It is more facinating and interesting to hear a ‘guest’ in our country rebutting us, the masters of this tiny piece of land.
To your statement,
“I can vouch for this personally being in a university and having both foreigners and Singaporeans as my very good friends. Singaporeans just DO NOT have the drive to achieve something like the foreigners have. ”
I think your statement is baseless, and only limited to your own circle.
Well, I have known a dozen more Singaporeans who are great achievers, like MM Lee, Creative CEO, and my primary six only educated uncle who built up his own company(now living in landed properties), and a lot more mediocre PR or foreigner friends or colleagues, who only knows how to go around shaking heads and hands, claiming they are the creme de crops, but when comes to real work, they know nothing next to the ‘non-acheiver’ singaporean.
There are always good and bad people around, so let’s not generalise.

Singaporeans, CAN, and ARE achievers. In just 40 over years, we converted a slump into a developed country! All these are to be attributed to our fore-fathers, My grandfather who died, while building one of our HDB flats in the 1970s, at the age of 70.
Without them, we are nothing! Without these fore-father Singaporeans, you will not even want to be be here.
And the reason why are you here, in this foreign land, if you could be better in your own country? It is exactly for the same reason you had called us. You, or your parents must also be one of the ‘under acheivers’ of your own country. If not, you would not be here fighting with our own group of ‘under achievers’ here, for the same bowl of rice.

So, what is the issue here?
There is a landlord who needs a thousand people to do all the work. For each worker, he gives 1 bowl of rice, but take back 30%.
However, the landlord realised that the working population is dropping, and no locals want to enter into this stressful company. So, to ensure that he keeps his population of 1000 workers, he has to recruit overseas workers. The vacancy is only 300. But ha ha, the CEO has a great idea! To lower down the salary of these workers, and to create competition, he imported 600 of them.
So, what happens next? The workers spent all day fighting and competing with each other for the same bowl of rice. No one has the mood to work like before. Productivity drops, and now, the landlord called the workers “under archievers”.

Solution : If you need only 300, import just 300!!!

Wake up your idea lah~ Spare a thought for those Singaporeans who work blue-collar jobs and the equilibrium pay is being reduced as the supply increases. These foreigners have might only need to feed themselves, or maybe their family who is living back in their home country with a lower cost of living. Hence they are willing to work at a lower wage.

Hey go find out the average wage of a construction worker is being paid in the US. And how much is the average wage of a construction worker paid here. You’ll get your answer.

The person that posted this article never serve NS is it?

Hard to say if immigration is working or not as claimed. The EU is also boosting immigration too. So either the policy is trusted to work (like it does in the US), or the economic need is too dire that they are willing to give it a try despite anticipating resentment. Europeans naturally resist change since they preserve their national identity very much, and so there is in much controversy.

The government is monitoring the impact of immigration for sure. But what we can ask for is transparency, and so that everyone can talk it out with less speculation.

The greater need is a social-political system that instills both democratic rights and individual responsibilities. Only when people believe that they have to take care of themselves (not the government), only when people seriously believe that who they vote really make or break their lives, only when people have the ability to project the effects of their words and actions, will they stop whining like a spoilt brat.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/7322825.stm

For those S’poreans who do not believe the govmin’s FT spin, more grist to the mill.

For every Singaporean student he/she claims to be underachieving, I can think of another foreign student that can fit the similar bill, or Singaporean who obliterates academic competition. However, I am most perturbed by the myth of meritocracy that supports the main line of argument.

I go as far to propose that meritocracy is not fair, even though the principle of meritocracy attempts to award on basis of merit.

The common analogy would be to liken life as a race. Meritocracy would reward the person who can complete it in the shortest possible time. But the biggest loophole is that there is no common starting point.

The educational race would much favour the rich if we assume the stereotypical scenario of excessive tuition and enrichment classes, as opposed to those of lower income levels.

The NS factor is another hurdle that all healthy Singaporean male would have to cross. And no, anyone who thinks that those two years are going to be useful icings on one’s resume, should have a reality check.

Finally, taking on an open-door labour policy, the number of contestants in this race would increase exponentially. While at the end of the day, the race would have clocked record timings, courtesy of increased competition, the unfortunate tradeoff would be that Singaporeans who have been relatively slower would lose out.

Taken to both extremes of labour policy, it would most certainly be detrimental to Singapore. While I admittedly favour a slightly less xenophobic outlook, my chief concern would be to level the competition so that Singaporeans, be it rich or poor, male or female, can start off at roughly the same point in this race of life.

Only then, can we judge whether that Singaporeans are truly underachievers.

I am sure, based on solid track record of half century, your view is minority view at best.

