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huh….how about our own locals struggling too….crazy!
We rather help outsiders instead of fellow singaporeans…unless the people in charge are outsiders and foreigners in the first place themselves and are driving all this crazy policy making directions askew for their own self benefits and cronies!!
Vote these clowns out for your kids and future unborn children of singapore!!!
I as a Singaporean struggle everyday. How come no one from the Government are interested in hearing? Whereas these foreigners the government bother to listen. I want to KICK THE MTF PAP OUT this coming election.
Agree that life in Singapore can be very difficult, Singaporean also feel it too.
My advice for you is to go back to your own country, if it is not too late.
I congratulate TOC for putting this up. It is a small effort towards building mutual understanding between locals and foreigners. May there be more of such things in the future.
These “scholars” are taking our tax payers money that should be meant for our local students and yet they still kpkb. Do they have any sense of shame?
What I foresee is that the longer PAP keep up with this foreigners crap and importing them like some daily necessity, the more Singaporeans will become xenophobic and hate foreigners.
The purpose is to get Singaporeans to understand these foreign talents and accept them. Bringing these people over to Singapore is only winning 50% of the battle; the next difficult task of the government is to get Singaporeans to accept them and recognise the fact that the country cannot survive without these foreign talents. You know the medicine is too bitter for your kids, but you are also aware that it is the only way to cure your kids’ illness – thus, you need to think of a way to make them drink the medicine. That is a big challenge.
@My Views, while you keep saying Singapore cannot survive without these foreign talents is kind of insulting Singaporean. Our politician can survive without foreign minister, our army also can survive and remain strong without foreign army here. So why can’t we survive without these foreign talents? You need to bring out more convincing fact and tell us more who are these foreign talents and what has they contribute to our economics which local can’t do it.
FaceTheFact
Mar 25, 2010 2:17
—————————————————————————————————
Apparently you are not facing the facts. If Singapore could survive without foreign talents, why would the Government went through so much troubles getting so many foreigners into the country? Are the ministers mad? Of course there are good reasons behind their actions!
Talents should be defined broadly, as the Prime Minister had rightly put it. From the lowest level to the highest level, one could see active participation and contribution made by talents imported from around the world.
In the past, Singapore was just a developing country competing in a less competitive international environment. It could rely upon local people to do the jobs. Today, the world economy is highly competitive with those who are better are now getting cheaper, and those who are cheaper are now getting better than Singapore. Both China and India are like two large container-trucks charging neck-to-neck along the highway; Singapore got to find a way to squeeze through the small gap between both trucks.
@My Views, well I guess you are still dreaming. It is effortless to bring in foreigner here and our government is capable to bring them in tons in shortest period. Are minister mad….NO, they are smart in fact. If you compare the cost and time of bring you up by your parent and the government subsidize spend on you against the cost of importing foreigner, which is cheaper and fast? Is no brainer right. The fact is that you know you shouldn’t even exist.
So after bring in the talent, our productivity drop, our cost of living continue to increase, our infrastructure couldn’t cop, our bus/train jam, we hit world recorded in the biggest loss in investment by our GIC/Temasek in shortest period. How could it be if we have these foreign talent around?
You have to ask youself, if China/India have huge pool of talents, why are still they a developing country, why are they going abroad for work? Shouldn’t all the company in Singapore moved to China/India since they have pool of talents instead of spending money to import them to Singapore?
Since you believe the world has changed, are you ready to adopt a son or daughter from China/India equipped with talents and PhD qualification and don’t waste time grooming your own kids? Cheap, better and faster right?
Talent is a lame excuse but cheap is the real reason. We are just bring in tons of cheap labour but not foreign talents.
//My views
//the country cannot survive without these foreign talents.
Yeah right, the people that PAP brought to Singapore are more talented than Singaporeans, that our productivity suffer as result.
who also cheat our old people’s monies and made headlines in the press over vice.
//You know the medicine is too bitter for your kids, but you are also aware that it is the //only way to cure your kids’ illness – thus, you need to think of a way to make them drink
//the medicine.
The real bitter medicine is limiting the powers of the pigs at the initial stage and the total destruction of PAP in the final stage.
Vote in 30 opposition MPs for a start will make the pigs work harder for Singaporeans but Singaporeans need to get over the initial reluctance much like an obeying wife getting over an abusive and lazy husband before the final separation to seek a better man.
