Story by Ching Ann Jie
When Mr Moe Kyaw Thu took part in a protest to support the Burmese people’s struggle for freedom in November 2007, he did not realise that he was putting his own future in Singapore at stake.
Mr Moe is now racing against time. His work permit expires on 20th January and all his earlier three appeals to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) for extension have been rejected. He has appealed to the President and the Prime Minister of Singapore in a last ditch attempt at trying to avoid being deported.
In November 2007, Mr Moe had taken part in the Orchard Road protest by about 40 Burmese nationals. The protest was held at the same time that Singapore, the chair of ASEAN then, was hosting the ASEAN Summit at the Shangri-la hotel. The protesters had marched down Orchard Road, wearing red t-shirts and holding placards calling for ASEAN and the UN special envoy Professor Ibrahim Gambari to take a harder stance towards the Burmese military junta. (See here.)
More than one year on, Mr Moe, who has not been warned or called up by the police for any investigation with regards to the protest, is being asked to leave Singapore. In all his appeals to the MOM, he was not given any reasons why his work permit was not being renewed. The only answers he has received from the ministry were terse, such as the one given to him on 16 December last year. It said simply:
We have reviewed your appeal but regret that it is not successful. Our decision to reject your appeal still stands.
Rejection after rejection – but no reason given
Mr Moe, 35, has been working in Singapore since 1997 with Sembawang Engineers and Constructors Pte Ltd. He is currently involved as a site supervisor (purchasing and administration) with the LTA’s Circle Line (Stage 5) project.
Mr Moe’s problems started in November 2008, when his applications for a S-pass and a renewal of his work permit were rejected. No reason was given for this rejection, even though his employer was willing to extend the term of his employment.
He appealed to MOM in an email dated 25 November 2008, stating that he felt that he was “being punished under a generalised misunderstanding” with the Overseas Burmese Patriots (OBP) – of which he is not a member. Neither is he a member of any Burmese organization. Unlike the members of the OBP, Mr Moe did not have his particulars taken down by the police, and has never been called to the police station for an interview. (Members of the OBP have encountered problems in having their permits renewed, as documented in yawningbread.org)
This appeal was rejected.
Still determined, Mr Moe sent another email on 16th December, asking for “compassionate support to rescue my life from ending in a Burma jail” as his picture and name had been prominently featured in newspapers and video clips about the May 2008 referendum, where more than a thousand Burmese visited their embassy in Singapore to cast their votes. Mr Moe wrote that he feared he would be charged by the military junta for disrupting the referendum and public tranquility, or violating the press law if he returns to Burma.
This appeal was rejected, and again, no reason was given.
Together with his friend, Mr Moe headed down to the Ministry of Manpower on the 2nd of January 2009 to personally appeal to the authorities. They met an officer there and spoke for 45 minutes about the problems he would face by leaving Singapore. Mr Moe says the officer confided that she could not share the reason why his pass could not be renewed. She then told him to send another appeal, saying that MOM would reply accordingly.
In his last appeal to MOM dated 3rd January, Mr Moe asked to be allowed to stay in Singapore for a period of 6 months to a year so that he could arrange for relocation to another country.
This appeal was rejected once more without explanation.
“Contempt for the law” but no prosecution?
The authorities’ press release on 12 January about the arrest of the two activists (see here and here) who protested in support of the two Burmese finally gave some concrete reason for the non-renewal of work permits for Mr Moe and his friend, Mr Win Kyaw, who is also being asked to leave Singapore. (Read MHA and MOM’s press release here.) It stated,
“They have shown in their actions and attitude a wilful disregard and contempt for the law and the Singapore authorities.”
Mr Moe does not deny his involvement in the Orchard Road protest, the candlelight vigil outside the Myanmar Embassy (both in 2007), and other events. But he questioned the authorities’ press statement, saying, “If we broke the law, why don’t they bring us to court?” he asked. “It’s not fair. If they mention the law, they should charge us.”