Policy you might call it……Policy makers you might call it.

Lets paint this picture together….

Singapore has a minimum wage scheme that is similar to what our highest paid ministers are using… this is of course tied to the current market condition and the current standard of living.

With this in motion, jobs will be taken up by Singaporeans, as Singaporeans can afford a decent standard of living and maybe start a family, might even solve our low birth rate mystery that our puzzled ministers can’t seem to crack

Since most number of jobs go to Singaporeans, the number of PR’s and foreigners will reduce. Hence the reduction of noise from either side.

As for national matters, I think it is only fair that all Singaporeans, PR’s and foreigner who are staying here for a specific period contribute to Singapore’s National Defence force. They can be called up and trained as cooks, logistics,storeman etc. They do not have to be on the front lines, but they have to ensure the needs of the front lines troops are met.

This will be fair for the employer and the employee as they both understand that the countries national matters come first.

With this in mind, the PR’s and Foreigners will have a good dose of being Singaporean.

Next we move onto the issue that is recently raised about foreign workers staying close by so called “prime estates”

With a salary structure that is tied to the miminum wage, I am sure there would be less noise as these jobs that are taken up by foreign workers are now replaced with Singaporeans.

So if you look at the BIG PICTURE, we are all components of a negative formula that was crafted sometime ago.

It has nothing to do with you or me ? we are just mere digits and statistics.

How can we be gracious, when Singapore is starting to look like a sardine can ?

Simple logic tells you that when a place gets crowded, people tend to get frustrated.

If there is a baseline for ministers salary, why is there no baseline for a minimum wage ?

Magnify the effect with the projected population and your guess is as good as mine.

to put it very simply, if you are just a normal FT, you will just become a PR and never a Singaporean. the reason is so simple, you earn $$$ here and you build/bring back to your country. whatever “high” salary you perceived you’ve received is for you to build your home/family elsewhere if your low cost country! you’ve come here for a better SGD than your lower home country.

we singaporeans have to compete with you FTs keeping our costs low and accomodate your nonsense about singaporeans having no drive!
wake up, if you are a true talented FT, you might not be a singaporean too, simply because you have plenty of other viable choices too competing for your talents and skills.

for singaporeans, singapore, no matter what happens, is home. for most majority, they can’t go/leave to other “singapore” to enjoy the hospitality that singapore provides.

Why Torture yourself, go back to your own country and enjoy life better !

Not every PR here has a rosy job or earns millions.

True, even cleaner auntie’s jobs they also wanted to snap it from us, they don’t mind eveyday kana jam at the custom just because even the lowest salary job in Singapore can allow them to buy a condo and a car in Malaysia.

If there are more foreigners or PRs taking jobs here, it simply means that the Singaporeans are not taking up those jobs.

The problem is that all employers will prefer to employ those foreigners or PRs for cheaper wages and Singaporean have no chances to take up those jobs. So many Singaporean age above 40+ can not get a more well pay job, all thanks to the foreigners & PRs.

it just means that Singaporeans are not working hard enough. Singaporeans do NOT have the drive and passion to succeed and excel like the foreigners do.

If you do not have a chance to get job then where got drive and passion, same like you, if you really have that kind of drive and passion why not go back and serve your own country better !

if they really are that good and they just cared about money they would have gone to [the] US.

They are all using Singapore as a stepping stone in order to stand better chance to go to other countries with the Singapore passport or PR status. Otherwise, why just be a PR, why not declare yourself a Singaporean like us ?

If you don’t want foreigners to be here then make sure there is NO NEED for foreigners to sustain and prosper your economy.

Not all the Singapore citizens welcome the foreigners to be here, our government are the one who behind it.

This is the result of years living under the state nanny.

Too much instructions, too few political (and also other) decisions to make, little need for individual responsibility. The result: people has only one way to vent their dissatisfaction — complain. And they also refuse to listen to opinions which do not oppose the PAP.

For people who do not bash the PAP and aren’t necessarily supporters, most are too chicken or indifferent to sound off.

The ultimate end-result: a nation of whiners.

Everyone is selfish. You said it yourself. So does it mean that we can also excercise the use of our selfish genes to protect our place here.

“Even Singaporeans may also bolt to another country if they have the means or chance. ”

So why the need for NS, I love to use this NS stuff as it is THE only powerful weapon left. NS does come in handy these days. And what is the Singapore identity for and the meaning of nationhood.

Have you heard of this famous tagline, membership has its privileges. It also comes with the “privileges” to pay a price.

“Singaporeans have to learn to give & take.”

You are right. The problem is which group of hte Singaporeans is doing much of the giving and which group of Singaporeans is doing much of the taking.