resale flat buyers and have minimal impact on resale prices. In his latest interview with the Straits Times however, he finally backtracks and concedes that to "some extent", PRs have contributed to housing demand. Instead of admitting his own mistake and accept responsibility for it, Mr Mah went into a tirade against Singapore home-buyers and "attibutes the sense of unhappiness among home seekers to a combination of rising expectations and how the 'Singapore dream' has evolved too quickly today," the Straits Times reported. (7 April 2010) To substantiate his argument, Mr Mah brings up his own HDB story: "There, eight of us in a three-room flat shared one toilet and bathroom, while my mother stayed in a one-room rental flat in Whampoa Road,' he recounts. His family later upgraded to a four-room flat in Toa Payoh - what he calls a 'typical Singapore story of my generation'. Many people in my generation...started off small and modestly, worked hard, then upgraded our homes later. That's how it was...but because we progressed so fast and so far in our generation, I think people may have forgotten how we started,' he says. Unfortunately, he notes, there are many buyers who expect the ideal flat the moment they get married, 'in an ideal location with nice views'," he was quoted as saying in the Straits Times. Mr Mah is the most expensive National Development Minister in the world drawing an annual salary of nearly $2 million dollars, or 4 times more than that of U.S. President Barack Obama. It is disappointing that Mr Mah, who is paid by taxpayers' monies to do his job has to resort to using such grandmother stories which will make DPM Teo Chee Hean doze off to pull a wool over the eyes of Singaporeans. Perhaps Singaporeans should consider booting Mr Mah out of Parliament and replacing him with another person more suitable for his job.   EDITORS’ NOTE: Please join the discussion about this article on our Facebook page here and invite your friends to do so to help us raise awareness among fellow Singaporeans.   Debunking official myths of HDB flats series: 1 Part 1: Singaporeans are "owners" of their HDB flats 2. Part 2: HDB flats are "affordable" to most Singaporeans 3. Part 3: Rising prices of HDB flats generate "wealth" for Singaporeans   Related articles: >> Taiwanese PR paid record $ 650,000 for 4-room resale flat >> Grace Fu: PRs are helpful to HDB flat owners selling their flats >> HDB launches “traveling exhibition” to trumpet its achievements in the heartlands >> PAP to upgrade 12,000 HDB households ahead of next election >> Mah Bow Tan: We do not want flat prices to go down >> Prices of resale flats to rise further as PR quota reached >> Taiwanese PR offers $50k COV for resale flat >> Mah Bow Tan: PRs have minimal impact on resale flat prices >> No empirical evidence to suggest that public housing is affordable in Singapore >> When will Singapore’s property bubble burst? >> Why HDB is unable to reveal break down costs of new flats now >> HDB to consider introducing rules to curb property speculation >> HDB blames Singaporeans for not selecting flats when given the chance >> Singaporeans worried about retirement after depleting CPF to pay for over-priced HDB flats >> Mah Bow Tan acknowledged that rising HDB flat prices has sparked “fresh concerns” >> PM Lee: Govt does not have control over prices of resale flats” >> COVs of resale flats shooting through the roof >> HDB resale price index hit record high in 2009 >> Singaporean wants PRs to live in rented flats instead of buying resale flats >> Singaporeans wants PRs to be banned from selling HDB flats at a profit >> Shanmugam: Singaporeans likely culprits for driving up HDB flat prices >> Mah Bow Tan: HDB flats remain affordable >> Means testing for PRs to buy resale flats >> Immigration and public housing: should the govt or people plan ahead? >> Grace Fu: hard to predict demand for housing >> Indonesian PR bought 4-room flat at $653,000 >> Mah Bow Tan asks home buyers to be realistic >> PAP MP blames young couples who cannot get a flat for not planning ahead >> Home affordability: HDB versus the public >> Demand vs supply: so many applicants, so few flats >> Number of applicants exceed number of flats >> HDB to increase supply of flats >> Mah: don’t compare with prices in the past >> ERA: 40 per cent of HDB flat buyers are PRs  Read More →

OPINION There are three myths propagated by PAP leaders and perpetuated by the Singapore media about foreign workers which need to be corrected here: 1. Foreign workers are employed only in sectors shunned by Singaporeans. 2. Singaporeans are "fussy" and employers have a hard time recruiting them. 3. The government cannot shield Singaporeans from global competition. By now, we should already know that foreigners are employed across all industries in Singapore and they are allowed to compete directly with Singapore citizens for jobs which can otherwise be taken up by them. The influx and easy availability of foreign workers depress the wages of Singaporeans who need a minimal wage to enjoy a decent standard of living in Singapore. For example, the inflow of large number of foreign engineers and technicians from China and India has kept the starting pay of Singapore engineers stagnant for the last few years while the cost of living has ballooned. PAP leaders have always insisted that the search for talent is a "global phenomenon" and Singaporeans have no choice but