“In September 2007, after the PM and foreign minister’s announcement, we thought the Singapore government was helping us to support [the] pro-democracy [movement],” he says of the public statements by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Foreign Affairs Minister George Yeo, who had said:
… we could not stay silent when the Government violently cracked down on peaceful demonstrators including Buddhist monks. ASEAN would have lost all credibility otherwise. Developments in Myanmar cast a pall on the entire region and have been raised at the UN Security Council. ASEAN’s policy of non-interference cannot be rigidly applied when internal developments in a member country affect the rest of us. (Source)
What Mr Moe cannot understand is why the government renewed the work permit of his friend, Mr Win, in January of 2008 if, as the MOM and MHA said in its latest press release, that they had shown “contempt for the law.”
Mr Moe asks why it has taken one year for the authorities to take action. He also questions whether such actions were arbitrary and selective. He pointed out that of the 40 who took part in the 2007 protest, some were called up for police interviews, others were not called up at all, while now some are having their work permits not renewed for taking part in the protest. But none have been charged under the law. “Why don’t they charge all 40 who took part in the protest?” he asks. “Why not treat everyone equally?”
The Ministry of Home Affairs, in August 2008, had said that some Burmese had “persistently ignored police warnings in the past year”.
Minister of Home Affairs, Mr Wong Kan Seng, had cited the “persistent defiance of the laws”, in September 2008, by the Burmese as one of the reasons why the work permits of some Burmese had not been renewed.
“If we broke the law, why not charge us in 2007?” Mr Moe asks. “Their words and actions are different.”
“I want to respect the law,” Mr Moe says. “If I break the law. I still want to go under the law. If they really want to do it by law, they charge us and our lives can go on.”
He stressed that the 2007 protest was a peaceful one and that the protesters had obeyed police instructions when approached. (See Straits Times report.)
All he is hoping for now is for the President and the Prime Minister to grant him his request – to remain in Singapore for 6 to 12 months so that he has time to look for another country to go to. “My return to Burma is of great concern affecting my life, my family, friends… prison for decades would be the severe result,” he said in his letter to the President and the PM.
Mr Moe has already booked an air ticket while he awaits an answer from the Istana. He is unsure of his future plans.
“Singapore is my second home,” he says, having lived here for 11 years. “You can say we are part of Singapore.”
He hopes to return to Burma one day under different circumstances. “I love my country. My dream is to live in my country,” he tells me. “A fully democratic country.”
————
Win Kyaw
Mr Win Kyaw, 39, has been in Singapore for 13 years and worked as an aircon technical officer at Nanyang Polytechnic. He too had taken part in the November 2007 protest but his application to renew his one-year work permit was approved in January 2008. Like Mr Moe, he had taken part in the protest as an individual and not as a member of any organization. In the wake of the destruction of cyclone Nagis which struck Burma in May 2008, Mr Win donated 10 per cent of his monthly salary to the victims.
His work permit expired on January 14.
He has left for Cambodia with his wife, who is a Singapore permanent resident.
———–
Additional reporting by Andrew Loh.
———–
Read also:
Straits Times: Why Burmese activists were deported
Reuters: Singapore arrests opposition members in Myanmar protest.
Replies by Minister George Yeo to Questions (on Myanmar) in Parliament on 22 Oct 2007.
———–
TOC Focus Week: Migrant Workers in Singapore:
TOC Expose: Repatriation companies by Jolovan Wham.
A 19th century page from a 21st century draft by Ng Sook Zhen.
“I hope Singapore government punish them” by Andrew Loh.
The Story of Delowar by Deborah Choo.
Mega Development projects and labour supply chains – who is responsible? by Stephanie Chok.
Sent home with $600 by Deborah Choo.
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sarek – agree to disagree agreeably – that is how debate and different points of view should be conducted without personal attack.
No, I wasn’t repeating your post. Because you have some many posts up there, I had to cut and quote those parts that I am referring to, otherwise readers may not know which part(s) of your numerous posts I am referring to.
