90 turn up for talk on 'Supporting Singaporeans First'

Sales and marketing executive Mark Tan, 45, used to work in the electronics industry, commanding a monthly salary of S$7,000.

But when the Singapore economy tanked in 2009, his company was acquired and he was retrenched.

After sending out hundreds of resumes with no reply, he tried his hand at selling insurance and even baking and selling home-made pineapple tarts.

Currently a taxi driver who earns $2,000 a month, Tan -- along with his two young children --  was one of about 90 people who showed up on Saturday evening for a talk called "Support our Singaporeans First" at Speakers' Corner at Hong Lim Park.  Most in the crowd were in their mid 40s or above, with a few in their 20s. 

Organised by Gilbert Goh, who runs a support site called Transitioning.org for the unemployed and underemployed, the talk featured five speakers -- business development and account manager Mr Prabu R, 23,  Goh himself, accountant Nazryn Azhar Samat, 31, businessman Kumaran Pillai, 41 and financial statistician Leong Sze Hian.

All five called for a review of the government's current immigration policies and pointedly asked just how far foreign workers actually benefited Singaporeans.

Pillai said the government placed too much emphasis on economic models and stressed the need to build nationhood instead.

One example he gave was in the area of healthcare.

"Does our government look at healthcare as an enterprise and citizens as consumers, or healthcare as a need that they have to provide?" he asked.

Meanwhile, Leong called on the government to show more data on how it has tightened foreign worker supply since last year.

He said that currently, "statistics are not supporting the government's claim that they're cutting down foreign workers."

He also called for more assistance for the poor and elderly. He gave the example of how the majority of cleaners in Singapore were over 50 years old.

"This is uniquely Singapore," he joked, "where we have elderly working on a job that's physically demanding and has a low pay."

"We need to review our policy," he urged, adding that "If the next decade is like the last, I feel very sorry."

Fellow speakers Prabu and Nazryn also echoed for the government to "focus on moral grounding".

While Nazryn complimented the government on its skill upgrading support to workers, he urged that businesses should first table a proposal showing a serious shortage in a particular industry before getting government approval to bring in foreigners. He also proposed an increased fee for application of work permits.

During the talk, organiser Goh was asked if he felt he was inflaming anti-foreigner sentiment on the ground.

He replied, "We're against the policies; we're not against foreigners. But foreigners might be caught in the crossfire to which I apologize."