It is always better to do this when you are still young.
Then we would have handled a precious future to our kids, the audacity to be different not just trying to seek that opportunity overseas.
//My views
//Both China and India are like two large container-trucks charging neck-to-neck along the
//highway; Singapore got to find a way to squeeze through the small gap between both trucks.
What is the point of squeezing in between 2 trucks (fast moving ones)? It is very dangerous and you ended up being block by them and cannot see clearly ahead, worse, it is very like to be squashed by the two of them.
Now we know why our govt is so lost these days that they forget to do even their basic duties. It is trying to define its existence in terms of other countries.
Sad….
//my views
//Talents should be defined broadly, as the Prime Minister had rightly put it. From the
//lowest //level to the highest level, one could see active participation and contribution
//made by //talents imported from around the world.
And neglecting developing your own talents is the stupidest move:
1. they are your resources that builds your country,
2. they are your voters,
3. it makes your young people want to leave your country,
4. it makes foreign people want to leave your country after seeing that how your own people is treated in your own countries.
Just a short list….
Also, the whole FT policy is a cover up of 2 things:
1. inability of PAP to come up with new viable policies that disappoint our young people,
2. to continue holding on to the populace that it milks, much like a leech that suck blood out of the principal, only that this time, we have a gigantic leech.
//My views
//Apparently you are not facing the facts. If Singapore could survive without foreign //talents,
They are not talent.
//why would the Government went through so much troubles getting so many foreigners //into he country?
They didn’t need to do the work. They just get some <snakes> to do the work. No effort from them and they feed on the levy.
//Are the ministers mad? Of course there are good reasons behind their actions!
Yeah, greed, laziness and overwhelming desire to stay in power to continue milking the system.
You don’t need madness to do what they do.
//My views
//Are the ministers mad?
I won’t say that they are mad although I am sure the Foreigners issue will the last straw that breaks the camel’s back.
They are definitely irresponsible.
Politics has no place in academia. I used to have sm1 and sm2 friends who are really smart and have contributed greatly to the intellectual discourse as well as to the cultural diversity in our class. In retrospect, it was a rewarding and enlightening experience.
I believe that scholarships are given to foreigners in order to ensure that the level of intellectual diversity and quality of discourse remains high, similar to reputable MBA colleges overseas (35-40% international students). Without international scholars and the international visiting faculty, NUS would not have experienced a fruitful exchange of ideas in all fields of study (bar sociology) that it is currently enjoying now.
1 point I would like to make is that in order for fruitful discourse to take place, there must be diversity in culture. this is why academia, if limited to local students who spring from the same mold, will become needlessly and regrettably confined.
Speaking from a local standpoint, it’s apparent that many locals skip lectures as and when they like, failing to understand that it’s their duty to study and not the lecturers’ duty to ensure that they study. as a result, they do not perform during exams and lack of anyone to blame (they will not blame themselves), they cast the proclamation of guilt on foreigners – certainly most convenient since this is more likely to generate sympathizers.
Local students who insist on their right to fool around yet blame foreigners for failing in their studies, please wake up.
//Do Re Mi
yeah right, only locals skipped lecturers, foreigners don’t.
What a joke!
MBA college and international diversity are 2 things. MBA is to promote business and business is cross border. Also, it is a great way to make monies for the school.
Please don’t confuse the 2.
I don’t think there is a lot of intellectual exchange in NUS.
All a show.
Except for the usual barking of My Views, our resident PAP employee, most of the comments on this video are quite clear in their sentiments towards foreign “talents”. And TOC is already one of the most liberal alternative media sites! You should see the comments on the same video on places like EDMW.
Make no mistake, PAP, these sentiments are the views of real Singaporeans. These are the views echoed by my internet-illiterate aunties and uncles. The only Singaporeans left supporting the FT policy is this weird alliance of the liberals and the PAP. PAP, if you feel that you can continue to rely on this demographic, by all means continue the policy. If not, do your damn job as Singaporean leaders and put Singaporeans first.
locals skip lectures way more frequently than foreigners do. my foreign friends skip lectures because they have to attend concurrent events whilst my local friends who skip lectures do so simply because they are lazy to wake up (0830 lectures). I do have as much local friends as I do foreign friends though, so don’t be mistaken.
also, do ask the lecturers and/or professors rgding local students and many of them will say that the majority is under-informed and simply ignorant about the lecture(s) that they are supposed to be attending.
