By Maxie Aw Yeong and Cerelia Lim
In recent months, to be a foreigner in Singapore is to subject oneself to scrutiny.
Impassioned debate over the country’s immigration policies, stirred by a strong influx of foreign workers in recent years, has dominated media coverage and occupied policy makers.
Such public resentment is partly underpinned by an assumption that foreigners come to Singapore merely to compete with Singaporeans for jobs and places in schools.
But beneath the public hubbub, there are many foreigners who, like their Singaporean counterparts, contribute to the society they live in through volunteer work.
Anne Bergen-Aurand (left), an American who currently stays in Singapore, also enjoys the satisfaction of contributing to causes which she feels strongly about.
The 36-year-old, whose husband is a professor at the Nanyang Technological University, has worked with Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (HOME), and Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2), volunteer groups that aid foreign workers in need.
When Bergen-Aurand first came to Singapore due to her husband’s work commitment, she met foreign workers who are abused and mistreated.
She said: “There must be some organisation that works with these problems. Thus, I found HOME and TWC2, which work closely together.”
“I was drawn to volunteering with HOME and TWC2 after learning the difficulties and injustice that some domestic workers face here,” said the 36-year-old, who previously worked at TWC2 as a fulltime staff member.
Of the many cases that she has worked on, Bergen-Aurand remembers a case in which a young Bangladeshi worker became unemployed only after a few months of work.
The money he earned was not enough to pay for the debt that he had incurred in borrowing to come to Singapore.
What the workers don’t realise, said Bergen-Aurand, is that the workers’ contracts can be terminated anytime and they can be repatriated immediately after the termination.
“We want to try to get MOM (Ministry of Manpower) to take a stand on this.”
Although no longer employed by the organisation, she continues to spend an average of eight to ten hours of her free time every week volunteering with TWC2.
For fellow expatriate Luke Diaz (right), it was a spirit of reciprocation that led him to volunteerism.
He currently devotes time to working with Team Hope, an organisation that aims to provide, through football, those in need with the strength and discipline to stand on their feet again.
“I enjoy living in this country and feel that I should give something back,” said the 31-year-old, who works full-time as general manager at the Football Passion soccer academy.
Some foreign students too are actively involved in volunteer work. Nitish Ramkumar, an undergraduate at the Nanyang Technological University who had been involved in charity work back in Chennai, India, continues volunteering in Singapore at the NTU Welfare Services Club.
There is almost no difference in volunteering here and in India, he explained, adding that he feels the same sense of satisfaction when participating in volunteer work here.
“Other than not having the liberty of speaking in my mother tongue, volunteering here is still the same as back in my hometown,” the 19-year-old said.
“It is just the happiness that comes with helping people; it’s not like we’re paid,” he said.
With the sense of belonging that foreigners feel, they will be willing to contribute to Singapore’s society, should there be good opportunities to do so.
Bergen-Aurand echoed this sentiment: “This is where I live – this is my community now.”
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Picture of Luke from Football Passion
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I am sure there are expats in Singapore who do contribute to volunteerism, but i think the main gripe which most Singaporeans have is – there is a minority (i want to hope its a minority) coming into our workforce and not pulling their weight at the workplace. Many a time, many Singaporeans have been witness to their foreign counterparts coming into the office @ 10am leaving at 5.30pm/ 6pm. They get paid more than us, they get greater benefits & for many who come from countries “more developed and liberalised” than Singapore they fail to understand our culture and come in with a “holier than thou” attitude. If we moved to their countries we would have to understand their culture and refrain from mocking their beliefs whilst working hard.
No body says foreigners do not contribute but it is the gov that owns 60% of the economy and is doing all the foreigner hiring. While private companies have limits on the number of foreigners, but gov link companies do not. Can u explain why ST have more than 70% foreigners with almost 100% workers in the production line, all from China?
I think this article oversimplifies the foreigner issue in Singapore. While maybe not politically correct, it is important to recognise that there are different categories of foreigners who cause different levels of resentment for different reasons.
1) The foreign labourers - This is the class that does the work that Singaporeans are unwilling to do, such as construction or garbage cleaning. They are obviously not resented for job competition but mostly because of their less-civilised habits. As such, I think they invoke a mild “eew bangalas and tiongs” sort of xenophobia and discomfort, but no real resentment as Singaporeans recognise that they are necessary.
2) The foreign talents – This is the class that does the jobs that Singaporeans are unable to do, due to lack of experience and/or expertise. They are generally high flying and are the smallest group of foreigners. Furthermore, they are not social nuisances. As such, this group is probably welcomed.
