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COMMENT: Foreigners in our midst in Singapore

People walking along Orchard Road in Singapore. (AFP file photo)
People walking along Orchard Road in Singapore. (AFP file photo)

When recruitment agency Randstad Singapore posted a job advertisement online, little would it have known that the ad would create a mini-storm of sorts.

"This position is open to candidates who are not Singaporean Citizens or PR”, its advertisement for a Merchandiser-Planner position said.

To some, the words of the advertisement clearly contravened the rules on such advertising laid down by the Tripartite Alliance for Fair Employment Practices (TAFEP). Its first rule states:

“Words or phrases that exclude Singaporeans or indicate preference for non-Singaporeans should not be used.” (See here.)

That the wordings in the Randstad advertisement infringed this rule is not in question. However, one would give it the benefit of the doubt and say that the agency had not intended for the advertisement to be discriminatory, and that the advertisement was just awkwardly worded. It would be quite stupid really for Randstad to have any ill intention, given how it is a globally reputable recruitment agency.

Having said that, the anger over the perceived discrimination by Randstad is understandable, given how the labour and employment scene in Singapore has changed over the years, especially for those in the Professional, Manager, Executive and Technician (PMETs) group. An increasing sense of insecurity, anxiety and uncertainty has descended on Singaporeans of late, even as we boast of commendable GDP numbers and an increasing number of wealthy people, millionaires and billionaires, and glitzy events such as the F1.

Some are worried about the perceived rise in xenophobia among the local population, and have criticised those who have spoken up against Randstad and other recent examples of foreigners wanting to group among themselves.

Yet, speaking out against such perceived xenophobia, and taking shots at those who are accused of peddling such odious and hateful ideas, while welcome if genuine, nonetheless is in danger of keeping the debate at a low level of discourse.

Speak out on policies

Such focus should instead be on government policies which remain the root cause of not just sentiments against a foreign influx but also of many other areas of our lives in Singapore.

These, in fact, are genuine concerns.

Rather than keep asking or trying to condemn “xenophobes” into silence, or expect them to change their ways, we should instead beat a stronger and louder drum against the faulty policies of the Government. How else would you address the unhappiness?

And while it has tried to assuage public disquiet over issues such as employment discrimination by companies and businesses, the government has not made any substantial statement or promises with regards to population or immigration numbers.

Indeed, Singapore’s population has increased to 5.4 million.

This includes a substantial 40 per cent foreigner component.

With such a (continuing) influx, is it any wonder that there will be those who will take to the extreme to register their unhappiness and, yes, even disgust?

Understanding feelings

Before we condemn these Singaporeans – Singaporeans who indeed have always been welcoming of foreigners and indeed continue to be so – let us understand first the deep anxiety and disquiet they feel.

If you have children to feed, elderly folks to care for, mortgage payments to upkeep, healthcare to afford, and an increasing cost of living to deal with, you might perhaps too feel just as utterly disappointed at how you no longer have job security.

In fact, you may no longer even have a job.

And even if you are one of the lucky ones, the job you have may no longer pay you what you are worth.

In February this year, The Straits Times reported:

“For the lowest 20th percentile of employed residents, their real gross monthly income rose 0.1 per cent each year from 2002 to 2012, and 2.2 per cent a year from 1996 to 2002."

This is the type of situation we are talking about which is giving rise to the feelings of intense unhappiness.

Certainly we can take the moral high ground and condemn all who speak up against the influx of foreigners, or we may even condemn those who take aim at individual foreigners, but let us not forget that this will not solve or address what they feel at a very visceral level personally.

It is in fact about survival.

Ideology and reality

It is not about intellectual argument over philosophies or ideologies.

How does one give one a decent income without also asking for fewer foreigners to be here to compete for even the lowest jobs?

Indeed, how does one speak up about these things without being labelled a “racist” or a “xenophobe”?

It would be a sad day if we are cowed into silence over what we genuinely feel. The strident attacks on those who are speaking out will do just that – but the problems, the unhappiness will only go underground. And when it remerges, we will have a more serious issue to deal with.

Better to hear the unhappiness now.

Why are people so upset about the Randstad advert? It is because Randstad is not the only one. It is the experience of Singaporean workers that they are being discriminated against. And to make fun of Singaporeans for supposedly seeing themselves as "victimised Singaporean" is to know nothing of what some Singaporeans have gone through. (Why do you think the Government had to come up with the lame FCF idea? Have we not been aware of the cries of the PMETs for at least the last 5 years?)

To focus on Randstad is to be ignorant of what really is going on on the ground. And to condemn those speaking up against the likes of Randstad is well, to be naive which some seem to be, living in utopian worlds where Singapore is entirely open to all and sundry - without consequences. I too would love to live in that world. But it doesn't exist.

Dreaming of utopias is good for intellectual exercises, but not for living in reality.

Andrew helms publichouse.sg as Editor-in-Chief. His writings have been reproduced in other publications, including the Australian Housing Journal in 2010. He was nominated by Yahoo! Singapore as one of Singapore's most influential media persons in 2011. The views expressed here are his own.

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