MBA colleges arent just money-spinning machines, and although your opinion may vary, this isnt the main point. the main point is that top schools such as the LSE, as well as UPenn, often have a sizable international population to promote diversity among their local academia. This is despite UPenn being a liberal arts college (in fact most of the ivies are) that traditionally has stiff restrictions on international admissions.
From my personal experience in a recent competition, my foreign friends (Indian scholars) astonished me with a totally different angle to the case-study that we were supposed to tackle. This was really refreshing after endless debates with my Singaporean teammates on the old angle.
Foreigners are also human beings who can laugh, be angry, be sarcastic, be embarrassed, be helpful, feel contempt, love others, cry and feel sad. They are fellow human beings just like you and I. Please do not discriminate against them.
singaporeans and foreigners are not mutually exclusive wrt each other. i enjoyed the company of my foreign friends as much as i do with our local singaporeans and i have also learnt much from both groups alike.
We just have to keep our hearts and minds open, perform our best in studies and stop comparing.
thank TOC for letting us feel the plight of the foreigners and sympathise them more.
after their ‘struggles’, like living in a 1st world environment coming from a 3rd world environment, they stand to enjoy the strong currency exchange.
Reading from scripts??!
Go to any university and interview them on the spot.
Are we supposed to sympathise with these people? No thanks if that was the intention of the video.
the prc doesnt give a shit abt the locals. why even bother interviewing them? wat abt the struggles of SINGAPOREANS????????
huh….how about our own locals struggling too….crazy!
We rather help outsiders instead of fellow singaporeans…unless the people in charge are outsiders and foreigners in the first place themselves and are driving all this crazy policy making directions askew for their own self benefits and cronies!!
Vote these clowns out for your kids and future unborn children of singapore!!!
If it’s so damn hard then go back to your country! Don’t come here steal our scholarships and depress our grades!
TOC should interview Singaporeans especially Malay on their take on PRC and foreigners.
scripted?
I as a Singaporean struggle everyday. How come no one from the Government are interested in hearing? Whereas these foreigners the government bother to listen. I want to KICK THE MTF PAP OUT this coming election.
Some of the comments here belong more to TR… So much hatred and ignorance…
Agree that life in Singapore can be very difficult, Singaporean also feel it too.
My advice for you is to go back to your own country, if it is not too late.
I congratulate TOC for putting this up. It is a small effort towards building mutual understanding between locals and foreigners. May there be more of such things in the future.
These “scholars” are taking our tax payers money that should be meant for our local students and yet they still kpkb. Do they have any sense of shame?
What I foresee is that the longer PAP keep up with this foreigners crap and importing them like some daily necessity, the more Singaporeans will become xenophobic and hate foreigners.
The purpose is to get Singaporeans to understand these foreign talents and accept them. Bringing these people over to Singapore is only winning 50% of the battle; the next difficult task of the government is to get Singaporeans to accept them and recognise the fact that the country cannot survive without these foreign talents. You know the medicine is too bitter for your kids, but you are also aware that it is the only way to cure your kids’ illness – thus, you need to think of a way to make them drink the medicine. That is a big challenge.
@My Views, while you keep saying Singapore cannot survive without these foreign talents is kind of insulting Singaporean. Our politician can survive without foreign minister, our army also can survive and remain strong without foreign army here. So why can’t we survive without these foreign talents? You need to bring out more convincing fact and tell us more who are these foreign talents and what has they contribute to our economics which local can’t do it.
FaceTheFact
Mar 25, 2010 2:17
—————————————————————————————————
Apparently you are not facing the facts. If Singapore could survive without foreign talents, why would the Government went through so much troubles getting so many foreigners into the country? Are the ministers mad? Of course there are good reasons behind their actions!
Talents should be defined broadly, as the Prime Minister had rightly put it. From the lowest level to the highest level, one could see active participation and contribution made by talents imported from around the world.
In the past, Singapore was just a developing country competing in a less competitive international environment. It could rely upon local people to do the jobs. Today, the world economy is highly competitive with those who are better are now getting cheaper, and those who are cheaper are now getting better than Singapore. Both China and India are like two large container-trucks charging neck-to-neck along the highway; Singapore got to find a way to squeeze through the small gap between both trucks.
The world has changed and
@My Views, well I guess you are still dreaming. It is effortless to bring in foreigner here and our government is capable to bring them in tons in shortest period. Are minister mad….NO, they are smart in fact. If you compare the cost and time of bring you up by your parent and the government subsidize spend on you against the cost of importing foreigner, which is cheaper and fast? Is no brainer right. The fact is that you know you shouldn’t even exist.
So after bring in the talent, our productivity drop, our cost of living continue to increase, our infrastructure couldn’t cop, our bus/train jam, we hit world recorded in the biggest loss in investment by our GIC/Temasek in shortest period. How could it be if we have these foreign talent around?
You have to ask youself, if China/India have huge pool of talents, why are still they a developing country, why are they going abroad for work? Shouldn’t all the company in Singapore moved to China/India since they have pool of talents instead of spending money to import them to Singapore?
Since you believe the world has changed, are you ready to adopt a son or daughter from China/India equipped with talents and PhD qualification and don’t waste time grooming your own kids? Cheap, better and faster right?
Talent is a lame excuse but cheap is the real reason. We are just bring in tons of cheap labour but not foreign talents.
@ FaceTheFact
u forgot something that i think is one of the main reasons why SG keeps importing foreigners.
foreign worker levy.
//My views
//the country cannot survive without these foreign talents.
Yeah right, the people that PAP brought to Singapore are more talented than Singaporeans, that our productivity suffer as result.
who also cheat our old people’s monies and made headlines in the press over vice.
//You know the medicine is too bitter for your kids, but you are also aware that it is the //only way to cure your kids’ illness – thus, you need to think of a way to make them drink
//the medicine.
The real bitter medicine is limiting the powers of the pigs at the initial stage and the total destruction of PAP in the final stage.
Vote in 30 opposition MPs for a start will make the pigs work harder for Singaporeans but Singaporeans need to get over the initial reluctance much like an obeying wife getting over an abusive and lazy husband before the final separation to seek a better man.
It is always better to do this when you are still young.
Then we would have handled a precious future to our kids, the audacity to be different not just trying to seek that opportunity overseas.
//My views
//Both China and India are like two large container-trucks charging neck-to-neck along the
//highway; Singapore got to find a way to squeeze through the small gap between both trucks.
What is the point of squeezing in between 2 trucks (fast moving ones)? It is very dangerous and you ended up being block by them and cannot see clearly ahead, worse, it is very like to be squashed by the two of them.
Now we know why our govt is so lost these days that they forget to do even their basic duties. It is trying to define its existence in terms of other countries.
Sad….
//my views
//Talents should be defined broadly, as the Prime Minister had rightly put it. From the
//lowest //level to the highest level, one could see active participation and contribution
//made by //talents imported from around the world.
And neglecting developing your own talents is the stupidest move:
1. they are your resources that builds your country,
2. they are your voters,
3. it makes your young people want to leave your country,
4. it makes foreign people want to leave your country after seeing that how your own people is treated in your own countries.
Just a short list….
Also, the whole FT policy is a cover up of 2 things:
1. inability of PAP to come up with new viable policies that disappoint our young people,
2. to continue holding on to the populace that it milks, much like a leech that suck blood out of the principal, only that this time, we have a gigantic leech.
//My views
//Apparently you are not facing the facts. If Singapore could survive without foreign //talents,
They are not talent.
//why would the Government went through so much troubles getting so many foreigners //into he country?
They didn’t need to do the work. They just get some <snakes> to do the work. No effort from them and they feed on the levy.
//Are the ministers mad? Of course there are good reasons behind their actions!
Yeah, greed, laziness and overwhelming desire to stay in power to continue milking the system.
You don’t need madness to do what they do.
//My views
//Are the ministers mad?
I won’t say that they are mad although I am sure the Foreigners issue will the last straw that breaks the camel’s back.
They are definitely irresponsible.
Politics has no place in academia. I used to have sm1 and sm2 friends who are really smart and have contributed greatly to the intellectual discourse as well as to the cultural diversity in our class. In retrospect, it was a rewarding and enlightening experience.