3) Foreign workers – This class are the ones who compete directly with Singaporeans for PMET jobs that we are able and willing to do. Worst of all, they often compete on solely wages alone, instead of productivity or skills as the PAP will have you believe. Singaporeans find it impossible to compete on that basis as they can ask for a third world wage while we cannot survive without a first world wage. This is the group directly responsible for the “stealing our jobs” and “depressing our wages” cries and a lot of resentment.
4) Foreign students – This is the group that probably causes the highest level of resentments. They compete with local students for scholarships, placings, positions (1st in PSLE was a PRC), and even educational resources (PRC students hogging university facilities). Needless to say, any anger in the students will also be in their parents. Who wants to see his child disadvantaged like that?
The worst part is that it’s not even clear what the foreign students’ contribution is! To their victims, all they do is come in, hog the dean list, depress our grades, then disappear. It becomes worse if their future contribution is not to become foreign talents, but to become foreign workers who then steal jobs from the same students they stole scholarships and places from.
The foreign talent scheme was based on a dumb premise and dumb goal: Gene pool of sinkees is not good, therefore no talent. To compete with talent worldwide, we bent over backwards to get some of them here, and hope they switch allegiance to sinkapoor. You see all the flaws??
Good article, and I believe good TOC intention as well. What Shit Times and others do, TOC can match. Great once again.
Here’s an idea. Why don’t we open up the MP’s jobs to foreign talent since it’s often argued that it is necessary to get the best people for the job and since there’s not enough talent in Singapore we have to look elsewhere. That would be a real vote clincher…..
I am particularly upset over the assessment standards that foreign students enjoy.
Their verbal command of English is poor. Their written English is doubtful.
Yet, many seem to pass and are deemed competent in the subjects.
Our local students are being assessed by different standards. Their entry requirements are stringently vetted before being accepted into higher institutions of learning.
It is a situation that is ridiculous.
Excuse me, I opine that apples should compare with apples and not oranges hence, occidental people who form mainly groups of expatriates residing in enviable residences shall be compared with those foreign talents (armed with university education and originated from oriental countries) and not lowly paid Asian-workers whom take up huge debts from their native countries to strike it out here at their own stride.
As most of us acknowledge that the up-bringing and social environments of different congregations produce variant results of humanity and integrity. It is very common for civilized countries especially those in the west to perform social responsibility besides than their personal endeavors to achieve the objective of work-life balance. Whereas, in mercenary country and city liken to Singapore and Hong Kong respectively, unless you are a nerd if not, you will never expect to have the residents to embrace social responsibilities as one of their top priorities in life. Just to quote a recent survey in Hong Kong reveals that Hong Kong people regard “MAKING MORE MONEY AS ONE OF THE KEY INDICATORS IN ASSESSING THEIR HAPPINESS INDEX IN LIFE”!
With this kind/type of mercenary mentality and culture, you don’t expect much social responsibilities being delivered from the most successful to the lowest underdogs, do you?
In order to achieve the objective of having earned ones wealth in reverse contributions back to the society, we need a total reinvention of the cultures and traditions, mind you, are we prepared for the revolution?
By the way, the particular American mentioned in the article is helping those transient workers whom are actually foreigners and not local born and bred “underdogs” of Singapore hence, what she has done does not benefit the “ordinary local hosts” whom give them the opportunities to work and reside in this safe, secure, clean and efficient country. In short, she has nothing to boast of her achievements on those foreigners in SINGAPORE!
In order to benefit born and bred Singaporeans directly, she should take up charity works that directly affect the daily life of Singapore’s main-street-men and cease her hypocrisies! Please, do not accuse me of being narrow minded!
How many ‘Bergen-Aurand’ are there amongst the hundreds of thousands of foreigners in Singapore?
Good Afternoon,
I see things in prosaic terms. Once you pay taxes. You have every right to stand up for what you believe to be true.
Doesn’t matter whether you are in Timbuktu, New York or even Tokyo -I studied in the UK, when my University decided to cut back on tuition hours in my faculty. I joined my fellow students to protest.
I had a right to do so as since I was a foreign student, I paid my tuition fees and was in every sense a tax payer (in other words I am a customer and the university is the service provider), so that gave me the right and no one, not my fellow students, lecturers or even the milk man said that I was out of line or didn’t have a right to do what I did.
The problem with the government is they want people who are creative and innovative, but they also dont like it when these same people complain about their right to this and that. In other words, they want to be able to cut and cake and eat it at the sametime. That’s childish, its also bad for business.