Nice to talk to you…
T,
“You will do well to remember that ASEAN subscribe to the policy of non-interference in each other’s domestic affairs.”
George Yeo said:
“we could not stay silent when the Government violently cracked down on peaceful demonstrators including Buddhist monks. ASEAN would have lost all credibility otherwise. Developments in Myanmar cast a pall on the entire region and have been raised at the UN Security Council. ASEAN’s policy of non-interference cannot be rigidly applied when internal developments in a member country affect the rest of us.”
Burma’s crackdown on the protesters and monks was a special case. So much so that the so-called “non-interference” by ASEAN was publicly dis-owned by Geroge Yeo, as the rep for the Chairman of ASEAN at that time, which Singapore was.
So, your point doesn’t count.
As usual, a complicated issue for which there isn’t really an ideal solution.
While I feel that Mr Moe has to somewhat deal with the consequences of his actions, my guess is that the consequences he now faces is worse than what he is prepared for. I guess he was prepared to be punished under Singapore Law, eg like what the Tak Boleh Tahan people face for eg. It’s like, ok, like I litter knowing FULL well that i will be fined $100 first time, but then discover that I am going to be caned and jailed for three months instead.
So while we may every right not to allow him to stay, I think we should do it in the most gracious and humane way possible, which is give him more time to find another place.
We can keep talking and talking about how he deserves it etc etc… especially because he came here and take our jobs and is apparently such an ungrateful wanker..
But I always feel that perhaps we should stop and imagine, what if he is someone we knew, someone who is our friend, or relative. Or what if the same thing happened to you? Would you have been so garang to accept the consequence?
Burmese, Singaporeans, us, them… we are all people for crying out loud. Everyone deserves some compassion.
So let’s hug.
Since when Singapore owe these Burmese the use our country as a platform to stage their political agenda????
This Moe Kyaw Thu simply and conveniently used a sentimental expression “Singapore is my second home” and hope to get away with his blatant disregard for Singapore law.
We don’t need people like him…the Singapore government did the right thing to expel him!
TOC seems to be getting more and more out of focus…Singaporeans have no interest with a burmese who had broken the law and now faced expulsion.
The Singapore government did the right thing within their rights and in accordance to the law (Moe Kyaw Thu was fore-warned of the consequences in his work permit’s terms and conditions), and TOC should not stir shit and try to divide Singaporeans through this clearly insignificant matter.
For those hypocrites who so support this Moe Kyaw Thu, why not go with him to Burma and do what you think is so “noble”! Don’t hide behind the safety of Singapore and talk “cock! like sing song!!!!
I can see that some SGreans want to mention about the Law and its right to expel Moe from the SG. I have no problem with that. But what I just want to point out is if he is broke the law, then give him the sentence that he desrve. But what he requested is that give him sometime to go somewhere instead of go back to Burma right away and will be jailed so many years or to be killed.
I’m talking about moral values here. basice human rights here. and love, kindness between Burmese and singaporean citizens.( not govrment like Junta and PAP). You all know that Burma and SG had a long story of history and relationship. I know that people have own agenda and opinion. But for the sake of past and future relationship between two citizenships, do you think one time in life that the case is right( moe’s request)?
Anyway.. I don’t want the hate inside my Burmese fellows that when Burma will free from the Junta, watch out ASEAN.
A lot of people here do not understand the long-term ramifications of what they deem “by law” actions.
We welcome foreign workers as our guests to Singapore and allow them to earn a decent living at the expense of Singaporeans who need any job badly and jobless. If you are interested in politics to demonstrate, shout and yell to topple your government, Singapore is not the place for you. Please go away peacefully as we want your jobs in the present downturn. Although some of us are hungry for the jobs and because of you, we are jobless. If you cannot behave yourself and become a nuisance to us, you deserve to be kicked out by us. We also do not want you to go on holidays in our 5* prisons like leeches sucking our blood, free food and lodging. To put it plainly, get out of Singapore!
its sad to read such comments against foreigners. no one is stealing anyone’s rice bowl here. please remember it is still the locals who hire us foreigners based on our credentilas. the more mature way of looking at it is this, if you want the job, work hard and show everyone that you deserve your job not because of your nationality but because of your meritocracy.
I cannot understand the logic of those harping on why foreigners are brought in to ‘steal’ the jobs from locals. I ask these people to pause and reflect for a moment, whether these foreign workers knew they were ‘stealing’ our jobs in the first place.
Let us not just look at the surface of everything and let us try and scratch the surface a little.
As far as I know, or made to know, the main reason why these foreign workers were brought in, is mainly because; as claimed by our beloved PAP; locals do not want these jobs.
Now think. With this kind of reasoning, do you not think the same PAP govt would have gone out of its way, to tell these foreign workers that they are very welcome, that they would be doing Singapore a huge favour, that they will be playing a huge part in the progress and prosperity of Singapore?
So you see, these foreign workers might have came here because they truly believed Singapore needed them, and the expertise they bring.
Why are we then, so quick to blame these poor foreign workers, and do not see the need to blame the policies and lies that brought them here?
Let us not be guilty of being able to think only vertically; from the top down; but let us make the effort to think laterally and way beyond the vertical limits of comprehension and understanding.
It is PAP’s policy that opened the doors to these workers. Who would not enter if the door is meant to fit in people with the right credentials?
observer on January 17th, 2009 3.57 am
I know it is not nice to say;”load of nonsense!” I apologised if it hurts.
Foreigners should go first.
Singaporeans should be given priority; not all but in most case.
Singaporeans have a family to take care of. Male Singaporeans and their sons have to serve national service. Singaporeans have to do rounds of Remedial Training if they do not pass IPPT. Singaporeans have a family here to take care of.
I
f we lost our job, not only we will go hungry, our sons and daughters will go hungry. Given that we have obligations to meet, it is crazy to think that we have equal opportunity as compared to a foreigner in getting a job. So “credentials” sound a bit of strange unless you are talking about top… top position where finding professionals is a problem.
I would have believed if some foreigners are being brought in to help to save jobs for locals but not when many thousands of foreigners are being brought in to work in all fields/level. I believe not only Singaporeans dislike FT. I believe it happens everywhere; especially at this time.
However, I would support if there is some kind of compensation given to foreigners before they leave.
Which one of you or you children are willing to be a cleaner, construction worker, welder, hooker, masseur, maid, waitress, shop assistant?
In some other countries, waitering is seen as a good profession. In Singapore, everyone thinks being a waiter is only part time job for uneducated people.
Think, people. think.
/// So you see, these foreign workers might have came here because they truly believed Singapore needed them, and the expertise they bring. ///
Nope gemani. A lot of the unwanted or excess workers with no work for them are here because of unscrupulous recruitment agencies. These people ripped off the workers, promising the sky and then leave them stranded here without any work. This is human trafficking, no less.
I have a few good friends and colleagues who are Burmese, Malaysians, Indonesians and Filipinos. Initially, I get intimidated, of course, as they are seen as cheaper alternatives to run the operations. I slowly begin to understand that things are not so rosy for them back home. Even before the recession, they could hardly earn a living to support their family.
The ones I know are decent hardworking men and women who strive hard to really better themselves and families financially. I have learned a lot from them and no longer I fear their presence as a sign of my demise in the company.
It’s all about competition. Nothing’s free in this world no doubt and you compete with everyone else, not only Singaporeans.
Nobody said life would be easy. Like it or not we need FT to drum up our economy..
But as for Mr Moe…Let’s hope the junta forgot about him..
Yes T, and what might be the underlying factor that made these unscrupulous agents behave so confidently and boldly?
