And when it comes to accountability and performance for their failures, these policymakers, after much delay, will come up with their trademark response – “Lets move on”, it-is-worse-in-other-country comparison, “Singaporeans should not take this for granted”. And they demand out-of-this-universe salary for their shameful performance.

To laugh or to cry. Neither. Change, we need change. Yes! We can.

He, like many, foreigner talent came here to block the higher post for local but with no expatriate allowances.. ‘He was a Canadian Graphic Arts Sales Executive in Argentina who got the ” reward to live in Singapore”for delivering the US$One Million Cash
Ransom to some TerroristKidnappers who hijacked the General Manager there and he got the GM release. He begged to be moved to HongKong to escape from trouble but LANDED a job in Singapore which is as good country to enjoy Expatriate Life as HK.

The bloke was not announced what his designation and job job description were to the local staff but spent time going around with Sales Staff and attending Meetings but he offered no contribution of talent for the Benefits of the Company nor increase Sales. He was more interested in zeroing in to mix in Singapore High Society. I had to sign Bar Bills which were continuation of after Dealers Meeting but definitely not approved officially.

Another American who majored in Mandarin and married a Taiwanese who went back to live for a year in the US where the couple became popular with hard up Americans who slivered at Chinese woman. The wife made a lot of money posing for company products in ads. When the pair came to live here that money making opportunity was gone. In work, that Mandarin Speaking Foreign Talenthusband was useless as everyone speaks English and write better than him. Hence his wife became nonproductive and could not get photographic model job because we have better and more beautiful China “dolls”in Singapore.
I was approached to use his wife for company product advertising but actually she is ugly by our standard, after sometime, the woman divorced the husband who was trying to peddle the wife.to make more money…haha !! Yak …that’s Foreign Talent peddling wife !

Osamaobama

He came and worked with us but the local Management did say why that chap wasnow with us. Instead of assigning a Graphic Art job, that chap was a spare tyre in Marketing Amateur Products

Whatever wages paid to Singaporean workers will be ultimately borne by Singaporeans. I thought you guys have been screaming for decades about the HDB prices charged by the government? Yes, in Western countries, workers are paid much higher than their counterparts in Singapore. But look at the costs of living in their countries!

Foreign students – Singapore needs to attract as much foreign talents as it can. One way of doing this is to get them to study here (sponsor them if the need arises) and hopefully after they graduated, they would stay and work here as long as possible. You see, when the ministers persuade foreign companies to invest here, they have to convince investors with positive factors about Singapore, e.g. political stability, low cost of living, availability of foreign talents and local Singaporean workers. You guys may not be aware that It is not an easy job to tell foreign investors to set up businesses in Singapore.

FT paying taxes – apart from income tax, what about GST? And please do not confuse foreign workers with foreign talents! The latter refers to those working in respectable positions (such as retail executives, bank managers, production superintendent and accountants) earning comparable income (if not more) as Singaporean professionals. They pay all kinds of Singapore tax and fee, but do not enjoy the same subsidies as Singaporeans (e.g. they need to buy HDB in the open market).

Surprised this trend is still active. But unfortunately only by people employing usual bogeyman tactics. I hope commenters can compile a list of counter-bogeyman items for such stock answers, e.g.

Without a core of true-blue Singaporean mass, Singapore WILL be a dead city:

- No one to defend the foreigners and/or our highly-paid ministers.
- No one to integrate those that need to intergrate.
- No one to study in the universities?? This is talking from the donkey’s ass. Read mistake in teaching Chinese for past 50 years….
- Only tourists touring places crewed by tourists.
- No one to pay taxes?? What have I been doing for past 15+ years? Every car you buy, every litre of petrol, every house, each plate of chicken rice, etc…. is taxed. Stupid is stupid as is stupid.
- No one that will vote for change.
- No one to remind our govt that it is NOT them that brought Singapore from a small fishing village to the status of today but the sweat and blood of our parents & grandparents.
- No one to patronize the neighbourhood kopitiam to keep alive things that are truly uniquely Singaporean.
- No one who can speak Singlish.
- No one contributing here.

@292) kojakbt on December 12th, 2009 6.00 am

An economist some time back mentioned more than 50% of our GDP is actually remit out of the country. This is one effect of relying too much on FWs/FTs — 36% of the population, yet more than 50% outflow of wealth generated.

Indeed, think about it…

I don’t think most Singaporeans are against foreigners per se. However, as in all things, there is a limit to everything. Currently, we are importing too many foreigners working here.

> No one to build the houses.
> No one to work in the manufacturing, service and construction sectors.

Again, we are not saying stopping foriegn workers altogether. Sure, we do need them but care has to be given to Singaporeans first. Have you ever wonder why there are whites willing to work as construction workers in the west? Do you know that they are paid as much as a fresh grad over there? Ask yourself why we can’t pay a Singaporean blue collar worker as much as a fresh grad here in Singapore. Do we aspire to be a 1st world country or 3rd?

> No one to tour the island.
> No one to study in the universities.
> No one to shop in the malls.

I don’t think Singaporeans are against tourists and foreign students. For students, just make sure they don’t secretly work here. Also, give more priorities to Singaporeans to study in our own universities. As it is, I feel that 20% quota (not counting PRs) for foreign students in our public universities is too high. Typical value is about 10% for public univsersities in the US. In the west, they take care of their own citizens first. The PAP Govt seems to be doing the reverse.

> No one to pay taxes.

The bulk of FTs who are work permit holders hardly pay any taxes. In fact, they remit most of the money out of Singapore.

> Think about it!

Yes, you should think about it too….

No one to build the houses.
No one to work in the manufacturing, service and construction sectors.
No one to tour the island.
No one to study in the universities.
No one to shop in the malls.
No one to pay taxes.

Think about it!

If they dont want to convert to citizenship, then we are no more than just providing ‘Hotel Singapura’.

Waste of time.

I am not the only Singaporean in my place, but we ARE becoming an endangered species soon to extinct

What can we expect? Foreigners have been flooding in masses over the past decade.

oh, let me guess, IT right?
kekekekeke.
SAD.

#283) mice is nice. ; i wont do a such thing. They should come and suffers along. Misery should be shared. :-)

maybe you should sound the bell of caution to your former countrymen, where you were from…

you sound like u have converted from PR to citizenship. oh, goodness!

lots of my malaysian friends staying in singapore for more than 20 years and remained as PR, they knew too well about this governement. next PRC is doing the same. smart move!

so Kezu, you move was a genuine mistake. can’t be help. face it like us and but at least you have a A-Card which is your right to Vote. so use it wisely, man. good luck!

The government are trying so hard to import these FT, (let just say they are as good as the government hope for).
But what would entice them to stay on and convert to citizenship?

There has to be significant difference between Singaporean and PR, to further entice them. If not they are just like Temp Staff in a company. (Come today gone tomorrow)

Sigh, should have retained the PR, instead of converting. Sigh