Its like the act of reading, its purely self selecting, who choose to get involved or switch right off – its up to you – but one thing holds true, providing you have a keyboard and a mouse, you have every right to read whatever you want to read providing it does not inspire you towards hatred, racism or fanaticism. If you dont have that choice, then dont be surprised one day if everyone reads the same thing – the problem is they will also think the same way – and probably do the same thing – then how are you going to compete with the world?
Like what’s written here: http://dotseng.wordpress.com/2010/02/25/will-the-kindle-fire-up-or-get-blown-away/
Do have a great day
SD
Great article! With constant foreigners bashing bordering on racism it is about time that someone with common sense and writing talent shows the other side of the story. I am looking forward to more and it certainly makes me think more highly of TOC.
Good afternoon SD.
I think your view is overly simplistic and I would have to disagree with you this time round. The article is about foreigners giving back to the Singapore society. I take this to mean positive returns. I do not humbly think that protest against an educational institution because of tuition cutback can be seen as a positive contribution.
Protesters are more often than not seen as trouble-makers out to make mischief ot make life difficult for those they are protesting against. In this case, you did not share with us why the cutback was imposed and whether there were any alternative provisions to buffer the cutback. For all we know, the cutback could have been an effort to replace it with a more targeted tuition program to increase value rather than a program that equals an ineffective waste of time.
Having said that, I just cannot fathom how one can write an article about an Aurand and an Ahneh and try to pass it off as justification that foreigners are by and large contributing and giving back to Singapore’s society.
This is not the time to be politically correct, IMHO.
The second part of your comments are true though and that’s why I do not have any faith in the Singapore government allowing foreigners to contribute as they like without any sort of regimental control.
The mess will be too difficult to clean up should the foreigners take their cake and eat it.
Frankly, I would rather have an article that properly categorizes the foreigners (like Alpha Tango’s post) than just one which presents only one perspective. It’s just doesn’t serve much purpose…
Good afternoon Gemami @ 14:45
“I think your view is overly simplistic and I would have to disagree with you this time round. The article is about foreigners giving back to the Singapore society.”
Au contraire – the key word here is giving back - the question you need to ask yourself before you choose to disagree with me with me is who decides what is good and bad in the context of giving back Gemami?
Keep this at the back of your mind Gemami, as it is gold – the idea of giving can come in many forms - my point is when you pack so many people from all over the world into one tiny place like Singapore – you cannot shut them up, not if the goal is to build an innovative and creative culture – tell me why is TOC such a vibrant domain? Everyone who is a regular of TOC knows I have disagreed with the admin of TOC many times; we dont see eye to eye all the time – but how come I am still around? The same cannot be said about a certain site that will have no compunction to publish your IP in the hope of naming and shaming you – so you decide which is the better of the two? One can manage conflict the other reaches for the chicken button.
You see Gemami, the difference between me and you is I do not believe conflict, disagreement or even different POV’s are things that should shy from or even fear, they can harnessed to good effect - did you know the Europeans argued over everything from where is magnetic North to whether the world is round or flat to even table salt - they even went to war over spices - as a result of all this endless melee; they were infact going through the most vibrant period known as the Rennaisance - is it a wonder in this chaos; they managed to produced luminaries like Leonardo da Vinci, Michaelangelo, Galileo, Corpernicus, Montesquie, Newton and so on and so forth.
The only people in Europe who didn’t see any value in conflict were the Swiss – infact, they were adverse to anything resembling conflict – they remained neutral i.e they had no opinion to call their own – and they were so good at shutting people who spoke up; they were the first to perfect the art of secret policing and they were so good at silencing dissidents - the Swiss guards were even widely exported as a commodity during the 18th century - now you know why if you go to the Vatican - it’s policed not by the Carabinieri but the Swiss guards – and guess what was their greatest invention – the cuckoo clock.
The solution is not shy away from conflict or disagreements; but rather in managing this chaos to good effect. If a nation can do that, it will win; if it cannot, then expect only cuckoo clocks. Even in the virtual we dont even dare to shut foreigners up (providing they pay our taxes), what more of the real world?
SD (Internet officer of the brotherhood -sponsored by the Interspacing Mercantile Guild)
So you, too, must show love to foreigners, for you yourselves were once foreigners . . . . – so be kind to the man from a strange country who is living among you, for you yourselves were living in a strange country . . . Deuteronomy 10:19
“When a foreigner lives with you in your land, don’t take advantage of him. Treat the foreigner the same as a native. Love him like one of your own. Remember that you were once foreigners in Egypt. I am God, your God.
Leviticus 19:34 (The Message)
Perhaps everyone is familiar with the story of the Arab and the camel ??
