What PM Lee did not address in his NDR speech...

The following message has been posted on the internet forum today. This is a common outcry from many people, not only those in their 40s but now, even those in their 20s and 30s.

While Mr. Lee Kuan Yew tried his very best to address this touchy issue of Foreign Talent Policy which drew many sarcastic and even talk back remarks in the internet forums (of course SPH would not report on such responses), his son, Prime Minister Lee, chose to skip this issue altogether.

Religious harmony issue isn't the main key concern of True Blue Singaporeans now as it was 40 years ago. It may still be a sticky issue to those NEW citizens who have yet to get used to the compact multi-racial living environment, but I do not think those who are born in Singapore and live through most of their lives here have any problems with their other race residents at all.

The main key tension in our society now is about losing jobs to CHEAP FOREIGN LABOUR SUBSTITUTES. We will welcome REAL FOREIGN TALENTS who could do jobs that Singaporeans may not have the expertise in, so that we could learn from them. We would not have any problem to even pay them more in terms of salary because they have the skills that we don't have. But there so many thousands, even tens of thousands of Singapore workers who are displaced by CHEAPER FOREIGN LABOUR that it is becoming a very common talking point of the town!

This is the main key point of grievances of Singaporeans nowadays. It is impossible for us to accept that kind of pay that they are paying these foreign workers basically because we have a house mortgage and a family to support in this high cost city!

Ironically, the influx of foreign talents have affected the property prices in Singapore as well. They have even affected the prices of new HDB flats! The HDB's pricing mechanism of "market subsidy" is totally flawed. Foreign workers who have become Permanent Residents increased demand on the HDB resale market. But the supply in HDB resale market is pretty stagnant basically because Singaporeans bought their HDB flats to live, not to invest, speculate or for resale. Thus we have witness the HDB resale price being sticky upwards even during this recession basically because the supply is stagnant while the demand keeps pressure up by NEW Permanent Residents.

In the end, the prices of NEW HDB flats which are basically meant for Singaporeans are kept in high price levels when it is pegged against the resale market prices. With such pricing mechanism, the Foreign Talent Policy has contributed to higher HDB prices, Lower wages and it makes young people to think twice before getting marriage. And when Singaporeans are not getting married earlier and have less babies, PAP insists that we need even more Foreign workers! This will become a big vicious cycle in the end!

Apparently the Prime Minister and his Cabinet do not have a solution to reverse this vicious cycle and thus refrain from mentioning about the SOCIAL and HOUSING problems created by their Foreign Talent policy. But such ostrich attitude will not keep the problems away. It will become more serious in the years to come but no one knows when will be the boiling point.

Goh Meng Seng



----- Original Message -----
From:
Sent: Monday, August 17, 2009 1:03 AM
Subject: RE: Bitter guy blogs about it


I am an engineer. Over the past year, I have been squeezed out of my job by cheaper Chinese, Malaysian and Indian engineers.

To them, $2000 is much when they remit back home.
To me, I can’t even afford a HDB, as frugal as I try to be, because the foreigners keeps driving home prices up on a daily basis.

To add insult to injury, more of the foreign graduates replacing me had their university fees paid by our very own Ministry of Education. These graduates were not only given free college education, they were even given a month allowance of few hundred dollars each. While I had to work part time to support my education in NUS, and I still remain in debt to my student loan. (BITTER LAUGH!!!!).

I spent 2.5 years of my precious youth serving the SAF, during which I lost my first girlfriend during training. These foreigners were given PRs and citizenship in less than 2.5 years and they don’t even need to serve.

If war breaks out, I have to protect 1/3 of the population filled with these people?? (Assuming they dun run away at the 1st sign of trouble??!!) SAF even sent me a letter threatening to fine me for going overseas without telling them…to attend a funeral of my uncle…(BITTER LAUGH!!!!).

Hey, here’s an idea, why don’t I migrate to another country before migrating back. That will save me more time!

I am working in odds jobs now 7 days a week. I am now almost 30 already. Inflation exceed my savings rate, and I find a home, marriage, kids and happy future beyond me. A simple illness or a year of unemployment could wipe me out. Yet the government is wondering why there are less marriages and births….(BITTER LAUGH!!!!)

I bear no love to my country now. My country does not need to be attacked, it has already be invaded and taken over.