Embracing Otherhood

Over the years, Singapore has seen a huge influx of foreigners coming to Singapore for various reasons. No, I am not talking about your typical tourists who wear flowery clothes and visit Singapore's places of attractions. I am actually referring to foreigners who come here with the intention to stay for quite a while, be it due to work commitments, study or even the want to settle down here permanently. As Singapore plays host to this ever increasing group, it is no doubt that there will be more cultural diversity among the people such that Singapore can continue to live up to its multi-racial and multi-cultural tagline.

To an outsider, it is great for Singapore to have such racial and cultural diversity because it only adds to the unique attractiveness of this island. However on hindsight, the government is facing numerous challenges to assimilate these foreigners into the mainstream and at the same time, placate the locals who feel the presence of these foreigners is a threat to their statuses in society.

While there is no doubt that foreigners contribute to our econonomy, we still have to wary of the problems they cause. For example, as employment rules relax, more employers in Singapore turn towards foreign workers for labour because they command less wages compared to Singaporeans and thus directly reduce the production costs of the company. This results in many Singaporeans losing their jobs, who find it impossible to live on such low wages, unlike foreign workers who send most of their money home where the conversion rates make such pittance look so much. Hence, we see an increasing resentment of the locals towards these foreigners.

The story does not end here. Over the years, there have been numerous news reports of these foreign workers causing troubles here, such as being involved in brawls and partake in shady activities such as drug trafficking and conning people out of their money. The most prominent example, of course, are stories of Chinese women accompanying their children seeking education in Singapore who do odd jobs by day and throw themselves in the sleazy business by night. Such behaviours of these foreigners are destabilising the country and adding to the moral decay of society as crime rates soar. It is therefore up to the government to rack its brains to ensure that foreign workers are not given jobs oppurtunities at the expense of locals, so as to prevent anti-foreign sentiments to rise. At the same time, the government also has to take the rap for failing to cope with the troubles these foreigners cause and must take responsibility to clear up the mess, lest a outbreak of a full scale social unrest.

Apart from foreign labour, the government also faces similar problems in foreign students in its education system. For many years as far as I can recall since the introduction of scholoarship programme for foreign students in Singapore began, the scholars often, if not always, outperform local students in national examinations. This has led to an outcry from many local students and parents, who feel that Singaporeans are not given a level playing field, especially since many of these scholars are older in age yet are competing in a lower age group. Such a scenario only aggravates the competition among local students for a place in top schools and strain relationships between local and foreign students. Although I have to admit that these foreign students are extremely hardworking and diligent in their bid for academic success, I am afraid if this goes on, sooner or later most local students will just concede that they are not as good as these scholars instead of challenging for top honours. I am not saying that having competition is detrimental. I am just saying that in a bid to attract and groom foreign talents, the government should also make sure that Singapore students do not lose out in the process because ultimately the locals will be the ones who shape the future of the country.

In conclusion, as Singapore play host to more people from other countries, the government has to weigh its priorities correctly and not let the notion of foreign talent get over its head when making crucial decision which might put local Singaporeans on the losing end of the game.