One cold night, as an Arab sat in his tent, a camel gently thrust his nose under the flap and looked in. “Master,” he said, “let me put my nose in your tent. It’s cold and stormy out here.” “Why not? By all means,” said the Arab, “and welcome” as he turned over and went to sleep. A little later the Arab awoke to find that the camel had not only put his nose in the tent but his head and neck also. The camel, who had been turning his head from side to side, said, “I will take but little more room if I place my forelegs within the tent. It is difficult standing out here.” “Why not? Yes, you may put your forelegs within,” said the Arab, moving a little to make room, for the tent was small. Finally, the camel said, “May I not stand wholly inside? I keep the tent open by standing as I do.” “Yes, yes,” said the Arab. “Come wholly inside. Perhaps it will be better for both of us.” So the camel crowded in. The Arab with difficulty in the crowded quarters again went to sleep. When he woke up the next time, he was outside in the cold and the camel had the tent to himself.
We are not saying we do not love foreigners.. we just do not want to end up like the poor Arab !
Thank you TOC for this article – “Foreigners Give Back To Singapore Society.”
These named and many more unnamed individuals who give and are giving back to Singapore’s society do so from the heart – in words, in actions, in deeds, in attitude, in behavior and in lifestyle.
FOREIGNERS ARE AN INTEGRAL PART OF SINGAPORE (: . . . . My own wife was a foreigner and many people close to me are foreigners but they are now part of my family, my life and my Singapore. Have they contributed to Singapore? A definite YES!
So you and your wife chose Singapore because you think you could contribute to Singapore ? H0w unbelieveably altruistic !
Have you considered going to Haiti to contribute ? .
Well SD, I cannot bring myself to argue with such an eloquent reply with history lessons thrown in as well.
I do not know whether to laugh or to cry taking into context the composition of the new Singapore and what our future is going to be like. Many have already expressed fear, fearing the foreign invasion that is showing no sign of abating.
There is no denying that there are foreigners who are contributing with their hearts and souls and working alongside Singaporeans to win our trust and our acceptance. Unfortunately, these are way too few and far in between.
To cite one or two examples and then declare as if masses of foreigners are contributing like truck loads is but a vain attempt to paint a dull picture with new brushes.
I agree with lobo76 that we have to properly categorise these foreigners like Alpha Tango has done above before we see their overall value and their contributions to the Singapore society.
Yes, I get your point Joe. Camels are not so different from Turkish cigarettes; they are definitely an acquired taste, but I have heard that one can love them to the extent of even finding joy in sharing a tent with a camel. You will be surprised Joe how some people love animals, but of course, like cigarettes that come from Cairo, Camels are definitely an acquired taste.
SD
SD
LOL….. Perhaps some clear markers to the camels that they should not cross the line…
Hi Joe, I am a ‘thorough-bred” Singaporean – if such a term exist – and have served National Service and have done and is doing community, social and neighbourhood work even to this day.
Atrusim comes from being “OTHERS CENTRED” - the quality of unselfish concern for the welfare of others – a lifestyle philosophy I learnt from a university Chinese Christian student who invested into my life when was in Secondary School and who has made me who I am today. Altruism transcends all boundary spaces of religion, race or culture showing brotherly kindness to a fellow human being.
Hi TOC, and to Maxie Aw Yeong, Cerelia Lim
Interesting piece you wrote but I stopped reading after the first few paragraphs.
If this article was meant to showcase how some foreigners are trying to assimilate and contribute to Singapore, then fine. I accept that.
Its a common thing to see many expat mums help out in schools, civic societies, libraries, volunteer organisations, sports coaching etc etc, in any country.
But linking volunteer work by FT/expat’s wife somehow doesnt correlate with the main reasons why many are unhappy with immigrants.
Now would make a really good story? i’d like to see expats who are lobbying for the homeless, helping struggling single parents, helping the unemployed, challenging our govt’s erring policies on some of these matters.
Show me one of these folks and i’ll show you an MP who takes public transport.
“You will be surprised Joe how some people love animals, but of course, like cigarettes that come from Cairo, Camels are definitely an acquired taste.”
Likely they do not even care whether you like camels or whatnot in the first place. They can always rationalize by selling the goodness of camel milk. Just flood you with camels or whatnot so that you will be overwhelmed, and presto you will resign yourself to love it (what a way to acquire taste).
Can anyone disagree that camel milk is bad ?