I believe that scholarships are given to foreigners in order to ensure that the level of intellectual diversity and quality of discourse remains high, similar to reputable MBA colleges overseas (35-40% international students). Without international scholars and the international visiting faculty, NUS would not have experienced a fruitful exchange of ideas in all fields of study (bar sociology) that it is currently enjoying now.
1 point I would like to make is that in order for fruitful discourse to take place, there must be diversity in culture. this is why academia, if limited to local students who spring from the same mold, will become needlessly and regrettably confined.
Speaking from a local standpoint, it’s apparent that many locals skip lectures as and when they like, failing to understand that it’s their duty to study and not the lecturers’ duty to ensure that they study. as a result, they do not perform during exams and lack of anyone to blame (they will not blame themselves), they cast the proclamation of guilt on foreigners – certainly most convenient since this is more likely to generate sympathizers.
Local students who insist on their right to fool around yet blame foreigners for failing in their studies, please wake up.
To: Facethefact
You are right.
Just like US invaded Iraq for Weapon of Mass Destruction! But in actual is for Oil.
//Do Re Mi
yeah right, only locals skipped lecturers, foreigners don’t.
What a joke!
MBA college and international diversity are 2 things. MBA is to promote business and business is cross border. Also, it is a great way to make monies for the school.
Please don’t confuse the 2.
I don’t think there is a lot of intellectual exchange in NUS.
All a show.
Ya the “exchange” are very mild
all fxxk back to your own hinterland! go back to your own country you also struggle,then why come here to crowd and pollute our air!
Except for the usual barking of My Views, our resident PAP employee, most of the comments on this video are quite clear in their sentiments towards foreign “talents”. And TOC is already one of the most liberal alternative media sites! You should see the comments on the same video on places like EDMW.
Make no mistake, PAP, these sentiments are the views of real Singaporeans. These are the views echoed by my internet-illiterate aunties and uncles. The only Singaporeans left supporting the FT policy is this weird alliance of the liberals and the PAP. PAP, if you feel that you can continue to rely on this demographic, by all means continue the policy. If not, do your damn job as Singaporean leaders and put Singaporeans first.
locals skip lectures way more frequently than foreigners do. my foreign friends skip lectures because they have to attend concurrent events whilst my local friends who skip lectures do so simply because they are lazy to wake up (0830 lectures). I do have as much local friends as I do foreign friends though, so don’t be mistaken.
also, do ask the lecturers and/or professors rgding local students and many of them will say that the majority is under-informed and simply ignorant about the lecture(s) that they are supposed to be attending.
MBA colleges arent just money-spinning machines, and although your opinion may vary, this isnt the main point. the main point is that top schools such as the LSE, as well as UPenn, often have a sizable international population to promote diversity among their local academia. This is despite UPenn being a liberal arts college (in fact most of the ivies are) that traditionally has stiff restrictions on international admissions.
Regarding diversity in higher education, please read Demographic Diversity, Conflict, and Work Group Outcomes: An Intervening Process Theory (1996) by L.H. Pellad and Learning Diversity in Higher Education: A Comparative Study of Asian International and Australian Students (2001) by P. Ramburuth, J. McCormick for additional academic perspectives. (Needs JSTOR access)
From my personal experience in a recent competition, my foreign friends (Indian scholars) astonished me with a totally different angle to the case-study that we were supposed to tackle. This was really refreshing after endless debates with my Singaporean teammates on the old angle.
Foreigners are also human beings who can laugh, be angry, be sarcastic, be embarrassed, be helpful, feel contempt, love others, cry and feel sad. They are fellow human beings just like you and I. Please do not discriminate against them.
@Do Re Mi
Diversity means many different peoples from many different places.
@Do Re Mi
Nope, let’s not discriminate against foreigners. Let’s discriminate against the lazy, daft, unproductive Singaporeans instead.
Jobs for foreigners, NS for Singaporeans.
singaporeans and foreigners are not mutually exclusive wrt each other. i enjoyed the company of my foreign friends as much as i do with our local singaporeans and i have also learnt much from both groups alike.
We just have to keep our hearts and minds open, perform our best in studies and stop comparing.
thank TOC for letting us feel the plight of the foreigners and sympathise them more.
after their ‘struggles’, like living in a 1st world environment coming from a 3rd world environment, they stand to enjoy the strong currency exchange.
I think its well worth it.