Sunday, March 25, 2012
Imported Importance
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*** The following are general sentiments aired by fellow Singaporeans and are not meant to put down the government. ***
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Excerpt 1:
Did the PAP government quit on Singaporeans?
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Now there are 2 questions that come to my mind, did these “foreign talent” quit their country to come here for greener pastures, and did the PAP govt quit on Singaporeans by welcoming foreigners to come in and depress our wages or make us jobless ?
Why did the PAP govt not look towards Singaporeans to solve our own problems? Did the PAP govt not quit on Singaporeans by allowing foreigners to come into our country, when these jobs could have been performed by a Singaporean, is depressing our wages or making us jobless a solution for any of our Singaporean problems to being with?
What were the considerations made before such a decision was made? Today companies prefer to hire foreigners because they don’t have to pay them CPF, and these foreigners got no NS or likely family commitment in Singapore.
We don’t have minimum wage to protect us but we have minimum CPF sum and minimum withdrawal age, but what happens when you are young and jobless and have no CPF contribution at all?
Today we feel like a foreigner in your own country, and I have to ask myself, did the PAP govt quit on Singaporeans?
-Ray, TREMERITUS
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Excerpt 2:
Talent buy becomes sore point
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To the government, expanding the talent pool is crucial for the economy.
Since the birthrate is declining, why not import youngsters from the region by the thousands, especially from China and Asean, to come and study here free of charge.
The issue is developing into another controversy, with critics labelling it as a short-cut development of human resources through imports rather than focusing on home talents.
It is not only pursued in sports, where young foreign winners are brought in to win gold medals, but also extends to bio-medical research scientists.
The issue took to the media last month when the government revealed in Parliament that at least 2,000 scholarships worth S$36mil (RM87.8mil) were awarded each year to overseas students.
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Mainly, people are annoyed over the loss of opportunities and salary undercutting by these newcomers from poorer countries.
Besides, as former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew once admitted, the majority came to enjoy the scholarships, not to settle down.
They use Singapore as a jumping-off point for the West.
Lee once remarked that if only 20% settled here, the government would be satisfied. As a general rule, taking in foreign students adds value to tertiary studies.
“Besides, some scholarship students return home to assume top posts in the government or private companies, which can help smooth bilateral relations with Singapore.
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“Compared with other countries, Singapore likely has a larger proportion of scholarships taken up by foreign students as compared to locals,” said David Loong.
Opposition Reform Party politician Lim Zi Rui criticised the government for treating Singaporeans as second, and even third, class citizens when it comes to education.
He said: “Our local students lose out, lose the chance, even though they are of the same calibre.”
The rapid intake of foreign students and professors, many of whom are poor in English, may have been one cause for the drop in rankings of Singapore’s two top universities.
The National University of Singapore had fallen from 18th in the world in 2004 to 34th in 2010, according to Times Higher Education-QS World University Rankings. And Nanyang Technological University dropped from 50th to 174th position.
-SEAH CHIANG NEE, thestaronline.
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My thoughts:
Taking in foreign talent is good because it spurs competition among us Singaporeans so that we would not rest on our laurels and would work hard for the things we want in life.
However, the problem arises when there are too many of them.
This creates an imbalance of population dynamics which, in turn, possibly generates more problems in the society.
Competition
Competition leads to stress. Stress is good to push society forward, but too much of it becomes bad. Companies prefer hiring foreigners of the same caliber as Singaporeans because it is more economical to do so. This threatens Singaporeans as we would not want to lose our jobs. Moreover, besides being threatened, we would feel that this is unfair as the job opportunity is offered preferentially to foreigners just because they can be hired at a lower cost. With such a threat that we face in our daily lives, it is only logical to put our career at the top of our priorities in life. The statistics on Pg 22 of http://www.singstat.gov.sg/stats/themes/people/popinbrief2011.pdf show clearly that people are having later marriages over the past decade. I would believe that it is largely due to having a career-first mindset that has caused such a trend. When it is so difficult to make a decent living with local AND foreign competition AND rising inflation, having kids seems unaffordable. Does this also explain the falling birth rates? Yes, maybe the policies of the past have shaped our mindset, but the policies of the present have also sharpened them. How much time should one spend at work in order to earn more to be able to provide for the family? How much time is actually spent at home with one's spouse? How can marriages remain strong when more than half the time one is away? Even if they are at home, will they be at the computer, using handphones and gadgets, or watching the television? Is there even time to re-think about divorce?
About the falling birth rates, I would say that change takes time. If the government hopes that birth rates would increase, then there needs to be a suitable environment for such a scenario to occur. And to change the societal stop-at-2 mentality really takes years.
Property
Only the rich are able to buy property. Generally, the foreigners who come to Singapore are wealthy. Property may be a good investment for them. This way, the rich get richer, and the poor get poorer. Housing prices are increasing so drastically that makes owning a flat unaffordable. We are increasing the demand by introducing more people here when our land supply is limited?
Commitment
If foreigners are just here in Singapore to use it as a platform to further their studies or to take-off in their businesses, they have no commitment. The very basic mindset that they have here would most probably be to earn so that they can return to their mainland to provide for their children. Maybe having foreigners take up higher positions does increase bilateral relations. But at what expense will this be? Will they do it for the people living in Singapore? Or for personal interests? Where is their commitment anyway?
Space
A home is a place where we are given space to grow.
http://static.stomp.com.sg/site/servlet/linkableblob/stomp/787940/data/crowd1jpg1318500989275-data.jpg
Needless to elaborate, we experience it everyday.
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We only feel so strongly because we are not appreciated enough.