A strong enough hook and line with occasional release of the latter will still get you the big fish. The fisherman knows it but the fish just hope for a usual hopeless lucky break. In human parlance, these roles can be interchangeably switched. Just that those people in the role of a fish are trained to see only camel milk not forgetting the big fat hook is still in their mouth.
With the eloquence of thought and words so far, I really hesitate to add. But just to point out a “few” foreigners giving back to Singapore (and maybe they do give more than most Singaporeans), compared with the 1.78m foreigners here seems just like a vain attempt to make them look good. Or an apology for the failed policies affecting Singaporeans. What about the 100,000′s Singaporeans males having done NS/Reservist? Why don’t someone blow trumpets for them?
There are cases of Germans helping the Jews during WW2, and we are not saying ALL Germans were Nazis then, but does that really help the poor millions deaths in the concentration camps? You want millions to die before we realise conflict cannot be resolved by our society? Is that how 36% of population here are foreigners before any (vain?) attempt to redress the issue?
Such articles may seems to give a balanced view on the foreigner issue, but it could also be playing to our hearts. Nothing wrong to be compassionate, blah, blah… IF THE PLAYING FIELD IS LEVEL. I am always intrigue about the story told by a Allied POW under the Japanese during WW2. Those POWs were building the the Death Railway through Thailand-Burma and were dying like flies daily. The Japanese were real b******* to them. Yet one survivor recalled one day a Japanese guard, usually brutal, suddenly gave a can of peaches to one of the POWs for no apparent reason. Does that mean the Japanese guards in Thailand and Burma were humane after all? Go figure … what happened to the can of peaches and whether the POWs still considered the guards as b*******.
Again, nothing personal against the FTs/FWs. But having so many of them at our doorstep and then told to live with it …….. just doesn’t add up to a 6-figure pay for our ministers.
I used to volunteer during secondary and university days. In fact I learnt so much more from volunteering than from school. It gave me a good balance away from schoolwork.
These days, I work weekdays and also bring back work to do on weekends. There is little time and energy to volunteer. Hence I envy those who are able to volunteer and contribute back to society…
I used to volunteer during secondary and university days. In fact I learnt so much more from volunteering than from school. It gave me a good balance away from schoolwork.These days, I work weekdays and also bring back work to do on weekends. There is little time and energy to volunteer. Hence I envy those who are able to volunteer and contribute back to society…
Joe @ 16:33 LOL that really cracked me up :); well the way I see it; it depends on whether they have one or two humps or maybe more is merrier - as far as humping goes, I think the desert is a very romantic place; it cool at night and the stars are really like a sparkling diamonds strewn on black velvet -makes me wonder Joe how the hell did that Arab end up outside the tent?
Thanks for the conversation Joe, I enjoyed it immensely as always; do convey my warmest regards to family & co.
SD
JOBS FOR FOREIGNERS, NS FOR SINGAPOREANS
JOBS FOR FOREIGNERS, NS FOR SINGAPOREANS
JOBS FOR FOREIGNERS, NS FOR SINGAPOREANS
JOBS FOR FOREIGNERS, NS FOR SINGAPOREANS
JOBS FOR FOREIGNERS, NS FOR SINGAPOREANS
JOBS FOR FOREIGNERS, NS FOR SINGAPOREANS
JOBS FOR FOREIGNERS, NS FOR SINGAPOREANS
JOBS FOR FOREIGNERS, NS FOR SINGAPOREANS
JOBS FOR FOREIGNERS, NS FOR SINGAPOREANS
JOBS FOR FOREIGNERS, NS FOR SINGAPOREANS
@theforgottongeneration: While it is inappropriate to derive conclusions about the whole of a population by prematurely assuming that the observations are representative of the whole population, your reference to the Japanese guards in Burma or Thailand is likewise lacking as part of the same reasoning.
In contrast, I can offer you an alternative explanation for the can of peaches offered by the Japanese guard, which is simply that there is a possibility that some soldiers do possess compassion and is by nature, not brutal and cruel. However, due to the strict military discipline, mandatory top-down orders and due to the nature of war, these Japanese soldiers have simply ceased to be moved by compassion and sympathy. This is the desensitization effect of war.
Furthermore, you seem to have a pre-determined bias against foreigners in Singapore, and despite saying ‘nothing personal against the FTs/FWs’, I remain convinced by the dozen adjectives you use and case studies you raise to illustrate the impact of foreigners in our society.
Also, what would be your justification in saying ‘ You want millions to die before we realise conflict cannot be resolved by our society’?
In fact, I think that Jiekai has done a good job in highlighting some of the often missed out aspects in the Singapore society. It is simply unusual to hear of foreigners willing to contribute to the community despite them being ‘foreigners’ and despite the intense hated directed by Singaporeans towards them. It is also welcoming to hear of foreigners outside the extent of ‘snatching husbands’, ‘competing for scholarships’ and ‘replacing jobs’, listing inexhaustive.
This article illustrates that there are always two sides to a coin.
Eugenics, Eugenics, Eugenics…. Get the best and brightest foreigners to come here, preferably single men. If not the Brightest then the relatively good ones. They fall in love with many but marry one. Spawn highly intelligent pan-asian kids (that’s MM’s theory), educate them overseas and when they come back they will make up a new breed of Singaporeans.
Now, we worry about the foreign invasion. 20 years from now, the second generation will be Singaporeans… and then what?
p.
The head title is kind of misleading. Should it be Foreigners give back to Singapore’s foreigners society.
“…Atrusim comes from being “OTHERS CENTRED” - the quality of unselfish concern for the welfare of others…”: Pastor Pritam
In order to be ‘others centred’, one has to be able to fend for oneself first, don’t you think? If the pace of life in the society is such that it becomes a situation where the only the fittest survives, and where there is this unavoidable need to grow into a big fish as quickly as possible, so as not to be swallowed up by a bigger fish, then it cannot be helped, I am afraid, that such a pace will bring forth behaviours that focus on achieveing this end. How then to be ‘others centered’?
If there is any geoup which has the means to be people-centered, it is none other than the government. It has to show that it is citizen-centered first before it can hope for its citizens to be people-centered. In other word, it has to ensure that its own citizens are properly looked after first before it can hope for them to look after the foreigner it brings in.
What can be more simple than this?
Hi theforgottongeneration,
Excellent points you have there! and yes, the government need to level the playing field.
These foreigners should go back to their own country and do more for their own country men and women. Go home and fix the roads, fix the schools, fix the hospitals, build more homes, repair the sewage system, clean up the streets, stop the corruption, reduce crime, etc, etc.
They should also stop exploiting their own people by enticing them to work in Singapore for a S$10,000 – S$15,000 debt.
If they can do that, Singaporean would be eternally grateful to them.
@Pastor Pritam & gemami
Forgive my coarse manner and wordings – I will not be as elegant as gemami in putting points across. Altrusim is a virtue; do we see that with our self-paying million$-bucks ministers? Yes/Maybe? Sure, pay me $million salary and you will see how many babies I kiss everyday. Also, every 4-5 years, you will see how “altrusic” I can be — like the kindness of heart to upgrade opposition wards.
gemami is entirely correct to say our CULTURE is such that if you can’t look after yourself, then no-one is looking out for you–in short, Singapore is deliberately by design not a welfare state. It is sad, our hearts are hardened by the pace of life. There are 2 sides to altrusim — one side says “I will gladly die on the cross for you”; the other side says “Yes, pls go ahead, sorry I’m too busy counting my million$ salary.” So pastor Pritam, care to share what you did in NS/reservist? You ever been on 2 NTM or 4 NTM while fat cats say: “Go ahead, defend Singapore & the precious foreigners while I take over your jobs, covet your land, property, etc..”?
I am not looking for altrusim from the foreigners, just the assurance that if I’m in some jungle fighting for Singapore, then when a bullet flies, it has an equal chance of hitting either me or the bugger next to me, who should be a foreigner …. or a minister. For all I care, this article coud have been ‘Foreigners give back to Singapore by kissing babies’ — anyone seeing that in your workplace or surrounding already?
Hi theforgottengeneration,
Thanks for the compliment but I must say that the nick you have chosen is most elegant and definitely most apt in the context of Singapore’s society as a whole, under the governance of the PAP. We are becoming a forgotten generation. We will be a completely forgotten generation by the fourth or fifth generation for sure.
I do not blame pastor Pritam as he has a reputation to protect especially now that we know he has a foreigner for a life partner. No offence, but surely to expect him to speak up against the foreign influx policies is like asking him to be Mahatma Ghandi – something which he can never be even if he wanted to; or to give his partner a tight slap, to be more blunt.
Now about your two-sided notion of altruism. The first side is already dead, what with the constant bashing of religion and religious representatives. Who would dare die on the cross for another knowing that such charitable deed would gain you nothing but suspicions of one attempting to conquer the world through religion. It cannot work in a cultural evolution like Singapore.
The second side is more like it. I remember years ago how we were described as robots, dead entities with no need to use the brains coz everything is laid out nicely by our PAP parents. No one gave a hoot what was going to happen in the future. Well, we are the future that was ignored in those days. We are the products of such robotic configurations.
Now then who do we blame?
So, pastor Pritam, do share with us how we can ever hope to overcome this, remembering that wishing hope on a prayer does not apply?
@theforgottengeneration
Well said, reckon you and gemani sum up the the moods and feeling of singaporean
Thank you Gemami and TheForgottonGeneration for your kind comments.
Altrusim comes from being “OTHERS CENTRED” - the quality of unselfish concern for the welfare of others.
Just some random thoughts –
*”So Pastor Pritam, care to share what you did in NS/reservist?” – I was a 84mm Recoilers Rifle Section Commander – served my full time of reservist digging trenches, building kilometre long stretches of triple concertina defense – on land and at sea!, training exercises etc . . . .
*“So, Pastor Pritam, do share with us how we can ever hope to overcome this” – A powerful life-lesson I learnt and taught as a Chemistry and Biology teacher is that we can be catalyst for change – making a difference and leaving an impact – it may be a small ripple but the influence last a last time.
I have been conscious as a full blooded Singaporean that we have options and choices and no matter how busy, stressed or even how financially down we - we can always be a blessing to others in words, actions and deeds.
My parents modeled kindness to other people and to animals – we were not rich – hardly we were far from it! – but my parents had a big and genuine heart. There are some Singaporeans and foreigners with this same attitude and lifestyle of service, significance, servant leadership and sacrifice.
Servant Leadership
“Leaders we admire do not place themselves at the center; they place others there. They do not seek the attention of people; they give it to others. They do not focus on satisfying their own aims and desires; they look for ways to respond to the needs and interests of their constituents. They are not self-centered; they concentrate on the constituent. . . Leaders serve a purpose and the people who have made it possible for them to lead . . . . In serving a purpose, leaders strengthen credibility by demonstrating that they are not in it for themselves; instead, they have the interests of the institution, department, or team and its constituents at heart. Being a servant may not be what many leaders had in mind when they choose to take responsibility for the vision and direction of their organization or team, but serving others is the most glorious and rewarding of all leadership tasks.”
~ by James Kouzes and Barry Posner in Credibility: How Leaders Gain and Lose It, Why People Demand It.
Hi Pastor Pritam,
I have to hand it to you. You are the sort of citizen that every country aspires to have. Can you imagine four, five or even six million Singaporeans like you – all thinking and embracing life like your good self?
Wow! I will surely go buy all the white clothes I can find and join the White Brigade.
You see, I have asked that you place your religious inclination in your pockets for a moment to consider the comments and writings published here, because when one uses his religious disposition to find logic and reason for things around him, the conclusion will always be one of resignation – in whatever name one may call it – be it the virtue of giving, of acceptance or of being.
No, my holy freind, when you do this, you are giving the ones who govern, the reason to run away with itself and to continue to lord it over you, and without your realising it, you will become a servant of whatever it introduces. Who then are you serving?
Don’t get me wrong. I agree that we ought to have such qualities within ourselves and it is a wonderful gesture to be accommodating. What I am questioning is why is this government not as accomodating to its own people as much as they want the people to accommodate the foreigners?
By its own doing, Singaporeans have forgotten how to play the good host and in order for us to play the good host the government must first show us how to do so, beginning with itself.
Let us not make this so complicated when it is so simple. Really.
I have been a silent reader of this topic for the past few days.
Except for gemami and the forgottengeneration; people like Pastor Pritam have missed the point.
First of all, we have to look at things realistically and with pragmatism.
The gist of the opine piece by Maxie Aw Yeong and Cerelia Lim is about Foreigners contributing back to Singapore Society.
However, I feel they have used the wrong example. Using a foreigner who is helping another foreigner. Though this is commendable as Mrs Bergen-Aurand (who happens to be a wife of an expat, and have the free time) is helping others in distress, there are no other examples of foreigners helping Singaporeans in distress.
Majority are here due to purely economic reasons, and that is to make as much money as possible before returning home; not to set up roots here. The foreigners who do help are a very small percentage negated by the fact that the majority volunteer their time to NGOs that help other foreigners or other social causes that have no impact on Singapore’s society.
These foreigners (the expats) tend to look at Singapore with tinted roses as they don’t generally mingle with us and they live in ivory towers. So, the Singapore underclass tend to be invisible from them. To them the Singapore underclass have access to govt. assistance, unlike other distressed foreigners. This is probably due to their culture where they are from, where the welfare system is a given. Thats is probably why majority do not actually join NGOs to help the distressed Singaporean underclass.
So have they really contributed to Singapore society as a whole? No.