to compete directly with them. PAP strongman Lee Kuan Yew told National Geographic magazine in a recent interview that it is a "good" thing that Singapore has welcomed so many Chinese immigrants (from China) as they are more "hard-driving" and "hard-striving" than Singaporeans. It is the duty of the elected government of the day to take care of its citizens first and NOT foreigners. In other countries like Australia, New Zealand and Canada, measures are put in place to safeguard the interests of locals. Not only did the PAP government not do so, it is introducing lop-sided labor policies to make life difficult for Singaporeans instead. If a Singaporean wants to apply to work overseas in any country, he or she must obtain a work visa or permit to even set foot there in the first place. Singapore has a unique scheme not heard anywhere else in the world where foreigners are given a year to stay in Singapore to look for jobs here:   [Source: Manpower Ministry] The Employment Pass Eligibility Certificate (EPEC) allows foreigners who are i) holders of selected university qualifications, or ii) current or former holders of selected skilled migrant visas to stay in Singapore for up to one year to facilitate their job search in Singapore. The EPEC is issued on a one-time basis and is non-renewable. Now, let us look at some universities which are accepted by MOM from China and India, the two largest source of foreigners to Singapore: China: BeiHang University Beijing Institute of Technology Beijing Normal University Central South University Central University For Nationalities China Agricultural University India: Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh Dr BR Ambedkar National Institute of Technology, Jalandhar Anna University, Madras Asian College of Journalism, Chennai Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi Bangalore University, Bangalore Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS), Pilani Graduates from these unknown universities are allowed to stay in Singapore for a year to compete directly with Singaporeans for job in an already saturated job market. Is the PAP helping Singaporeans or foreigners find jobs? Or are these universities better than NUS, NTU or SMU? Obviously if a China or India graduate comes to Singapore and is willing to accept lower than market-rate wages which will translate to a bounty back home, it is impossible to expect cost-conscious employers to recruit more expensive Singapore graduates. How can the PAP expect Singaporeans to compete with the foreigners when the odds are stacked against them? The playing field is tilted in favor of the foreign workers. The most amazing thing is that these foreign graduates are able to step foot onto Singapore to find a job without having to pass a mandatory English proficiency test like the internationally accepted IELTS which explained why there are so many foreigners in the service industry who cannot utter a single word of English at all. Are we still a cosmopolitan city with English as its lingua franca or have we been turned into some third-tier city in inner China unwittingly by the PAP? With discriminatory manpower schemes like EPEC, E and S-passes still operating under the auspices of the Manpower Ministry, can Singaporeans trust the PAP leaders' promise to reduce the inflow of foreigners into Singapore? Singaporeans are getting a very bad deal from the PAP government. They are elected and paid by taxpayers to take care of Singapore citizens and not foreigners. Foreign workers should only be employed strictly in sectors shunned by locals such as the construction and marine engineering industries. They have absolutely no business in positions which can be easily filled up by locals. Singapore workers are highly sought after in the world because of our bilingual capability, work ethic and productivity which explains why New Zealand launched a campaign lately specifically to target Singaporeans to work, live and study there and NOT China, India or Philipines. Instead of showing that it appreciates and treasures the local workforce, the PAP seeks to replace them by cheap foreign workers overtly and covertly. This is completely unacceptable coming from a government which claims that it has the "mandate" of the people. Did Singaporeans give it the "mandate" to bring in so many foreigners into our country within such a period of time thereby causing so many problems as a result? Why are we constantly being asked to make sacrifices for the gross mistakes made by the PAP which nobody, including the crippled opposition and the compliant media dare to point out? It is time that Singaporeans realize that they can never enjoy the economic rights they deserved as citizens of Singapore without first reclaiming their political rights from the PAP. There is nothing wrong in having this "entitlement mentality" because Singapore males waste two years of their precious lives in service of the nation. We are entitled no less than a level playing field for us to compete with the foreigners on an equal footing. If the PAP or rather FAP (Foreigners Action Party) is not keen or able to protect the interests of Singaporeans, then perhaps we should consider switching allegiance to another political party which is more amenable to our requests in the next general election.   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: >> 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 →