Unscrupulous activity will not even begin to exist if the govt had actedin the same fervour as they always do with the opposition; and; as remarked by the man himself, to “nip the problem in the bud”.
It is a problem created by the govt in its haste to bring in more revenue for the country; but not addressing these ‘side effects’ in the pursuit of wealth, has blinded them and made them turn a deaf ear to these cries for help.
/// So you see, these foreign workers might have came here because they truly believed Singapore needed them, and the expertise they bring. ///
gemami – the above was your point, and my response was that they are unskilled labour exploited by employment agencies. Now you change tack and blame the government. You should not keep shifting your goal posts all the time. Do you still think that these foreign workers are here because of the expertise they bring? What expertise? Most of them can’t even understand English. Farming expertise? Unemployment expertise in their home country?
No, they are here because of the scams. And this is not just happening in Singapore – see the other post on such scams – it is happening in other countries.
Hi T,
Last check, my goalpost is still in the same position. I therefore suggest you read my point again and read it slowly.
Correct me if I am wrong. Your point is that these workers are the result of unscrupulous recruitment agencies. I did not deny this is true and correct.
My point is that we look beyond this exploitation and see what our govt has contributed to this exploitation by its open door policy, and to attribute part of the fault to them.
I have stated my reasons above and they still stand. In point form, it goes like this:
a. PAP govt says Singaporeans shun low level jobs.
b. PAP govt says FWs needed to fill these jobs.
c. Recruitment agencies jumps at the money-making prospect.
d. Loads upon loads of FWs brought in with govt-promised projects.
e. FWs made to believe they will have jobs because SG govt are calling for them with opened arms.
f. FWs grab opportunity, sell off their belongings and come over.
g. The rest is becoming history.
These points have not changed, T.
Hi T,
When I said expertise, I am refering to the possible misleading notion caused by the govt’s open policy, which was picked up and used by the recruitment agencies and for which the illiterate foreign worker was made to believe in, that they are contributing their expertise (manual labour which Singaporeans shun).
It is meant to be read with a bit of sarcasm, my friend.
gemami – those are piffling reasons. To understand the real motivation for this massive influx of foreign workers, I suggest you calculate/estimate the total maids/foreign workers’ levies collected per year – the sum will make your jaw drop.
63) T on January 17th, 2009 5.00 pm
A lot of the unwanted or excess workers with no work for them are here because of unscrupulous recruitment agencies.
These foreign workers would have remained in their home countries if they were not issued a working pass to come to Singapore by the MOM. If that were the case, then we can safely say this is a matter of the unscrupulous recruitment agencies and the respective countries involved. MOM can wash its hands.
However, MOM failed its duties in checking the operation of these unscrupulous recruitment agencies, failed in punishing unscrupulous recruitment agencies and employers to discourage them from repeating the same scam again and again.
So, the matter does not stop with unscrupulous recruitment agencies, now it landed squarely on MOM, and hence Singapore.
Hi T,
Agreed without a hint of doubt and I appreciate your suggestion.
But my point is not to articulte these figures or the fact that profiteering and exploitation or scams are at play here.
My point is that these are made available as the result of our govt’s warm invite to foreigners (by the ease in which EPs are issued, via recruitment agencies and companies), while pinning the blame on our local workers.
This is wrong and the belief that it is the fw that is taking away our job is a reflection that this line of reasoning is taking credence over reality.
201/109
Hi Sarak_Home,
I refer to your posting *42 and Mr Moe did create disharmony in Singapore by himself participating in the protest and being an educated man, he knows this is illegal in Singapore (same in his country Burma) and this is no excuse and good that he has to leave Singapore for good and his departure is a blessing ie one foreigner less and this means his job goes to our local Singaporeans (these foreigners have snatched jobs from us locals)
Regards
Andrew
Main reason is that PAP Gov; worry sg citizen to join opposition or strike.
If one day somany jobless in Sg then citizen will go out and strike that sure.
So that Gov; will demolish whoever become Guidance for local.