@Do Re Mi
Somehow missed this counter-comments. I do welcome alternate views, including those questioning my opinions, but I guess some would be suspicious of me even if I swear on a pile of bibles. Not my problem.
The “case studies” I quote simply present some ideals for interpretation by each reader. Some have no inclination for military affairs and can therefore be quite lost in what the message is; others can push pens in NS and talk big about their 2.5 years; some never served NS & yet can talk big. Again not my problem — I’m not the govt; neither, hopefully are sites like TOC. I agree that there is always 2 sides of the coin — as example (sorry, another wartime case) the Nanking massacre — the Japanese apologist’s side or the victims’ side. I believe the number of victims ranges from zero to 300,000 between these two extremes — both side of course swearing that their “…observation is representative of the whole population.” So, how do you choose who to believe? For someone who can make statement like:
” …..due to the strict military discipline, mandatory top-down orders and due to the nature of war, these Japanese soldiers have simply ceased to be moved by compassion and sympathy…. ”
your discernment isn’t very good, is it? Does it sounds like: “… we screwed on Stop-at-2, and so the low birth rate for past 20-40 years is to be blamed on the Singaporeans and the god-save are the foreigners.”?
BTW, who is Jeikai in this thread?
The west likes to pretend that they are a civil butch of do gooders ..while they can’t even solve the issue of racism back home.
More come to Asia for the easy life and easy going gals rather than to contribute.
Singapore to them is just another safer and cleaner playground compared to bangkok
@Pastor Pritam Singh Sandhu, Feb 26, 2010 12:30
Thks for sharing your NS role and experience. I can relate to the 84RR (useless above 600m?), having one gun organic to my unit then. But that wasn’t something we would happily bring along…. more like a last-ditch (aka suicidal) measure.
If you have found solace in religion, be blessed. My advice – keep out of blogs; they open up cans of worms. Strictly no offense meant to you, and peace!
In summary, PAP screwed the people (it’s both side by the way, local and foreigners) with the influx of foreigners and the only way to correct this is to use your vote wisely during the election.
A powerful life-lesson I learnt and taught as a Chemistry and Biology teacher is that we can be catalyst for change – making a difference and leaving an impact – it may be a small ripple but the influence last a last time.
and your compatriot was sayin it was the….you wait hor…i find the original lines…
aha here is it…
Oh Tham Eng
Feb 26, 2010 16:59
Let us not be a nation of ingrates. We need to be fair to him and his great accomplishments for Singapore, though his reputation has recently taken a terrible beating by the market forces.
We must continue pray for PM Lee and his team
so which is which? combustion or prayin?
neither of the above worked..yet we pay for more than $300,000 for their monthLEE services…
IMPACT it is indeed………
even yoda can says the same thinggie while floatin on air with a tiny stick…or was it hairy porter?
@gemami, Feb 26, 2010 11:23
“….We will be a completely forgotten generation by the fourth or fifth generation for sure…”
No need that long, lah. Per in one of my accused “case studies” in another article, the Japanese showed that all it takes is ONE generation of stone-walling their past atrocities until their victims eventually die away, and then it is like nothing happened leh. Washed hands. I guess when one collaborated with the Japs during WW2, one do learn certain “useful” things from them.
Can’t Singaporeans see that they are similarly just gonna ignore the Stop-at-2 generation, start afresh with a younger generation (YOG, YPAP, win this medal, win that medal, get into Guiness book of records, F1 this, F9 that, blah, blah….) that is heavily buffered with foreigners who have no unpleasant experiences/ill effects from the Stop-at-2 policy. Just have to wait for our generation to die away or retire to JB, then heah-heah …. a new tomorrow. Hands washed.
I guessed people like me are saying why can’t we follow Germany’s model if we are really sincere about starting afresh, of facing up to our past? But noooo, we are not Western, our Asian face very important lah. Follow the Japs better. Only adjustment is the Singapore version of stone-walling is ACT F****** BLUR. Also, the Jap model doesn’t demonized people like Hitler; it enshrined them.
Not to monopolized this thread… always nice to read your postings & shared views.
its the MIW & friends are the 1s who take more than they give…
We can see that this article attracted a lot of comments, with the usual “I have done NS and the world owns me a living” rants more common to xenophobic blog TR. To incredulous: “So have they really contributed to Singapore society as a whole?”. The answer is yes. Foreigners are an integral part of Singapore’s society, whether you like it or not. From the workers who built your roads and HDBs to the maid who cleans your house and takes care of your kids to the foreign companies that gives you a job to the foreign customer that buys what you produce. They are all part of Singapore’s success.