Will there actually be some cap to the foreign talent? Will the government allow Singapore Citizens to have more exclusive rights?
Or have we been forgotten?
:/
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For people like you and me who are not able to change policies, let us still have a positive outlook from this.
Despite our negative sentiments, may we remain humble and remember that we are not superior to foreigners, treat them with due respect, and genuinely keep a friendly disposition towards them. So that for those who are able to recognize this, can leave Singapore in a better state than they first came.
While we pray that we are in good hands.
to change the world.
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
The Lake
http://dailypicksandflicks.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/mirror-reflection-dog-on-lake.jpg
is when another is a reflection of God Himself.
We are all lakes.
But how clear are we to reflect the beauty that lies..above us all?
Self-worth
It takes a girl, who strives for excellence herself, for a guy to find that excellence, that he too possesses, in her.
Girls: Discover your worth, not because of pride, but because of self-dignity. And we will only appreciate you more for that.
Guys: We gotta buck up.
to change the world.
Monday, March 19, 2012
Train Breakdowns
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Today, while I was taking a cab to run an errand, the taxi driver and I had a conversation and he brought up a more positive outlook that perhaps, the majority of Singaporeans, should adopt.
The expatriates that he had picked up mentioned that train breakdowns in their respective countries were a common occurrence.
He said that it was better to have such breakdowns rather than something more serious such as a train derail to happen.
Maybe it has caused much inconvenience to us as Singapore's effective transport system has created high expectations of us. With an ever-increasing population, trains would have to be in operation more frequently. Even if the serviceability of the trains are checked more often, screw-ups are bound to happen.
We should also see that efforts are being taken to overcome the recent train breakdowns. Maybe the first one didn't go on well.. But when Dhoby Ghaut to Harbourfront had a power failure, SBS Transit responded to the situation promptly by providing free shuttle services from the affected train stations.
"Take a chill pill" is what people say, and perhaps, what we should do.
to change the world.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
2 Missed Calls
http://behance.vo.llnwd.net/profiles3/198840/projects/3234165/e3b420f87b09d2c4857d43f93e664ccb.png
Last night, someone called me at 2am and later at 3am.. I woke up for a while but was too tired to pick it up..
Did any one need urgent help back then?
Wrong numbers do not call you so late, do they?
Hmmm..
Twenty-One (Part 2)
Thank you Junyi, Mark, Zaihao, Chun Yong, Jiong Le and Evelyn! :D
Thank you Samuel, Cheng Wei, Kevin, Joel, Zhenwei, and Rich! :D
Thank you Raph, Glenn, Emman, Ben, and Martin! :D (We forgot to take a pic!)
to change the world.
Friday, March 16, 2012
Twenty-One (Part 1)
On this day, I thank God for letting me live for 21 years, and for blessing me with loving parents, 4 beautiful sisters, one cute brother, a wonderful extended family, and amazing friends.
I would like to also thank everyone for wishing me a happy birthday, either on FB/SMS/Twitter/Phone or up-front. Thank you all for remembering and making the effort. Cos it made my day! :)
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I had been thinking of how to celebrate my 21st for a long time.. Whether to host a party, or to go out in small groups of friends.. But FINALLY, I decided that to just spend time with the people who have been living together with me all this while- my family! :D And I let them plan it for me.
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The clocked striked twelve and my sister revealed her present for me!
It is soooo nice smelling!! ~~~ And the scent stays for so long.. She said that she spent hours testing various colognes and this was the best.
I love it! :D
Later, after 6 hours of sleep...
My parents, my sister, and I started off the day with Mass at SVDP, and we offered our day up to God. :)
Then as I headed back home, I was pleasantly surprised with a $16 worth breakfast specially prepared by my sister!!!
SO DELICIOUS!! I love the buns!! :D it's toasted so well and inside them are small sausages with cheese placed on top of them. And the eggs! They are tasty, very yellow, and thick! She spent a lot of effort designing the whole meal for me and had to wake up rather early to get it done for me.
It was a perfect start for the day! :D
My brother had been preparing something for me too! He had been showing everyone else and holding it back till my birthday. He drew me TRANSFORMERS! :D and he also gave me earphones! An 8 year-old gives whatever he could to his older brother..
Love comes in the simplest of things too. :)
Then my parents brought out.... THIS!
I really liked the colour-combination that they picked for me because they match very well! AN I-POD NANO WATCH! :D
Despite the MRT breakdown from Dhoby Ghaut to Harbourfront, we made it to Sentosa by the shuttle bus thanks to the prompt action taken by SBS Transit! :D
We said a prayer together for it not to rain and indeed, the weather was the best for such an outing. :)
And we really had a great time there. Moreover, it was my first time at USS!! We sat on all the more-thrilling roller coasters but didn't get a chance to go on the Transformers 4D.. I enjoyed the Cylon! :D the Mummy ride was really good too, with all the special effects. And Shrek was funny!
Immediately after stepping out of the Shrek show, the song "Accidentally In Love" started playing!! The timing was JUST SO RIGHT!! And we all sang along to it. :)
The sky was beautiful..
My brother sat on the less intense rides as my parents and grandma took care of him.
After that, we headed down to catch "The Artist"! :D it was my first ever silent movie, and also the first time watching a movie alone. I had to get my whole family to watch it too because it was a meaningful show- one worth watching.
We only had God to thank as we got on the last trains back home!! :D
Besides all these, I also got to know that I was enrolled in SP! :D
And the army safety poster was actually mistaken for second! :D
God is good. :)
Oh and I have presents from my 2 other sisters too! :D
As I have reached the age of independence, may I only depend on God.
Even more.
to change the world.
|
i am, christopher lye
21 on 15 March 2012
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