Aljunied GRC residents express concerns over influx of foreign workers
Yahoo! Singapore dives into the heartlands to find out first-hand what the key issues will be during the General Elections. In the second of a five-part series of video reports, reporter Liyana Low ventures into Aljunied GRC, a GE hotspot, to speak to voters and determine the political sentiment on the ground.
The influx of foreigners working in Singapore has become a hotly debated issue among Singaporeans in the run up to the General Elections (GE).
With seven in 10 of the 222,000 new jobs created in 2009 going to foreign workers, Aljunied GRC residents whom Yahoo! Singapore spoke to are concerned that there might not be enough jobs for Singaporeans if this continues.
However, 39-year-old Pratheeksha Ramachandran acknowledged that Singapore needs foreign workers to fill jobs that locals are not willing to take on.
Shopkeeper Poh Beng Seng, 51, added that foreign workers keep the cost of doing business low, as Singaporeans are more expensive to hire.
While many in the area are aware of the benefits of having foreigners around, others are also concerned that they can be a nuisance in their neighbourhood.
Madam Tan, who is a florist in the Eunos area, said that sometimes after she closes her shop, she sees foreign workers gathering and drinking outside.
The next day when she opens her shop, she gets frustrated because there would be many peanut shells and beer bottles lying around, and she would have to clean them up.
In response to the sentiment on the ground, the Government said in February that it would limit foreign workers to one-third of the total workforce, which is currently around three million.
Almost 300,000 foreigners flocked to Singapore from 2007 to 2009 to take up jobs, increasing their numbers to one million for the first time last year.
But to 60-year-old Abu Bakar, their numbers do not really matter.
"I just hope that they will learn English, so that people like me can speak to them and understand them better and they can also integrate themselves into society."
Voter facts in Aljunied GRC
In the electoral boundary changes recommended by the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee, close to 29,000 voters from the Aljunied-Hougang ward in Aljunied GRC were moved to Ang Mo Kio GRC and Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC.
However, 20,000 voters from the Kaki Bukit ward, formerly part of Marine Parade GRC, are now absorbed into Aljunied GRC.
In total, the GRC shrinks by about 9,000 voters to 143,024.
In the 2006 GE, Aljunied GRC was the hottest battleground with the People's Action Party winning 56.1 per cent of the votes while Ms Sylvia Lim led the Workers' Party to secure 43.9 per cent. The PAP's victory margin was the narrowest among constituencies contested.
Related stories:
